America's "Little Sheffield"

[FRJ]

Here's a nice New York Hammer.

[KAW]

Thanks Joe for keeping the thread going .... that NY Hammer is exquisite!
Its got everything going for it starting with its a whittler!... luv the coke handle.... the covers.... tortoise shell?.... THOSE bolsters!

Well with my inventory of NY Knife & Walden Knife Co.'s samples totally exhausted.... its time to move onto the 3rd major Walden knife works.... Schrade Cutlery Co. Most of you probably know this story better than I.... but with a name like Schrade, I presumed George learned his craft in Germany, but it was in Sheffield, England, before finding his way to little ole Walden.... where he & his brothers worked for the Walden Knife Co.

In 1892 he formed the New York Press Button Knife Company in order to get his patented invention, the switchblade, to market, but he was unable to raise sufficient capital to begin knife production. In 1903, Schrade sold a partial interest in the company to the Walden Knife Company, thereby having enough $$$ to start up his own company with the help of his brothers the following year.

One statement that I have seen often documented incorrectly (especially on the internet) and I want to clear up is.... "Schrade bought the defunct Walden Knife Company in order to obtain their stocks of handle material for his knives." Schrade did not buy Walden Knife.... Winchester Repeating Arms Co. bought Walden Knife Co in 1921 & closed down the factory in 1923. There was, however, an obscure co-operative company formed by all three major players, NY Knife, Walden & Schrade, known as the Walden Cutlery Handle Co.... to insure an adequate supply of handle material for all three. It was this business that Shrade purchased outright in 1915.

So much for today's history lesson.... now to get to show off one of my pride & joys.... a 2½" Pen Equal End Senator.... I believe it is unused.... but have not been able to locate this one in any of the catalogs.... can someone help me out with that .... the dealer included the case with the knife, but he didn't know if the knife was originally offered with the case.... does anyone know if the knife originally would have been sold with this case?

[FRJ]

Thanks, Ken.
I think the Hammer Brand is a plastic. It has a very small chip out of it that makes me think it is plastic.
I'm heating up the framing nail now to test it. Just kidding ..........

Love the history lesson.
Your little Schrade pen knife just looks snappy. Very nice knife.

Here's a couple of switches with plastic covers.

[KAW]

Joe.... you're killing me here .... the knives you post just keep gettin' better & better!!!
Look like the same kind of covers as on the NY Hammer too?....hey....where's the rule?....there's no reference to tell how big they are....
Seriously tho, I would like to hear the story about how you found these.... they seem to be scarcer the hen's teeth!

[FRJ]

Thanks, Ken.
I bought both of these knives from a fellow AAPK member. I was glad to get them.

Actually, these were next in line in my photos and you happend to mention Pressbutton.
Sometimes things just fall in place.

[FRJ]

And here is a nice Ulster.

[Duffer]

That is a gorgeous curved jack Joe The rat tail bolster, the nice curvature of the handle and the beautiful pick bone covers are just a few visual elements that are just very compelling and desirable in a vintage folder That is a real keeper!! Thanks for showing it.

What is the closed length of the Jack?

[FRJ]

Thank you, Lloyd.
It's 3 5/16" closed. I'm glad you like it.

[Miller Bro's]

Nice bone on that one Joe.

Did some one mention Pressbutton knives?

[FRJ]

Those are pretty nice knives, Dimitri. They make mine look like dishwater.

Here's a little sway back New York Hammer.

[tongueriver]

I presumed George learned his craft in Germany, but it was in Sheffield, England, before finding his way to little ole Walden.... where he & his brothers worked for the Walden Knife Co.
In 1892 he formed the New York Press Button Knife Company in order to get his patented invention, the switchblade, to market, but he was unable to raise sufficient capital to begin knife production. In 1903, Schrade sold a partial interest in the company to the Walden Knife Company, thereby having enough $$$ to start up his own company with the help of his brothers the following year.

My sources say that George left and went on to Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1910 with his own company and had no more connection with the Schrade Cutlery Company of Walden, New York after that. The Baers bought Schrade CutCo in December of 1946. Although they continued to use the 'Walden' stamp until 1973, they moved into the Ulster facility in Ellenville in 1958. I think.

[tongueriver]

Some Schrades.

[KAW]

Someone.... Please pass me the drool bucket!!! The bone on those Dimitri are to die for let alone being press buttons!

Joe.... those early Ulsters & NY Knife folders certainly do have character that never gets old .... I can look at them all day long....

Cal.... thanks for continuing the Schrade timeline.... it does seem ironic that George seems to get all the credit for the company's success while it was his brothers who actually ran the company for all those years.... decades even.... and most collectors don't know their names.
I did come across who they were once.... but even I neglected to archive that info. Perhaps I can find it again & post it here.

I have not seen too many of the older brands that include scissors.... altho I have seen them in catalogs.... I have not come across this particular one.... a Schrade Cutlery Co.... 3⅛" closed.... I believe it is a Senator pattern with tip bolsters & a black handle that I think is plastic (celluloid? I can't detect any grain to make it ebony).... if anyone has more info, please chime in..... also, do you think the missing spring for the scissors can be replaced?

[KAW]

Great knives!.... Cal ....as you probably can tell from my avatar.... Butter & Molasses is my favorite & I'm drooling over yours now
....I really do need that bucket....

[KAW]

To build upon Cal's history of George Schrade, in 1910 George went to England and then moved onto Germany trying to sell the cutlery machinery he invented. He arrived in Bridgeport in 1919 to work for the Challenge Cutlery Co. In 1928, the owner Charles F. Wiebusch died & the company went bankrupt a year later from which George received some cutlery machinery allowing him to start up his own company that same year.... George Schrade Knife Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, using the Presto logo.

Here's a great source about George Schrade written by his grandson:http://www.collectors-of-schrades-r.us/ ... george.pdf

The same source also states that George established Schrade Cutlery Co in Walden along with his brothers J. Louis and William. This however contradicts Imperial Schrade's own published history.... "Three Schrade Brothers; Joe, Louis and George, started the Schrade Cutlery Company in Walden, New York in 1904."

All I can add is that the Middletown branch opened at the corner of Cottage St. & Railroad Ave. in 1917. It was a former saw manufacturing works built c.1860 as the Wheeler, Madden & Clemson Manufacturing Co., later known as the National Saw Co. It was managed by Joeseph Schrade until it closed in 1932.... a victim of the Great Depression. A portion of the factory still survives today. {Edit] In fact.... its kinda ironic that this branch that Schrade only operated for 15 years starting exactly a hundred years ago this year still exists while there nothing of the main plant at Walden in existence today.

[FRJ]

Here's a nice old whittler.

[tongueriver]

Here's a nice old whittler.

Love that propwood 804!

[peanut740]

Cal,Joe,MB,KAW and all the others that is some good bunch of knives!

[FRJ]

Thank you, Cal and Roger.

[KAW]

Peanut.... thanks for dropping by....

Joe.... that is a mighty fine lookin' whittler .... that pattern is growin' on me....

Its been kinda quiet around here.... so a wanderin' around the board I went & came across a post of a knife along with an old postcard of the factory. My reaction was.... What neat idea! ....then it dawned on me ....I have postcards of all three Walden companies.... but my dilemma.... I had already posted all the knives in my NYKC & Walden Knife Co collection
So at the risk of boring you folks with redundancy .... I'm going to backtrack a little bit & post a ....

New York Knife Co. finale....


.... and Walden Knife Co. finale


I hope you like them....

[FRJ]

I like them. Always like the old postcards and the knives.

Here's a neat little Ulster.

[LongBlade]

Nice Ulster Joe .... an eloquent MOP jack... Am I seeing that as 5" in closed length or am I reading the ruler wrong ....

[FRJ]

Hey, thanks Lee.
You're reading the rule wrong. It's 9 1/2" .................

Naw, just kidding. It's 2 5/8". It's a snappy one.

[FRJ]

And a different direction from the little Ulster.

Here's a New York Knife Co. hunter.

[KAW]

Now that's taking extremes to the limit!
....the little but elegant MoP (BTW Joe... very nice photos showing the effects of the handle).
....and the beefy HUNTER ....I guess you didn't have a caliper rule big enough for that one??
....from all that you posted here.... it quickly becomes obvious that you have a museum caliber collection.... Do you have them all on display?