In 1916, the brothers
Michael and Felix Mirando arrived in Providence, Rhode Island from Winsted,
Connecticut, where that had worked for the Empire Knife Company. The Mirando
family had made knives in Italy for several generations, and the move from
Empire was with the intent of starting their own cutlery business. Their fist
knives were made during 1917 in a small rented blacksmith shop and the Imperial
Knife Company was formed. The company at first made only knife skeletons which
were used by the area’s jewelry trade in making watch chain knives and, within
less than a year of the company’s founding, Imperial was producing more than a
thousand pieces per week.
Business grew and, in
1919, Domenic Fazzano, a boyhood friend from Italy’s Frosolone Cutlery Center,
joined the Mirandos in business. By the early 1920s, wristwatches began
replacing pocket watches and necessity became the mother of invention for Imperial.
Its innovation of the shadow knife (skeletons with mounted plastic scales) was
responsible for its continuing success. In fact, continued practical
application of innovative ideas not only helped Imperial to weather the storm
of the Great Depression, but also helped make the company into the giant it is
today. During a time when knives were handled in bone, stag, cocobolo, and
horn, Imperial pioneered knives with colorful plastic handles. When the buying
public was exceptionally cost-conscious, Imperial’s sales of bumped tip
bolstered knives and those of “shell” wrapped handle construction offered
reasonable alternatives. While these inexpensive knives have never attracted
extensive collector interest, a few forward-thinking souls are seeking out the
more attractive examples in pristine condition, and building interesting
collections on the cheap.
By 1940, Imperial was
the world’s largest cutlery manufacturer, producing as many as 100,000 knives
per day. During World War II, production of knives for civilian use was
restricted and Imperial converted to full wartime production. The company
produced over half the trench knives used by the various branches of the U. S.
Armed Forces. After playing the key role in designing the M-4 bayonet, Imperil
produced the largest quality of all bayonets purchased by the government. With
wartime production priorities, Imperial began to work cooperatively with the
Ulster Knife Company, owned by Albert and Henry Baer.
In 1947, the three
established company names of Imperial, Schrade and Ulster came together under
the leadership of the Mirandos, the Fazannos, and the Baer’s in a company named
the Imperial Knife Associated Companies. The Baer brothers bought out their
partners in 1984 and the company name was changed to Imperial Schrade
Corporation.
Imperial-Schrade
suddenly closed its doors in 2004 and the company’s assets were dispersed.
Among the items sold was an extensive “factory collection” of knives which
included many beautiful, pristine examples and unusual prototypes that were
never produced for public sale. Taylor Cutlery of Kindsport, Tennessee, now
owns the company’s name and trademarks.
Some of the stampings
used by Imperial included IMPERIAL KNIFE CO., IMPERIAL Prov. R. I., HAMMER
BRAND, I.K.CO. JACK-MASTER, KAMPKING, and FRONTIER as well as several contract
brands. While older knives were handled in traditional materials such as bone
and celluloid, those using plastic, metal and Delrin, are more commonly found.
Sources
Price Guide to
Collectors Knives, 15th Edition by Houston Price and Mark Zalesky.
