Family Hierachy?

afishhunter

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Oct 21, 2014
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Is this correct?
"Schrade": King/Patriarch/Head/Top

"Uncle Henry": Heir to the throne

"Old Timer": Grandson, chiefly interested in the working class who hunted and fished, second in line for the throne after Uncle Henry

"Imperial": Older brother of King Schrade, who abdicated the throne to his younger brother. The family penny pincher catering to the working poor, younglings, and others on a budget.

"Camillus": Wealthy Brother who didn't want the throne. Disagreed with the patriarch at least once (never used the Swenden(?) Swinden(?) Key)

Where did ...
New York Knife Co (after purchased in the 1930's).
Hammer Brand (after purchased with it's original parent co., NYKC, in the 1930's)
ULSER (Second Son in line for the throne before being murdered by his son, Old Timer?) (Remember: The RJR Prince Al knives were "Ulster Old Timer" knives)
Frontier*
IMPCO*
Kamp King*
And all the other family brands (I'm pretty sure there were more who's names I don't remember) fit in before they were murdered by King Schrade or on his instructions, or by jealous siblings, with or without King Schrade's permission?
(* Imperial's kids)

How long after acquiring the NYKC and Hammer Brand rights, did Schrade keep those names in production?
I think the Hammer Brand was made for a few years before being murdered because he was direct competition to Imperial, using the same shell construction methods even before being Vanquished/ Conquered/Annexed/Swallowed/Betrayed by the Schrade Empire.

Was NYKC murdered right away beause he was direct competition (possibly with a superior product?) to King/Patriarch, Schrade?

What was the heirarchy from top to bottom of the Schrade family of brands?
 
It was all an evolution of the Baer cutlery empire. He bought companies as they became available, often rescuing them from oblivion, combined companies and affiliated with others in cooperative business deals. Schrade Walden, Schrade and Ulster were made by the same workers in the same factory at one point. He bought out the Kastor heirs (Camillus) and gave the company to his two daughters' families to run, but kept his hand in by sending them work including eventually the bulk of the Sears account.
 
Mike I want to jump in and thank you for all you've shared here over the years when it comes to the history of American Knife Making/Maker's. If I'm remembering correctly, it was Tom Williams who first made me aware of Albert and Henry Baer. I believe both Old Timer & Uncle Henry, are attributed to Henry Baer, My attempts at gathering information on Albert Baer have been more barren than fruitful, with more of the information I have gathered tracing back to you as the source than others. If you can recommend any sources I'd appreciate it.
The early history of the American knife industry could provide all the plots and story lines Hollywood would ever need to keep all the soap opera's going.
 
Mike I want to jump in and thank you for all you've shared here over the years when it comes to the history of American Knife Making/Maker's. If I'm remembering correctly, it was Tom Williams who first made me aware of Albert and Henry Baer. I believe both Old Timer & Uncle Henry, are attributed to Henry Baer, My attempts at gathering information on Albert Baer have been more barren than fruitful, with more of the information I have gathered tracing back to you as the source than others. If you can recommend any sources I'd appreciate it.
The early history of the American knife industry could provide all the plots and story lines Hollywood would ever need to keep all the soap opera's going.
It is a fascinating epic example of the titans of American industry in manufacturing and marketing, isn't it? I am not aware of any single published source of the full biography of the Baer brothers to date. But much has been written over the years that fits together like parts of a puzzle that provides a fuller picture of their lives and accomplishments.

Mark Zaleski of Knife World magazine, Bernard Levine, Blackie Collins, Bruce Voyles and other authors of note have told us much with their own research and first-person interviews.

The greatest archived source is, of course, Mr. Vickery's years long effort presented on his site http://collectors-of-schrades-r.us/ and the sister site http://www.collectors-of-camillus.us/. Both contain archived articles and company publications which are very educational drawn from the surviving factory archives as generously provided by their respective company historians as well as our own research. And of course much written here over the years by many enthusiasts in both the Schrade and Camillus subforums. Master the search function here and prepare to read until your vision is blurry!

Knife World continues to publish fascinating new articles on the industry and the Baer empire as today's collectors continue to research and share. One recent article teased out the story of the Mexico venture which I had run into a dead end on. Baer was a master businessman and was, it seems, purposely obscure in many of his business ventures as well as his philanthropy. It takes a lot of time and tenacity to tease out the details at this late date.
 
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