Help Dating My 735L Riggers

[Shepherd Jim]

I've searched the Schrade Forum backwards and frontwards -- apologies if the answer's here.

I have four different tang stamps on the Schrade 735's in my rigger collection. I know that Schrade produced the riggers with locking spike from 1957 through 1973. I'm hoping that someone get put date ranges to these tang stampings:

• SCHRADE / WALDEN / N.Y. U.S.A. / STAINLESS
• SCHRADE / WALDEN / N.Y. U.S.A. -- reverse: 735 / STAINLESS
• SCHRADE / U.S.A. / 735 S.S.
• SCHRADE -- reverse: 735RPB

note: the last stamp is on the currently available "modern era" knife.

I'm just realizing that I have not spent enough time studying the Schrade riggers. Why is Schrade sort of a black sheep amongst cutlers? -- I ask that with love and respect -- be advised I raise black sheep

 

[thawk]

Jim:

Depends on the cutler I guess. I find Schrade Walden and Schrade Cut Co to be good quality, and well made knives. They were made to be working tools at an affordable price, and they were darned good for that. Do yours have locking mechanisms? That helps narrow down the ranges a bit.

Hard to date exactly. But...

1946 to 1973
SCHRADE / WALDEN / N.Y. U.S.A. / STAINLESS
SCHRADE / WALDEN / N.Y. U.S.A. -- reverse: 735 / STAINLESS

After 1973
SCHRADE / U.S.A. / 735 S.S.

After 2004
SCHRADE -- reverse: 735RPB

http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/schrade_knives/price_list/open_stock.php

735 4-1/8" Marlin Spike knife; unbreakable stagged handle; large SS sheepfoot blade & Marlin Spike; brass liners; N/S bolsters, caps & shackle. First appeared in 1953 Ended in 55-56 Last retail price - $5.95

735 (L) 4-1/8" Marlin Spike knife; unbreakable stagged handle; large SS sheepfoot blade & Marlin Spike with lock; brass liners; N/S bolsters, caps & shackle. First appeared 1957 Ended in 1973 Last retail price - $10.00

The Walden with no number on the back is likely older than the other one.

 

[tongueriver]

I am wondering if it is also appropriate to say that from 1960 to 1973 the handles are DuPont Delrin plastic, but from 1946 to 1960 they could be bone or another manmade product, but not Delrin. This can also help date them?

 

[Shepherd Jim]

...<snip>...Do yours have locking mechanisms? That helps narrow down the ranges a bit.
...<snip>...

Hey HAL (or is it just thawk?): Thank you for laying that all out so clearly! Yes, all the riggers under discussion here are the locking version.

QUESTION: Can you explain why the Schrade Open Stock chart at AAPK states the 735 (L) finished in 1973? I've been trying to quick-study Schrade company history but haven't got a handle yet on the significance of 1973.

It's interesting: the old Schrade catalogs on LRV's website show that the company catalogs continued to use the old illustration of the 735 with the regular, NON-locking bail/spike from 1957 through 1960. The caption/description mentioned the locking spike, but the picture was of the old 735.

BTW: looking at some of Larry's old catalog PDF's is telling me that I have to spend a LOT more time researching Schrade's activities in the "rigger sphere".

Jim

 

[Shepherd Jim]

I am wondering if it is also appropriate to say that from 1960 to 1973 the handles are DuPont Delrin plastic, but from 1946 to 1960 they could be bone or another manmade product, but not Delrin. This can also help date them?

Hey TRiver: I've made note of the dates and specs you've brought up. But, I gottta tell you, I'm at the stage where I still cannot always tell Delrin from stagged bone -- NOT at all sure I'd pick up on the difference between Delrin and some other "plastic".

Jim

 

[thawk]

Hey HAL (or is it just thawk?): Thank you for laying that all out so clearly! Yes, all the riggers under discussion here are the locking version.

QUESTION: Can you explain why the Schrade Open Stock chart at AAPK states the 735 (L) finished in 1973? I've been trying to quick-study Schrade company history but haven't got a handle yet on the significance of 1973.

It's interesting: the old Schrade catalogs on LRV's website show that the company catalogs continued to use the old illustration of the 735 with the regular, NON-locking bail/spike from 1957 through 1960. The caption/description mentioned the locking spike, but the picture was of the old 735.

BTW: looking at some of Larry's old catalog PDF's is telling me that I have to spend a LOT more time researching Schrade's activities in the "rigger sphere".

Jim

1973 is the year of the Schrade company name change. The name Walden was dropped from the company and from the tang stamps. There were for sure 735L knives made after 1973, since there are some minus WALDEN in the stamp. Quite a few of the knives at this time went from SCHRADE WALDEN NY USA to SCHRADE NY USA on the stamping. In some cases they kept the pattern number stampled on the back side of the tang, but some moved to the front side. Eventually all of the pattern numbers came around to the front side of the knife.

You are right about the illustrations. The same ones were used way beyond the time of being accurate in many cases. Schrade catalog illustrations are often not acceptable evidence when doing knife CSI work. The catalogs are good however in determining if a knife was produced that year.

The 735 is a pattern where you can find three different handle materials. Delrin, bone, and a harder brittle plastic more prone to shrinkage, and looks more like real bone sometimes. In the catalogs they often called it "stagged", which does not eliminate the material to be bone. They slipped bone examples in from time to time it seems just because they did.

The jigged bone examples are hardest to obtain. Best way for you to find out might be to post some pictures, and let the members take a look.

Thawk (Hal)

 

[thawk]

Jim:

Looks to me like your 735L marked with SCHRADE might be uncommon. Like you said, it shows a "DISCONTINUED" stamp in that literature in with the 1975, and that is Schrade Walden literature. No mention of it in the 1974.

 

[Shepherd Jim]

...<snip>...Why is Schrade sort of a black sheep amongst cutlers? ....

Okay! I owe Schrade knives and those who love them a BIG apology for my cavalier deprecation. Even for a "rigger only" collector there's a lot of meat in the "Schrade world" to be dug into.

I think my comment may have come about just because other brands (...maybe like Case?) have consciously hyped themselves -- some would say artificially creating variations upon variations in order to ensnare collectors into buying more and more. And then, Camillus is just SO pervasive when you're looking at riggers. They made riggers for Case, Utica, Buck and ??? ...and, of course, they made riggers stamped with their own name going back to the early 1900's. And then they went out of business -- everyone knows an artist's work only really becomes valuable once he's dead and gone and the flow of new work is stopped.

Schrade should be celebrated and congratulated for successfully doing exactly what a cutler is supposed to do! :-D

 

[lrv]

Jim,

Schrade should be celebrated and congratulated for successfully doing exactly what a cutler is supposed to do!

We have been working at just that for a while. I doubt we will ever get it all correct as to what Schrade really did but the fun is in the trying (for me anyways)
Welcome to the addiction.