I'm pretty sure that the name of the old timer knife my dad has is the Deer Slayer. It looks like a bigger model of the sharpfinger, (i think). But anyway, on the blade it says, (very faintly, I might add), Made Expressly for Hoffritz. Can anybody tell me what this means? Thanks.
Schrade Deer Slayer
- Thread starter bigtree31
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- Jan 21, 2001
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I am attaching a picture of a 15OT deerslayer I believe it to be the knife in question. As far as the tang marking it is far from unusual. In fact Schrade as well as most of the earlier cutlery companies from this area Napanoch, Honk Falls, New York Knife, Walden knife, Grahamsville as well as others did a large amount of contract work. Let me clarify that a hardware company or large store chain ( Sears is a prime example)would order knives to be made for them by these cutlery firms. Often times under several lines ( sears included craftsman, old crafty, the American Eagle series just to name a few. ) While the same basic design was used for the knife often a cosmetic change would be employed ( such as a different handle material, jigging, or color of handle.) These then received the tang marking of the firm buying the knives. This is one of the factors which makes collecting these items today so interesting in that you never know what you will find Schrade made knives for Case, Remington, Keen Kutter, Primble, Russell, Bluegrass, Parker Frost, and over the years just about everyone. This diversity of production even goes further in that often knives were produced that should never have been made due to overruns, machinery changovers and simple human error. These oddballs also make the collecting of these items enjoyable. I hope this helps Rich
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