Post your 165's!
- Thread starter Codger_64
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Or how many "Trachtenberg" auctions are actually quite a few (ahem) post bankrupty Schrades with improperly stamped blades, and copy machine COA's. Seem to be seeing a run on these lately.
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The "RECENTLY ACQUIRED" Trach collection has been under near constant liquidation for years now. I forget how many years. So which one of you guys bought the Frankenknife I mentioned above?
Not me Codger, I only specialize in folding prototypes, with emphasis on the slip joints with botched etches, kept in secret company knife rolls.
Codger_64
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Not me Codger, I only specialize in folding prototypes, with emphasis on the slip joints with botched etches, kept in secret company knife rolls.
Remind me to show you my collection of Mexican Schrades some time.
Remind me to show you my collection of Mexican Schrades some time.
They'd be a heck of a lot better than the Chinese ones.
rough is an understatement. i am hoping it cleans up well, although it's gonna take some work. the sheath looks like a total loss except for the retaining strap, which oddly enough i need. oh, and the stone looks nice, i have been in need of one of those as well.
oh, and Michael, it is 03086.
oh, and Michael, it is 03086.
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ea42
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Nice find Bridgeman!! You'd be surprise what a little elbow grease will produce, I'll bet the handle can be made nearly good as new, and aside from some pitting, the blade doesn't look bad either. Seems to have been used very little, if at all.
Eric
Eric
Codger_64
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Of course we all know the knife will never be new again, but I believe it's appearance can be greatly improved without too much effort. And congrats on getting the strap and stone. I know you've been hunting those components for quite a while.
Larry, I really don't want to know your ... relationship to Jamo...
Yes, Imperial Hecho En Mexico. I still hope to get the full story on those some day. I know we have, in the ISC archives, pictures of Albert Baer and several of the founders of Imperial in a meeting in Mexico, and his brief mention of a forray into manufacturing there as a means of overcoming restrictions on importation of molding machines (with the aid of Foster, of Foster Grant Sunglasses) from Europe. We just don't know exactly when this occured. Best guess so far is 1950's.
Very few collectors own examples of these knives, though they are for the most part lower quality. You and I are the only owners of examples that I am presently aware of, though a few did slip by me when they first came up for sale. I don't remember who bought those others.
Lower quality yes,however still very much part of the Imperial Schrade History/Sagas. Herman Williams tells me he had that box of salesmans samples Imperial Mexico knives ready for display on his Schrade wall collection,when they inadvertantly got mixed up in Mrs Albert Baers substantial glass collection in the safe where they remained undisturbed..and they were thus saved from individually going in all directions at the dispersal sale,and remain basically intact today still in the original box he placed them in many years ago <which I have together with those original Imperial Mexico knives>....another collector close to those in the know has told me the Mexican Plant was closed in the late 50's almost as fast as it opened due to a lack of commitment by the workers who required constant supervision and their knife making equipment being wilfully damaged and it was just all too hard for the Baers similar to their Wostenholm experiences of the early 80's. Hoo Roo
Codger_64
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Still, even though the enterprise was a short lived one, I believe it served it's purpose in allowing the molding machines modified in Mexico to be imported into the U.S.
Baer was known to take risks in business ventures. Quite a few didn't pan out such as the venture with Metal Box in England and the association with the family concern in Theirs France. Even the Vulcan factory in Maplewood New Jersey had very limited success. I don't know if the Jowika factory in Ireland was intitially successful and then fell victim to mismanagement after Albert's death, as it didn't close until very near the end.
I do note that several of those handle molds on the Mexican knives strongly resemble the handles on Kingston and Imperial branded U.S. made knives.
Here are my two:
And an Imperial:
Not bad. The blade had been worked on before. Being 40 years old that's not really surprising. The retaining strap was so-so, and the stone was not Schrade.
I have not yet begun work on the sheath. It's a mess. But here's the after pics of the knife after about 90 minutes of effort. The light was failing. The right side looks a bit better at the choil than the pic indicates.
I have not yet begun work on the sheath. It's a mess. But here's the after pics of the knife after about 90 minutes of effort. The light was failing. The right side looks a bit better at the choil than the pic indicates.
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I like the look of that knife Greg. The dark patina gives that nice grind on the blade some emphasis. You don't get to see a Staglon/Patina contrast too often. It's always nice to rub the old tarnish off of brass. A great looking middle aged knife with some character.
awwww....
Thanks guys. The after pictures that you see were auto color adjusted by my software, but they're pretty accurate. The sun was setting and EVERYthing was blue. And I mean BLUE!!! I will take a few more in midday with a white background. I intend to try to work on the handle a little more.
Greg
Thanks guys. The after pictures that you see were auto color adjusted by my software, but they're pretty accurate. The sun was setting and EVERYthing was blue. And I mean BLUE!!! I will take a few more in midday with a white background. I intend to try to work on the handle a little more.
Greg
