"Old Hickory" knives/ Shapleigh's Vs Ontario

Hello everyone from Hillbilly. I selected Hillbilly as my Forum name because I am indeed an old hillbilly from the hills of southwest Missouri although I have lived near Washington DC for about 29 years now. I have various knives & tools for their care. Currently, I am on a quest to determine the origination of the "Old Hickory" line of kitchen knives. I was given a very nice one with blade stamped with "Shapleigh's Hammer Forged 1843". After cleaning up it was a very nice knife. I picked up a few more on eBay & around then realized there is a mystery there. Shapleigh's are stamped either 1843 or 1843 to 1934. Shapleigh's started in 1843 and went out of business in 1962 so what's with the dates. Did Shapleigh's manufacture old hickory's only from 1843 to 1934 and, if so, when were the knives with the dates actually made. And who made them? To compound the problem, Ontario knife co. claims they invented/developed the old hickory brand in 1923 but some knife dealers claim they did it over a 100 years ago. If you have any old Shapleigh's or Ontario catalogs or other info which can shed light on this mystery, please share it and all "Old Hickory" collectors will love you for it. Thanks.