Muskrat Love

[KAW]

While I always felt that one day I would obtain a Muskrat model for my Schrade collection, I never intended to end up with a Muskrat "herd".
It all started when Herman Williams (for those who don't know... an ex-Schrade Master Cutler) put a couple of his customized Schrade Muskrats up for auction on eBay at the end of last year. Attempting to win one, but not wanting to miss out, I ended up with both...
a 787 with custom jigged bone handles with the "Improved Muskrat" shield... and...
a 77OT with custom saw-cut bone handles with the "Old Timer" shield.

Three months later... an addition to the herd in the form of a Canal Street Muskrat with brown jigged bone handles issued in 2005.
... and yet I still feel the urge to obtain a Schrade factory version to boot...

While I love gawking at them, I have been scratching my scalp bald wondering why would there be a need to have two identical Turkish clip blades in one knife? ... and what makes the 787 an "Improved" muskrat?

My apologies for not being able to get the photos to show the detail in the saw-cut handles

[treefarmer]

Wow, KAW! Beauties, all three.
One of my favorite knives is the Muskrat pattern, been using a plain 77OT for years when I'm finishing up processing a deer, removing small bits of silver skin or unwanted fat, etc., just a perfect knife for me for that purpose. Again, you have some fine ones! That little folding rule ain't bad either.
Treefarmer

[OLDE CUTLER]

Nice muskrats! I feel that the muskrat is an under appreciated pattern that many people nowadays don't care for. I only have six, shown below. Note that most, but not all muskrats have identical blades. The Kabar shown has different pull locations on the two blades. And of course the Buck 313 shown uses the same blades as their trapper, but on opposite ends. Maybe this is not a true muskrat? I can as a small kid recall seeing my dad skinning with his Schrade muskrat knife. He would skin until the first blade dulled, then use the second blade to finish. Nice to have two sharp blades.
Old Timer 77 OT, Kabar, Buck 313

Case yellow CV, Wards brown bone, Kutmaster with Blake & Lamb blade etch.

[Mustanger]

Very nice bone handled Muskrats, KAW. You might also like Schrade's 2003 and 2004 Cigar Box Classics bone handled Muskrats. Shown are one finished product from '04 in it's cigar box and a couple of unfinished ones. One from 2003 for the green bone Muskrat pictured with an Uncle Henry 77UH and a 2004 pictured with a trapper from the same limited editions. Herman has also built some beautiful green bone Muskrats. You might even consider an Uncle Henry 877UH with a gut hook. It could be re-scaled with bone. I wish I could answer your question about what makes a Muskrat "Improved", but I have wondered why myself. Perhaps it's just a marketing ploy?

[dweb1897]

As to the question of the "improved" muskrat. After quite a bit of reading it appears there are at least 2 schools of thought. Around 1934 - 1936 the muskrat got a Hawbaker blade, described in the 1936 catalog as an improved skinning blade. After that, with or without the hawbaker blade the knife was referred to, and marked, as an "Improved Muskrat". Another plausible explanation is that "Improved Muskrat" was simply a marketing ploy...as in New and Improved. A combination of the two explanations seems likely. Someone trying to boost sales saw the description in the 1936 catalog and suggested that they etch Improved on the muskrats. In 1936, a pocket knife was a tool, just as it is today. If someone says they have an improved version of a tool I use, I'd probably want to buy it.

[Mustanger]

That seems like a pretty good explanation, Doug. Especially since the Hawbaker muskrat continued into the Schrade Walden era when they were cataloging the double clip blade muskrats at the same time as just, "Muskrat". At least as near as I can tell from the available catalogs.

This picture was posted online by Waynorth. There's a muskrat to dream about!

[KAW]

Olde Cutler & Mustanger, those are some mighty fine examples you both posted! Schrade certainly made some really great looking knives right up to the end. BTW, I really do like their green bone handles & I do have a couple of knives with them, but they are not Muskrats.

Treefarmer & dweb1897, thanks for the info. I'm still new to knife collecting & still trying to get a grasp as to the functionality / purpose to all the different patterns there are.

Anyone else have some Muskrats they want to show off?

[terryl308]

Here are my "rat pack", top left 1988 Rem 4466 (they call it a muskrat), next down is a Schrade D.U. 77UH, next one down is a Schrade 787 imp. muskrat, top center is a Buck 313, next one down is a Queen 9125, bottom center is a Schrade 77OT, top right Schrade+ 77UH gut hook, center right is a Robeson 623595 USA, and bottom right is a "hybrid" Schrade/Parker marked Schrade 1978-3 on one side and parker/Frost on the other side. Terry

[dweb1897]

I've always liked the Muskrat...here's some from my collection

5 by Herman Williams... the last 2 are single back springs

787 SW single back spring...787WE SW Wonda Edge single back spring...3 New York Knife Co Walden's ....Schrade/Parker....Unfinished Cigar Box

Pile side of the 787WE.....2 Canal Streets

4 variations in White Bone by Herman Williams

[OLDE CUTLER]

I picked up this Schrade 787 Improved Muskrat at a garage sale yesterday for a fiver! This one has the grind lines visible on both blades, was that typical of Schrades from this era?

[doglegg]

Price is impressive but the knife more so. Congrats.

[Dan In MI]

You were definitely in the right place at the right time. Congratulations!

[galvanic1882]

Just got this Rat, beautiful knife but probably be letting it go soon.

[tongueriver]

That is a beauty, Mike. I hear you about letting them go. Last I looked I have 237 Schrade CutCo prewar knives to mostly release. What was I thinking?

[timb]

I used to like the idea of carrying a muskrat. My thoughts were to keep one blade for everyday use and the blade clean and sharp for fine precise work. The trouble was that I'd forget and use both blades for general use, so my theory never worked out