What is Your Latest Old Schrade?

[Airborne 1]

Knife Porn !!!!!

[peanut740]

Nice knife Paul!

[KnifeSlinger#81]

Thanks guys.

[KnifeSlinger#81]

I picked up another nice old schrade recently. This one is a 2344, predecessor of the common 33OT. Nice butter and molasses celluloid. Just barely used, and still has those highly desired factory edges.

[kootenay joe]

Regarding the Schrade-Walden 896Y are you sure it is celluloid ?
S-W began usine Delrin on some patterns in 1960 and within a couple of years, on most patterns. Before 1960 S-W tried a number of different 'plastics' for knife handles.
Does anyone know when Schrade-Walden stopped using celluloid ?
kj

[tongueriver]

I believe that the 896Y above is celluloid.

[kootenay joe]

Cal, can you tell from the markings when in the 1947-72 time period the 896Y was likely made ?
kj

[KnifeSlinger#81]

Regarding the Schrade-Walden 896Y are you sure it is celluloid ?
S-W began usine Delrin on some patterns in 1960 and within a couple of years, on most patterns. Before 1960 S-W tried a number of different 'plastics' for knife handles.
Does anyone know when Schrade-Walden stopped using celluloid ?
kj

I can assure you it is celluloid.

When schrade started using delrin in the early 60's they likely stopped using celluloid fairly quickly.

[kootenay joe]

Paul, i believe Schrade-Walden stopped using celluloid years before Delrin was introduced in 1960. Delrin was developed by Dupont at the urgings of Albert Baer because of the problems that celluloid causes when used for knife handles. In the 1950's S-W used a few different plastics for their knife handles to avoid using celluloid.
I wonder if the old catalogs would document when celluloid was last used ?
kj

[black mamba]

Cal, can you tell from the markings when in the 1947-72 time period the 896Y was likely made ?
kj

Not Cal, but I believe the NY USA tang stamp on the 896Y was used from 1954-'72, so being celluloid, the knife was made from 1954 to about 1960.

[kootenay joe]

Quote: "so being celluloid, the knife was made from 1954 to about 1960."
If you read my posts above, i believe S-W stopped using celluloid some years before 1960. They used other plastics like "Bonite" and other names i can't recall.
kj.

[KnifeSlinger#81]

Roland, the thing about the catalogs is they rarely specified celluloid. For example the yellow synthetic handled models in the walden era catalogs were usually called "canary yellow handle". There were other synthetics used during the cut co and walden era but cell was always the most common. I do not think they fully replaced celluloid in all applications until delrin came along and took over as the standard.

[black mamba]

Joe, that's why I said "about 1960." Here is a Bonite knife from Craftsman made by Ulster, late '50s. Doesn't have the three-dimensional sheen of celluloid.

[jxr1197]

Foster Grant's brand of polystyrene molding powder was called Fostarene and IKAC used gobs of it. It's most easily recognized on the Mexican Imperials and the common jigged black composite handles you see on 50's era Schrades, Ulsters, etc. I'm not aware of any 'proof' of it, but I suspect Bonite was also Fostarene.

[KnifeSlinger#81]

I quite literally chased down the mail truck for this one; A wonderful schrade cut 8172 3 5/8" ebony cattle knife. Definitely a grail find for me.

[RalphAlsip]

Beautiful old Schrade cattle knife in remarkable condition.

[kootenay joe]

Jason thanks for telling us about "Fostarene". I have not heard of this before.
I very much like the old SCC's with the hard wood handles, classy look and they hold up so well. The bone handles are more likely to have a piece missing or pin cracks.
kj

[jxr1197]

Jason thanks for telling us about "Fostarene". I have not heard of this before.

Always happy to share info . I learned about Fostarene recently and it was one of those 'aha!' moments that helped connect a bunch of random dots. Delrin retired a whole heap of plastics to the annals of history but before that day came DuPont was actually one of the biggest customers of Fostarene - an ironic twist considering the history between Foster Grant and DuPont.

[black mamba]

Just received a pretty nice Cut Co Barlow in bone stag.

[KnifeSlinger#81]

Just received a pretty nice Cut Co Barlow in bone stag.

CutCoBarlowOpen.jpg
CutCoBarlowMark.jpg
CutCoBarlowPile.jpg

It certainly is nice.

[peanut740]

Ditto

[TripleF]

Schrade Cut Co Walden NY pen knife

[black mamba]

Paul and Roger, thank you!

[KnifeSlinger#81]

Today I received a schrade walden 834 with wavy bone and a craftsman etch (always love that craftsman branding). Factory edges and such, nicely aged knife with some character. Thanks Roland!

[orvet]

That is a beauty Paul!