My latest Schrade

[kootenay joe]

Here is a very neat Schrade Cut. Co. The ball point pen still writes smoothly and it is a minimum 70 years old and quite possibly closer to 100.
Anyone else have one of these ?
kj

[jerryd6818]

quite possibly closer to 100.

kj

Probably not. Cool little knife though.

An abbreviated history of the ballpoint pen, gleaned from Wikipedia.

The concept of the ballpoint pen has been around since the late 1880's but a commercially viable design was not patented until 1938 in Britian by a Hungarian newspaper editor named László Bíró. The Bíró brothers fled Germany in 1941 taking their patent with them and immigrated to Argentina where they formed Bíró Pens of Argentina.

In mid-1945, the Eversharp Co. teamed up with Eberhard Faber Co. to license the rights from Birome for sales in the United States. Marcel Bich also introduced a ballpoint pen to the American marketplace in the 1950s, licensed from Bíró and based on the Argentine designs. Bich shortened his company's name to Bic in 1953.

After an initial bumpy decade and a half, more research and the development of different inks and balls the ballpoint pen was refined to a reliable writing device and starting in the 1960s became the commercial success it is today.

Note: Does anyone besides me remember the ballpoint pens of the 1950s and 1960s that continuously "blobbed" ink around the tip of the pen when used to write more than a few lines?

[kootenay joe]

Thanks Jerry. I never thought to check origin of ball point pens. Schrade Cut. Co. became Schrade-Walden in 1946-47.
Given the those ball point pen dates Schrade Cut Co was right on the ball to incorporate one into a knife before 1946.
I will try to redeem myself by showing a Schrade-Walden beauty, the 906, a 'camper' style multiblade. Schrade also came out with similar multiblades in the 1990's but imported them from Germany so not a true Schrade.
This 906 opens and closes more smoothly than any SAK or German multiblade i have ever owned.
kj

[kootenay joe]

Quote: "Does anyone besides me remember the ballpoint pens of the 1950s and 1960s that continuously "blobbed" ink around the tip of the pen when used to write more than a few lines?"

I remember not being allowed to use a ballpoint pen in school until the fountain pen had been mastered.
In 5th grade every desk had an inkwell in upper right corner. The pen was just a bamboo(?) stick with a nib attached. You dip the nib into the ink and begin to print or write. There is a fair bit of technique involved: how hard you press on the nib, how long it touches the paper, angle of nib to paper.
By end of 5th grade we were expected to be able to write legibly and quickly with this type of pen. Then in 6th grade we could use a ballpoint pen and my life with a nib has never returned. Kind of like algebra, worked hard to learn it and never used it again.
kj

[Darksev]

I think the blades were blanked, had the matchstriker pulls stamped into them, and were set aside in storage in bulk. As all the models (881, 880, 882Y and 8OT) used the same "blank", When needed, they would pull a blank, stamp the necessary model and MFG, then grind the blade accordingly before heat treat. A couple years after the 1973 tang stamp switch, you start to see all of these models appear without matchstriker pulls. This leads me to believe that the stock of matchstriker blanks had run dry, and they decided (for whatever reason) to start making the "new" blanks with straight pulls. This probably happened about the same time as they discontinued the 880, since you don't see any straight pull 880s, but you do see 882Y's and 881's with them.

All wild speculation, obviously, but it's fun to think about. Either way I got a nice knife out of the deal

The blades on the 880 are much thicker then the 881 and 8OT blades.
If all the blades where the same thickness, Schrade would be still working, trying to grind the 881 and 8OT blades down... Ken

The 880's appear thicker at the spine, but that's because they don't have the flat grind removing meat from the spine that the normal blades do. The actual blade stock thickness at the tang stamp is .095 for all of them.
Comparing with my calipers a Schrade walden era 8OT, NY USA straight pull 8OT, straight pull NY USA 881, a post-73 NY USA matchstriker 8OT and the matchstriker NY USA 880. I might have a walden era 880 on the way here in a week or so, if that's the case I'll check it as well against the others.

[deltaboy]

Got a Walden 108OT in the mail today.

[Darksev]

Super excited about this one that showed up today.

Was an auction, listed as nothing special, and aside from looking like there was some tarnish appeared to be in good shape. I was looking for a Walden-era example for my display anyways. The coloration on the handle scales didn't look like any Delrin I've seen, so I crossed my fingers, made an offer and bought it.

Early (50's, I would assume) bone scaled 880, wonderful condition after a little mineral oil and renwax. It looks like someone may have taken some fine steel wool, or maybe a rust eraser to a few spots on the blades here and there (mostly on the sheepsfoot) but the overall condition is great! Polished mark side with a nice clean etch, everything else has the glazed finish. The difference between this, and a post-1973 880 are night and day. Every grind is a bit cleaner, the snap is better and more defined... Really gorgeous.

Now I finally have an old bone schrade in my collection!

[garddogg56]

PERFECT

[wlf]

Nice catch.

[orvet]

Nice find Adam!

[koldgold]

Super excited about this one that showed up today.

Was an auction, listed as nothing special, and aside from looking like there was some tarnish appeared to be in good shape. I was looking for a Walden-era example for my display anyways. The coloration on the handle scales didn't look like any Delrin I've seen, so I crossed my fingers, made an offer and bought it.
Schrade880s.jpg
Early (50's, I would assume) bone scaled 880, wonderful condition after a little mineral oil and renwax. It looks like someone may have taken some fine steel wool, or maybe a rust eraser to a few spots on the blades here and there (mostly on the sheepsfoot) but the overall condition is great! Polished mark side with a nice clean etch, everything else has the glazed finish. The difference between this, and a post-1973 880 are night and day. Every grind is a bit cleaner, the snap is better and more defined... Really gorgeous.

Now I finally have an old bone schrade in my collection!
Schrade880s_2.jpg

The blade in your early 880, looks to have the same match-strike pull as the early 1960s Schrade 8OT.
Dave, can you try and get a better photo of the Match-strike.
This is an early 8OT, I will post a photo of my early 8OT's pull, soon... Ken.

[tongueriver]

The difference between this, and a post-1973 880 are night and day. Every grind is a bit cleaner, the snap is better and more defined... Really gorgeous.

You cracked the code! With some important exceptions, aesthetics went steadily downhill at Schrade after 1960, and most companies gradually, after the War. This could be said for most items of beauty, notably firearms, but cutting across all elements of consumer offerings. It is all about profit and the forced extinction of the American worker. The end result, of course, was the export of American manufacture to Asia,and other foreign destinations with lower labor costs.

[deltaboy]

The difference between this, and a post-1973 880 are night and day. Every grind is a bit cleaner, the snap is better and more defined... Really gorgeous.

You cracked the code! With some important exceptions, aesthetics went steadily downhill at Schrade after 1960, and most companies gradually, after the War. This could be said for most items of beauty, notably firearms, but cutting across all elements of consumer offerings. It is all about profit and the forced extinction of the American worker. The end result, of course, was the export of American manufacture to Asia,and other foreign destinations with lower labor costs.

My Father and me agree tools and Knifes went down hill after 1960.

[deltaboy]

Super excited about this one that showed up today.

Was an auction, listed as nothing special, and aside from looking like there was some tarnish appeared to be in good shape. I was looking for a Walden-era example for my display anyways. The coloration on the handle scales didn't look like any Delrin I've seen, so I crossed my fingers, made an offer and bought it.
Schrade880s.jpg
Early (50's, I would assume) bone scaled 880, wonderful condition after a little mineral oil and renwax. It looks like someone may have taken some fine steel wool, or maybe a rust eraser to a few spots on the blades here and there (mostly on the sheepsfoot) but the overall condition is great! Polished mark side with a nice clean etch, everything else has the glazed finish. The difference between this, and a post-1973 880 are night and day. Every grind is a bit cleaner, the snap is better and more defined... Really gorgeous.

Now I finally have an old bone schrade in my collection!
Schrade880s_2.jpg

Now that some good looking Schrades.

[Hak1911]

Showed up today
Schrade Cut Co.

[Chase]

Nice clean cork screw there!

Here are a couple I have added recently...Schrade Blue Rope Bone

[Chase]

And then I was able to complete my Schrade 95th Anniversary set complete with globes

[koldgold]

Nice clean cork screw there!
Here are a couple I have added recently...Schrade Blue Rope Bone

Do you want the shields for those ACB knives.

Hi Tom,
I love those ACB blue rope-cut bone knives.
I have only ever seen one full completed set of those ACB's
I have not seen the ACB Box.
Schrade was going to start selling them, in the second part of 2004.

[koldgold]

And then I was able to complete my Schrade 95th Anniversary set complete with globes

I was lucky to get the gold blade etched Schrad 95th Anniversary knife and the glass display - before the US postage costs went up.
I found 10 of the displays. The postage was about 4 times the display cost, to get them to Australia... Ken

[Darksev]

Nice clean cork screw there!

Here are a couple I have added recently...Schrade Blue Rope Bone

Super jealous of that ACB80!

[Chase]

Added a few more Schrades to the room! This first one I have been after for quite some time. Found one about a year and a half ago but the owner thought it was golden and wanted wayyyy too much money for it. My patience has paid off and I got one at half the price he was asking.

Schrade Wildlife Forever Bronze looking eagle with knife

[Chase]

And here are a couple others I have been after. Schrade Desert Storm knives. As a veteran of Desert Shield and Desert Storm, these have meaning to me. There is some dried oil on the fixed blade....not a blemish

[Chase]

Dang...the pictures are upside down...problem with using an iPad to take pictures. Is there someone out there that can rotate these pictures for me?

Tom

[MrBlister]

Anybody recognize whot
this thang is ???? and/or
what the barely visible
etch might say??
jus L@@k at that gorgeous
ole bone...

thanks in advance
and HET in advance

[jerryd6818]