I looked for the location of the old Olsen Knives plant for quite some time. I finally found a mention of it on the Mattson's True Value Yelp page in which a person indicated Olsen used to be in the same building. I had a feeling that is where it was.
Olsen OK Hunting Knife By Chuck Hawks:
The history of the Olsen Knife Company ("Fatty Fatty run for your life, here comes Skinny with an Olsen Knife") is a bit obscure and confused. Here is what I have been able to piece together. The village of Howard City, Michigan (founded in 1868 and incorporated in 1873) was the home of the Hudson Knife Co., which became Joslin Knife Co. and ultimately the Olsen Knife Company owned by Lee Olsen, Jr.
The Olsen OK fixed blade hunting knives that established Olsen as one of the premier American knife makers of his time were made in Howard City (population around 1500) from 1950 to 1970. These were excellent quality knives (I believe hand made) and highly respected in the period before the general revival of interest in custom American knife making.
During the 1950's and 1960's, Olsen knives were generally equated with contemporary Randall, Moran, Buck and Gerber hunting knives, which were probably the best known premium American knives of the period, although Olsen never achieved the fame of Randall Made or the popularity of Buck and Gerber. In addition to fixed blade hunting knives, Olsen offered nice folders and pocket knives. Note that Olsen's American made knives reached prominence prior to the founding of the Knifemakers Guild (1970), the American Bladesmith Society (1972) and American Blade (later just Blade) magazine (1973), all of which came too late to benefit Olsen.
After 1970 and possibly until as late as 1980, the Olsen Company marketed knives made to their pattern in Solingen, Germany. It is unclear whether they produced any hand made knives in America during this period. The Olsen facility in Howard City was apparently destroyed by fire sometime between 1978 and 1980, marking the end of the original Company. However, a group based in Grand Rapids, Michigan apparently marketed Olsen brand knives made in Germany and Japan from about 1982 until 1985 and some Olsen branded knives from this period may have been made for them by Schrade Cutlery.
The Olsen hunting knife that is the subject of this article was purchased in 1970 from a sporting goods retailer in Eugene, Oregon. It was the only Olsen knife they had, mixed in with a display of Buck hunting knives, and the sales clerk was unfamiliar with the brand.
Several years earlier I had read an article in one of the gun and hunting magazines about premium American hunting knives that focused on Buck, Gerber, Moran, Olsen and Randall knives, so I had at least heard of Olsen knives and bought it on the spot. This turned out to be one of my better buying decisions, as I have used the knife ever since.
It came with a top quality sheath bearing the Olsen OK trademark. The sheath is made of heavy duty saddle leather, heavily stitched, with a thick, stitch-protecting spline of leather around the sides and a big 4" belt loop. The knife point cannot pierce the stitching. It is similar in design and quality to the sheaths supplied with Randall Made knives, which is to say excellent.