Golden Spike 153UH

R

redshanks

Joined
May 8, 2005
Messages
711
I've been looking to buy one of the USA versions of this knife and the examples I've seen all seem to have black and white spacers on the handle. The pictures of the new Taylor made in China copy usually are shown with red and white spacers but I did see one photo of a Taylor knife with black and white spacers. Is there any pattern to the color of the spacers on either the old or new versions of this knife?

Another question, some of the USA knives have "Schrade Super Sharp" etched on the blade and some don't. Are the "Super Sharp" knives the latest ones made? Was there a change in the blade steel from the knives that are not etched "Super Sharp" or at any other time during the manufacture of this knife?

Thanks

edit: This is the pic of a "New" Golden Spike currently listed on eBay, clearly showing black spacers. The sheath is a made in China copy, could it be a USA version of the knife or is the seller playing games?

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people don't care, they just find any picture that looks like what thier knife is and stick it on there. they do the same thing on gunbroker.com. they just don't take the time to get correct pictures, or it could be what the actual knife looks like, who knows? I bet codger does :D
 
Er...um.... well uh..... sigh. :o Here is my take on that. The seller, like many dealers acquiring Taylor goods just now does not have a picture of the actual knife. Like many sellers, they cop the picture from Taylor's website. Many of the pics Taylor (and distributors) are using are artifacts of the original Imperial Schrade website. Almost always, they had the blue background. This photo is a copy from that site.
http://taylorbrandsllc.us/AllKnives.cfm

So far, I have mostly seen the Taylor "First Production Run" etched (blade left) 153UH's. These ALL had the red spacers. ALL of the Imperial Schrade 153UH's I have seen have the black spacers. None had the blade left "F.P.R." etch.

ALL of the Taylor 153UH's I have seen have the "Schrade Super Sharp" etch on blade right. SOME of the Imperial Schrade 153UH's I have seen have the "S.S.S." etch blade right. I believe they used it a while, then didn't. It is one of the trademarks Taylor Brands LLC. bought, and they are using it religiously (Irreverently?). I cannot pinpoint ISC's use of that trademark etch on the 153UH more closely than to say that at least some of the brown boxed production used it. Most of the latest ones did not, and neither did the earlier ones.

One tell tale detail that tells the tale (remember I told you!) is that the real McCoy has the "Uncle Henry" script signature stamp on the face of the guard blade right, and the import knife incorporates it into the blade right tangstamp.

Sheaths tell very little about these knives, unless you can provenance one to the pre-2004 box. A bunch of these bought at the closing are being fitted with whatever sheath the seller can come up with. And even the color and finish of the original sheaths varied greatly. The shaeth in the picture (as well as the knife) is ISC production item.

I do not own one of the imports, or I could give you better info. At this point, I am not willing to feed the dragon to gain that knowledge. If one of you has closeup pics of one, or even a sample knife to send me, then we can state some definate facts based on stamps. dimensions, hafting screw thread measurements, hafting drum bushing material etc.

Remember, use the ask seller a question option. Ask if the knife he is selling is the one in the picture or if it is a stock photo.

Codger
 
Here is a pic of the Taylor 153. It looks like it comes with a genuine simulated leather sheath.
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A bit more on the "Schrade Super Sharp" usage.... it was also used on some (not all) of the 160OT Mountain Lions made 1990-1995. Mine came in the tan box and did not have the etch. A 153UH on ebay NIB has it and comes in the blue/gray "flag" box. The one with the "SSS" etch in the brown box provenances it's retail sale to 1993, though it may have been old stock by then. Another NIB in the brown box does not have the etch. One without a box, but with the etch has serial #37809 on the guard opposite the UH signature.

Codger
 
I bought one of the Taylors before I found what I think was a good deal on a used usa made one. The My taylor Does have the white and black spacers. I guess they're getting wise. Not a Shrade but I will have to say the thing is sharp. I guess i just got lucky.
 
WInchester73, it is my understanding that they have made several changes to the Chinese made Taylor copies of the 153UH besides the now black spacers. I think they also started adding a microscopic "CHINA" stamping on the offside of the blade to comply with U.S. cutlery import regulations. I have been able to avoid buying one so far, so I can't do a direct comparison between the copy and the real Schrade on this pattern. You will note that the above comparison of details was done back in 1995 when they first hit our shores.

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Funny, I just pulled this knife out tonight to look at it....so I decided to do a search and see what I could find out about it....and here you guys are talking about it!!

It is an original and is about 30 years old. I have a few questions about it...if anybody can answer.
What type of metal is the blade?? I'm assuming that it's a type of carbon steel as it has some staining....not from use but mostly just from sitting around for so many years.
What is it worth?? I don't have the box or any paperwork...just the knife and the sheath, in pretty good condition other than the staining on the blade.

Thanks
Fox
 
Hello - I joined this discussion group so I could find out about a knife that I have had for several years. I picked this up second-hand while living in western Colorado in 1995, lost it while hiking in some rugged country, found it several months later (long story), and haven't used it much since. After being exposed to the elements, the blade has some corrosion and the handle has weathered somewhat.
I am hoping someone knows how to clean this up. Is there any way to remove the staining from the blade? How about the handle? I know it is pretty durable stuff, but I have been hesitant to put industrial strength cleaner on it.
One more question: what would a knife of this type be worth? I am pretty sure it is a carbon blade, since it has no ( + ) sign on the tang. My sheath does not have the pocket for the sharpening stone on the outside, so it may not be an original, but it is made from full-grain leather.
I can take pictures if that would help.
 
I pulled my user 153 out and had a look. It has the Schrade+ stamp. I noticed the white (more like tan) spacer was not as wide as the black ones, or as in the picture above. On closer look, I noticed it's not one, but two really thin spacers. I presume that the spacer width, was whatever was needed to bring the handle into specs so the cap would fit correctly. But, one would think that all parts would be the same dimension, part after part.
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Went knife huntin again yesterday (I'm addicted!!) at a pawn shop, had whole box of odds and ends picked out 3, 153UH used but barely, LB7UH 4pin used even less, and it don't fit here and got it cause it said camillus stainless USA front tang reverse 6 well used but looked cool and read a little here in the forums hate to tell butI will gave 20 spot for all think Istolem!!!? got to get the scanner here to send pics.
 
Use flitz avalable at gun shps or www.midwayusa.com (they do charge 3.00 small order fee for orders less than 25.00) use 000 and flitz til stains are gone then flitz acouple of motre time. May have use the steel wool quite a bit til the stains are gone. Worked for me on a stained golden spike I got off ebay.
 
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