https://queencutleryhistory.com/
2018 when Queen Cutlery went bankrupt after nearly a century in business, a liquidation auction took place June 1, 2019 and almost all of the contents of the Queen factory in Titusville, as well as trademarks, were sold to Gilbert Cooper of Winchester, Ohio.
Mr. Cooper made plans to bring everything to his hometown of Winchester “…then covid hit”. Finally, four semi-loads, two 36 foot trailer loads plus an 18 foot trailer had delivered everything to Ohio, one year to the day after the auction. Then he went to work cleaning, refurbishing and setting up the machinery in a modern metal building on his property. The story of Cooper Cutlery has begun.
Gilbert told us that although he holds the trademarks to twelve knife brands, early on he decided Schatt & Morgan knives would be the primary focus of his attention, at least for the time being. Queen was among those trademarks but he decided to sell those rights to Smoky Mountain Knife Works. After an initial pilot run of a knife made by Bear & Son, SMKW has shifted production of Queen knives to China.
Gilbert strongly emphasizes that will not be the case with his knives. All of them will be manufactured in the USA, in his Ohio factory, under his supervision. The new Schatt & Morgan knives will be “similar to what people are used to seeing but with a little difference”, as you can see in these accompanying photographs. The objective is to build knives the way they were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Since he owns the tooling for numerous S&M patterns, those tools will be used. Blades will be made with 1095 carbon steel. Old bone slabs have been purchased and are jigged on an old Utica machine at Blue Grass Cutlery, in Manchester, Ohio, a few miles away. Natural dyes are being used to color the bone handles.
Mr. Cooper made plans to bring everything to his hometown of Winchester “…then covid hit”. Finally, four semi-loads, two 36 foot trailer loads plus an 18 foot trailer had delivered everything to Ohio, one year to the day after the auction. Then he went to work cleaning, refurbishing and setting up the machinery in a modern metal building on his property. The story of Cooper Cutlery has begun.
Gilbert told us that although he holds the trademarks to twelve knife brands, early on he decided Schatt & Morgan knives would be the primary focus of his attention, at least for the time being. Queen was among those trademarks but he decided to sell those rights to Smoky Mountain Knife Works. After an initial pilot run of a knife made by Bear & Son, SMKW has shifted production of Queen knives to China.
Gilbert strongly emphasizes that will not be the case with his knives. All of them will be manufactured in the USA, in his Ohio factory, under his supervision. The new Schatt & Morgan knives will be “similar to what people are used to seeing but with a little difference”, as you can see in these accompanying photographs. The objective is to build knives the way they were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Since he owns the tooling for numerous S&M patterns, those tools will be used. Blades will be made with 1095 carbon steel. Old bone slabs have been purchased and are jigged on an old Utica machine at Blue Grass Cutlery, in Manchester, Ohio, a few miles away. Natural dyes are being used to color the bone handles.
