An Uncle Henry Display Case (Easy Vendor)

[ea42]

I recently aquired an Uncle Henry Easy Vendor display, and finally got around to cleaning everything up and re-assembling it. I hadn't intended to take it apart, but when it arrived the sheaths were harboring a nice colony of mold, and the knives themselves were heavily tarnished. Once I got it apart, I noticed that the pile side bolsters of the knives were tarnished to the point that the bolsters were on the verge of pitting. It almost looked as if the felt were reacting to the metal, but I suspect that it may have been due to damp storage and constantly damp felt. In any case, after some hours of rubbing them down, the knives look almost pristine again. Here's a shot of the moldy sheaths and the tarnished bolsters (sorry for the blurry shot!). You can see the nasty discoloration on the bolsters without any problem though:

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Due to the fact that the case was still sealed with the original staples and the knives were REALLY wired in there, I believe these are the original knives to the case. (All that tarnish would seem to point to the same conclusion).
Here's the shots of the finished product, with glass and without to get rid of all that glare:

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I'll add more info below....


Eric

 

[ea42]

I've been having a hard time dating this display as I haven't seen one exactly like it in the catalogs. I've got a couple of hunches due to the serial nos. though, which also revealed a nice surprise. here's the lowdown:
127UH - #18432
897UH - #82101
165UH - #01646
285UH - #00067 !!!!!!! (must be a first day issue!)

Now I don't know too much about UH production, so someone correct me if I'm wrong. I'm thinking that this case was produced right around the time of the 285's introduction, and shortly after the 165's intro, which I think would put it around 1969 or so, especially since it doesn't display any of the later UH's. I'm just not so sure that these particular display cases were around that early. Here are a couple of additional shots of the knives:

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Eric

 

[Rusty1]

Nice one Eric, good job on bringing it all back to life, all the knives are in excellent condition and the case looks as good as new. My favorite out of all the knives is the 165UH, sweeet!

Russell

 

[Codger_64]

The 165UH version, named the Prospector, made a short two year production run with the Walden mark in 1969 - 1970. Well, that was the catalog appearances. Production likely began late the previous year, 1968. All of those serial numbers are low, as you know. A fabulous display!

Michael :thumbup:

 

[6.0stroker]

:thumbup: Way to go on the display and cleanup, outstanding knives that 165 is kinda hard to find (in mint cond.) and you got low serials :grumpy: very nice!

 

[brady806]

very nice display--i know your proud of it, i enjoy this type as well. it seems to be getting harder to find the wood picture frame style anymore. hope to catch a few more on the bay. that prospector 165uh is beautiful --what a model!! 165's i guess are my favorite.----hey codger, what a asset you are to us loyal schradeaholics, your presence could not be replaced. thanks for all you share

 

[lrv]

 

[ea42]

Thanks guys, and thank you Larry for the copy of the ad!! Seems to confirm some of my suspicions on the dates.


Eric

 

[Larry303]

Excellent display Eric...I think I was about 7 1/2 seconds away from ownership of that one! You've done a lot better job of presentation/cleaning than I would have done so I'm really happy for you. Beautiful Schrade product..that's why we luv'm.Well done mate. That seller has some outstanding low numbers with his early Schrades and I've asked him if he used to pitch a tent at the side of the Walden and Ellenville factory doors in the 60's and 70's and get the new issues as they rolled off the production line. He supplied my Russell Barlow 1975 100 year anniversary #00001 and he actually had the first 13 in numerical order <still has I think>. I bought #00002 so he sent me #00001 for a surprise!I am the proud owner of a considerable number of his Schrade/Ulster/ Walden/Cut Co knives.He knows the Ex presidents and knew Uncle Albert/Henry as well I believe.. lived considerable number of his considerable years in that knife production area.. so I believe he had some sway in those days to get the scarce early editions.If we can just get him to come on this forum he has some unbelievable stories he can relate. I email him different topics of interest from this forum for his comment and he responds to me often.. and sends me various Schrade paraphernalia.so I might send him this post eh?... I've offered for him to adopt me at my late stage in life and told him can make it retrospective!!.Hoo Roo

 

[thawk]

Great find Eric. Nice job cleaning it all up. I followed Uncle Henry's in the catalogs from 1967 to 1973.

If you look at the 1969 Line Catalog on the collectors site (just like the clipping IRV provided), the set is called the SW69UH. Matching Codgers statement, the 1968 Catalog had the 165UH pencilled in, along with the 897UH and the 127UH. I believe 1969 was the only year there were four Uncle Henry knives offered. Backing up, only the 897UH was offered in 1967.

The 1969 set of 4 knives came with 3-897UH, 3-285UH, 2-165UH, and 2-127UH at a cost to the jobber of $51.70. Retail price was $140.00. (price list 169J)

The 1970 Catalog shows the 127UH was dropped and the 227UH added, the 171UH and 885UH were added as well. The 165UH appears in some of the price sheets, but not in the 1970 Line Catalog. It appears those blue price sheets came out earlier than the line catalogs, and did not always show the exact products.

No change in 1971. In 1972, the 127UH was back in, and the 172UH Bear Skinner was added to the set of Uncle Henry's. 1973 remained the same, and closed out the Schrade Walden era.

Last observation, there is a write up mistake in the clipping. It says the 285UH "Fat" Uncle Henry has three stainless steel blades. The original 285UH Trapper had two carbon steel blades until about 1974 or 1975 I believe, when they switched it to SCHRADE+. The 165UH was carbon steel as well.

http://www.collectors-of-schrades-r.us/Catalogs/images/1969-SW-CATS.pdf

The Collectors site is awesome Larry. Thanks again, and again ...

 

[ea42]

Larry, thanks for the kind words, feel free to forward the thread, he's top notch in my book. He was actually up in my neck of the woods last year, and we were supposed to get together, but as usual the old scheduling conflicts got in the way. I'll tell you one thing, I'm glad I got it when I did, because with the cost of fuel and this slower economy, my knife funds are pretty much non-existant these days:grumpy:. I'm spending $150 a week on gas, and my fuel oil budget went from $120 a month to $230!! I'm about ready to get a couple of horses and a covered wagon for my commute. Of course I'll need to buy a knife with a hoof pick.

Thawk, check out the add, they snuck an "&" in between "Uncle Henry" and "3-blade" . This one's definitely carbon steel. The 127 and the 897 are both stamped "stainless". Thanks for the heads up on that info, I was so intent on looking for a photo of the display in the catalogs that I never noticed a mention of it in the price lists.

Eric

 

[thawk]

Woops, mis-read, not mis-written. The 897 and 285 were both 10 bucks. That speed reading will get you every time. I had a fun time on this thread and looking at all of the catalogs. I learned a few new things about the Schrade Walden Uncle Henry's.

 

[lrv]

I have a bit more on the 69's that Im attempting to clean up.
Keep an eye on this thread for the next update..
Here is a better view of the knives used in the display.