Taylor Schrade 8OT reviewed

nmikash · Post by **nmikash** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 3:40 am

I recently received a Taylor made Schrade so I thought I'd give a review of my general impressions. First off it came well packaged wrapped in brown paper inside its box. Incidentally the box bears a sticker warning you to "KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN". At first glance it looks like a Schrade, they have changed the shield to better resemble the old timer shield that we know. The first knives had something brass-like I think. They have also removed the blade etch that said Schrade Classics.

The resemblance to USA Schrades ends there. Closer inspection reveals an ill fitting front scale. A gap is present at one end more than large enough to slide in a sheet of paper. Small gaps are also present between the bolster & the liner. The knife appears to have left the factory with a drop of oil at each joint. The blades have very good snap, but are much thinner than USA counterparts (particularly the secondary blades). Looking down into the knife there is a lot of empty space that should be filled by thicker blades. The honing job is less than good, the edge is not very uniform. The biggest problem with this knife is on the back of the main blade, CHINA stamped on the tang. I could never keep an Old Timer with that stamped on the blade. This one will have to move along...

My overall grade: C+/B-

Nick

orvet · Post by **orvet** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:49 am

Nick,
How was the walk & talk?
Some I have seen felt like they had grit in the joints. You could feel it grinding as you opened & closed the blade.

I did a comparison of a USA & China, same model. The china knife didn't cut as well not did the edge hold up as well. Though I did do better than I expected. I tested them on cardboard boxes......cutting them up to recycle. The USA held it's edge a lot longer.

Just my observations.
Dale

Grizzly_Dog · Post by **Grizzly_Dog** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 5:33 am

My favorite new marketing tool of these china knives is the use of the American flag or the printing of USA on the packaging face

. That more than the "quality" of there knives is why taylor schrade is a no longer a welcome brand in my store. I've seen alot of other brands using this marketing scam on the packaging, they do however print in small fine print on the bottom of there boxes made in china. So as the age old saying goes "buyer beware".

nmikash · Post by **nmikash** » Tue Mar 20, 2007 6:40 am

Dale,
The walk & talk was fairly smooth. Better than I expected it to be.

Nick

Bob W. · Post by **Bob W.** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:50 pm

Good review, and the photos were a nice touch.

My favorite new marketing tool of these china knives is the use of the American flag or the printing of USA on the packaging face

are they still doing that? I thought that issue was "fixed."

Anyhoo, thought you might like to see some 8OT tang stamps from USA-made knives to avoid being tricked into buying a Chinese Taylor import:

The tang on the left is a John Primble #936. The knife with the brass bolsters is a Grand Dad's Old Timer. There was also a Schrade-Walden tang stamp, which I don't have handy at the moment.

Best Wishes,
-Bob

jonet143 · Post by **jonet143** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:56 pm

good info bob. thanks

El Lobo · Post by **El Lobo** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:13 pm

Hi Bob,

Nice to see you posting here.

Bill

johnnierotten · Post by **johnnierotten** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:16 pm

How much are they selling those things for?...can't be much!!

Top notch job,on the pics and reviews fellas!!

PS:

Bob!!

Bob W. · Post by **Bob W.** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:26 pm

I'd like to post an image of the USA 8OT from the topside to compare to Nick's photo, but I can't get the darn things to balance on the blade spine atop the scanner...

Sure, I could take a photo, but we'd all be old and gray waiting for the film to get developed...

Thanks for the welcome. I'm seeing some familiar names...

-Bob