Welcome to the forum, Larmar.
Stewart Taylor can mark his knives any damn way he pleases, now that he owns the brand names.
This is a long running problem (at least I see it as a problem) when someone buys a brand name and begins making new knives using the old tang stampings. Jim Parker was infamous for this. Causes much, much expense and disappointment among new-- and sometimes experienced-- collectors. The thing is, in 50 years (easy lifespan for a collectible knife) some of those old Parker rip-offs will be causing even more confusion.
Some manufacturers are honorable about this. When AG Russell issued some new Cattaraugus knives, they were plainly marked so as not to be confused with the oldies. And when AGR makes a knife, it's a good one, able to stand on its own bolster, so to speak.
Your first line of defence is to educate yourself. Handle lots and lots of old Schrades, Schrade-Waldens, Ulsters, ect. Learn to recognize the bone, the delrin, the celluloid handles. The old tang marks and how they were applied. Sounds intimidating, but it is enjoyable to learn.
Your fallback position is right here in the trenches with the rest of us. Bernard Levine's forum and the 'Tradional' forum here at BFC will be able to answer your questions, as well as the more informed members here.
As to what the Taylor/Schrades will mean to us- the value of our collections, and the amount we have to pay to add (old, original products) to our collections, remains to be seen. I honesly don't know.
Don't be a stranger, Larmar.
Phil
