Who made what?

[tongueriver]

I am pretty sure Schrade blanked their own blades out of sheet metal stock, and finished the blades, and molded their own Delrin handles and installed them. Who made the steel? The shields? Rivets, sheaths, parts of sheaths, molds, boxes, hinges for boxes, hot stamps, flyers, catalogs, and a hundred other items necessary to put knives on the market?

 

[delmas2nd]

good question! who made the dies for the handles? if the blades were made from sheet metal stock, probably some steel mill, which one?

 

[Codger_64]

Some Delrin scales and Safe-T-Grip handles were molded out of house. Some bone scales were sourced from Germany. Some wooden scales (Fibron) were made out of house. Most sheaths were shopped out. In the last years, Schrade did have a sheath shop, but still did not make all of their own sheaths. One sheath maker (don't remember the name) was listed as a creditor in the bankruptcy proceedings. I believe that Camillus blanked some blades, and assembled quite a few finished knives for Schrade. FOr some knives, components were made by Imperial in Providence and shopped to Schrade for assembly. Likewise components were shipped by Imperial to Camillus for assembly into finished knives. Some shields were contracted out and some were made from powdered metal MIM) inhouse. Principally the coined shields.

 

[tongueriver]

I have a note which said that the American Eagle series by Schrade Walden for Craftsman had hard leather foldover sheaths by El Cid of California. I don't come up with anything on the 'net for them, but they are interesting sheaths (25 OT, 41 OT, 166 bowie, 165 OT, etc.). What are "coined" shields?

 

[Codger_64]

The ones that look like they were stamped from planchets like coins. Most are antiques brass/bronze toned. Like the Skoal, Ducks Unlimited, Limited edition, GDOT, 100th Anniversary and others with three diminsional relief designs and sometimes lettering. As opposed to the simple blanked and die-lettered shield like the OT shields. At first they were shopped out and when Schrade acquired MIM machines, they molded their own. Eric needs to chime in on this subject because he likely knows more, or can easily find out more.

Some examples fron the Codger Collection: