Schrade ireland marked tradesman lockback!

C

cavtrpr340

Joined
Feb 25, 2006
Messages
14
i have a collection of the ireland made imperial tradesman & apex 4in & 2in lockback knives. i know they are not of the same quality as the u.s. made schrades. but the price and all the different variations that can be found make theme fun to collect. i recently bought one of the tradesman 4in lockbacks the TM5 model new in wrap after getting it home and opening it i noticed the tang stamp was not like the rest of the tm/ap's that i have. this one is marked Schrade ireland stainless where the others i have are marked imperial ireland stainless. i have about 20 or so of the tm/ap knives and this is the first one i have seen with the schrade marking. any help on sorting this out would be much App. Thanks, CAV.
 
The Irish knives and tools have not really attracted much collector attention, and remain good values. Originally intended for the European market, I believe, they were some decent products for the price points. Tangstamps on quite a few patterns underwent some changes when they decided to begin U.S. imports of them, and perhaps even before. ISC IRELAND STAINLESS is seen from time to time, as are several others you mentioned. My little TM23 is marked Imperial Ireland Stainless, which is a lot to get on such a small tang! Retailing for $8.95 in 2000, it beat the heck out of similar knives from China. I first see the Irish products appearing in the 1990 catalog with the introduction of the Imperial Apex series, eleven patterns in all. The Tradesman series and Trophy series were added in 1991, listing nine more patterns. I'm not sure just when the Diamond Edge and Jackmasters began being made there, but they were. The Apex WIlderness series came out in 1996, and the Tradesman tool line expanded in 1999. They were always listed in the literature as Imperial until 2002 when the Schrade International logo appeared, so maybe there is a clue for us. The Jackmaster line was still listed as Imperial until the end, but in 2004, the Apex and Tradesman series were called Schrade.

Codger
 
Just as a curious thing, here's my old (rehandled) Irish Barlow with Stag Ireland stamp.

Luis


Click to enlarge
 
I can't answer your question about the tang stamps, but wanted to say "Hi." By taking an interest in the Tradesman knives, you've stumbled across an niche that won't be crowded. Light competition, abundant supply, and low prices. The hard part will be aquiring well-made examples of each model that are worth collecting. I bought a bunch of Tradesman tools myself at closeout prices last year and found the quality "mixed" at best.

Good Luck and happy collecting,
-Bob
 
Bob,
You got that right.....I too find the quality mixed. I must say though I do like the tools. The TM 44 & TM45 (scraper & putty knife) have nice large sheepfoot blades in their handles. Great for cutting the sheet rock around a hole to do a patch job! Works good........I know!

Also the knives made under the Apex name are good quality for the price. The AP13 had a MSRP of $15.95 in 2004 and is a nice clip point fixed blade. Every now and then I run in to one at a store with a $12.95 price tag. A good buy IMHO.

Cavtrpr,
I have 40 some odd of the Irish made Schrades, and while some are better than others I will take them over a Chinese knife any day of the week.

Just my $.02,
Dale
 
Thanks, gents for all the info. i don't own any chinese, pak or japan made knives so i did not have much to compare the ireland made knives i have with but it sounds as if that's a good thing i will keep looking for the various imp. models seems they made a lot of handle colors and styles that will keep me looking for a while. at 43 and my youngest grad. H.S. this year gives me alot more time to devote to my knife collecting. Thanks for all your time, CAV.
 
This is a list I've compiled of the various Tradesman brand products from Schrade. Can you add anything else to the list?

TM1 Hawkbill Single blade, liner lock, bail
TM2 Screwdriver Knife Knife blade + liner lock screwdriver, bail
TM4 3-Blade Utility Plain blade, serrated blade, awl
TM5 Dual Edge Single blade, partially serrated, lockback
TM7 Lockback Small lockback, single blade, bail
TM8 Utility Shears Scissors with screwdriver tools
TM20 Garden Pruner Pruning clippers
TM44 Scraper Tool Scraper w/ knife in handle
TM45 Putty Tool Putty knife with knife in handle
TM46 3-in-1 Exchangable putty/scraper blades, knife in handle
TM71 T-Bevel T-bevel carpentry tool w/ scribe
TMT2 Folding snip 10 function multi-tool with snippers
TM202 Folder Single blade slipjoint, no bail
TM202S Folder Single blade slipjoint w/ bail

My favorite is the T-bevel carpentry tool. I don't have the scraper tools. I suspect you will have a difficult time finding a TM7 Small Lockback that's worth collecting; I've handled several and every one of them was poorly made. The TM scissors are Made In China, but all of the other models were made in Ireland.

I have 40 some odd of the Irish made Schrades, and while some are better than others I will take them over a Chinese knife any day of the week.
Click to expand...
I have one of the Irish Apex knives made in Ireland in the early 1990s. And I have one of the recent Apex knives, made in China before Schrade went out of business. The two knives are indistinguishable in quality.

Another hit-or-miss Schrade brand is the Irish-made Frontier knives. Some are pretty good, and some really suck.

The Imperial brand knives from Ireland are usually OK. Most are pretty good, but I've seen some real stinkers too.

Best Wishes,
-Bob
 
Here is a list I have compiled from personal collection and from catalogs. This is odds and ends stuff. I believe most was made in Ireland except for the Schrade tools.

Brand Model # Details
Tools
Schrade SK3 Knife Care Kit
Schrade ST175 Navitool- 4 3/4 in.- Liquid Filled Compass, Luminous Dial, Stainless Implements, LED Light, Signal Whistle& Signal Mirror, More
Schrade IQ180 iQuip- 4 3/4 in.- w/Digital Compass, Altimeter, Barometer, Thermometer, Stopwatch, Clock, Stainless Implements, LED Light, Signal Mirror, More

Schrade SSK5 Superknife 3 1/2 in. Handle Size Liner Lock, Chrome - accepts standard utility knife blades- made in China
Schrade SSK5B Superknife 3 1/2 in. Handle Size Liner Lock, Black - accepts standard utility knife blades
Schrade ST1L Schrade Tough Tool 4 3/4 in. closed, 7 in. open, w/Leather Sheath
Schrade ST1N Schrade Tough Tool 4 3/4 in. closed, 7 in. open, w/Nylon Sheath
Schrade ST2 Schrade Tough Chip 2 1/2 in. closed, 4 1/4 in open
Schrade ST2N Schrade Tough Chip 2 1/2 in. closed, 4 1/4 in open w/Nylon Sheath
Schrade ST5E Schrade Tough Tool 4 3/4 in. closed, w/adjustable plier head, Listed as new in 2003 Price List
Schrade ST6QU Toughgrip Tool- 7 in.- Vise grip Quail Unltd.
Schrade ST6 Toughgrip Tool- 7 in.- Vise Grip multi-tool
Schrade ST6H Toughgrip Tool- 7 in.- Vise Grip multi-tool- small screwdriver replaces the can opener on the ST6
Schrade ST6P Toughgrip Tool- 7 in.- Vise Grip multi-tool- w/Pouch
Schrade ST6HP Toughgrip Tool- 7 in.- Vise Grip multi-tool- w/Pouch- small screwdriver replaces the can opener on the ST6

Tradesman
Tradesman TM1 4" Hawkbill
Tradesman TM2 3-5/8" Screwdriver Knife (Electrician knife)
Tradesman TM3 3-5/8" Master Tri-Blade
Tradesman TM4 3-1/4" Utility 3-Blade
Tradesman TM5 4" Dual Edge
Tradesman TM6 4" Bladesaw. w/ clip blade & saw blade- Ireland
Tradesman TM20 Pruning Shear
Tradesman TM202 Tradesman single blade non-locking
Tradesman TM30 Tradesman single blade folder
Tradesman TM44 Scraper w/ knife blade in handle
Tradesman TM45 Putty Knife w/ knife blade in handle
Tradesman TM8 Utility Shears
Tradesman TM71 Tradesman T-Bevel
Tradesman TMT2 Snips Tool
Tradesman TMT11 Tradesman Multi-tool

Imperial
Imperial AP1 2-3/8" lockback, Zytel handle
Imperial AP5 4" Lockback, Zytel handle
Imperial AP6 4" Clip blade & saw blade, Zytel handle
Imperial AP12 fixed blade drop point w/sheath, Zytel handle
Imperial AP13 fixed blade clip blade w/ cordura sheath
Imperial AP15 Apex Fillet knife w/sheath, Zytel handle
Imperial AP16 11" Apex Fillet knife, Zytel handle
Imperial AP22 3-3/16" wide clip & pen blade, Zytel handle
Imperial AP23 2-7/8" pen & clip blade, opposite ends, Zytel handle
Imperial AP25 3-1/4" clip 7 pen blade, Zytel handle
Imperial AP26 3-1/4" sotckman, Zytel handle
Imperial AP35 Tradesman single blade-plain bld-lock back
Imperial TM44 Scraper w/ knife blade in handle
Imperial TM45 Putty Knife w/ knife blade in handle
Imperial AP55 single blade lock back part serrated
Imperial AP511 Lockback with Black Delrin® Handle
Imperial DE552 small 2 blade jack knife w/ black Derlin handle
Imperial ST2 Chip Tool

Jackmaster
Jackmaster 801 3-1/8" peanut, pen & clip blade
Jackmaster 803 3-3/8" barlow
Jackmaster 804S 3-1/4" slim peanut
Jackmaster 811 4-1/4" fish knife
Jackmaster 818 3-3/4 Kamp King
Jackmaster 825P 2-3/4" pen & clip blade
Jackmaster 871 4-3/4" barlow
Jackmaster 873 4" stockman
Jackmaster JM305 3-1/8" single blade

This list is by no means exhaustive, just what I was able to compile in a few minutes from spread sheets I already had made.

I hope this is helpful,
Dale
 
Dale,
Thanks for re-posting that. I've seen your list before, but never compared the Tradesman portion to my list. I think if we put the two together, we'll have a nearly-complete listing of Tradesman brand products.

I was missing the 3, 6, 30, and T11. Your list was shy of the 7, 202S, and 46. Here is the adjusted list of Schrade Tradesman brand products:


TM1.....Hawkbill Single blade, liner lock, bail
TM2.....Screwdriver Knife Knife blade + liner lock screwdriver, bail
TM3.....Master Tri-Blade
TM4.....3-Blade Utility Plain blade, serrated blade, awl
TM5.....Dual Edge Single blade, partially serrated, lockback
TM6.....Bladesaw with clip blade and saw blade
TM7.....Lockback Small lockback, single blade, bail
TM8.....Utility Shears Scissors with screwdriver tools
TM20....Garden Pruner Pruning clippers
TM30....Single blade folder
TM44....Scraper Tool Scraper w/ knife in handle
TM45....Putty Tool Putty knife with knife in handle
TM46....3-in-1 Exchangable putty/scraper blades, knife in handle
TM71....T-Bevel T-bevel carpentry tool w/ scribe
TM202...Folder Single blade slipjoint, no bail
TM202S..Folder Single blade slipjoint w/ bail
TMT2.....Folding snip 10 function multi-tool with snippers
TMT11...Multi-Tool


That's 18 total. Anyone have more to add?
 
Does anyone actually own a TM30, or do have a reliable reference for that model? This is the only result from a Google search, and the item's photo is too poor to read the model number on the packaging.

http://www.wholesalecentral.com/cowboyknives/store.cfm?event=showcatalog&catid=67296

The TM30 isn't listed on any of the archived shradeknives.com websites I've checked either. I'm beginning to doubt that this model actually exists...

Best Wishes,
-Bob
 
Here is a little folder I have. It is marked only:
Imperial (with the crown over i/a)
IRELAND
Black plastic(?) serpentine handles that may have been bumpy/textured, but are now smooth... half-stop...carbon blade and backspring...3 1/8" closed. Any ideas where this little guy might fit in?

Bill
 
The TM30 isn't listed on any of the archived shradeknives.com websites I've checked either. I'm beginning to doubt that this model actually exists...
Click to expand...
This was answered by Orvet in another topic. Yes, there really is a TM30, but it appears to be identical to the 202S.

-Bob
 
Do a search for Tradesman on ebay. There are a few on there and yesterday when I checked SMKW still had some for $3.99.

Dale
 
TM30.jpg
 
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