Sharp knives sold by K Mart in the mid 80's

[LDF Knives]

Howdy! I have some knifes that I bought at K Mart in the middle 80's two of what I have never been out of the original package one is the Sharp Wood Hunter 300 with leather sheath, the other is is a Sharp Ramrod 2 blade imitation stag handle still in the original package. any body out there has a story on this? these are Manufactured in Japan btw Thanks

[Paladin]

I have some Sharp stockman patterns listed on the Bay right now. I had no idea about the story that goes with them.
They seem like decent knives to me.

Ray

[garddogg56]

Back in the 70's +80's K mart was my outdoors store I remember stopping in Skowheagen on the way to camp and getting two knives for hunting they weren't too bad and keep a desent edge.

[Old Hunter]

I've seen enough different patterns to know that K-Mart offered a pretty complete line of Sharp brand knives. I've had this 3" Jackknife for several years - carried it some when I first bought it, decent pocketknife. OH

Ps. Dogg, that is a nice looking Sharp deer skinner - reminds me of an old Western.

[knife7knut]

Here's one I bought back in the 1980's.Nice quality although I never really tested the edge much.Think it was about $25 back then.Concave grind was a bit unusual.Have a lockback around somewhere but can't find pics of it.I'll have to dig it out.

[knife7knut]

Here is the lockback.

[LDF Knives]

Good Looking lock back

[Paladin]

Here is a photo of one of three mint Sharp knives I just finished running on eBay with a low starting price. Not one of the 3 got as much as a bid during a week of exposure.
I guess the smaller size of 3 1/4 inches and not particularly handsome handles caused them lack appeal to bidders.
They seem to be a decent knife for carry and use.

Ray

[big monk]

Revived another post**_______ Found another Sharp** ___ all metal lock-back folder** __ K-Mart Special ( Tha' Pheasant"" ) from the 80's !!!!! ___ made in Japan ***

[kootenay joe]

I don't know who was behind "Sharp" but i have seen many of them. Most are marked "Japan" but there also are ones marked "USA" and i have been told "Germany" but i have yet to see one of these.
They are sharp in name only. The few unused examples i have owned had the usual dull edge of a new low to mid range knife of the 1970's, 80's & 90's.
I have a 3 1/4" jigged bone 2 blade serpentine Jack with "Sharper" stamped into the front master tang and "440 Stainless" on the back. No country of origin. It is the only "Sharper" i have ever seen. I wonder if there is a "Sharpest" out there somewhere ?
kj

[r redden]

I remember these knives but never owned one. The ones I have seen in recent years have been sheath knives and appear to be knock offs of some of Marbles offerings.

[kootenay joe]

Were "Sharp" knives exclusive to K-Mart ? or did other retailers also carry them ?
kj

[MITCH RAPP]

Found this while looking at the History of K-mart Sharp Brand Knives

About Us Page, COLONIAL KNIFE CORP, A USA KNIFE COMPANY SINCE 1926

The 1980’s and 90’s brought a new type of business to Colonial, the “private label” customer. These include Smith & Wesson, Colt, Winchester, John Russell Barlow and the riders of the silver screen with such names as Tom Mix, Roy Rogers, Hop along Cassidy, Daniel Boone, Elvis Presley, commemorative knives and Ultra Blade series and the Sharp brand (K-mart).

[Old Hunter]

KJ, I don't think your Sharper is the same line as the K-Mart Sharp brand. Every Sharp I've ever seen has the TM insignia immediately following the brand name. OH

One thought I have had is that the Explorer brand knife (a Cavalier penknife in this picture) imported from Japan by Gutmann Cutlery in the same era (sold around here as a value brand in lumberyards and hardware stores) sure looks to be made in the same Japanese plant as the Sharp slip-joints. Sheer speculation on my part.

[kootenay joe]

OH,i wonder if the Explorer you have posted was at the End of Daze for the Explorer/Edge Brand/Edge Mark knives ?
The early knives imported with this branding were made in Germany and a few from Sweden. Later (1980's ?) the manufacturing was moved to companies in Japan. I have owned and still do own some of both the German & Japan Explorers and all are quite decent knives, usually with hardwood handles.
Am i right that the Explorer pen knife you posted is lower quality than others you have seen of this brand ?
I'm trying to ensure that anyone reading this and unfamiliar with "Explorer" branding not leave thinking all Explorers were low end knives. They might then pass, on what are good knives.
kj

[onehikes]

In the 70's K-Mart sold Sharp Brand Knives made in Seki, Japan. The Sharp 1000S was mfg. by Ichiro Hattori. For more information on this knife go to my store;
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ca ... in-the-70s

[Tsar Bomba]

Here is a single-blade Sharp Japan 175 Barlow.

And here is a Sharp USA "slenderino" medium stockman stamped with what what appears to be a model number (270) but probably isn't the right one - read below for more.

The USA stockman is a Colonial build, as should be obvious from this family photo with two other Colonial house brands, Old Cutler and Anvil. All three knives are built on the same frame and use the same master Turkish-style clip blade.

This little jack is the little brother of the stockman above. Oddly enough, it carries the same model number stamp (270) despite being significantly smaller (see this older AAPK thread which attempts to explain that - from the photos of the knife in its packaging, my stockman should really be a model 380, and there's no way the blades could be conflated due to size, so it's still a mystery to me). I have an Anvil jack with identical frame and blade configuration, so I have a "matched matched set" of these - small jack and medium stockman made by Colonial in both Sharp and Anvil livery.

I also have small and medium Sharp wood-handled lockbacks currently in storage which I have not yet photographed.

[LDF Knives]

Here is a single-blade Sharp Japan 175 Barlow.

44693108144_c4ae110ac3_k.jpg
And here is a Sharp USA 270 "slenderino" medium stockman.

30477380947_e7ecb5aee8_k.jpg
The USA stockman is a Colonial build, as should be obvious from this family photo with two other Colonial house brands, Old Cutler and Anvil. All three knives are built on the same frame and use the same master Turkish-style clip blade.

26412521893_6d289971e6_k.jpg
I also have small and medium Sharp wood-handled lockbacks currently in storage which I have not yet photographed.

I have a few left over, the 300 wood hunter in the plastic covering never opened since 1987 and the ranger?? still in org package since 1986?

[Tsar Bomba]

I have a few left over, the 300 wood hunter in the plastic covering never opened since 1987 and the ranger?? still in org package since 1986?

I do believe my lockbacks are the 100 (small) and 200 (medium), which means your 300 is probably the big fella of the group (110 or LB7-sized). If you decide to pass it along give me a shout.

I believe Rangers are Imperial-made pinned knives (not shell) and a direct competitor to Colonials Old Cutler or more premium Colonial-stamped knives. They would have gone up against the K-Mart Sharps, too, no doubt.

I'll bet these knives are fairly rare in original packaging given how they were marketed to be used and abused as working knives and never developed much of a collector market... Got any pics?

[LDF Knives]

I have a few left over, the 300 wood hunter in the plastic covering never opened since 1987 and the ranger?? still in org package since 1986?

I do believe my lockbacks are the 100 (small) and 200 (medium), which means your 300 is probably the big fella of the group (110 or LB7-sized). If you decide to pass it along give me a shout.

I believe Rangers are Imperial-made pinned knives (not shell) and a direct competitor to Colonials Old Cutler or more premium Colonial-stamped knives. They would have gone up against the K-Mart Sharps, too, no doubt.

I'll bet these knives are fairly rare in original packaging given how they were marketed to be used and abused as working knives and never developed much of a collector market... Got any pics?

one of these days when I get a new P C mines a dinosaur so I'll have pics of my Kmart distributed Sharp knives

[bighomer]

Little Sharp is a neat well made knife, has as much if not more snap than any lock back I own.The Puma (shown for comparison) has very little snap but is a nice piece.

[Nev52]

I know this is an old thread. But I thought someone who posted here would know the answer. I was digging through my old knife boxes and found this Sharp 900 Lock back. From what I have seen Sharp was made in Japan by Ichiro Hattori. This knife is USA the sheath is USA. To me it looks like a Schrade made knife. Does anyone know if schrade made this for K mart??

Thanks for the information.
Nev

[LDF Knives]

I have a few left over, the 300 wood hunter in the plastic covering never opened since 1987 and the ranger?? still in org package since 1986?

I do believe my lockbacks are the 100 (small) and 200 (medium), which means your 300 is probably the big fella of the group (110 or LB7-sized). If you decide to pass it along give me a shout.

I believe Rangers are Imperial-made pinned knives (not shell) and a direct competitor to Colonials Old Cutler or more premium Colonial-stamped knives. They would have gone up against the K-Mart Sharps, too, no doubt.

I'll bet these knives are fairly rare in original packaging given how they were marketed to be used and abused as working knives and never developed much of a collector market... Got any pics?

I have a couple in my LDF Knives store take a look!

[Nev52]

I have a few left over, the 300 wood hunter in the plastic covering never opened since 1987 and the ranger?? still in org package since 1986?

I do believe my lockbacks are the 100 (small) and 200 (medium), which means your 300 is probably the big fella of the group (110 or LB7-sized). If you decide to pass it along give me a shout.

I believe Rangers are Imperial-made pinned knives (not shell) and a direct competitor to Colonials Old Cutler or more premium Colonial-stamped knives. They would have gone up against the K-Mart Sharps, too, no doubt.

I'll bet these knives are fairly rare in original packaging given how they were marketed to be used and abused as working knives and never developed much of a collector market... Got any pics?

I have a couple in my LDF Knives store take a look!

Thanks for the information. Do you have a USA 900? I see the 300 in your store.

[Theo]

I just passed this along to another AAPK member….