Schatt & Morgan Cutlery Company

This company, at one time, was one of the largest cutlery manufactures in the United States. It was originated when J. W. Schatt and C. B. Morgan formed the New York Cutlery Company in about 1890. Both men had considerable previous experience within the cutlery industry. Schatt had worked with the J. R. Torrey Company and Morgan had sold knives manufactured by the Canastota Knife Company as well as his brother’s Bayonne Knife Company.

Their business was at first a cutlery importing firm, but in 1897 that partners purchased the former C. Platts & Sons factory in Gowanda, New York, and named it Schatt & Morgan Cutlery Company. Knives sold during the 1897-1902 period were stamped S & M New York and S & M Gowanda, N.Y. The partners’ initials crossed with and elongated “X”. When this facility proved ill suited for further expansion, the partners business was moved to nearby Titusville, Pennsylvania and incorporated there.

Although the business headquarters had moved, Schatt continued to reside in Gowanda and work out of his hometown. In 1911, Morgan purchased Schatt’s interest but continued the company under the dual name.

The demise of this producer of fine knives begun about 1922 and was heralded with the announcement by American Cutler that “Queen City Cutlery Company of Titusville, PA manufacture of pocketknives, has been incorporated with a capital stock of $25,000”. Another announcement that year reported that Schatt & Morgan’s staff was 60 men, about one third of its usual workforce. The new cross town competitor had been started at the expense of Schatt & Morgan by five of the factory foremen producing extra parts after the shift, then assembling them into knives marked with the QUEE NCITY brand. The company fired these employees, but found it difficult to continue to operate efficiently with inadequate supervisory personnel and with the former employees now devoting full time to making the competitive brand. Schatt & Morgan Cutlery Company’s operations had practically ceased by about 1928, and in 1933 the Second National Bank took possession of the company by way of a sheriff’s sale. The irony of this saga was Queen City Cutlery’s subsequent purchase of the building, machinery, and stock of parts owned by the old company and subsequently moved into the S & M factory.

Schatt & Morgan produced a large variety of knives in considerable quantities, nearly 600 different patterns were offered in 1911 and several million knives were sold. Still when compared to several other brands, Schatt & Morgan knives are not easy to find. This is due, in part, to the vast number of knives Schatt & Morgan produced under private labels. When found, few of the knives are stamped with standardized pattern numbers offering information about number of blades, handle material, or bolster type. A large variety of bolster and liner materials were used including brass, nickel silver, steel and Norway iron. Shield variety was also plentiful with most common styles of the period being used.

Knives marked SCHATT & MORGAN, GOWANDA, N.Y. and S & M, GOWANDDA, NEW YORK, and S & M, NEW YORK are the hardest to find, since they are from the firm’s formative years. Most will be found bearing either an S & M, TITUSVILLE, PA or SCHATT & MORGAN, TITUSVILLE, PA stamp.

In 1991, Queen Cutlery Co., which still occupies the old Schatt & Morgan factory in Titusville, began offering high quality collector grade knives under the old name. These have primarily been produced in two separate series, the “Schatt & Morgan Series” and the “File & Wire” series. All of these knives feature stainless steel blades but are otherwise similar to the originals. The front tang stampings are practically identical to original Schatt & Morgan marks, but the knives are easily discerned by a Queen Cutlery marking and /or the year of production on the back of the master blade’s tang, as well as etching or engraving identifying their limited edition status.