Schatt & Morgan!

moonwilson

moonwilson

Joined
Aug 10, 2006
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Any fans of Schatt & Morgan? I've looked around and didn't see any threads specifically about this venerable American maker. Does anyone have any pictures or reviews of Schatt & Morgan that they would like to share? I just ordered my first S&M- a sowbelly, and I'm becoming quite interested in the history of the company.

How does Queen's line of Schatt & Morgan stack up to other makers? What are the peculiarities of the brand? Does anyone have any old S&Ms that they can compare to newer ones? Any discussion regarding the company or the knives is most welcome!

I was doing a little research this afternoon and I discovered that apparently Queen employs more people than Spyderco does. That's suprising to me, because I'd never heard of Queen until fairly recently- and Spyderco is everywhere.

Thanks all! :)
 
They are the higher end line, IIRC.
I have a baby elephant toe from S&M. It is an excellent knife.
I hope the sowbelly is a good first sample for you. I have only had Case sowbellies and stopped buying them as the backspring seems softer on that pattern.
 
i only own one a 2004 WIldcat Driller:thumbup: love it
even EDC'd it for a while when i got it:) its huge though so not very practical
FF where flawless and mine stays fairly sharp:thumbup:
Ya get no complaints from me
cheers
ivan

SM.jpg
 
I own several of their File + Wire series knives.

Classic designs, premium steel, and near flawless fit+finish....What's not to like?
 
Ed T said:
They are the higher end line, IIRC.
I have a baby elephant toe from S&M. It is an excellent knife.
I hope the sowbelly is a good first sample for you. I have only had Case sowbellies and stopped buying them as the backspring seems softer on that pattern.
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I hope the sowbelly is nice, too! It will be my first sowbelly, as well as my first S&M, so the whole thing will be a suprise. I don't know if the soft backsprings on your Cases will reflect on the pattern as a whole. Most Case backsprings seem to be pretty wimpy nowadays! Especially on their medium stockmen. The S&M sowbelly seems to be about the same size as a Case medium stockman, just with a bigger "kink" to it. It seems to be a very good sized pattern for EDC, and in all of the pictures I've been able to find, the Schatt sowbelly looks GORGEOUS. It's very traditional and classy looking. I like traditional and classy! I like knives that make people do a double-take when you pull them out to cut something.

I'm also finding that I may be more of a stainless kind of guy. There must be something in my sweat- because carbon steel seems to start to patina if I even look at it sideways. I'm not very hard on my folders, so edge-holding isn't that big of a deal for me. From what I gather, Schatt & Morgan is the highest-end production maker that uses stainless. GEC uses stainless in their Great Eastern line. I'm wondering which company makes the finer knife. Does anyone have any experience with S&M's "420 HC" steel?
 
Excellent, beautiful knives, some moreso than others. The File & Wire series, as well as some of the other higher end ones use ATS-34, whereas many of the others are 420HC.

-- Sam
 
I picked up an S&M Gunstock Model here in the Exchange. It's a File & Wire with ATS-34 Blade and Jigged Scales. I love the 1/8th thick Spine and Backspring. It's 3 1/2" closed ans 6 1/4" open. The Blade is a nail killer to open but thats fine. I have touched it up on a Solingen Steel and it is still Poppin Sharp... Just a great knife as far as I am concerned!
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I would love to find a Thick blade Stockman and or the likes of the Wildcat Driller to join the Gunstock...
 
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IVANKERLEY said:
i only own one a 2004 WIldcat Driller:thumbup: love it
even EDC'd it for a while when i got it:) its huge though so not very practical
FF where flawless and mine stays fairly sharp:thumbup:
Ya get no complaints from me
cheers
ivan

SM.jpg
Click to expand...


Killer Sleeveboard !
 
moonwilson said:
I'm wondering which company makes the finer knife. Does anyone have any experience with S&M's "420 HC" steel?
Click to expand...

I carry the Carpenters Whittler from the 15th Reproduction Series, Stag, 3blade(coping, small clip & large sheepsfoot) w/wedge in my good jeans. It's 420 & I've had real good luck with Schatt's stainless. I believe that Peter's Heat Treating does all their work & they really have that steel down pat. Of course 420 doesn't hold an edge as long as D-2 or ATS-34, but for every day use I feel it gives good service. If you're curios about their 420 keep an eye out on flea bay, you can pick up a bargin occaionally.
As far as" Which company"? I think your compairing apples to oranges. But for my $ I'll go with Schatt & Morgan every time. But then again I collect S&M so that's where my eye naturally goes. I expect top of the line F&F and wouldn't hesitate to send a sub par knife in for exchange.
I love the File & Wire Series w/ ATS-34 steel there are some hard user knives there. That deluxe English Jack with the long blades is very usefull. And the large 2 blade Trapper is a GREAT camp knife.
S&M's Premier Series also has some interesting patterns in it but it's been awhile since their last release.
Let me know if you want a pix of a particular knife... I got most of em!:D


Dave
 
For me, personally, they are too 'busy' (I'm generally not a fan of etching and engraved billboards). Also, they rarely have the patterns I want (Railsplitters, Canoes, etc.) in anything other than 420HC. I like the look of the regular queens (esp. the old 1095 Queen City knives) - esp. because I can get them in D2. Another "premium" Queen-made brand is Northwoods. The Northwoods Stag/D2 Canoe I just picked up is very nice.
 
Bought my F-I-L one of the Schatt-Morgan peanuts in red bone. I wasn't happy about paying $70 for 420 stainless steel, but the fit-and-finish was nearly perfect. Their peanut pattern is also more sleek and slender than those from other manufacturers (Case, Bear, etc.), which really appeals to me.

The only S&M in my collection is the File and Wire English Jack. The fit and finish is perfect and I like the knife aesthetically. But it's much heavier and bulkier than anything I'd want to carry. It's also disappointing that every single File & Wire has the exact same grooved bone handle material. It's not exactly 'ugly', but it wouldn't have been my first choice either.

My wishes for the next File and Wire release, a smaller more slender pattern and a bone handle with a finer jigging pattern.
 
Here's one from the first reproduction series, large coke bottle hunter model 041983 fit and finish is classic S&M too large for an EDC, just one of my favorite patterns.

Russell

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Rusty1 said:
Here's one from the first reproduction series, large coke bottle hunter model 041983 fit and finish is classic S&M too large for an EDC, just one of my favorite patterns.

Russell

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Very nice Coke Bottle! I love these for my back pocket!
Thanks for sharing such a beauty!
 
Although I have several, my favorite S&M is a 1920's Dog Leg Jack. I edc it from time to time and coincidentally dropped in my pocket earlier this morning..

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Great looking knives guys.... and especially that vintage jackknife sunnyd. This is a 1992 large reverse gunstock and a circa 1915 made for the Canadian forces.

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I've only owned a couple.

A large Coke Bottle (lockback) in winterbottom bone which I sent as a gift to my buddy Waynorth and this stockman (ATS-34) which I still have:

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