All About Pocket Knives

BFORSE wrote: ↑Thu Jan 02, 2020 9:31 pm Just received the first one of the new year, but I don’t know if it is a schrade cut co. or a schrade walden. Maybe you guys could help.

Schrade Cut Co. 8563-3/4, 3-3/8 cattle knife
Or
Schrade Walden 856

That's a nice knife you have. It could be a cut co or an early walden, which were hardly different. Looks like the stamp was ground. Maybe it's a factory second but I don't know.

The most common 856's I see are early walden stamped on the main blade with no stamped pattern number and peachseed bone with no shield. Just like yours but with a more legible stamp.

KnifeSlinger#81 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 02, 2020 9:55 pm

BFORSE wrote: ↑Thu Jan 02, 2020 9:31 pm Just received the first one of the new year, but I don’t know if it is a schrade cut co. or a schrade walden. Maybe you guys could help.

Schrade Cut Co. 8563-3/4, 3-3/8 cattle knife
Or
Schrade Walden 856

That's a nice knife you have. It could be a cut co or an early walden, which were hardly different. Looks like the stamp was ground. Maybe it's a factory second but I don't know.

The most common 856's I see are early walden stamped on the main blade with no stamped pattern number and peachseed bone with no shield. Just like yours but with a more legible stamp.

It very well could be a second. I noticed that the swedge on the main blade was cut extremely close to the longpull nailnick. I don’t know if it is necessarily a defect but it may not be to their high set of standards and quality.

BFORSE wrote: ↑Thu Jan 02, 2020 10:24 pmIt very well could be a second. I noticed that the swedge on the main blade was cut extremely close to the longpull nailnick.
E468F7DF-5D23-45B3-BF6F-AA3997808B36.jpeg
4EDA2AB8-539B-49A5-BB5B-392A7BC721A5.jpeg

I don’t know if it is necessarily a defect but it may not be to their high set of standards and quality.

That could be the case but its hard to know for sure.

KnifeSlinger#81 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 02, 2020 11:15 pm

BFORSE wrote: ↑Thu Jan 02, 2020 10:24 pmIt very well could be a second. I noticed that the swedge on the main blade was cut extremely close to the longpull nailnick.
E468F7DF-5D23-45B3-BF6F-AA3997808B36.jpeg
4EDA2AB8-539B-49A5-BB5B-392A7BC721A5.jpeg

I don’t know if it is necessarily a defect but it may not be to their high set of standards and quality.

That could be the case but its hard to know for sure.

Ok, so initially I thought that I had a schrade but when I magnified what was left of the tang stamp, I could see what looks like the “E” and “R” in ULSTER.
Does anyone have an example of an ulster with brass pins and fluted bolsters?

KnifeSlinger#81 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 02, 2020 11:15 pm

BFORSE wrote: ↑Thu Jan 02, 2020 10:24 pmIt very well could be a second. I noticed that the swedge on the main blade was cut extremely close to the longpull nailnick.
E468F7DF-5D23-45B3-BF6F-AA3997808B36.jpeg
4EDA2AB8-539B-49A5-BB5B-392A7BC721A5.jpeg

I don’t know if it is necessarily a defect but it may not be to their high set of standards and quality.

That could be the case but its hard to know for sure.

Ok, so initially I thought that I had a schrade but when I magnified what was left of the tang stamp, I could see what looks like the “E” and “R” in ULSTER.

The peachseed bone ulster knife co jr cattle that's still fairly commonly found was likely made on contract by schrade cut co.

The only difference between the schrades and ulsters are the steel bolsters and liners with no fluting and no shield for the ulsters while the schrades are usually brass lined with fluted bolsters and sometimes had a shield but not always. The dimensions, bone, blades etc. are the same.

KnifeSlinger#81 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 7:31 am The peachseed bone ulster knife co jr cattle that's still fairly commonly found was likely made on contract by schrade cut co.

The only difference between the schrades and ulsters are the steel bolsters and liners with no fluting and no shield for the ulsters while the schrades are usually brass lined with fluted bolsters and sometimes had a shield but not always. The dimensions, bone, blades etc. are the same.

If that’s the case I’m wondering if someone screwed up at the factory and put an ULSTER main blade on a SCHRADE knife, then catching that mistake, ground the tang stamp off leaving only traces of the “E” and “R” in ULSTER.

Great to see everyone's latest additions! I don't have any bone handled Cut. Co. knives. I let the big dogs fight over the rare bone oldies while I hunt the MOP, sterling and gold.

Just landed a S8606 Shac as seen in the 1936 supplement. These tiny 2-1/4" lobsters really appeal to me. This is the scissors knife variation. Repost of the 3 others to show them all together.
2-blades, corrugated sterling silver in original leather purse (C7609SS Shac)
2-blades, brass shackle, no liners of any sort
E. Weck, 3-blades, milled liners, no shackle

Nice pick up bladecollectorr. I did not figure that one would last long at that price.

As to fighting over the larger bone handle knives, well sometimes they are cheap.

KnifeSlinger#81 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 06, 2020 5:49 pm Nice pick up bladecollectorr. I did not figure that one would last long at that price.

As to fighting over the larger bone handle knives, well sometimes they are cheap.

I hear ya. Best of luck to all my fellow Schrade hunters. May 2020 bring us all some unexpected treasures!

Over the holidays I picked up this SW 147 LWE, which I had to research a little to find out about. The LWE stands for leather handle with Wonda Edge. It only shows in the catalogs from 1958-'63, and is the only one I've ever seen. I had no idea that a full serrated edge was available 60 years ago!

Thanks, Chris, I'm pretty stoked about finding it.

I picked up this Craftsman Custom Made #9475 at a gun show this weekend.
The tang stamp is SCHRADE/WALDEN/NY USA. I didn't even notice the blade etch at first, but at least no one will have to guess about who made this knife for Sears!
In the handles appear to be some sort of synthetic. I thought they were jigged bone when I bought it, but I only had a 15 power magnifier with me. Once I got home and looked at it with a 65 power field microscope I could tell that it was a composite and not bone. But it has nice full blades and with the beginning of the decent patina, so it will make someone a good user.
The knife was clean enough I didn't have to spend a lot of time cleaning it, just use the graphite pencil, toothpick and Q-tip with alcohol to clean the blade well. I thought it was pretty neat.

I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Cool Dale, a very practical knife with a calling card.

orvet wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 7:25 amI picked up this Craftsman Custom Made #9475 at a gun show this weekend.

I'm very glad you posted this. I have this knife (etch long gone) and had no idea what it was. Sargent identifies it as a S294 but that pattern number never felt right. Why S294 instead of S293? Why no pattern number on the knife? Nice find

jxr1197 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 2:36 pm Why S294 instead of S293? Why no pattern number on the knife? Nice find

The 294 is the bare head version and it has no rear bolster. The 293 has front and rear bolsters.
I believe the reason for no pattern number is because the knife was made for Craftsman so putting a Schrade model number on it would be confusing.
I suppose people at that time were used to buying a Craftsman knife and finding the Schrade Walden name on the tang. I have seen that in much more recent production with the Master Mechanic brand.

You use the S prefix with the 294 and 293, I think that is something that Jim Sargent did in his books. The Schrade catalogs that I have researched do not use the S prefix. The 294 was made from 1950 to 1963 according to my research. It was a Schrade Cut Co. pattern (2943-3/4) that was carried over into Schrade Walden.

It was nice to see that Jim Sargent's "American Premium Guide to Pocket Knives & Razors", 2nd edition, 1989, places the value of the 294 at $125.
I'm not sure whether the Craftsman model would be more or less than that. I imagine there were fewer of the Craftsman versions of the 294 made than the Schrade Walden versions.

The ''real'' 294 is the same trapper frame but it has a pen blade instead of the spey. Bolsters on both ends like the 293.

They used 294 stamped blades for this particular barehead setup but they were still making the real 294 with the pen blade at the same time. This isn't the first time I've seen this sort of thing with schrade. I think customers they made knives for like craftsman, primble, maher & grosh and etc sometimes requested special not catalog configurations but for whatever reason they shared pattern numbers with already existing standard catalog items.

You are sure enough right Paul!
Perhaps Jim Sargent messed up in the listed the 294.

Perhaps the S prefix is what differentiates the barehead variant from the regular 294. The 294 and 2943 3/4 don't have prefixes in the schrade catalogs,

Nice schrades guys. It always makes youfeel good to find that etched knife Dale.

KnifeSlinger#81 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 9:26 pm Perhaps the S prefix is what differentiates the barehead variant from the regular 294. The 294 and 2943 3/4 don't have prefixes in the schrade catalogs,

Same thing on my FJs Paul.I'm not as knowledgeable as you all on Schrades, but the enumeration on my farmers jack per Catalog E supplements, uses the prefix S to denote a special (S) FJ. The prefixed three are variations from their original offer.

I thought maybe the S was Sargent's shorthand for 'stagged.' There's a number of knives in there with an S prefix even though the catalogs didn't list them that way. All the knives with an S are stagged, however not all the stagged knives have an S (it's like a lesson in syllogism.) Also there are knives with and without lower bolsters that got an S. Maybe it's just a combination of mistaking a 293 for a 294 pattern and using unexplained prefixes due to poor editing?

Could it be that Sears special ordered them this way and there was never a Schrade pattern number assigned?

Paul, your 884 is in there on page 220:

jxr1197 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 10:46 pmPaul, your 884 is in there on page 220:
884sargents.jpg

Well darn if that isn't the exact same knife. Cool!


What exact book is that? What year is it from?

KnifeSlinger#81 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2020 11:10 pmWhat exact book is that? What year is it from?

That's from Sargent's 1st edition, 1986. I also saw it in his 2nd edition, 1989. In that one it's on page 411 and the value was set at $100. I was once told that all of the Schrades in Sargent's book are from Herman Williams' collection.

jxr1197 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 15, 2020 12:32 am
That's from Sargent's 1st edition, 1986. I also saw it in his 2nd edition, 1989. In that one it's on page 411 and the value was set at $100. I was once told that all of the Schrades in Sargent's book are from Herman Williams' collection.
sargents1986.jpg

Very interesting. Thank you for the info Jason.