Schrade-Out of Business!

[Osprey Guy]

I posted this earlier in the "Production Forum"...but it looks like very few caught it over there. I think it's important enough to post here, where I know it'll get some views.



I just picked up on this awful news yesterday...
Sad story indeed. Schrade was like baseball and apple pie...American Icons.

Unhappily, this is a sign of the times...

Here's a lengthy discussion from one of the "other" forums:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=308256


Dennis Greenbaum

[SKIVIE]

Sad Indeed ! Thats too bad.

[TexasJack]

Every eight-hour shift, it squeezes 20,000 knife blades out of 1,700-pound rolls of raw steel.

(From another news article)

Too bad. I've had that Uncle Henry in my pocket since 1979.

[KandS_KNIVES]

Sad times are hear my friends, when an American icon of the knife industry, bites the dust. I beleive this year would of been Schrade's 100 anniversary, co started in 1904. Oh well, just a sign of the times, they did make very good qualty knives during the era of the Schrade-Walden tang mark. I cleaned my first rabbit with a SW muskrat and my first dear with a SW trapper. Sad indeed, but hopefully they will find a new investor and Schrade will come alive again.


Ken Beatty

[Stormcrow]

The *only* production knife I own is a Scrade 3-bladed stockman with yellow handles - just like my dad carried. Really sorry to see it go. I'm even more sorry about the management's cold-heartedness.

Chances are slim, but I'd like to see someone step in and buy the company and resurrect it, keeping it an American company.

Stop buying $2.00 pocketknives!!!!

[Jason Cutter]

Very sad news. I've bought a variety of Schrade knives over hthe years, particularly the small slipjoints (more than 10 by my count). I always thought of Schrade as representing classic American bladeware. Jason.

[TexasJack]

Just about all companies in the US are run by the same people - They all went to the same schools, got the same degrees, play the same games, live in the same neighborhoods. They don't hire other managers because they are competent - they hire them because they think alike. ("buddies") And when the lemmings all go over the cliff, they all drown at once. If Enron could have held off 6 more months, 100 companies would have collapsed with them. Upper management pay and incentives are outrageous. I believe that the MBA schools teach them that there is no future in making anything. Just deal with money, not equipment and certainly not those dirty peasants who run the equipment. The folks at Schrade may have sacrificed a lot to keep the plant going, but I'm betting the CEOs salary wasn't cut.

I was at a gun show last Saturday and as I went past one of the booths I noticed that they had a Bowie knife for $12. It must have been 12 inches long, with a very wide stainless blade. Highly polished, it looked nice. You and I know we couldn't purchase the parts for that. So I'd guess that the blade would dull cutting Jello. (I bought a sword a couple years ago for $10. Not that I wanted a sword, but I figured I could use the steel for bolsters or something, and it was cheaper than that length of 416 SS.)

So what do we learn from these observations? #1 - Do your best to put yourself in the position of being your own boss. At least then you'll have a good relationship with the idiot running the company. #2 - If those of you who are in business selling knives don't advertise and demonstrate WHY and HOW your knives are superior, you'll be feeding the scum that use prisoners or grossly impoverished and underpaid sweatshop workers to turn out shiny crap.

[Les Robertson]

Schrade went out of business because they did not adapt to current business conditions.

The reason this didn't get much response on the production side is that this is still to a large degree CKD.

As such the production side of the house is of little or no concern.

Dennis in the future leave the factory and production stuff where it belongs. On the production part of Knife Net or on the other forums.

If a moderator reads this please move it to the factory side of Knife Net. As anything to do with any factory knife has no place on the custom side of Knife Net.

[plain ol Bill]

Well I'm just a nobody stuck out here in the sticks and generally don't open my mouth much. However after the reply to this thread from Les I will render an opinion. Thanks for the heads up Dennis. Just my UN-opinionated thought.

[hammerdownnow]

CKD(Custom Knife Dudes) need to keep up on current relevent topics too. Thanks for the news.

[Les Robertson]

Hi Bill,

Yes my opinion is opinionated.


Hi Hammerdown,

You want to keep up with what is going on with the factories, fine. Here is a trick that the factories are using. Look at what the custom knife makers are doing, add 18-24 months and now you have what the factories are doing.

Why are you interested in information that is 18-24 months old?

More to the point, why are factory knives being discussed in the custom forum when there is a factory forum for that.

Just trying to maintain focus in the CUSTOM KNIFE FORUMS.

[hammerdownnow]

Oh we talk about all kinds of stuff. Kids, work, ailments, you name it. No need to be so stiff and formal. My interests include old factory knives as well as old kitchen cutlery. I like to see posts about antique pruning knives and hear about Ray Richards latest find of his Grandaddies cutlery company back east. I like to talk about all these things and really like to talk about them with my good friends that I have made here. I don't really have time to read every forum and if something that affects us all one way or another comes to someones attention I appreciate it being brought to the home forum.

[Les Robertson]

Hi Hammer,

Your right there are forums on Knife Net for all kinds of things to be discussed, to include factory knives.

However, this should be done in the appropriate forums.

After all Schrade going out of business will have no, none, nada effect on custom knives, those who make them or those who sell them.

As such it is not appropriate here.

Question, at what point do you draw the line in the custom knife forums?

[hammerdownnow]

If all the production knife companys followed suit and went down the tubes, it would have a big effect. the loss of Schrades market share has to be good for the custom market share. Is there any new patterns under the sun? Like you said, production follows custom. All the traditional patterns are there for inspiration and to be improved upon. I am a firm believer in the notion that we stand on the shoulders of giants. Wisdom and knowlege are accumlative. To ignore the bank of knowlege that is available would be foolish. Production companies have to try and keep a finger on the pulse of trends. If they are 18 months behind then so is the average consumer. Their marketing and advertisements set the popular styles of the day, month or year by telling or leading the consumer to accept a certain style. For the custom makers to watch discuss and speculate where the competition is headed can only be a good thing. No?

[Ray Rogers]

While I can agree that production knife news is not normally of much interest to custom knife makers I cannot agree that we are not affected by this particular piece of news. Those of us who grew up with Schrade knives (most of us old people) feel the loss of another American icon toppled. In that sense this sad news is of general interest to anyone seriously involved with knives and is therefore a suitable topic for the General Custom Knife Related Discussions forum. Despite the forum's title, many things get discussed here of general interest to custom knife makers besides custom knives themselves.

Aside from that, the production knife companies like Schrade, Buck, etc are generally the people most active as financial backers of the AKTI. They have a vested interest in protecting our knife rights and they have the clout and manpower to advance that cause. I don't know specifically how involved in those issues Schrade was per se but it seems to me that we probably just lost a lobbyist or a potential lobbyist. Without a doubt, that is something that could affect custom knife makers....