All About Pocket Knives

I need some help on the Schrade Scrimshaw handles.
Are they made with Celluloid? The best I can find out so far is that they are made of Imitation Ivory. But what is that?

The Schrade Staglon handles are not Celluloid. Right?

The Schrade Derlin handles are not Celluloid. Right?

Did Schrade use any Celluloid for their handles ?

I have a felling that Schrade Walden 834Y Yellow did. Am I wrong?

Scrim handles are "Ivory Delrin".....Schrade did use celluloid on some handles, but not for a long, long time...and not on any of those you mentioned.

Bill

Here is a celluloid Imperial.

James

From the mid 50's or earlier.....before the outlawing of very dangerous weapons like that... ...very nice.

Bill

Yea Bill they are real killers How about another?

James

If I recall correctly, sometime in the late 50's or early 60's Schrade Walden's building where they made their celluloid burned down. They bought the celluloid they used after that. I don't recall any celluloid after the merge with Imperial, circa mid 1973. I think they had pretty much stopped using celluloid long before that.

Feel free to correct me Bill, but that is what I recall from Codger & LT's postings in the other forum.

I do not know the chemical composition of Derlin, just that it is some type of plastic, that apparently is very stable & durable.

Dale

Just as information...

An entry from Wikipedia on D E L R I N...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delrin

And an interesting one on more modern day celluloid...

http://aic.stanford.edu/jaic/articles/j ... 2-003.html

Just for your perusal, my friends.

Bill

hey bill, read the links, thanks. i hear derlin used often in descriptions of handle material. is this another plastic besides delrin or a misspelling?

I believe d e r lin, is a misspelling of the Dupont trademarked DELRIN.

JMO.

Bill

El Lobo very nice links. They really helped me. I am trying to keep my celluioid far away for my other knifes. What is a safe distant a foot or 10 feet? I have a showcase with glass front. It’s an old gun case. I just added glass shelves. Yes with lights on them too but I only turn them on to show people no longer then 1/2 hour. The case is well vented too. No papers or boxes in the show case.

Jfarmer very nice knives. Is it ok to have them now? Were they grandfathered in the new law? Just that new ones can not be sold in U.S.A.?
The last knife is it starting to gasout? How old are the ones you showed us? How are you keeping them so they stay looking so good?

I'm not having any trouble with my celluloids handles gassing out. I have been using Ren wax on them. I don't know if that is the right thing to do or not but I have heard other collectors say that it is fine on them. From what I understand, the switchblades were banned in 1958. It is O.K. to have them as a collectible but supposedly illegal to carry.

James

It is legal to carry switchblades in some states. In Oregon we are fortunate to have one of the strongest state constitutions with the regard to the right to keep and bear arms. A fellow successfully argued in court & won, that a switchblade is an armament. Benchmade, as you no doubt know is located in Oregon, and makes a lot of automatic knives.
When I was in the cutlery business (1980's and early 1990's) we sold automatics in our stores to the general public, over the age of 18 years. To the best of my knowledge that law has not changed. A quick perusal of Bernard Levine's site on knife laws, http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/links.htm does not show any current laws restricting the carrying of switchblades in Oregon except by ex-felons and in certain buildings, like schools & court rooms.

I know the law varies from state to state and in some local municipalities.

I have heard that the federal law restricting the transportation of switchblades across state lines, was passed in the late 1950's, largely in response to the bad-boy image switchblades got from some Hollywood movies in the 1950's, specifically some of James Dean's movies. Prior to that time they had been an everyday knife, some were even sold as "safety knives" because they had locks on them to prevent them from opening in a pocket or purse. I am told that the smaller ones were often carried by little old ladies in their crochet bags to cut crochet thread. I expect that is because they were less likely to poke their finger on a closed "safety knife" when reaching into their crochet bag, than on a pair of small sharp pointed scissors. Makes be wish I knew what happened to my grandmother's crochet bag.

James, those are nice examples of early switchblades.

Dale

Here is a pic of the only small one that I have. It is an Imperial.

James

James,
That is sweet!

Thanks orvet. I have more pics of different Hammer Brand and Imperials if anyone wants to see them.

James

I like the old Hammer Brand's. I have several, but no switchblades. The old shell handles are cool. A decent knife that anyone could afford at the time when they were made. Are any of your switchblades shell handles?
Please show them!

Thanks,
Dale

Here is a pretty decent old Hammer.

James

Here is a Schrade Scrimshaw on 'Ivory' Delrin covers ( Dale will know this one... ).

And a couple of "Kissing Cousins"...from Camillus...in Celluloid handles.

Sorry, I don't have any of those nice old Domestic autos...

Bill

Another Hammer.

James

El Lobo wrote:Here is a Schrade Scrimshaw on 'Ivory' Delrin covers ( Dale will know this one... ).

Bill

Bill,
What number is yours? Mine is #13. I bet you got your order in before I did. What number is yours?

James,
Another nice one. Is it a shell handle?

Dale

Dale, I guess I don't know what you mean by shell handle. If you are asking if the handle and bolsters are made together, wrapped in celluloid, and clipped to the frame, then yes it is.
Here is a nice Imperial fishtail non-auto. They didn't make these in switchblades.

James

El Lobo wrote:
Here is a Schrade Scrimshaw on 'Ivory' Delrin covers ( Dale will know this one... ).

Bill

OK I am confused.
Schrade closed the doors in 2004. I see 2006 on the blade. WHY ?

Dale,
I'm jealous that you got lucky number 13...
I'm #11, but it's not as cool as #13, my friend.

Ken,
This knife was done for the Schrade Collectors Forum @ BladeForums.
Mr. Giorgianni, who did almost all of Schrade's artwork over the years, and has been retired for some years, agreed to do some SC505s, that we found in original condition, with actual hand done scrimshaw. The knives are flat out beautiful. I guess I could say it is RARE...RARE...actually hand scrimmed by a renowned artist, but I don't intend on selling it...and that's not my style.
Bill

James,
Yes, that is precisely what a shell handle is. I think Imperial/Hammer Brand/and the other companies under the Imperial umbrella made some of the nicest shells. That is another nice shell James.

Bill,
I am with you buddy! I do not intend to sell my forum knife either. There is no way to replace a treasure like that. As far as I know, these Schrades are the only ones, aside from perhaps a few prototypes, that are actually scrimmed by Frank.

For those who are not familiar with Schrade's scrim process, Frank would do the art work and then a stamp was made and heated and pressed into the Derlin, then they were filled with ink.

Here are a some of my shell handles. Not as nice as yours James, but they are examples of the kind of knives that everyone could afford.

OK,
I can't figure how to post the pics. Maybe I can figure it out later.

Dale

Some of my Hammers and Imperials on a reproduction card. Sorry that the picture quality isn't that great.

James