Some earlier Imperials/Schrades Western/Frontier that can get under your radar.

L

Larry303

Joined
Jul 28, 2005
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G'day, Following on from the 49er series with their Western theme,there were a number of Imperials/Schrade in the late 70's early 80's that also covered the "Go West Young Man "themes.
I occasionally see these knives with minimal bidding interest and I wonder if some folk tend to think that say Imperial Double Eagle 'The Frontier Series' -"the Blades of the TrailBlazers"..78/80+ were inferior knives or were perhaps made in Ireland,rather than USA. Imperial stated these were true 'working knives'.."".every Frontier Series knife blade is precision ground,heat treated and tempered to attain a uniform hardness of 58-59 on the Rockwell C scale..and it is only then hand-honed to the perfect "Frontier" cutting edge.""-'quality from out of the past to meet todays needs'.<circa 1978>.I see nothing wrong with their inherent quality...and they were all made in USA.
I have photos of a selection of the knives that occasionally go under the collector radar.Sears American Eagle Collection <Bowie and Sportsman shown>..,Imperial Pro Guide PG-1 with the Unique Magna Grip Design "for precision close in cutting"-"super sharp and hand honed special alloy super stainless extra heavy gauge blade flat tapered feather grind that makes re-edging easy".<Imperial/Schrade were real spin doctors with their wording!>....and the Schrade "Trapper" which occasionally shows up with minimal interest. and the Kit Karson Signature Knife by Imperial......Hoo Roo
Photos for info:..
 

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.......more photos....
 

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tang stamps............
 

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Thanks UL what a nice collection ,have to go and have a beer to keep the drool in and thanks for the info ,don't wont to end up with a Shitrade from Taylor as they do try to copy some of them to throw you off and make a sale ,have seen very similar to that trapper.
 
Right on Larry !
many Schrades were made in part or in whole at the Imperial, R.I. factory.
BUT, which ones ? only a super sleuth will uncover all of these by going through the old Schrade "minutes". i bet Codger or Irv may know.
one series i do "know" that came from Providence is the Stag Clasp knives like "Custer's Last Stand", "Trail of Tears", etc.
that info came from Rich L.(whom you know), who was a friend of Alfred Baer.
roland
 
A nice sampling of Frontiers Larry. :thumbup:
There was a great deal of speculation regarding these knives and where they were made. The information seems to show that they were made both in Providence and some were made by Camillus.

Here are S-cards from Camillus showing that they produced some #4515 & #4815 in 1984. These S-cards are courtesy of Tom Williams of Camillus.

Dale
 

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Just bringing up this thread for Ed..as there is a bit more Frontier info here from Dale....and few photos of some Western theme knives that Frontier represent.....you dont see that unusual Imperial Pro Hunter Fixed Blade much these days..I'm glad I got mine many years ago.... Hoo Roo
 
I really like those two 44 series stockmans. Mine were bought in not to good shape and required a bit of work. Looking at the S cards that are available most of the Frontiers were Camillus made.
 
Bringing up a few more of the older threads with photos for newbies, before they slip into the Bermuda Triangle of collecting history.....Hoo Roo
 
owning many of the knives shown as well as far more., I am glad someone finally other than me stands by their quality. Sadly I have taken a lot of "lip" from knife snobs regarding the collecting of these blades. I am so glad to see this thread, and to be able to look at my knives and know what I always did, they are better than the collectors who snub their noses at them. Many high end advertizing knifes were made from the "yellow" Imperial folder. I have a small collection of these. I recently gifted a fellow member on site one such knife. Hopefully now he will understand why I chose to do so. They are truly great knives. :D
 
Having a small collection of Frontiers, I have known that they are nice knives.
 
Here are a couple of pictures of my latest Frontier Diamondbrite by Imperial. I have a few of this series but this is only the second P-IV MAC the knife. According on what I have found the metal parts of the knife are all stainless and the wooden parts are American birch. It came with a 25 year warranty.



 
Was thinking you would like it. The knife is is great unused shape (I have bought some in bad shape).
 
thawk, picked up a 4" with sheath off the bay and will post a picture tomorrow.
 
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