Another dealer display...

[Codger_64]

Here is another OT/UH hunting knife display I found. Actually, just a display insert. The oak frame is missing, and the display knives are gone. The insert is 18"x10", and has molded spaces for nine knives.

LB7
153UH
164UH
158OT
154OT
152OT-(2)
165OT
150OT

As you can see from the seller's fuzzy picture, there are no readily identifyable logos. They might have been on the missing frame. Working just from the insert design and the knives displayed, can you come up with an approximate date for this display insert? Why are there spaces for two Sharpfingers?

Michael

 

[jetmech]

hey maybe one sharpfinger is that rare 125 i saw on ebay, and went for 125 dollars....... NOT!!!, maybe its a scrimshaw,was the 158ot guthook and the 154ot drop point hunter from the same time period?

 

[Codger_64]

was the 158ot guthook and the 154ot drop point hunter from the same time period?

Yes, briefly. The only catalog year when all of these knives appeared at the same time would be 1988. So this insert is likely about 19 or 20 years old. A guess on the extra space provided for the Sharpfinger is that it was to display a Scrimshaw. The actual text on the display should clear this up. Maybe.


LB7 - 1979-2004
153UH - 1974-2004
164UH - 1982-1988
158OT - 1988-2002
154OT - 1976-1988
152OT-(2) - 1974-2004
165OT -1967-1991
15OT - 1964-1997

Michael

PS- go back and look at what that last larger display ended up selling for.

 

[Codger_64]

Most of my questions are answered in the printed text on the display. The display's factory number (bottom just left of the diagonal line) is HK87 which indicates a hunting knife display designed in 1987. The prices in the text match up with those in the 1987 catalog, not 1988. The text for the two sharpfinger spaces simply says "152OT W/Sheath", so evidently two were provided based upon it being their biggest seller at the time, not two different variants. The text for the 158OT proclaims "NEW". so it is likely a first introduction of the pattern.

LB7 - 1987 - $42.95, 1988 - $44.95
153UH - 1987 - $44.95, 1988 - $46.95
164UH - 1987 - $33.95, 1988 - $34.95
158OT - 1987 - not yet in catalog..display $24.95, 1988 - $24.95
154OT - 1987 - $21.95, 1988 - $22.95
152OT-(2) - 1987 - $21.95, 1988 - $22.95
165OT - 1987 - $39.95, 1988 - $41.95
15OT - 1987 - $32.95, 1988 - $34.95

All of these catalog prices for 1987 line up with the display, except for the newly introduced 158OT which matches the 1988 catalog price.

I'll see if it appears in a 1987 or 1988 dealer display catalog.

Michael

Edit: Nope, not in the distributor, dealer catalogs for 1997 or 1998. I did find a notation that there was some stir among distributors and dealers in late 1997 because the 158OT was not yet available as a seperate product, but was slated for delivery in January 1988. Perhaps these HK87 displays were a pre-production release "teaser".