All About Pocket Knives

Here are 2 more factory images. These are from the inside cover of Catalog D but all the older catalogs including the reprint used the same picture.

And a couple more postcards..

Larry As you might remember we had a dig at the old NYK site about 5 years ago just before they began renovation of the bridge. I have been trying to find those pics which I once posted. Which is why I have not taken pics of the site as it is now. Looks like I may be forced to take some new ones imagine my naivete to try to find a five year old packet of photos somewhere in this house Ha Ha. Anyway that is why I have not posted the pics of the site looks like I am going to have to take more. LT

Hello;
I am sure some of you have visited this site, but there is a nice history and some photos of Case to be viewed.
wb

http://www.casepocketknives.com/case_history.htm

LT;
I have a mini quandary. Both Dale and I have looked at this knife. It has a Hammer Brand stamp with no USA. But, it also has no NYKC stamping either. Looking at the attachment portion of liner it appears to have notchs for attaching a shell handle, Please as time allows take a look at photo and lay some of your knowledge upon us. Thank you in advance.
wb

Look a lot like this stamp. Sorry I don't know when it was used. This one has a pat.# on the back. Rick

I believe the bottom is an imp. Imp did not always use the USA. I cannot see the first one however the way to be fairly sure is to look at the arm and hammer That changed several times with NYK. There is a reference I have seen ( but where? )to several of these different drawings the older versions looked different. Also it is quite possible NYK just used the hammer tang on some knives especially toward the end. But remember if it is a shell it is an imp. You guys are much more astute at construction than I. I cannot see the tang and that is about as close as I can suggest with the given info sorry. LT

LT Rick;
I looked at the two for some time before I started seeing differences, Look at the angle of the upper arm the type of hammer head and how close the upper right of arm to the lower left of A in brand. Its two different stamps in my opinion.
wb

I agree, when you put them side by side they are different stamps.

As I said not all the stamps were the same eaxh company used variations. However if it is a hollow handle it is imperial. LT

LRV wrote:LT,
If you ever get a chance could you take a picture of what the NYK area looks like now? Is the bridge still there? Was it the NYK or Walden Knife that now has condo's? Seems to have been a favorite postcard photo spot in the past.
Mossdancer thanks..
Thanks to all.
Larry

Last Saturday I took a visit up to LT's place in Walkill, A most enjoyable afternoon it was, his collection of knives, is outstanding, as anyone who has been to his home can confess. the history, that is told through the collection of various Hudson Valley knife companies, is truly remarkable.
the Imperial's/Schrades of the collection are in a world of there own. Thanks again LT. Will keep in touch, Before I went over to Walkill, I stopped over to view the area, which was where the NYK building was situated. The pic is not that good, as the sun was in the wrong position. you can see the renovated bridge on the left, and to the right is where the NYK building once stood.
hope to get better pics of the area next time,

Rusty1

Rusty1,
Thanks for the picture.
Ditto that on LT and his collections.
I know you got the grand tour. Fun aint it.
Thanks again
TTYL
Larry

Meet the "Family"
Here is a picture from an old article about Henry Baer.
TTYL
Larry

The picture Larry posted is really a significant one. In an effort to further clarify the releation ship between these people I am attaching some pics of information which was deseminated to the employees when Imperial was really totally taken over by Schrade. Many of the employees were not familiar with Imperial which was almost as another company but part of the conglomerate. One story is that when Schrade took it over Henry Baer promised to put one nickle per knife that was sold from Imperial from that point on to give back to the company at a later date the story is that years later he submitted a check for 20,000 dollars.

I have seen this written material appear on various forums sometimes it is rewritten and claimed to be the result of the writers personal reseach. Sometimes its source has been acknowledged. In my case I want it to be known that my only part in this information was taking it out of some old Schrade memos and posting it. I did not write it. There is no authors name on this old memo . LT

For those like me whom are blind from staring at computer screens here is a cleaner copy of the Imperal note.

A SHORT HISTORY OF IMPERIAL


Michael and Felix Mirando in 1916 left the Empire Knife Company in Winsted, Connecticut and came to Providence to start their own knife company, borrowing the back of a small blacksmith shop which belonged to a cousin at a rental of $25.00 a month.

In 1917 the first pocket knives were hand delivered by Michael and Felix, and sold for cash to the Hayward Company of Attleboro, Massachusetts. It wasn't a ques¬tion of having a price list, it was a question of what Hayward would pay for the knives. The first knives were cigar cutters and, if you have never seen one, be sure and let us show you one of the original models.

In 1918 a small space in the present plant at Imperial Place was rented for the then growing business.

In 1919 Michael and Felix invited their boyhood friend, Dominic Fazzano, to join with them and Dominic came in as a partner of the firm.

By 1921 100 people were employed and an entire floor at Imperial Place was now the factory.

By 1939 the entire building was owned by Imperial.

During World War II, because the Government required more knives than any
one factory could manufacture, Imperial began a co-operative effort with Ulster Knife Company owned by Henry and Albert Baer, and between the two factories more than half of all the knives to the Armed Forces were delivered. This led to plans for peace¬time and the establishment of a joint company owned by Henry and Albert Baer, the Fazzanos and Mirandos, which was known as the Kingston Cutlery Company.

Both Ulster and Imperial received the Army and Navy "E" for their outstanding performance during the War and with the War over, Kingston began to expand forming Vulcan Safety Razor Blade Company, by acquiring Schrade-Walden of Walden, Hew York and by diversifying the pocket knife business by making steal; knives, kitchen knives and kitchen tools.

In 1947 Kingston Cutlery Company was dissolved and Imperial Knife Associated Companies, Inc. was formed and all interests of the Baer-Fazzano-Mirando group became as one. Following this, Imperial acquired the Imperial Plating Company which, as you know, does commercial plating as well as Plating for the factory.

He started the manufacture of stainless steel tableware and then, in conjunc¬tion with Richards of Sheffield, formed a joint company to sell scissors and Richards' products in the USA.

In 1965, with the advent of electric knives, Imperial became the largest supplier of electric knife blades and this led to further expansion of Division 4 (Special Products) which included the manufacture of blades for electric scissors. If we could make blades for electric scissors, why not make the scissors themselves? That is exactly what we did.

As of today, in addition to electric scissors, we are beginning to manufacture a new type of electric can opener and in conjunction with a British company, Metal Box, from whom a license was secured for the manufacture of the can opener, a joint operation, Imperial Metal Box, has been formed to distribute and sell shredders and compactors.

A chart of the subsidiary companies is attached.

Excellent info LT
That answers some of the time line questions I had regarding the various companies.

I think this is the simplest & easiest to understand version of this history I have seen to date.

Thanks for sharing it, from the source.

Dale

Wow!!.. What a fine thread this is and chocked full of great information as well. As I moseyed through it I did not find any photographs of the old Marbles factory(unless somehow I missed it).. Here is a photo I would like to submit if I may from 1917 with the employees and the Marbles Arms plant in Gladstone, Michigan..

Sunnyd,
Great picture..
I didnt see any Marble's either.
Thanks for posting
Larry

Thanks everyone for participating! Great Marbles photo, SunnyD!

Here are some contributions from CAMCO, our Camillus Historian. Old Pics of the people and buildings of Camillus Cutlery.

Phil

Camillus Cutlery has always been very proud of it's military knife production. And during WW2, it was right and proper that the whole town of Camillus would be proud of the war material it sent to the front. There were probably many young men from the town who actually carried a Camillus knife.. Marines at Iwo Jimo with their Mark 2s, Paratroopers dropping over Normandy equiped with M3s, Sailors on duty with a Navy Mark one on their belt, on and on. A knife at your side can be a real comfort to a military man... but just think of carrying one that your Dad, Uncle, Mother had a hand in making.

The Post office at Camillus, sometime during the war. Note the 'Victory Garden' poster and the loose lips notice.

These pics courtesy of Tom Williams.

Phil

Awesome pictures from a time when Americans worked together to defend their freedom and everyone did their part!

Thanks for sharing

Dale

Great pictures, THanks Phil and Tom for sending them.

Now Phil you need to show us a color pictue of the PO board from your man cave including the attachments.

Great stuff all.

TTYL
Larry

Hey Phil:
Wow, you sure know how to get the day off to a fine start.
W.B.

PHIL,
WHAT A SUPER BUNCH OF PICTURES!. IT DOES MY HEART GOOD TO VEIW SUCH WONDERFUL OLD PHOTOGRAPHS!. GOD BLESS YOU FOR THESE!!

Guy's take a look at this link, I did not post a pic, as the web site allows you to enlarge the image, but does not allow you to save it,

It says, that the date of the photo is not known, although I think that the factory was shutdown in 1971, if you look closely most of the windows are broken

George Wostenholm IXL factory. this however is the facade of the factory, the main part was stretched out behind, which has been demolished in the pic, anyone else have pictures of the factory complete?

the web page takes awhile to load

http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org. ... &=&JS=True

Rusty1