Antique store find/help

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knifecollector73

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Jan 15, 2013
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Hey guys, on my way home from Monticello i stopped at a few cool antique stores and found this knife and picked it up for $5. I doesn't really look antique, just abused. This will be my first attempt at trying to moderately fix up a knife, but i will probably need your help. All the blade are either rolled or completely uneven. In the pictures you can't even tell how bad the blades are.The bolsters are scratched really bad. Also, is anyone able to tell roughly what year this knife is by the tang stamp? I couldn't really find anything online. I figured for just $5 even if it was a bust it wouldn't bother me too much. Thanks guys!

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I'd say somewhere from 1970 to 2008, judging from the lack of walden, N.Y or any of the more elderly stamps. I am by no means an expert. Clean it up, and use it.
 
Well sir, an educated guess here...since the blades are still pretty shiny I'd say they must be stainless. Like El Hombre said, my father carried one of these 80T models for quite some time, only his was carbon steel made back in the 80's. This one had to be made prior to the Schrade buyout since it's still got the US tang stamp on it. My pops loved his, as a matter of fact, I just reprofiled the blades a bit on his and he's still using it. I see lots of hand sanding in your future:jerkit:...but it sure will be fun showing the before and after pics:D.
 
I thoug all of the us made old timers were 1095? It does appear to be some kind of carbonyl steel. I think its shut because it looks like someone recently took some kind of power tool to the blades which is also responsible for very rolled edges.
 
The blades are definitely carbon on this one. The first line of the tang stamp on knives made with stainless should say "Schrade+" instead of simply "Schrade".

Here's a chart someone (not me) made up to show the different stamps the company used. yours is the one on the bottom left.
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LeatherMan64 said:
The blades are definitely carbon on this one. The first line of the tang stamp on knives made with stainless should say "Schrade+" instead of simply "Schrade".
Click to expand...

Not all Old Timers with Stainless blades were marked "Schrade +". Towards the end many Old Timers had stainless blades and had no indication of it in the blade stamp.

Note: Schrade closed in 2004.
 
knarfeng


Not all Old Timers with Stainless blades were marked "Schrade +". Towards the end many Old Timers had stainless blades and had no indication of it in the blade stamp.
Click to expand...

Didn't know that, thanks for the correction.
 
I would still lean towards carbon on this one. It's been used hard, but it still looks like it would clean up well and make a fine user.

That's a great buy for $5!
 
That tang stamp was used right up until the factory closed in 2004. Not sure what year they started using it, but it can't be any newer than that.

I thought all of the us made old timers were 1095?
Click to expand...
Not all Old Timers with Stainless blades were marked "Schrade +". Towards the end many Old Timers had stainless blades and had no indication of it in the blade stamp.
Click to expand...
I think I can expand on that a bit: it depends on the model and age. Some Old Timer models were only stainless and were marked with the SCHRADE+ tang stamp. Other models changed from stainless to carbon, and the changes were generally marked with the SCHRADE+. Towards the end of production, some previously-carbon-only models had reportedly begun gradual and un-advertised transitions from carbon to stainless. And some limited edition or special releases were stainless.
In addition to all of that, Schrade had a long-standing tradition of mix-and-matching blades and knife parts between Schrade, Old Timer, and Uncle Henry knives. At the end of Schrade, in the final weeks as the factory was being cleaned out for bankruptcy, employees were busy assembling, literally, knives made from any parts that fit together.

Should the blade with the worst of the broke tips be turned into a screwdriver?
Click to expand...
Those blades aren't going to tolerate a lot of twisting and prying. And Old Timers were 'generally' assembled with the Swinden Key method, making it difficult to repair or tighten wobbly blades. Looking at the picture, yours is an obvious Swinden Key (notice there are no pins visible on the bolsters).

By the way, since no one mentioned it yet, your model is the 8OT (obviously), which is called the Senior Stockman. It was one of the most popular Old Timer models ever (the most popular was the 34OT) and was in continuous production from 1959 to 2004.
 
Here are a few 8OT Old Timer variations from my collection. Notice the differences in tang stamps, handle materials, and nail pulls. The knife on the far right is stainless.

8OTcomparison.jpg
 
Still a lot of life left in that knife if you are interested in fixing it up. I am not much of a hand at reprofiling blades so I shouldn't give any advice there. Depending on how much character you want to remove, you could polish up those bolsters pretty well, though removing the deeper scratches would take some sanding or some form of abrasives.

You could probably get a decent edge on those just using a coarse diamond bench stone and some time. If you have a belt sander with different belts and don't overheat the blades, that would probably go faster.
 
knifecollector73 said:
what would be best to reprofile with? A dremel, an angle grinder, a hand file, or a belt sander?
Click to expand...

I worry about the old steel and power tools are aggressive. I think it is better to take your time and use a hand file(s) and emery sticks, sandpaper, etc. - especially if you are not used to working on knives. I re-profiled the main blade edge, tip, and swedge on this ole knife yesterday afternoon - hand tools only:

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Not that much material removed either. ;)

Also re-worked the dull can opener tip and tip of the punch.
 
I have done several reprofiling jobs with a 1x30 belt sander. Just use light pressure and dip the blade in water after each pass to keep it cool. Go slow and light and be safe, wearing gloves and goggles. Remember, you can always take more off, but you can never put more back on. ;)
 
Nice, an 8OT with pretty full blades for $5. Those are great knives. My only worry would be if the power tools used on it already had removed any temper.

I would just use a buffing wheel or fine emery cloth on the flats of the blades. Then emery cloth double sided taped or glued to flat surfaces to reprofile. High grit emery cloth a foot or so long and long swipes would make short work of evening up those 1095 edges.

You could buff or use fine emery cloth on the bolsters but heck, I'd just carry it. Maybe a little metal polish and definitely a WD-40 bath and wipe down. That's why it was $5. It'll make a fine tool.
 
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