All About Pocket Knives

So my beautiful bride to be bombed me with this beauty after catching me drooling over it on the bay. Other than a small spot of blade slap on the main blade an a few lite pepper spots I would describe it as near mint. Definitely never cleaned. The main blade has a light pull and snap but the other blades are both vicious snapping gators. Been wanting a nice Schlieper for a while and this one ticks all the boxes.

Anyone want to try and give me a date range for it? Can I safely assume that the scales are delrin or did Schlieper use a different material?

My guess for date range is 1980's to 1990's, most likely early 1980's.
I had an Eye Brand 4 1/4" Stockman with yellow handles off gas ! i had assumed that the yellow handles would be Delrin which came into use for knife handles about 20 years before the knife was made. So at least some of the Schlieper yellow handles are celluloid.
kj

kootenay joe wrote:My guess for date range is 1980's to 1990's, most likely early 1980's.
I had an Eye Brand 4 1/4" Stockman with yellow handles off gas ! i had assumed that the yellow handles would be Delrin which came into use for knife handles about 20 years before the knife was made. So at least some of the Schlieper yellow handles are celluloid.
kj

I would love to keep it all original and will watch it closely for a good while but I can already see a bit of shrinkage that has me concerned it may be celluloid as although I have seen abused delrin that has shrunk none of the delrin in my collection show shrinkage and some have had harder lives than this one.

Worse comes to worse I have a nice piece of kingwood that would look good on it.

Delrin does not shrink. This was one of the prerequisites in it's development by Dupont at the request of Albert Baer.
kj

I am several hundred miles from Amarillo, but from here it looks like celluloid. I have Schlieppers with that yellow handle that I know to be celluloid, and a more recently made one with yellow handles that is clearly Delrin. The celluloid has a slight translucence that the more opaque Delrin does not, and the color is a bit different. When yellow celluloid has a bit of decomposition there is often some slight darkening at the edges, and slight shrinkage These changes can be subtle and recognized through experience of handling a lot of knives. It does not mean that the knife will progress in decomposition any time soon, but it pays to watch them.

Calvin, i agree 100%. But the Schlieper i had that gassed off was NOT the shiny yellow. It looked dull like Delrin often does. Perhaps it once was shiny and the first bit of off gassing turned it dull ? Whatever, it did not appear to be celluloid until it off gassed rather suddenly.
kj

Link to my off gassed stockman: viewtopic.php?f=65&t=51401&p=555367#p555367
kj

I have two yellow-handled 3 eyes with the plain 'federal' type shields, from an earlier time frame. The yellow handles are not bright and shiny, a little discolored at edges. I keep the blades all open and stored with air circulation and no bright lights. They have seemed stable for a few years now. I never buy German folders with celluloid handles, and never will. Just these two, then, and I think they are nicer than all those bulldogs, Weidmansheils, etc. anyway. But there I go again with a subjective opinion. I have a great many American celluloid knives, and have seen a few with problems, Westerns and the infamous Schrade 835Y.

I asked Paladin about this not too terribly long ago as I have four yellow handled Eye Brands. He told me that to his knowledge Schleiper never used Delrin. I’d err on the side of celluloid.

I’ve not had one of the fellow handled ones out gass. But I did have a Christmas Tree handled one go off and had to have it redone.

Here's how I'd handle the risk that it might out gas. I'd sort through my belt pouches for a good fit or make a pouch then carry the knife as my work dress code allowed. That'd kill two birds with one stone. It would not put your other knives at risk and it would show your fiancee appreciation so her next gift is not a neck tie.

Modern Slip Joints wrote:Here's how I'd handle the risk that it might out gas. I'd sort through my belt pouches for a good fit or make a pouch then carry the knife as my work dress code allowed. That'd kill two birds with one stone. It would not put your other knives at risk and it would show your fiancee appreciation so her next gift is not a neck tie.

I'll second that. And by the way...your fiancee is a keeper!!!

From recent experience, I suggest we all keep our celluloid Eye Brands in Sack Up protector rolls, or in a wooden cigar box or knife display box located in a non-humid environment. The anguish of finding nice knives damaged by off-gassing is not worth keeping them in knife rolls or other similar places.

Joe D.

Joe,
What a heartbreaker. What a shame. Can you tell me, are these post-3 eye knives?

Ray

Ray, the first knife pictured was a 4 3/4 in. older 3 eye knife and the smaller stockman was a post 3 Eye.

Joe D.

EyeBJoe wrote:Ray, the first knife pictured was a 4 3/4 in. older 3 eye knife and the smaller stockman was a post 3 Eye.

Joe D.

That is sad, just sad.

Well that did it. I'm getting it rehandled ASAP luckily I have access to some old westinghouse yellow micarta which will make a very nice and stable replacement.

Love that pic