One of the products we made long ago suddenly has some resurgent popularity.
A half dozen times over this past winter we received emails from individuals across America who had used a friend's Snow Blade and did a quick search on the internet to find one of their own. This brought them to the sample parts gallery on our website, the only place where this classic sled could be found online.
Unfortunately, we were unable to make their search a fruitful one as this item is no longer available and we would be unable to sell them if they were --- these sleds were made for a custom manufacturing client who in turn sold them to their clients (department and hardware stores throughout the Northeast).
The customer for whom we made them was named Buddy "L", which was founded in 1910. Over the course of the mid-1990s we made a few thousand SnowBlades for them. It was an interesting sled...a single blade with a seat that one would ride downhill while sitting upright, almost like a bicycle.
Production of these sleds ended around 1994 and Buddy "L" soon fell on some hard times. Buddy "L" had been sold to Empire Industries in 1990 and within 10 years Empire filed for bankruptcy.
During Empire's bankruptcy, the molds became the property of the larger creditors and the whereabouts and status of the molds are unknown. No one has made a SnowBlade since we stopped in 1994.
Who knows, maybe someday someone will unearth these molds and make the sleds. They've certainly proven to be able to stand the test of time and are beloved by anyone who uses them.
