Today is January 1, 2011; New Year's Day. I've been ringing in the New Year with something kind of old.

The knife shown in this photo is a Schrade Old Timer 1940T. It's a fairly basic slip joint design, though it does have a twist. Look closely at the choil area. See that protruding brass liner that says "Press"? Well, that's this pocket knife's liner lock. Pretty cool... and hurking strong! This Old Timer features a high carbon steel clip point blade, nickel bolsters, brass pins and liners and Delrin handle scales. There's a reason that I'm showing the knife with a dirty rag and a package of Happich's Simichrome Polish.

This knife has been in my collection for roughly a dozen years. I'm not sure exactly when it was made since I bought it "new" in the box at a rather old hardware store. For all I know, this knife may have been sitting on the shelf for a week... or a decade. Perhaps one day I'll try to date it more precisely.

This pocket knife rode with me, every day, for a number of years. It was my EDC knife and I used it for all kinds of tasks, including peeling oranges. The citric acid in the oranges did some nasty stuff to the blade (rusted). I didn't bother to clean the knife up and just kept on using it. Cardboard, wood, string... this Old Timer faithfully served me until a shiny new knife displaced it. I didn't bother to clean the knife up; I just tossed it into a tool chest and there it sat. Until today.

Today, I decided to clean, polish, sharpen and oil the Old Timer. In doing so, I became pleasantly reacquainted with the AWESOME quality that Schrade put into this knife. This knife's very plain appearance is deceptive; underneath that somewhat basic exterior is a hallmark example of the last vestiges of quality from a doomed company.

Lately, I've bemoaned the passing of Camilus. Candidly, I still feel a degree of outrage about it. Cleaning my Schrade Old Timer firmly rekindled that feeling since Schrade also succumbed to what is wrong with America today.

Schrade Cutlery Company, founded in Walden, New York in 1904, went out of business in July of 2004. For the better part of a century, Schrade employed thousands of people and was a strong contributor to the US economy. With their closing went the livelihoods of a few hundred Americans, not to mention the negative effect that the closing had on local businesses near the Ellensville plant.

Additionally, the closing of Schrade marched this country yet another step away from it's best history. The United States was once known for making some of the very best products in the world... products that were true examples of durable quality. The Schrade company was built during a time when American integrity meant everything. Workers took real pride in the product and so did the people that owned and used it. If you don't believe that America is stepping further away from that ideal, you are either too young to know better or have drank too much of the Baby Boomer Kool-Aide. I'm a Boomer, albeit a younger one. I can tell you that today's "throw away" mentality is certainly the by-product of a generation gone completely out of control. Boomer's spout propaganda about "environmental sustainability". What about the sustainability of the American way? The sustainability of American History? The sustainability of American Industry?

Schrade went down for many reasons, not the least of which is reputed to be decades of mismanagement. Not having worked there, I can neither verify nor deny this. Still, we can all rest assured that the attitude and direction of today's "modern" society played an equally significant part in the downfall of Schrade, Camilus and other great American companies.

Wake up America!

This rant now vented, I can say that I'm very glad to own multiple USA-made Schrade knives. Some are Old Timers and some are Uncle Henrys. All are great, TRADITIONAL pieces of American History.