Old timer 165OT Truly Full Tang? USA*

[PyroMaidiac]

I recently purchased a vintage USA made version of this knife and was looking into the Chinese made version of the 165OT and found a review on Amazon of a person showing the “full tang” isn’t truly full tang, but actually a rat tail end. This makes me wonder if the USA made version is actually full tang.

[ea42]

Wow that's some strange construction right there, I don't understand the point of it all.

All the U,S. made 165's as well as the other knives in that family were full tang, none of that nonsense.

Eric

[tongueriver]

Correct; thanks, Eric! All of the iterations (there were many) of the 165 and the 160 were full tang, and several others, a 164, 162, 13, 14, 167, 168, etc. However many Schrade fixed blades that started out earlier, were not. None of the Schrade Walden (1946-1973) fixed blade knives were full tang that I can remember with the above exceptions. The most heavily produced Schrade fixed blade of all, the 153UH, was not full tang, and it continued very late in the game. More hidden-tangs: 172, 171, 41, all the 49rs, 147, 148, 141, blah blah blah.

[OLDE CUTLER]

Wow that's some strange construction right there, I don't understand the point of it all.

All the U,S. made 165's as well as the other knives in that family were full tang, none of that nonsense.

Eric

I understand it, cut corners and make more money.

[cody6268]

Wow that's some strange construction right there, I don't understand the point of it all.

All the U,S. made 165's as well as the other knives in that family were full tang, none of that nonsense.

Eric

I understand it, cut corners and make more money.

I have purchased maybe half a dozen Chinese Schrades, and haven't been impressed by any of them, and usually passed them on via the POS Exchange. I've paid half the cost of most of their models for a Rough Ryder and been more impressed. Guess you're just paying for the name they desecrated?

However, this method of assembling the handle is confusing. It seems like by cutting the blade, then cutting the handle "tang" and then spot-welding it into place, you get something that costs more and is weaker vs. simply stamping the blade and tang together as would be normal.

[Mr. Chips]

Case of someone overthinking something.

[ea42]

I can understand their thinking on it, that method allows them to use a solid guard rather than the two piece pinned version on the Schrade USA knives which saves time and tooling, but man that's pretty shady and definitely results in a weaker handle with many more gaps.

Eric

[Dinadan]

Was that method of construction really cheaper than just using a different style guard? It does not seem elegant, but it must have worked just fine based on Schrade's enduring reputation for knives made in that era.