Odd Schrade 97OT

[whitebuffalo58]

This one may have been discussed sometime in the past, but I couldn't find any reference to it. Not one i've ever seen before. It's a fully nickel silver bolstered 4-1/8" trapper with yellow sawcut Delrin handles and clip blade stamped Schrade U.S.A. 97OT. Isn't that the number for the "Buzzsaw"? The knife shows absolutely no sign of having been tampered with and i'm 99.9% sure it's factory original. I'd appreciate any input on the knife. Thanks, WB

[orvet]

The 97OT was the Buzz Saw Trapper.
Schrade made a big push to get knives out the door just before they closed. I have heard they had enough stock ready to ship that they could have paid off the bank, cleared all their debts and restock their materials. Alas, the bank forced them to close anyway. (I still wonder who/what was behind that).

At any rate, in the big push to fill orders, there were a number of oddball knives made, known to Schrade collectors as “End-of-Days” knives. What you have is most likely one such example.

Here is a 97OT End-of-Days from my collection. A 97OT clip blade, in a 4-1/8” frame (not a bare head), with Uncle Henry style Staglon handles.

I see two differences between our knives, 1) – the handles are obviously different & 2)- my blade has the Schrade+ tang stamp, signifying that it is Schrade stainless. Yours may or may not be stainless.

Nice one, you have there. I like it!

Hope this helps.

[whitebuffalo58]

Thanks Dale, it does help. End-of-Days, huh? That's just sad, isn't it? The whole "close your doors anyway" thing does sound a bit suspicious. It might be interesting to see who has a controlling interest in that bank. Pretty much water under the bridge at this point I suppose. Anyway, the back of this blade does have a few pepper spots at the tang, so i'm thinking that it's most likely non-stainless. Personally, i'd rather it was. Pretty neat knife at any rate and one I think will make a nice addition to my rather modest Schrade collection. Thanks again for the info and I like your version too, WB

[TripleF]

Cool knife whitebuffalo!!

[whitebuffalo58]

Thanks TripleF! I really like being able to put one in my collection that's a bit off the beaten path. It stands out nicely amongst the ol' brown Delrin on my other OT's. I wonder, was the yellow sawcut Delrin used on some specific Schrade line? I've seen 1 or 2 "Y" designated Schrades with the smooth yellow Delrin, but I don't remember ever coming across the sawcut version before. Maybe an SFO?