All About Pocket Knives

Posts on the forum refers to "Imperial Tang list", is that in a second publication? I cannot seem to find in the forum. Therefore I am not finding information on my newest find. Please point me in the right direction. Appreciate any history / info you may offer.

Nice knife I love a good Stockman!

Welcome to AAPK.

There's a thread devoted to tang stamps and tang stamp charts here ---> viewtopic.php?f=4&t=39799&p=386211&hili ... ps#p386211

No offense intended but the pictures of your knife are too dark to tell anything about it. I even ran it through my image manipulation program and the quality is too sub-par to improve. May I suggest you take pictures outdoors, in the shade.

Thanks Jerry, I will get some better (I hope) photo's up soon.

Second Attempt !! Better photo's. Don't know if this is a current fact, but what I could find was that the "Imperial" tang has not been used since 1988. This came out of a junk box and is near new in appearance. Has made me curious. Thanks

Looks like it might be a,"Pacific Rim" Imperial but that doesn't necessarily mean bad.Not particularly valuable but probably a good working knife.

That's what I thought Ray but I was to chicken to post it.

I don't think it's an import. My gut tells me it's USA made. Tinroof can you tell us EXACTLY what the tang stamp says ?

jerryd6818 wrote:That's what I thought Ray but I was to chicken to post it.

Hey Jerry;I've been wrong before. As Red Green is wont to say:" I'm a man...........but I can change...........if I have to...."

If you go back to the dark photos in the second one you can see the tang says stainless imperial prov.usa. I've got a jack from the same time frame.

bighomer wrote:If you go back to the dark photos in the second one you can see the tang says stainless imperial prov.usa. I've got a jack from the same time frame.

Good catch! I will go stand in the "time out" corner now.

knife7knut wrote:

bighomer wrote:If you go back to the dark photos in the second one you can see the tang says stainless imperial prov.usa. I've got a jack from the same time frame.

Good catch! I will go stand in the "time out" corner now.

Hey scoot over and make room for me.

Looks like an Imperial Frontier Stockman, but made with the Imperial tang stamp and a different jigging pattern in the Delrin handles. I think that is a nice knife - similar in quality to the late USA made Old Timers. OH

I just knew that y'all had seen more and knew more than I had in my found in my struggles, so thanks to all who looked at my question.
Still, this tang stamping is not in the Imperial list you referred to on your pages. So, can you nail down, (even take a best guess) at the year it was made. I have seen some "same style and design" knives listings with 300 series model numbers, but no dating cited.
It would be signifigant to learn it was made in 1988, compared to it's near new condition.

I doubt you can pin it down to a year or a decade for that matter. It was in my opinion made in the later years of usa knife production, someone may be more help.

Thanks for your responses and effort to satisfy my wandering curiosity. My "fill in the blank box" will be Say it ain't so!
I just read that now Smith and Wesson is the new owner, who bought Taylor, who bought Schrade, who bought Imperial. So the fairy tale goes on, and we may never know the end.

tinroof wrote:Thanks for your responses and effort to satisfy my wandering curiosity. My "fill in the blank box" will be Say it ain't so!
I just read that now Smith and Wesson is the new owner, who bought Taylor, who bought Schrade, who bought Imperial. So the fairy tale goes on, and we may never know the end.

Maybe S&W will release some new knives like the Blackie Collins designs back in the 70's. Problem is if they did nobody could afford them.I bought one of their folders back then and if I recall correctly it was about $60. Don't know what that would translate in today's money but it wouldn't be cheap.

First, welcome to AAPK!

I think your knife was probably made between 1983 and the mid-1990s. I'm not 100% sure on that it's just a guesstimation but I do have some knives from the same series. I'll post a picture when I find it, if I still have it. I believe these were made after Albert Baer bought the last of the outstanding shares of Imperial.

I believe that series was only ground on one side, they sort of had a chisel grind on the blades. I was looking at it on my phone so I can't tell whether yours has a chisel grind or not, but I know at least the big Stockman I had had a chisel grind on the master blade.

This jack doesn't hardly have any grind at all, yet will slice paper.

Hey Tinroof, I have an Imperial like yours except for the shield. Mine says DE ( diamond edge).

I have to agree with Oldhunter that the knife is very similar to an Old timer 8OT.

I'd say anytime after 73...These have the DE shield, but the knife is the same otherwise.


https://www.collectors-of-schrades-r.us ... DE73-2.htm