My latest Schrade

[tongueriver]

Here is another one. I don't think the one you show with the 'jigged' 225H type handles was ever a marketed item, or, if so, I have never seen one, either!

[JAMESC41001]

Both great knives guys. I noticed the sears knives often have etched blades. I have a couple that I’d like to show as well just need to take some pics. I also picked up a couple of the old catalogs from 1969, the year I was born. I got them for research on knives of course but they sure do bring back memories. Like another world. You could build a house and a car out of those things. And a few guns to boot.

[tongueriver]

This one is not here yet; I want to compare it with my known Schrade CutCo and decide whether this one is a Schrade or an Ulster USA. Either way I love the folding hunters. The tangstamp is Craftsman; that's why I do not yet know who made it. And the Mother of Toilet Seat covers? Well, I am gambling that they have settled down. If it had been a WESTERN I wouldn't touch it unless I was having it re-handled. I do take pains to stable my celluloid knives in a loving environment.U1.jpgU4.jpgU5.jpg

The knife arrived and I compared it to two Schrade CutCo folding hunters in celluloid and the blade grinds, tang shapes, etc. are clearly different. The frames are too close to call. I will call this newest acquisition an Ulster U.S.A. (post 1940). It could have been made well into the 1950s. Who knows?

[kootenay joe]

Here is a Beauty, from ebay, very little $ and it's a great Schrade knife: LB5, "1991 Napanoch Fire Dept.", plus sheath. At 3 3/4" it is in the sweet spot for carry. I like them better than the larger and much heavier LB7.
kj

[tongueriver]

Are those LB5s similar in size and weight to a 5 OT?

[KAW]

kj... I like that it commemorates the Napanoch Fire Dept.... nice lookin' knife!

[kootenay joe]

Yes Napanoch is a much respected name in N.Y. cutlery.
Exactly same size, shape, frame as the 5OT. The 5OT has a drop point blade. It too is a most usable knife but you hardly ever see this Old Timer version. Lots more 7OT's. The 5OT is nicer.
kj

[KnifeSlinger#81]

The 5ot and lb5 are not identical to each other. The lb5 is like a shrunken lb7 but the 5ot has a different frame, blade and is a barehead, it's also 1/4" longer.


I believe I have struck gold on this one, will confirm once it arrives. It was listed as a bid and I messaged the seller asking if they had a BIN price and they added one shortly afterwards. I am a bit excited.

[kootenay joe]

For 5OT & LB5 i did not say "identical". Calvin asked about size. I have a 5OT & LB5 in front of me right now. Length is the same, curve of the frame is the same. The 'height' or distance from spine to upper edge of liner is the same. The difference is not in size or shape but in bolsters/caps/handle material & blade profile.
Why would the frame be different when size & shape the same ? because the 5OT needs extra pin holes at head end ? (LB5 has caps at head end)
kj

[KnifeSlinger#81]

I was just supplementing what you said about them Roland, not trying to correct you or anything.

[kootenay joe]

O.K., thanks for clarifying. But my question remains: is a different frame required when the only difference is 2 extra pin holes ? Was there a new run of liners with all needed pin holes ? or were the existing LB5 liners used and 2 extra holes drilled in them ?
Kind of a nit picking question. Whatever the answer it doesn't matter now, 20 years later.
kj

[KnifeSlinger#81]

I don't know, perhaps they just wanted an additional option in that size range.

[bladecollectorr]

O.K., thanks for clarifying. But my question remains: is a different frame required when the only difference is 2 extra pin holes ? Was there a new run of liners with all needed pin holes ? or were the existing LB5 liners used and 2 extra holes drilled in them ?
Kind of a nit picking question. Whatever the answer it doesn't matter now, 20 years later.
kj

Hi gents. New poster here but I've collected Schrade knives for a long time. I hope I can add some clarity.

5OT and LB5 are different knives with different parts. You guys are off-track when you speak about comparing liners and bolsters and pin-holes on these two patterns.

Why? 5OT is indeed built with bolsters and liners but the LB3, LB5 and LB7 all have one-piece bolster-liner parts. Totally different parts. No liners or bolsters could be swapped from one pattern to the other.

[kootenay joe]

bladecollectorr, Welcome to AAPK !
And, thank you for this explanation of these 2 patterns. What a great contribution and on a first post as well. Remarkable. I hope you will stick around and post more of your knife knowledge.
kj

[bladecollectorr]

bladecollectorr, Welcome to AAPK !
And, thank you for this explanation of these 2 patterns. What a great contribution and on a first post as well. Remarkable. I hope you will stick around and post more of your knife knowledge.
kj

Thanks KJ! I've lurked for a while. You have a great collection. Just to muddy the waters...

While it is indeed true that the LB series had one-piece bolsters and liners as a selling point there's an exception to every rule. Here's a post-factory customized LB5 that has had the rear bolsters ground flat with the liners and then re-handled in stag. It looks that much more like a 5OT but it's not. I don't know who did the work. If anyone recognizes the signature please let me know.

[Mustanger]

Schrade Walden 897UH. Two months ago I didn't have a Schrade Walden. Now all of a sudden I have three. I think that makes eleven 897UH's, total. I can think of two more, off the top of my head, that I'd like to get someday. I may be getting a little carried away with these.....

[kootenay joe]

The 897 is a Great pattern to carry. I don't like Staglon so i prefer the 98OT which is the same knife, same stainless steel blades, but with Old Timer saw cut Delrin handles.
Am i reading correctly: you have 11 examples of the 897UH ?
Do any have the serial # on inside of liner ?
kj

[black mamba]

I have two of the 897s, both with serial numbers. This first one is a Walden with serial A0972, must be pretty early: either 1967 or '68, with nice coined liners.

The other is serial number S16617, I'm guessing mid 1970s. I like the more amber coloration of the Staglon.

Does Codger or anyone else have a chart of serial numbers and when they were produced?

[tongueriver]

Mine in the hinged box has a serial # of 53xxx, considerably earlier than the point at which they started over with the "A."

[Mustanger]

The 897 is a Great pattern to carry. I don't like Staglon so i prefer the 98OT which is the same knife, same stainless steel blades, but with Old Timer saw cut Delrin handles.
Am i reading correctly: you have 11 examples of the 897UH ?
Do any have the serial # on inside of liner ?
kj

I posted the serial #s for the ones pictured next to the pictures. Also, my Keen Kutter Anniversary 897UH is serial numbered, 05801 and a 4 line tang stamped Schrade, Ny. 897UH with serial # R88951. The rest have different types of scales (early and newer), have different tang stamps or were made for Craftsman. Some are just pretty. There are a few that I would add to this herd of mine that are special additions. But I'm not too obsessed about acquiring them unless I got a good deal on them. I do have more knife interests than money (who doesn't) and more 897s is not real high on the list. These recent purchases were too good to pass up.

On a side note, the second one pictured above was sold with a clear view tube. I thought that was unusual so I wanted it pretty bad. Turns out that the tube is actually for an 882Y and not the 897UH. All the catalog pages I looked at mention that the 897UH comes 'gift boxed' and that's the only way I've seen them marketed. So I got fooled on that. It worked out good for me though because I needed a tube for my mint 882Y anyway.

[KnifeSlinger#81]

Schrade Walden 897UH. Two months ago I didn't have a Schrade Walden. Now all of a sudden I have three. I think that makes eleven 897UH's, total. I can think of two more, off the top of my head, that I'd like to get someday. I may be getting a little carried away with these.....

Nice one. Ive been wanting a nice one like that for a while but waiting for a deal to come along. Maybe I need to bite the bullet and spend the big bucks.

[Mustanger]

Nice one. Ive been wanting a nice one like that for a while but waiting for a deal to come along. Maybe I need to bite the bullet and spend the big bucks.

I waited a long time to find a hinged box 897UH that was well under a 100 bucks. There is some minor damage to the top of the box that looks like maybe someone pulled a price tag sticker off of it and took a little bit of the leather grain paper off the box with it. And of coarse the knife tray needed the black oil stains scrubbed off with dish soap. They all have that black crud on the knife trays. All stuff I can live with for paying about half of what they are asking on ebay. And the paperwork with it is flawless. Good luck and happy hunting!

[Mustanger]

Does Codger or anyone else have a chart of serial numbers and when they were produced?

I wish! Michael Little did a nice overview piece on the 897UH, but to my knowledge no one has researched serial numbers or much on timelines for tang stamps and changes in the scale molds. Other than the obvious change in tang stamps in 1973 to Schrade, Ny. I bring it up from time to time to see if anyone has answers. My 897s carry several different tang stamps or don't have a 897UH stamp at all, which makes me really curious. It would take some serious research from company documentation to answer all my questions and it's near to, if not, impossible. I don't know if such documentation is even still available.

Edit;
I guess I should have mentioned that, as Cal has posted before, that the serial numbers ran up to 100,000 and then they started over again from 0 with a letter prefix starting with A. So going thru the alphabet, every letter = 100,000 + the remaining numbers.
One of my SW is, #M5900 which = 1,305,900. My 4 line Schrade, Ny. is #R88951 which = 1,988,951.
There is 683,051 numbers between the two serial #s. It's impossible to nail down the years of manufacture without records. But it's safe to say that the SW is nearing the end of that time period. Maybe 1970 or '71? And the Schrade, Ny. knife is near 1973 or '74. That's a lot of math for a brain damaged guy like me!
But are we sure that the serial numbers and knives came out of the factory in succession? Or were the serial numbered liners just randomly pulled out of a box that contained 5000, (that was filled from a bigger box holding millions), of them while being assembled? The numbers were only for warranty purposes anyway.
Somebody block me from editing this post again!!

[kootenay joe]

Sorry, i just looked at the pictures, did not read the text.
kj

[black mamba]

As long as the serial numbers ran consecutively, then finding the highest numbered SWs or the lowest numbered non-SWs would at least give us an idea of how many they made per year. From what we have already, seems like they made around a quarter million of them each year, or around 20,000 per month. At least it helps us within a year or two on identifying dates.