Imperial Giftmasters Salesman Set

[bradrsi]

I picked up this set not really knowing anything about the value. I just liked it because it was a complete set and had all of the advertisements on the knives. Anyone know anything about these sets? It includes homelite, coca-cola, GE, lawson products, yale,
arcadian, agrico, lowe seed, burckhart construction, mcclosky varnish, klenzade,
pittman textile, salem, oldsmobile, rca, lehigh steel. Thanks.

[singin46]

Welcome Brad, nice set you have there. I'm guessing here but would think it was from the early to mid 70s era by the lettering on the knives and box lid.

[bradrsi]

Thanks. Any idea of the value? Are there many of these sets around?

[cattaraugus57]

very nice salemans set!
great find...

[singin46]

I think the value really depends on what a buyer is willing to pay at a certain time.
Kinda comes down to someone needing it to complete their collection. This is only a guess and not based on anything other than "a complete set", I would say from $50 to $150 depending on the buyer. Could even go higher tho.

[bradrsi]

Now you are being hard on me...lol. Surely the knives with advertising sold individually would bring $10.00 each? That would make the set worth more since it is a complete set. I would think it would be worth a minimum of $180.00 and possibly more because of the rarity of a complete set like this. I could be wrong...just my assumptions.

[Miller Bro's]

Surely the knives with advertising sold individually would bring $10.00 each? That would make the set worth more since it is a complete set. I would think it would be worth a minimum of $180.00 and possibly more because of the rarity of a complete set like this.

I don`t know how rare the set is, but I have seen them before. The knives if sold as individual pieces would bring $5-20, depending on who wanted a certain one on that day.

This is a situation, I believe, where the knives are worth more as a complete package. If the knives were old Remington, Case, etc. they would be worth more individualy.

Plus the box is worth something, if you paid $200 for it you did not get hurt, and you now have an instant collection, as it came from the factory. Some people find the empty box and spend years trying to fill it

Thanks for showing it, I like it

[orvet]

Brad, Welcome to AAPK!

Most of the knives in this set are made with the shell handle construction.
They typically sell for $5 at flea markets, and often as low as $0.50 to $1.00.
There is just now starting to be interest in these as collector knives.
The value of this set is the fact that it is a set and has the case.

Knife prices are in flux now, by that I mean they have been going down.
If I were selling this at a knife show, I would be very pleased to get $200 for the whole set.
Obviously I would pay far less for it if I were buying it to resell.

The way to get the best price for this set would be to find a collector who collects Imperial shells.
There are probably not many of these made, if they were indeed for salesmen as it appears.
I would imagine less than 100 sets, but that is just a semi-educated guess.
I don't think any of us here have seen a set like this sell before.

Are there numbers on the knives handwritten in ink any on any of the blades?

Beautiful set. If it were mine I would probably keep it.
But I am a rare fan of Imperial and of their shell handles.
Because they are currently selling for so little money, I think a lot of knife collectors who are low on funds may turn to collecting those in the future if the economy gets worse. That could bring the value of your set up.
But at the present time, a guy can go to a typical flea market with $50 and come home with 100 + knives, all Imperial and Colonial shell handles.
That in itself is a lot of fun!

Cool set!
Thanks for sharing it with us.

[philco]

I think that "kit" is a super item for any knife collection. You might be able to find individual Imperial knives here and there but that case and the complete set of knives that go in it has to be a rare item. There are more folks all the time taking an interest in the Imperial knives and many, like myself, have come to appreciate the quality of them even though they were inexpensive knives when new. We have discussed before here in the forums that the blade steel quality in those knives takes a back seat to none.
Good find Brad.

Phil

[singin46]

I would think your best bet would be to sell it as a complete set. The knives, individually, aren't really old enough to fetch $10 a knife for. Maybe some of them would but no tellin I'm afraid. Too hard to say cause ebay has a way of making us all shake our heads sometimes. I check these all the time on ebay and know what they go for and what they don't. Sometimes these advertising knives will sit and sit on ebay until finally the seller gives up. A lot of times they list for a starting bid of .99 cents and sometimes even lower than that. I think in the 70s, Imperial started to realize a niche' market for advertising ( although it started many years earlier) on their knives and went in that direction until finally selling out to other interests. A guy recently had a complete card of knives on ebay and he listed them at a BUYITNOW for $275.00, knowone bought them then he lowered the price to $225.00 and finally gave up. I must admit, I was one of them waiting for his price to come down to reality.

[bradrsi]

Thanks to all of you for the information. I traded for them with the intention of hanging on to them for a while. Based on what you have said, i am in them at a decent price. Yes, i agree on the advertisement part. Some people go crazy buying items with advertisement on them. I will check to see if they are numbered with a pen but i do not recall seeing numbers on them. Thanks again and keep me updated if you find out anything else about them.