All About Pocket Knives

Is Schrade and Imperial the same company. I have this old Barlow and was just wondering. Thanks. God Bless.

There is probably a more accurate history of the company somewhere on AAPK. Schrade closed its' doors in 2004. The new Schrade knives are from China. The Imperial history dates back to 1st half of 20th century. Several old companies were bought and sold and eventually a merger in 1985 resulting in a brand called Imperial-Schrade, I think .
Your Barlow knife was probably before the '85 merger, however the tang stamp puts it in the 1956-88 era.
Hope this helps a little.
Treefarmer

You can read one version of the incestuous history of Imperial, Schrade and Ulster knife companies, here -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Schrade

Most folks attribute a knife to the company who has their name stamped on the tang (at least I do anyway). Even though those companies (and several others) were owned by the same families and according to sources that know these kinds of things, did work for each other and swapped tooling, it's often much too difficult to track down the actual source of manufacture. On the other hand, it's sometimes easy to see the fingerprints of a major knife manufacturer on a contract knife. The world of collecting knives can be very confusing at times.

Very interesting, thanks.

Good point Jerry!

However, you could never sell it as a Schrade!!

Is it a Schrade?
That is a very good question!
It is certainly not an Old Timer, but it was made by the Imperial Schrade Corp.

MS bow hunter wrote:Is Schrade and Imperial the same company. I have this old Barlow and was just wondering. Thanks. God Bless.

The answer is 'yes' and 'no' depending on when in the histories of the two companies you ask that question!

Here is a compilation of some of my research notes from over the years as well as a lot from an Imperial Sales notebook, circa 1966. The notebook was handed out at their sales meeting about November 1966 and included info from the 50th anniversary of Imperial.

I hope this is not too confusing.


Chronological history Schrade, Imperial, Ulster, et al


1904- The Schrade Brothers start Schrade Cutlery Company (Schrade Cut Co) in Walden New York.

1916- Michael and Felix Mirando start Imperial Knife Company in Providence, RI in a blacksmith shop owned by a cousin.

1917- The first Imperial pocket knives were made and sold to The Hayward Co. of Attleboro Massachusetts.

1917- Imperial grew and moved to Blount Street.

1921- Imperial had grown and now Employed 100 people and occupied an entire floor at the Blount Street location.

1938- Imperial introduces the Jackmaster line of knives.

1941- Albert Baer bought Ulster Knife Company in January 1941.

1941- Imperial converted to full wartime production.

1943- During WWII Ulster and Imperial began a cooperative effort for the production of military contract knives.

1944- Planning ahead for the post war cutlery market, Albert & Henry Baer in partnership with Imperial and Foster Grant Company establish Cuchilleria Imperial of Mexico, their first international venture.

1945- Kingston Cutlery Co. was formed by the Baer, Fazzano & Mirando families. The Kingston name was an old brand name owned by Ulster. Kingston was closed after the war, but the name used until about 1958. This was advantageous at the time as Kingston received a ration of materials that were in short supply during the war, like brass. Bigger allotments, or more allotments meant they could produce more knives for the military.

1945- Vulcan Safety Razor Company was formed for the manufacture of stainless steel; safety razors. Vulcan was a subsidiary of Kingston Cutlery Company.

1946 Imperial International Corp. was formed for the purpose of exporting products manufactured by the Kingston Group.

1946- Imperial enters the housewares market with a line of steak knives and soon expands into a full line of kitchen cutlery and tools.

1947- Albert and Henry Baer bought Schrade Cut Co. & changed the name to Schrade Walden Cutlery Corp. It became a division of Imperial Knife as Mr. Baer had merged his Kingston Cutlery Co, Ulster Knife Co, & the newly purchased Schrade Cut Co with Imperial.

1947- Imperial Knife Associated Companies, (IKAC), was formed and all interests of the Baer, Fazzano & Mirando groups became subsidiaries of the new parent company.

1948- The first Imperial stainless steel flatware was produced and sold to Sears, Roebuck and Co.

1950- Imperial acquired New Method Plating Co., specializing in industrial barrel plating and changed its name to Imperial Plating Co.

1951- Imperial helped develop the grinding and finishing processes for rotor and stator blades used by General Electric for military jet engines. Imperial became a large supplier of military items during the Korean War.

1957- Fire in the Walden factory

1958- Schrade Walden & Ulster consolidated and Schrade Walden moved to the Ulster factory in Ellenville NY.

1959- Schrade Walden introduces a line of knives known as Old Timer.

1960- Gerlinol Co. of Solingen Germany was formed for the manufacture of household cutlery for the Common Market.

1961- Richards Imperial of Sheffield England was formed for distribution in the UK.

1963- Albert Baer bought the remaining stock of Camillus Cutlery Company that was held by the Kastor family and the Wallace family, after the death of Alfred Kastor, the son of Adolph Kastor. Albert Baer owned Camillus separate from his holdings in Imperial Knife Associated Companies.

1965- Imperial acquired a major interest in Durol, France’s leading manufacturer of household cutlery and kitchen tools.

1966- Imperial and J. A. Henckel of Solingen Germany formed J.A. Henckel-Imperial GmbH of Solingen Germany for the manufacture and distribution of cutlery and related items.

1966- Imperial International Corp. moved into its new warehouse and packaging plant in Smithtown, Long Island NY.

1966- Sears, Roebuck and Co. awards Imperial its “SYMBOL OF EXCELLENCE”, a tribute to all employees of Imperial.

1973- Walden is dropped from the Schrade Walden name & the name is changed to Schrade.

1978- Albert Baer bought the Jowika factory in Listowel Ireland. It produced the Jackmaster knives, other shell handled knives as well as other less expensive knives.

1983- Albert Baer continued to buy stock in Imperial. By 1983 he owned all the shares of Imperial and it becomes a privately held corporation.

1984- In December 1984, Imperial Knife Associated Co purchased the old Channel Master factory in Ellenville NY, probably not moving into the location until 1985.

1985- Albert Baer changed the name of Imperial Knife Associated Co. to Imperial Schrade Corp.

1985- The Ulster name is used on some Scout Knives that were made in the Camillus factory. This is the last use of the Ulster name I have yet been able to document.

2003- About 18 months before the closing of the Schrade factory in Ellenville NY, the Imperial factory in Listowel Ireland was closed.

2004- Imperial Schrade Corp. closes on July 30.

2004- October; the remaining merchandise and all assets of Imperial Schrade Corp. are sold at bankruptcy auction. Stewart Taylor of Taylor Brands LLC purchases the intellectual property of Imperial Schrade Corp. including names & designs.

2005- Taylor Brands LLC begins bringing Chinese made knives with the Schrade name on them, including Old Timers & Uncle Henrys.


Imperial Schrade became the vast cutlery empire of Albert Baer that eventually included ventures in Mexico, Germany, UK, France, Canada, Ireland and likely other countries.



Like most historical research this piece is subject to revision as better, more complete and new information becomes available. Some dates are open to discussion as I have seen several different dates for some of the major events listed here. I tried to use what I felt was the most credible sources and closest to the companies themselves; which is why I relied heavily on the documents from Imperial.

I hope this answer more questions than it creates!
Dale

orvet wrote:Is it a Schrade?
That is a very good question!
It is certainly not an Old Timer, but it was made by the Imperial Schrade Corp.

MS bow hunter wrote:Is Schrade and Imperial the same company. I have this old Barlow and was just wondering. Thanks. God Bless.

The answer is 'yes' and 'no' depending on when in the histories of the two companies you ask that question!

Here is a compilation of some of my research notes from over the years as well as a lot from an Imperial Sales notebook, circa 1966. The notebook was handed out at their sales meeting about November 1966 and included info from the 50th anniversary of Imperial.

I hope this is not too confusing.


Chronological history Schrade, Imperial, Ulster, et al


1904- The Schrade Brothers start Schrade Cutlery Company (Schrade Cut Co) in Walden New York.

1916- Michael and Felix Mirando start Imperial Knife Company in Providence, RI in a blacksmith shop owned by a cousin.

1917- The first Imperial pocket knives were made and sold to The Hayward Co. of Attleboro Massachusetts.

1917- Imperial grew and moved to Blount Street.

1921- Imperial had grown and now Employed 100 people and occupied an entire floor at the Blount Street location.

1938- Imperial introduces the Jackmaster line of knives.

1941- Albert Baer bought Ulster Knife Company in January 1941.

1941- Imperial converted to full wartime production.

1943- During WWII Ulster and Imperial began a cooperative effort for the production of military contract knives.

1944- Planning ahead for the post war cutlery market, Albert & Henry Baer in partnership with Imperial and Foster Grant Company establish Cuchilleria Imperial of Mexico, their first international venture.

1945- Kingston Cutlery Co. was formed by the Baer, Fazzano & Mirando families. The Kingston name was an old brand name owned by Ulster. Kingston was closed after the war, but the name used until about 1958. This was advantageous at the time as Kingston received a ration of materials that were in short supply during the war, like brass. Bigger allotments, or more allotments meant they could produce more knives for the military.

1945- Vulcan Safety Razor Company was formed for the manufacture of stainless steel; safety razors. Vulcan was a subsidiary of Kingston Cutlery Company.

1946 Imperial International Corp. was formed for the purpose of exporting products manufactured by the Kingston Group.

1946- Imperial enters the housewares market with a line of steak knives and soon expands into a full line of kitchen cutlery and tools.

1947- Albert and Henry Baer bought Schrade Cut Co. & changed the name to Schrade Walden Cutlery Corp. It became a division of Imperial Knife as Mr. Baer had merged his Kingston Cutlery Co, Ulster Knife Co, & the newly purchased Schrade Cut Co with Imperial.

1947- Imperial Knife Associated Companies, (IKAC), was formed and all interests of the Baer, Fazzano & Mirando groups became subsidiaries of the new parent company.

1948- The first Imperial stainless steel flatware was produced and sold to Sears, Roebuck and Co.

1950- Imperial acquired New Method Plating Co., specializing in industrial barrel plating and changed its name to Imperial Plating Co.

1951- Imperial helped develop the grinding and finishing processes for rotor and stator blades used by General Electric for military jet engines. Imperial became a large supplier of military items during the Korean War.

1957- Fire in the Walden factory

1958- Schrade Walden & Ulster consolidated and moved to the Ellenville NY in the old Channel Master factory.

1959- Schrade Walden introduces a line of knives known as Old Timer.

1960- Gerlinol Co. of Solingen Germany was formed for the manufacture of household cutlery for the Common Market.

1961- Richards Imperial of Sheffield England was formed for distribution in the UK.

1963- Albert Baer bought the remaining stock of Camillus Cutlery Company that was held by the Kastor family and the Wallace family, after the death of Alfred Kastor, the son of Adolph Kastor. Albert Baer owned Camillus separate from his holdings in Imperial Knife Associated Companies.

1965- Imperial acquired a major interest in Durol, France’s leading manufacturer of household cutlery and kitchen tools.

1966- Imperial and J. A. Henckel of Solingen Germany formed J.A. Henckel-Imperial GmbH of Solingen Germany for the manufacture and distribution of cutlery and related items.

1966- Imperial International Corp. moved into its new warehouse and packaging plant in Smithtown, Long Island NY.

1966- Sears, Roebuck and Co. awards Imperial its “SYMBOL OF EXCELLENCE”, a tribute to all employees of Imperial.

1973- Walden is dropped from the Schrade Walden name & the name is changed to Schrade.

1978- Albert Baer bought the Jowika factory in Listowel Ireland. It produced the Jackmaster knives, other shell handled knives as well as other less expensive knives.

1983- Albert Baer continued to buy stock in Imperial. By 1983 he owned all the shares of Imperial and it becomes a privately held corporation.

1985- Albert Baer changed the name Imperial Knife Associated Co. to Imperial Schrade Corp.

1985- The Ulster name is used on some Scout Knives that were made in the Camillus factory. This is the last use of the Ulster name I have yet been able to document.

2003- About 18 months before the closing of the Schrade factory in Ellenville NY, the Imperial factory in Listowel Ireland was closed.

2004- Imperial Schrade Corp. closes on July 30.

2004- October; the remaining merchandise and all assets of Imperial Schrade Corp. are sold at bankruptcy auction. Stewart Taylor of Taylor Brands LLC purchases the intellectual property of Imperial Schrade Corp. including names & designs.

2005- Taylor Brands LLC begins bringing Chinese made knives with the Schrade name on them, including Old Timers & Uncle Henrys.


Imperial Schrade became the vast cutlery empire of Albert Baer that eventually included ventures in Mexico, Germany, UK, France, Canada, Ireland and likely other countries.



Like most historical research this piece is subject to revision as better, more complete and new information becomes available. Some dates are open to discussion as I have seen several different dates for some of the major events listed here. I tried to use what I felt was the most credible sources and closest to the companies themselves; which is why I relied heavily on the documents from Imperial.

I hope this answer more questions than it creates!
Dale

Interesting Dale, well done.
Appreciate the effort.

Very interesting, thanks.

Mark

Thank You very much. A lot of history.