Scagel reproductions

moonwilson

moonwilson

Joined
Aug 10, 2006
Messages
7,250
I was wondering if anyone has any experience with or information about the Scagel reproductions Northwoods is putting out. The knives are made by Queen, but marketed and distributed by Northwoods, as far as I can tell. I ordered one last week out of curiousity, and it arrived today, and it's impressive. I don't know much about the knife, or the background behind the series.

The Scagel reproductions seem to be about as "folksy" as you can get. They have an almost primitive vibe to them. I got the #12 folder, and it's a sort of a left-handed, bolsterless trapper. It's beefy all around, with thick blades, nice, thick stag, and what appears to be steel liners. It has crisp half stops on both blades, and perfectly executed flush joints. The master blade is an unswedged clip point with a "thumb hole" rather than a nail nick, and the secondary blade is a full-length sheepsfoot with a similar nail hole. The tops of the blades line up very closely when closed- they could be made to align perfectly if I filed down the kick on the secondary blade a bit. The shield is set up "left handed"- ie: not on the usual side- its an arrowhead design, and appears to be pinned all the way through the shield itself and into the frame. Very rustic.

I'm interested in these reproductions, and I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on some of the other patterns that have been produced so far, and if they can share a little background on Mr. Scagel. There's not much online, that I can find. Just that he was a knifemaker in the early part of the 20th century, and was very influential on Bo Randall's work, among others. Apparently his original knives are bringing big bucks on the collector's market, but I'm more interested in the knives themselves, and in their background.

Thanks, all!
 
I have a #11 that I actually won on this forum...what a wonderful knife. It does have more of an old primative look but that is what makes it a Scagel...

scageltrapper-1.jpg
 
Contact Dave Shirley at Northwoods.
He is the man behind the Scagel repros.
He is also a mine of information as regards Scagel.
There is an inexpensive booklet about Scagel as well.
I visited his home in Fruitport MI a couple of years ago.
Interesting.
Dirk
 
What Oupa said!
And, Dave Shirley actually paid for the rights to use the name and trademark, and limited his runs to keep the knives exclusive. They more or less are replicas of the originals, most of which Dave owned at one time or another. Scagel didn't make a lot of folders, so they are pretty rare.
The queen-made knives are well made, in carbon steel, and a joy to behold, and to use.
Here are a couple of pics. I think one knife is repeated. They only made 5 or 6 wood handled ones, so I count myself lucky.
ScagelGroup1.jpg

ScagelGroup2.jpg
 
Hmm. I have always been a fan of the "Scagel" fixed-blade knives, but these are the first folders I've seen. Might have to get me one. Or two. (You know how it is.)

BTW, try to avoid getting your heart set on owning a real Scagel. The last one I saw sell went for $30,000. No joke.
 
Has anyone tried Northwoods knives located in Gladstone, Michigan?
They are making William Scagel reproductions that look pretty good but I've never seen one up close.
 
I actually received one of the Northwoods Scagel reproductions yesterday- the #12 folder. It is very well made, and absolutely gorgeous. I believe the knives are made mostly by Queen, and may have the handles put on or simply finished by the folks at Northwoods. Mine is comparable to a Schatt & Morgan in terms of finish- which is to say, flawless. The #12 is a chunky, beefy knife, but it's not overly bulky. It's roughly the same size as a Queen teardrop jack, or a GEC #73 scout. Perhaps a bit thicker.

"Pretty good" is an understatement, IMO. From what I've seen, I would say that they're pretty great.
 
Per a Knife world article and Dave himself on the other forum, the knives are not made by Queen. Each knife has a slightly different production history, sometimes the blades are done by queen, sometimes the blade/frame is assembled by Queen. I believe in all cases the final finish and the stag is from Northwoods. He's kind of cagey as to who does what, but he is definite on the fact that they may be part Queen but not all Queen.

I have one, the single blade 2005 (?) version. Except for the edge, which was dull and way to thick, I like it. Of course I fixed the edge. The steel is supposed to be 1095, but it is pretty soft.
 
I may be mistaken but it looks like Great Eastern Cutlery has put out a run of Scagel bare head jacks. I had to get one!
 
Nike...

I would also be interested in a link to the GEC Scagel type jacks...

Brownshoe is correct all the final finish work "was" done by Northwoods....and I say was because many of you may know Dave has retired...he has completed 17 different variations of Scagel knives - fixed and folder - to date the fixed line will carry on with Knivesshipfree the purchaser of the rights...but who knows about the pocket knife line.
 
Mikey, they DO look GECish. Maybe there is a blog somewhere which would clarify it for us.
 
They do look like GECs. Further side by side matching should clarify the source.
 
Charlie, besides being "Your Schradeness", you're a closet Scagelite! A man of many parts (and knives, no doubt!)
 
Several years ago Paul Basch had a real Scagel Folder at a show in Springfield, MO that I got to see. It was $26,500 or "not for sale".
 
black mamba said:
Charlie, besides being "Your Schradeness", you're a closet Scagelite! A man of many parts (and knives, no doubt!)
Click to expand...

Just a dilletante, Black!:o
The Northwoods "official" ones were mostly nicely made, at least the first 6 or 8 of them. They had a little of Scagel's crudeness showing through, and were fun to carry. I like the one-blade folders the best. The two-blades are a bit clunky, IMO.
 
Boggs said:
Nike...

I would also be interested in a link to the GEC Scagel type jacks...

Brownshoe is correct all the final finish work "was" done by Northwoods....and I say was because many of you may know Dave has retired...he has completed 17 different variations of Scagel knives - fixed and folder - to date the fixed line will carry on with Knivesshipfree the purchaser of the rights...but who knows about the pocket knife line.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your interest in these knives. Dave is actually in the midst of retiring. He approached us about carrying on the Scagel name and we were pleased to do so.

We have quite a number of great projects in the works. Stay tuned! :)

Scagel_BHJ_48.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top