Schrade Cut Co penknife

Schrade Cutlery Company was founded in 1904 by George Schrade, and his brothers Jacob and William Schrade. In 1946 Imperial Knife Associated Companies, (IKAC; an association of Ulster Knife Co and Imperial Knife Co) purchased controlling interest in Schrade Cut Co and changed the name to Schrade Walden Cutlery. In 1973 the name was changed to Schrade Cutlery. In 2004 Schrade closed due to bankruptcy.

This forum is dedicated to the knives that are the legacy of this company. This forum is not the place to discuss the replica knives currently being imported using the Schrade name.
Post Reply
User avatar
Rusty1
Posts: 411
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2006 4:39 pm
Location: Easton PA

Schrade Cut Co penknife

Post by Rusty1 »

Picked this folder up at a knife show last weekend, can anyone tell me what the handles are made of, I have heard that handles like this with the lines running through are micarta, or are they celluloid, also any info on date of manufacture.

thanks Rusty1
Attachments
schrade cut co pen knife.jpg
schrade cut co pen knife.jpg (22.98 KiB) Viewed 2200 times
User avatar
orvet
Gold Tier
Gold Tier
Posts: 19336
Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 6:23 am
Location: Willamette Valley, Oregon

Post by orvet »

IIRC, it is celluloid. I don't think micarta had been invented when the Schrade Cut Co stamp was used. I think they stopped using that tang stamp after about 1946.

I have a knife or two with those handles and they are really pretty.
Here is a quick scan of a LF&C with those handles. I am pretty sure they are celluloid, but if I am wrong, someone please feel free to correct me.

Dale
Attachments
LF&C jack.jpg
Dale
AAPK Administrator

Please visit my AAPK store: www.allaboutpocketknives.com/orvet

Job 13:15

"Buy more ammo!" - Johnnie Fain
“Evil is Powerless If The Good are Unafraid.” – Ronald Reagan
User avatar
El Lobo
Gold Tier
Gold Tier
Posts: 3036
Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2004 4:47 pm
Location: Arizona, right here in the U.S. of A.

Post by El Lobo »

Those handles are indeed celluloid.
I've heard that design called imitation Ivory, Ivorine, French Ivory, and Pyralin...maybe other names as well.

Nice knives gents. ::nod:: ::tu:: ::tu::

Bill
Please visit the Member Stores here at AAPK, including my store.....GET AN EDGE!
http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/getanedge
User avatar
smiling-knife
Posts: 3365
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:39 pm
Location: Bedford, UK

Post by smiling-knife »

Casein was also used to make faux ivory. It is a dairy by-product. It was quite common in the 1920s-1940s. It had the advantage of being much more stable and resitant to shrinkage than true celluloid. However, it was a complicated process and was subsequently replaced by more easily produced 'plastics'.

I read somewhere that sometimes a little ground ivory powder was added to the celluloid or plastic to produce a more realistic colour.

The roughly parallel wavy lines is the tell-tale sign of faux ivory.
Attachments
Ivorine.jpg
User avatar
El Lobo
Gold Tier
Gold Tier
Posts: 3036
Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2004 4:47 pm
Location: Arizona, right here in the U.S. of A.

Post by El Lobo »

Thanks S-K,

I forgot about casein... :oops: ...they could be made of that as well. ::nod::

If you rub them rapidly with your thumb, and they are celluloid, you can usually smell it...not so with casein. It may, however, moo at you. :mrgreen:

Bill
Please visit the Member Stores here at AAPK, including my store.....GET AN EDGE!
http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/getanedge
User avatar
orvet
Gold Tier
Gold Tier
Posts: 19336
Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 6:23 am
Location: Willamette Valley, Oregon

Post by orvet »

I forgot about casein also.

Thanks S-K ::tu::

Dale
Dale
AAPK Administrator

Please visit my AAPK store: www.allaboutpocketknives.com/orvet

Job 13:15

"Buy more ammo!" - Johnnie Fain
“Evil is Powerless If The Good are Unafraid.” – Ronald Reagan
Post Reply

Return to “Schrade Legacy Forum”