William Schrade Custom Cutlery

4th Generation Knifemaker

COMPANY HISTORY

THE GEORGE SCHRADE KNIFE COMPANY

George Schrade Innovative Inventor knives & machinery

AN ABLE INVENTOR OF HIS TIME

In addition to The George Schrade Knife Company George Schrade also established two other knife companies. The Press Button Knife Company made the first automatic knife and The Schrade Cutlery Company of which most people are familiar, was established in 1904. Schrade sold this company to his brothers and traveled to Europe.

In 1909, George Schrade established an automatic knife factory in Solingen, Germany along with his son, George M. Schrade where he manufactured automatic knives under the Shradeo brand.

Fleeing Europe at the outbreak of WWI he arrived in Bridgeport in 1919 as a skilled craftsman, inventor and knife-maker. George found work as a superintendent with the Challenge Cutlery Company at 461 Seymour Street, Bridgeport, CT. In 1921, his son George M. joined him at Challenge Cutlery. Here they designed, produced and manufactured a line of his patented automatic knives called The Flylock.

The Challenge Cutlery Company ran into financial difficulty and were forced to declare bankruptcy. In return for monies owed for the rights to the Flylock, George was compensated with cutlery machinery and equipment, while the Flylock patent remained in Schrade’s name.

The acquisition of this manufacturing equipment enabled George and his son to establish the George Schrade Knife Co. at the location on Seymour Street. There, George invented and manufactured a new line of automatic knives called the Presto.

The company struggled through the depression, but as the economy picked up so did the George Schrade Knife Co.

George’s innovative knife designs and the consistency with which he filed patents for new patterns gave The George Schrade Knife Company an advantageous edge on competition. From the Push Button, Pull Balls, to the Wire Jack and the Scouting Knife, the George Schrade Knife Company produced knives for Remington, Case and many other major knife manufacturers.

Prior to Schrade’s passing in 1940, his son George M. assumed control of the company and ran it with his son, Theodore George “Ted” Schrade. The business began preparations for the war effort, and at one time employed 100 people fulfilling Government contracts.

The company emerged from the war with Ted at the helm, who was propositioned many times to sell. Finally, in 1956 H. Boker Knife Company bought The George Schrade Knife Company and for the next two years Ted Schrade ran the company under the Boker name. During those years, an influx of inexpensive Japanese imports and controversy over the danger of the switchblade plagued the company. A New York Senator, motivated by 1955’s hit movie “Rebel Without A Cause,” submitted a bill to outlaw all automatic knives.

The bill was passed in 1958, and the George Schrade Knife Company was liquidated. All machinery and materials were sold at auction for ten cents on the dollar. Although the company still made slip joint folders and fixed blade hunting knives, the “Switchblade” was their primary source of revenue.