2014 Uncle henry pocket knives

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mudguard

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Aug 2, 2013
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I saw these today at a large store near my house.. anyone has any reviews on these Chinese made NEW versions? How is the steel they use and heat treatment? are they decent or even comparable to USA Schrade's + stainless or are they not at all close?
 
I don't own one, but they list the steel used as 7Cr17, which is similar to 440A.
 
mudguard said:
I saw these today at a large store near my house.. anyone has any reviews on these Chinese made NEW versions? How is the steel they use and heat treatment? are they decent or even comparable to USA Schrade's + stainless or are they not at all close?
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I fiddled around with one at a gun show and I would say fit and finish wasn't even close to the old Shrade's. I don't know about the steel when comparing old to new but i would be willing to bet money the Chinese stuff is not "better" than the Shrade + steel. If you are going to buy a Chinese knife check out the Rough Rider knives. Super cheap, come razor sharp and actually have excellent fit and finish most of the time especially for being in the $10-$20 range.
 
Do yourself a favor and spend a little more, and get a REAL Schrade. They truly are awesome knives, and if you look around, you can find them very reasonably priced... They weren't fancy knives, but they were well built and they used 1095 steel, which is one of the things everyone really loves about the originals.

My boss gave each of us at work a new Schrade for Christmas 2 years ago. I was excited until I opened the blade :(
I was going to carry it as a test, but couldn't bring myself to do it, so I gave it to my wife to abuse. She has nice knives and takes care of them, but I still wanted to see how it would hold up.

In all fairness the F&F isn't bad, but after owning probably 20-25 original Schrades, I wasn't impressed. She has used it and it is still holding up fine, but the edge needs touched up fairly regularly.

If you go into the Schrade sub-forum, or do a search here, you will find endless reading pertaining to the new non-U.S Schrades
 
I bought one of their 227UH 2blade large trappers (the largest folding knife they made apparently) off ebuy a few years ago.
The vendor had carefully worded the ad so as not mention China whilst hinting at "original" (whatever that may mean)(well now I know).
Look its not a bad knife.I like the "staglon" it looks good. Ive never sharpened it and it hasn't gone blunt(to me) but I don't use it much either.
So if I'm positive it is
cheap
looks like an old Schrade
well made
and it came with a poor quality leather belt pouch.
However if I had my time again I would not have bought it preferring authenticity over economy.
 
I don't own a Taylor UH, but handled a friends and was underwhelmed, also I own a Taylor OT, and it took a very sharp edge, but I didn't ever use it to find the retention. It struck me as soft. The Rough Riders I've owned have been pleasantly surprising, in terms of F&F, as well as blade steel. I'm not saying all Taylor Schrades are bad, only the ones I've seen, or al RRs are good, but only the ones I've owned, or seen. RR, Colt, and Marbles, are very good Chinese Slipjoints, I know for sure, but I do recall seeing at least a couple here that have had good luck with Taylor LLC Schrades, but not me.
 
If cheap appeals to you, buy one and give it a try. But as has been suggested, the original knives made by Imperial Schrade in Ellenville, New York are still available and not hard to find in whatever condition you wish from a good used one to new in the original box as it left the factory. For the price difference I personally prefer the originals. I've not owned or closely examined one of their imported copies, but I do have a couple of their fixed blades and the originals to compare them to. While they may have the same shape in pictures, I have found the copies to be wanting in quality, appearance and fit and finish wise. No, I have not bothered using them so I cannot state whether or not they perform as well as the real ones. And also both of them were early producion circa 2005 when Taylor Brands Limited Liability Company first began having them produced and imported. I would be surprised if the quality has not improved in the past eight years. I see them everywhere at retailers of cheap knives, so someone must be buying them.

I'll also mention that there always has been and will continue to be a market for cheap knives. Some buyers, particularly young ones, simply do not have the money to buy better quality knives and even if they did, don't know or recognize the difference between the two. They just want a knife-like object to put in their pocket. There is nothing wrong with this, in my opinion. Back when I was a kid those knives were supplied by Imperial, Colonial, Ideal, Camillus and a few others. I have some of those in my collection for the nostalgia factor. But having handled and used many higher quality knives for years, the differences in construction, materials and durability are apparent to me. Differences I am not sure I would have appreciated in my early years where a knife was lost, traded or broken before the new had worn off. We each have to decide for ourselves what fits our needs, whether it is a cheap imported knife, a well made domestic or imported knife, or a $500 custom. There is a knife out there for every budget and for every pocket.
 
I say buy one and test it and see if it meets your needs, they aren't expensive. As for edge retention, they are probably fine if you are comparing to the old Schrade + Steel: I owned many originals and they were just adequate, Swiss Army or Case TruSharp level. It definitely wasn't extraordinary like their 1095 carbon steel was.
 
If you want cheap, look at Rough Rider, Steel Warrior, and Colt. If you want a Schrade, go with an old USA (pre-2004) made one.
 
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