S&M Jack: Old or New ?

[kootenay joe]

I recently discovered this knife in a roll i have looked at for a long time and i cannot recall when or where i got this 3 1/2" Equal End jack.
The master tang is marked "Schatt&Morgan/CutleryCo./Titusville,?A." note there is no space between the y of Cutlery and C of Co. The "?" is because of a poor stamping and should have a "P" there. Secondary pen blade tang is marked: 1096.
I am not familiar with Schatt & Morgan recent production or original production.
The think the blades are stainless steel and if so this would indicate recent production rather than vintage. That said it is possible that the original S&M (1897-1928) used stainless steel in there last year or so of production.
Queen began making Schatt & Morgan knives in about 1991 and these all have a blade etch which this knife does not.
Whichever it is this knife is well made and has seen little use. I particularly like the flat bolsters.
But: Old S&M ?, or, New S&M ?
thanks, kj

[bdev]

I believe it's old. That tang stamp dates to 1903-32. Queen started making their knives in 440C in the 1940's so I'm not sure if your knife is stainless.

[kootenay joe]

Thanks. I said "maybe stainless" because the vast majority of non stainless blades 85 or more years old show at least a few spots of black oxidation and these blades show none despite having some scratches on the flats.
Some cutlery companies introduced stainless steel blades for folding knives in the 1920s. The original Schatt & Morgan closed in 1928. Did they ever use stainless steel ?
The Queen made Schatt & Morgan branded knives began in 1991 and i think all have been stainless. Please correct me if i am wrong about this.
Any more votes for this being an original Schatt & Morgan ?
kj

[bdev]

It's possible that S&M used stainless. Stainless was available in the US as early as 1915. There's so little info out there on S&M that it's hard to determine what's correct and what's not. I know that David Clark (Lois and Clark Cutlery on AAPK Stores) sells repros of the S&M catalogs of 1903 and 1907. You might pick up a copy and see if it could help you out.
Looking at Sargents book American Guide to Knives & Razors 6th edition, on page 314 there is a picture of a group of S&M knives. The shields used on some of those knives is the same as on yours.

BTW....forgot to mention that knife is really nice.

[knifeaholic]

Definitely an old original. I may have owned that exact knife - does it have a pin crack at the lower pin? I had one exactly like it and sold it here on AAPK a few years ago.

[SteelMyHeart85420]

I don't know a lot about S & M (though I'm waiting for one in the mail), but, I love the double swedge on the main blade...that suggests "old" to me. Nice knife.

[kootenay joe]

Yes, there are pin cracks at center pin on both sides. Crack on the backside extends about 1" towards bolster. Cracks are tight but easily seen with a loupe.
kj