Schrade: One of the old sterlings

[golok]

I just noticed that this forum has one of the lowest number of postings. So naturally that arouses my curiosity.

Schrade is one of the oldest knife names around, and it is certainly one of the most reliable and charming of knives. I don't know if one can actually call a knife "charming". But I have always thought of the name Schrade as a company and as a brand name that has been around for ages.

What's the most famous and most Schrade blade thus far? I apologise for not keeping abreast with developments in Schrade. I am interested to know more about this name that sort of smells of old pine trees and everything nice.

I must be getting sentimental in my more mature years.

So any good tales to tell from the Schrade collectors?

 

[lt632ret]

If your idea of being around for a long time is since 1903 then you are correct. To give you the entire history of Schrade would be a sermon of several volumes. However since it is perhapes one of my favorite subjects. I can at least answer a few questions in this reply. Prior to 1903 there were already two cutlery companies in Walden NY ( a small town with a river ( the Wallkill flowing northward YES NORTHWARD, with a waterfall in the middle of town ) in upstate New York about 80 miles from NYC. Geo Schrade was an inventor and had a small cutlery company ( which had begun as a shop for producing patent prototypes ). He had several patents regarding automatic knives. in 1894 he was induced by Edward Whitehead of the Walden knife company to produce his knife in conjunction with with Walden knife under the name of Press Button Knife CO. In 1903 Geo Schrade sold his shares in this company and began the Schrade Cutlery CO. Along with his brothers William and J. Louis. Over the years Schrade has moved several times but has been in Ellenville NY since 1958. Schrade was perhapes most known for the automatic line of knives they sold until 1958. During world war II Schrade helped produce millions of knives for the military ( and I have never heard anyone complain about their efficiency in battle ). They were also among the first to produce commerative knives and have long been noted for their Old Timer line (1958) and their Uncle Henry line (around 1967). Today the company is called Imperial Schrade ( having merged with other firms.) Today they still produce an exceptional product (for the money) and still use nickle silver bolsters and brass rivets. If you have any further questions on this subject feel free to email me, it is impossible to give 100 years of history in a posting such as this. I am including 2 pictures one is a post card of the original Schrade plant. the other is a copy of a page from the 1917 Historic Wallkill and Hudson Valley ( a yearly publication at that time) it gives some information on the firm and has photos of the then 2 plants one in Walden and one in Middletown NY. This particular framed picture actually hung in the original office. I have not included pictures of the Ellenville plants however if anyone has an interest let me know and I will. I hope this helps at least a little. Rich