Emotions of Touch

T

TedGamble

Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Messages
431
This may seem very hoaky to some of you, but I wonder if any of you have experienced feelings such as this.

Maybe it's just me, but there's just something special about reaching into your pocket and feeling that Old Timer with it's rough Delrin scales resting quietly there. The feeling is, well, just let me try to explain.

There is the sense of comfort and well-being that I get when my fingers pass over the ridges on the Delrin. I don't know why. Maybe it's because my dad carried an Old Timer for as long as I can remember. It's like saying, "Dad, I respect your judgement and appreciation for these finely crafted knives, and I want to be just like you and carry on your tradition."

Or, maybe it's because when I touch any part of the knife, I am instantly connected with other lives from the past - those that shaped the raw materials into intermediate parts, those that hand assembled the parts, those that hand inspected the finished product, and the one who performed the final packaging into the box.

Think about it. When you hold a hand-made knife, you are holding in your hand a combination of momemts in time from the past. Those momemts are forever bound to that knife, now interlocked with your life at this particular instant in time.

To all of you who are skilled craftsmen and craftswomen, thank you for your diligence. Thank you for preserving a little piece of your life for the future. Thank you for sharing your craft with the rest of us who so deeply appreciate it.
 
I don't waste too much emotion on Schrade. Sure they made OldTimers, but they also put there name on huge amounts of worthless crap. And to be honest, if they hadn't gone out of business I'd be completely uninterested in collecting OldTimers (I'd still have my original 34OT of course).

I've always owned one, my father owned one, and my grandfather always owned one. They seemed too 'common' to be of interest, since everyone I knew had one and they could be bought anywhere at any time. Now that I have a small collection and they aren't as available, I appreciate them more. They're great little knives with an excellent quality-to-price ratio. I also never realized there was such a wide variety of patterns made over the years - lockbacks, hunters, slipjoints, bladelocks...

To me the Delrin is just another plastic. But it's the OldTimer handle material, so that's what I'm interested in. Sure, I'd prefer they were made with natural materials. But they weren't, so that's that.

Interesting topic.
Best Wishes,
Bob
 
Bob could not have put it better. Just like him, before the Schrade factory folded, I did not pay much attention to Schrade knives. I had an old OT152 sharpfinger and that was it. I did not have anything against Schrade, I just never took the time to really look over their products. And as Bob said, if there was one I did want, they were available just about everywhere. I am glad I had a few dollars available to put away a small collection myself, mainly from raiding WalMarts and the SMKW sale. I appreciate the knives now that I have the chance to handle a few. Sorry to see the company go, but no real emotional investment on my part.
 
My post was not intended to imply that the quality of Schrade knives is far superior to any other brand. It was instead, an attempt to simply be philosophical for a moment about the lost art of hand craftsmanship and how the hands-on manufacturing process is quickly becoming a thing of the past.
 
I like Delrin handles, tough and strong despite being plastic, maybe not prettier but better than older plastics that are also appreciated like celluloid.

I like my new 34OT, it reminds me of the first one I had back in the 60's, and a mighty good knife it was.

I think of Schrade as tradition and innovation, from the older designs of George Schrade himself to the keyhole bolster construction, I think of good knives to be used, well made and within everyone's budget, and what once was the largest knife making factory in the world.

Sometimes good things go unnoticed, like you need air to breath but don't think about it because it is just there, so is and has been an Old Timer in many people's pockets.

Luis
 
I am passionate about schrades ,but it's older ones for me, not really Old Timers. Don't get me wrong, I like OTs and all, but I enjoy collecting the Schrades that are not so much the norm. Unique patterns, and handle materials.

I agree with Ted about the emotion of the pocketknife. I think it's a different one for each person. For me, it is the 3-blade stockman in jigged delrin. No finer pattern, IMHO. That was the first knife I received that belonged to my grandfather, so there's an emotional attachment for me. I know that knives don't affect everyone the same way, however.

I have posted before about the old time craftsmanship, and how each knife was made by someone who cared about his job and the quality of the product he was making. That is sorely lacking in today's business world, alot of it due to having to be competitive and cut down on the quality to be more productive.

I have never collected knives for their value, just for the enjoyment of preserving a piece of the past. No offense Bob and Sluf, but maybe if more people had bought schrade knives to collect when they were in business, they might still be in business. To each his own, I suppose. But I do agree to a point, I have no major connection to OT's, they were mass-produced to staggering numbers. Hard to get emotional about them unless you had a memory attached.


Glenn
 
but maybe if more people had bought schrade knives to collect when they were in business, they might still be in business.
Click to expand...
Catch 22. They weren't collectible until the factory closed...

Probably the collector market is so small, compared to the overall knife-buying customer base, that it wouldn't have mattered anyway. I think they tried to milk the 'collectors' market the best they could. "Limited Editions," "Commemoratives," collaborations...

No offense, but I think your "handcrafted" nostalgia is slightly misplaced. Modern Schrades were produced by the millions and stocked at every WalMart in the country. Many Schrade knives were factory made overseas. So now instead of Shrade-owned Chinese Imperial knives, we now now have Taylor-owned Chinese Imperial Knives. So Schrade is a victem of business practices they themselves were involved in.

The fact that such mass-produced items have become collectible immediately after the Schrade closure goes to show that many people, including myself, must have respected the Schrade tradition/history. I mean, Soque River and Paragon go under and no one cares, even though their knives were (overall) of better quality and design.

It's just a tough market... and Schrade bit off more than they could chew with their WalMart supply contracts. Did they really think they could maintain quality and supply for 200 million mass-consumers?

It is too bad that the US lost another manufacturer. But I definitely cherish my Schrades more now, even the low-grade Imperial knives. It's actually been a great year to be a collector with some spare cash.

-Bob
 
TedGamble said:
This may seem very hoaky to some of you, but I wonder if any of you have experienced feelings such as this.

Maybe it's just me, but there's just something special about reaching into your pocket and feeling that Old Timer with it's rough Delrin scales resting quietly there. The feeling is, well, just let me try to explain.

There is the sense of comfort and well-being that I get when my fingers pass over the ridges on the Delrin. I don't know why. Maybe it's because my dad carried an Old Timer for as long as I can remember. It's like saying, "Dad, I respect your judgement and appreciation for these finely crafted knives, and I want to be just like you and carry on your tradition.".......
Click to expand...
Hmmm. Several thought provoking points in Ted's prose.
While my personal collection of Schrades has expanded exponentially over the last six months, It is more for the enjoyment of learning about the former company that produced them than for any thought of their monitary value. And while it is most likely too little too late, it is my personal effort at preserving a bit of the history of the maker of my favorite knives.

I have owned Schrades since the sixties. I've known them to be well designed and well made. No, for the most part, they are not glitzy works of art. They are functional tools.

Most of my favorites were discontinued long before July of 2004. At that time, my quiver contained two 15OT's, two 165OT's, two 152OT's, a Golden Spike and several stockmans, UH and OT. I like the feel of the delrin, and with those three patterns of fixed blades, it has accompanied me on many extended wilderness trips, in the field hunting and camping, and generally been my "go-to" knives for many decades.

I guess there is some sentimental attachment. When I sheath my Woodsman on my hunting belt, memories of past successes bolster my confidence for the current hunt. And there is a connection with Robert, too young taken by cancer, Wild Bill who lost his life in a crop duster crash the summer after our last duck hunt, Mr. Crowe with his oxygen tank in tow and his enthusiasm for my big eight point buck the fall of his last hunt, Boyd and the deer I cut up for him before he too shuffled off this mortal coil, and many, many other friends over the years.

My newly acquired older Schrades fill in the gaps in my knowledge of what had been available during my lifetime that I missed owning because of my satisfaction with the Schrades I had already grown fond of. You must admit that when you buy a working knife in the 1970's and it is still as efficient at it's task years later, as pleasing in appearance after thirty years of use as it was when new, you just don't go looking for a new model every year. At least I don't.

My newer Schrades are the mass produced products that were looking for a market share. Most of them did not catch my eye or imagination before Schrade closed. Some are imagineered, some are what I have refered to as "space debris". They are destined to be framed in groups representing the last years of Schrade, not used. I believe that had we each bought a hundred of them from Walmart every year, it would have not made one whit's difference to Schrade's fate.

Yes, I feel a "connection". And I appreciate the craftsmanship in the "older" Old Timers and Uncle Henry's. So much so that I am progressing my collecting backwards in time to what my father had available to him. Grand Dad is after that.

Codger
 
I can say with certainty that I miss Old Timer more than I miss Schrade, even though there is no math in that statement.

The handle on the small models (Junior, Minuteman) is always clear in my mind as the thing I remember. I like the ridges and the slight inward curve.

The newer "modern" knives they made were mostly junk. I bought one of the last linerlock models because it was on clearance for much less than their original price. The liner would not have reached the tang if they didn't crush the liner at two points to squeeze it forward just enough to touch. And they wanted these things to sell for $35.
 
I was pretty upset when SCHRADE first closed their doors . I have some good memories connected with brown delrin and darkened bades . OT's were real tools that real working men and sportsman could afford .
As I type this my much loved 8ot is in the pocket of my pajama bottoms . It spent the night on my bed side table . My 165 was ready to go turkey hunting this morning " tho I didn't get my butt out of bed . "
I really value my carbon steel SCHRADES and have a strong emotional attachment to them but can't really explain it . I just do .
 
My first Shrade was from a close out sale of a hardware store in 1968. It was a "swing guard" with a lock back. I got to keep it for about six months before it was stolen at college.

I just pickedup a nice little OT with liner lock about a week ago. Reminds me of the knife that Matt Helm was supposed to have carried in his working day.

Lots of nice memories, at least for me, with Shrade. I really like the way the blades darken with age and use. :cool:
 
I can share some sentiment with a Schrade like TedGamble, only mine is a LB8 Uncle Henry PapaBear, passed to me by my Dad. My taste like my Dad's, is for the Uncle Henry's, but I do own some Old Timers, and my favorite is a 152OT Sharpfinger I bought in 1984. That's when I started collecting Schrades seriously. Couple months later I bought the 171UH ProHunter. I owned a few folders as a kid that have traveled on without me. I think those were Imperial Schrades...I remember the sheild.
I don't get the "zen" feelings in handling any knife...but I do apprieciate using a "keepsake." I have only one other knife I consider "special" and that is an Olsen skinner my Dad gave me as a gift inscribed "Gary- From Dad 1979."
 
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