2 numbers of interest.

[Timstools]

Heres something that may be of interest, both the 153 UH 000 stamped knife and the other knife were not numbered in regular production.

Michael (codger) pointed out the differences between the carbon and stainless versions some time ago.

 

[Codger_64]

When they decided to change the Golden Spike to stainless, it required a lot of retooling, mold changes, and changes in the parts specifications. As an experiment, try to swap the components of one knife onto the other. I've tried it with mine. (when the bladestock changed from carbon steel to stainless, it went from .165, and sometimes thicker, to .135 thickness (and finished down to .128/.130). Also notice the grind change. The stainless knives went to a hollow ground blade, vs. the earlier plain sabre grind.

Nice scrim! And better stamped than most of that issue as well. I guess it would be if it were the photo sample for that issue. Not prototype (first of a kind), but sample.

I just gave up on trying to educate a recognizable eBay seller who should be very knowledgable about knives and knife history, having grown up in a family heavily invested in the knife industry. He insists on dating Schrade scrims using the date of Giorgianni's creation of the art as the issue date. I directed him to the flyers even. He persists in mis-dating the knives.

Michael

 

[ea42]

Some laddies can be so stubborn?

Eric

 

[Codger_64]

You silver-tongued devil you!

 

[Larry303]

G'Day Tim, Something else that might be of interest concerning your top 153 in the photo.Near the pink dot you can see a crease 1/4" in from black and white band and parallel to it. I have about 10 all identical with the same crease and several differences including black and cream staglon handles and others with brown and cream staglon quite different from my "older" regular 153's.. My U.S. supplier told me a large number had not been sharpened and were sent to away to be sharpened....The story is just prior to factory closeout.They had subsequently been "forgotten about" and found in more recent times. The crease was created when held in vice for sharpening and some of those creases are quite dramatic.
These knives in the many hundreds are now the ones you see "Mint in boxes" selling on eBay without paperwork and the old style 165 sheath without the sharpening stone and in the new blue cream and grey Uncle Henry Ellenville boxes.I have a slight suspicion the sheathes might have been created after the event as well.The 153 was offered infrequently up to say 1 year ago then suddenly every seller has them......but with the crease...interesting?...might even be more to it???......Just my thoughts. Hoo Roo

 

[thawk]

Some laddies can be so stubborn?

Eric

You silver-tongued devil you!

Some sellers, although I have no idea who you guys are referring to, rival J. Peterman catalogs for descriptive talents to dazzle the buyers.

One particular seller uses those stylish descriptions to fool the buyers into thinking that SFO's for sale that supposedly are the parting out of a family collection, while in fact are knives that may have been obtained because of a mistake or overrun in production.

----------------------------------------------
"Thanks for your bids, we appreciate it."

 

[Codger_64]

As to the sheaths, Schrade had several different sheath suppliers and had the dies and equipment to make their own sheaths for many of the patterns. A lot of the sheaths being sold were sheaths rejected back to the makers by Schrade, and some are sheaths they were stuck with when Schrade folded. A big lot of the 153UH sheaths had been rejected because the sheath stone pockets were too small for the standard stones. The snaps wouldn't close over them.

Yes, sellers putting together NIB boxed knives is something to watch out for. Quite often it is the wrong papers that give them away. Sometimes the papers are just copies from a copy machine. SOmetimes you can see the website listed on the paper with a knife discontinued before the web site existed.

Many of the knives being sold, if not rejects were production overruns. And while a certain former Schrade salesman did have a nice extensive collection spanning his decade or so at Schrade, he did not have enough to fill several tractor trailers with multiples of each.

Michael

 

[thawk]

G'Day Tim, Something else that might be of interest concerning your top 153 in the photo.Near the pink dot you can see a crease 1/4" in from black and white band and parallel to it. I have about 10 all identical with the same crease and several differences including black and cream staglon handles and others with brown and cream staglon quite different from my "older" regular 153's.. My U.S. supplier told me a large number had not been sharpened and were sent to away to be sharpened....The story is just prior to factory closeout.They had subsequently been "forgotten about" and found in more recent times. The crease was created when held in vice for sharpening and some of those creases are quite dramatic.
These knives in the many hundreds are now the ones you see "Mint in boxes" selling on eBay without paperwork and the old style 165 sheath without the sharpening stone and in the new blue cream and grey Uncle Henry Ellenville boxes.I have a slight suspicion the sheathes might have been created after the event as well.The 153 was offered infrequently up to say 1 year ago then suddenly every seller has them......but with the crease...interesting?...might even be more to it???......Just my thoughts. Hoo Roo

Interesting story. To contribute to this, I purchased two 153UH+ back in late spring or early winter. One I sold to a friend in Pensylvania, so I can't compare it.

The one I have left is cream-brown in the latest USA blue gray box. It has the correct sheath (it snaps real good) with a stone, it is like the one in Tim's picture, with two exceptions, it has the Schrade Super Sharp blade etch, and the top white spacer band is thin like the one that is not the 153UH+ in his picture. It also has a "crease" like you point out, only on the opposite side. I can feel the crease with my fingernail.

Another tidbit of information is the sheath. Both snaps have UNIVERSAL SK50 stamped on the outer ring of the inside snap, if someone wants to compare with others.

I bought those two out of a True Value hardware store. They were inside a display case, and did not have a price tag. There was no example on display (under glass), as well as no slot for it. The store clerk finally determined the price on a current company online price sheet. I gladly paid the going price for a Taylor. I think they were $24.95 or $29.95.

I'm pretty sure mine is a normal production piece from around 2002-2004. I bought knives out of the same case that were earlier, in the blue-dark blue striped boxes.

Not sure what Sherlock Holmes would do with the information. That is some intense scrutiny on those knives. I like that kind of stuff.

 

[ea42]

Maybe those handle creases just have something to do with the handle mold or the handle finishing process. Knives are sharpened on a 3 or 4 inch belt, with the sharpener holding the knife by the handle and the back of the blade, so there'd really be no need for a vise. The pressure that you'd have to exert on the handle to hold it steady would likely crack it.
Interesting about the sheaths, makes you feel like the only way you're going to get an authentic, factory approved one is to buy one of the used "aged" ones.

Eric

PS- Yes you could almost see when that family collection ran out, all the knives with the nice extra touches suddenly stopped appearing.

 

[Larry303]

None of my "newly found" 153's have the Super Sharp blade etch like my earlier 153's.Nor did my earlier models have the crease. Its only my supposition how the crease got there after I was told this lot were never sharpened at the factory.They may have been rejects from a particular batch never got to sharpening but after factory closure took on a whole new life.There are differences with blade thickness to earlier models as well.
Thawk, the "new" sheathes all have 'Scovut Mfg Co' on the outer rim of inside stud and look suspiciously too new. With Schrade who ever really knows. Hoo Roo

 

[Timstools]

Thats interesting, so much so that I might even pay a little more for one with the crease on it, doesnt look too bad with it, maybe even a little better?

Its probably a flaw that wouldnt effect value as it really needs to be pointed out before its noticed and doesnt really detract from it? but I guess thats a subjective thing, very interesting, thanks Tim.
Regards Tim