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Enterprise Cutlery question
Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2021 4:28 am
by tvic
According to Goins, Enterprise Cutlery St. Louis operated 1900-1915. Goins also lists Enterprise as a brand sold by Shapleigh. There's a 1929 paper ad on Ebay that shows a variety of Enterprise knives being sold by Shapleigh. Did Enterprise sell out to Shapleigh after 1915? If so, how long did Enterprise continue as a Shapleigh brand? And, if I have a knife with Enterprise Cutlery Co. St. Louis USA on the tang, would it be 1900-1915 or could it be later? Any help sorting this out would be appreciated.
Re: Enterprise Cutlery question
Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2021 3:41 pm
by ea42
Levine's shows Enterprise as being a Shapleigh brand from 1918 through the 1920's.
Eric
Re: Enterprise Cutlery question
Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2021 9:28 pm
by tvic
Thanks, Eric. I checked on Newspapers.com - figured I’d find some ads, you know, maybe hardware stores advertising pocket knives or something. I found just a very few, and none went past the early 1920s. However, the ad on EBay I mentioned is 1929, so I suppose we have to accept that they were still being sold at that time. I’m disappointed in the results of Newspapers.com. That site scours a ton of newspapers.
Re: Enterprise Cutlery question
Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2021 9:04 pm
by tvic
Here's the knife that's driving me crazy. Below is the clip from Goin's. There's nothing to indicate how long Shapleigh sold these brands or which ones. However, the part that stands out is that the tang stamp was only on one blade after 1940. Mine only had the tang stamped on the master blade. Keep in mind the ad I mentioned above shows Enterprise knives being sold by Shapleigh in 1929 so it's obvious they were being sold after 1915 - which contradicts Goin's date of 1900-1915 for the company. Could my knife be a post 1940 one since it's only marked on the master blade tang? For those who know their knives better than me, does the look of the knife help in any way to date it? I'd love to just say it's 1900-1915 like Goin's says, but this other information makes me have doubts. BTW, on another thread on AAPK I found this: "Enterprise Cutlery Co. Sold by Shapleigh. Whole salebrand? 1918 to 1920's.( Blades 7th Edition )"
From Goin's:
The knives produced for this firm were marked on all blades until the middle 1940's. After this, they were marked on the master blade only. Some of the markings sold by Shapleigh were: Berkshire, Bridge Cutlery Co., Enders Oak Leaf, Diamond Edge(1864-1960) Keen Kutter(1940-1960), Empire Knife Co., NorShap (c1902-1920), Norvell-Shapleigh(c1902-1920), S Norvell(c1902-1920), Norvell's Best(c1902-1920), G. W. Putman & Co. Germany, Enterprise Cutlery Co., Simmons Hardware Co.(c1940-1960), Simmons Sonny(c1940-1960), and J. Koester's Sons Germany."
Re: Enterprise Cutlery question
Posted: Sat Aug 21, 2021 10:55 pm
by edge213
tvic wrote: ↑Sat Aug 21, 2021 9:04 pm
Here's the knife that's driving me crazy. Below is the clip from Goin's. There's nothing to indicate how long Shapleigh sold these brands or which ones. However, the part that stands out is that the tang stamp was only on one blade after 1940. Mine only had the tang stamped on the master blade. Keep in mind the ad I mentioned above shows Enterprise knives being sold by Shapleigh in 1929 so it's obvious they were being sold after 1915 - which contradicts Goin's date of 1900-1915 for the company. Could my knife be a post 1940 one since it's only marked on the master blade tang? For those who know their knives better than me, does the look of the knife help in any way to date it? I'd love to just say it's 1900-1915 like Goin's says, but this other information makes me have doubts. BTW, on another thread on AAPK I found this: "Enterprise Cutlery Co. Sold by Shapleigh. Whole salebrand? 1918 to 1920's.( Blades 7th Edition )"
From Goin's:
The knives produced for this firm were marked on all blades until the middle 1940's. After this, they were marked on the master blade only. Some of the markings sold by Shapleigh were: Berkshire, Bridge Cutlery Co., Enders Oak Leaf, Diamond Edge(1864-1960) Keen Kutter(1940-1960), Empire Knife Co., NorShap (c1902-1920), Norvell-Shapleigh(c1902-1920), S Norvell(c1902-1920), Norvell's Best(c1902-1920), G. W. Putman & Co. Germany, Enterprise Cutlery Co., Simmons Hardware Co.(c1940-1960), Simmons Sonny(c1940-1960), and J. Koester's Sons Germany."
None of the knife books or resources are 100% accurate, nor do they list 100% of the markings.
To me, your knife looks likes 1940s.
Re: Enterprise Cutlery question
Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2021 12:24 am
by knifeaholic
I believe that the knife posted in the photo was made by Imperial circa 1910 to 1940.
I have owned a few Enterprise Cutlery knives, and all of the ones that I have owned looked to be made by Imperial in that era, when they made solid bolster knives.
Re: Enterprise Cutlery question
Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2021 4:53 am
by tvic
Just found something else to help. There is an entire 1936 Shapleigh Hardware catalog online. There are, indeed, Enterprise knives in the catalog, and the exact same knife I have is pictured in it, as well.
https://shapleighs.com/page-1101/