Found a 25ot in a yard sale

G

Garza

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May 8, 2015
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Found this old timer 25ot in a yard sale yesterday, I was wondering how old it is? Thanks in advance.


 
I never ever ever find good knives like that at garage sales EVER! Ok rant off.

Really nice knife!

64'-73'

If you have all the original paperwork the real pros on this site could probably narrow down the year even further. The color of the sheath might be a clue as well as the ones I've seen are blond and have a perforated mesh look not solid brown like yours.

Well it's still a unicorn find for sure.
 
:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: Oh yeah!

I think with that sheath it is closer to 64 than it is to 73. Codger will weigh in eventually. He will have more concise information.
 
That really is an excellent example of an excellent offering by Schrade Walden. Congratulations!
 
I just saw this. I never have yard sale luck like this! As for a few dating tips, when you see the hinged lid box, it is early. Same for the printed sharpening stones. And laced sheaths on several patterns were only used briefly. Of course looking at the catalogs on the COSRUS site is always a great help. You can also compare the box lid logo and stone logo to those on the catalogs. Those did change frequently. Papers? Quite often those are found under the formed tray. Be careful if you lift out the tray to check. They are thin plastic and become brittle with age.
 
I've read thru this thread several times and noticed that none of us pointed out that the model number is on the right of the Main Blade instead of the left with the "Schrade-Walden N.Y. U.S.A" stamp on the OP's Knife.

I've read thru several pages of 25OT threads and couldn't find an example of the 25OT tang stamp on the right side of the main blade. Not that it's not in there in the hundreds of pages on the 25OT.

Maybe this is a further clue to narrow down the Year range of production. Maybe a first year 1964?

I'm assuming that the "25OT" right side stamp started in 1964 then at some time by and including 1973 switched to the left side along with a slight tweak to the font and orientation of "Schrade-Walden N.Y. U.S.A" seen in these examples from Larry303:

Please compare to the OP's pictures to observed the differences:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...for-25OT-Folding-Hunter?p=8648028#post8648028
attachment.php



Another possibility, although to me less likely, is that the stamps started out in 1964 like Larry303's 25OT then at sometime before 1974 switched to the OP's tang stamp configuration then back to Larry303's example before everything switched to just Schrade.

Hope that's not to convoluted.
 
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I have a cased set exactly like the OP, and it is tang-stamped the same way. I have observed a lot of Schrade Walden 25OT knives and all the rest have had the pattern number on the mark side. It is my impression that the OP knife is one of the earliest made and sold and that the alternate and more common tang stamping very quickly became the norm.

By the way, have you ever seen this tang stamp? It is a Schrade Walden made for Norm Thompson, to go with their K-77 jack, Shikari 165 fixed blade, and the HAT.

1t7wap.jpg
 
tongueriver said:
By the way, have you ever seen this tang stamp? It is a Schrade Walden made for Norm Thompson, to go with their K-77 jack, Shikari 165 fixed blade, and the HAT.
Click to expand...

As a matter of fact I was just looking at one of those YUKONs the other day and wondering if they forgot the T on the tang stamp. I guess not. Does yours also have the razor blade stainless blade etch on the skinner blade?
 
tongueriver said:
I have a cased set exactly like the OP, and it is tang-stamped the same way. I have observed a lot of Schrade Walden 25OT knives and all the rest have had the pattern number on the mark side. It is my impression that the OP knife is one of the earliest made and sold and that the alternate and more common tang stamping very quickly became the norm.

By the way, have you ever seen this tang stamp? It is a Schrade Walden made for Norm Thompson, to go with their K-77 jack, Shikari 165 fixed blade, and the HAT.

1t7wap.jpg
Click to expand...


I seem to remember reading thru a thread from long ago and far away about Norm Thompson and the company's Schrade offerings. I've seen the ads on LRV's COSRUS site but not that particular knife. As Saddlebum points out there is one in the bay right now like yours that has the razorsharp etch.

Another nice example of 60's Schrades. Probably one of my favorite eras including the early 70's.
 
tongueriver said:
Yes, it does.
Click to expand...

That is a really nice offering with stainless blades. I like that Schrade made some different offerings with 25OT, boxed sets and all. I used to have a 25OT with a blade etch that said, 'Alaska Bowie Hunter'. I suppose that they made one with the 440 Stainless for the European market too??
 
Saddlebum said:
I suppose that they made one with the 440 Stainless for the European market too??
Click to expand...
They did not make a 25OT for the European market to my knowledge, but they did indeed make a 125OT and a 225OT. The 225OT had the blades loaded into the frame opposite (side to side) as the domestic version.
 
tongueriver said:
They did not make a 25OT for the European market to my knowledge, but they did indeed make a 125OT and a 225OT. The 225OT had the blades loaded into the frame opposite (side to side) as the domestic version.
Click to expand...

I have a never used ss226OT. I also have seen a ss226OT in a Ducks Unlimited version and another version with Uncle Henry Stagalon scales which might have been an end of days version.

Very, very, very low production numbers for the ss226OT, hundreds estimated not sure if all orders filled and only one or two years just based the posts I've read here and over at AAPK.

THere is a 126OT as well.
 
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