Help me ID an old Schrade please

W

WalterH

Joined
Feb 19, 2002
Messages
3
Hi there!

I'm new here and my english could be better. Two reasons to have patience with me :D

I just bought an old Schrade folding knife (here in Germany) and wanted to know when it was produced (approx.)

The tang reads "Schrade Cut. Co. Walden N.Y." so I guess it must be a pre-1946 model.

The blades are exactly like the "33OT-Middleman Jack" of the Old Timer series.

Closed length is 3.1 in.

The handle is roughly the type of the Old Timer handles but symmetric and more oval. The engraving plate is empty and oval, too.

The handles seem to be plastic. A dark brown embedded in transparent, sligtly yellow tone. The brown parts look like strands in the transparent material.

Oh, and there's a recess clearance (??) where the opener of the small blade is.

Sorry, i can't describe it better.

Can anyone tell me what knife I bought and when it was manufactured?

Thanks!

-Walter
 
With the information given this is a fairly tough question to answer. So lets start one piece at a time. Your tang marking dates the knife pre 1946-48. It also makes it post 1903. You could further narrow this time frame if your knife has a patent date. It would then have been made sometime after the last date ( of patent) and 1946-48. Now if your marking is in a straight line it was made after 1928 ( year approximate) between 1930 and 1946 ( actually 48, but we are just trying to get close. Both dates are used since it was a transitional period and for a time both were used. ) If the word Schrade is curved (like a half moon circle) it is pre 26-28 as early as 04. I would guess the knife to be around 1930 to 1946.

The next point you make is that the blades are the same pattern as a 33-OT Middleman. This is tricky, unless you read on, because the first conclusion that one jumps to is that if is the fore runner of the 33OT which would make it a 2343 ( Bone ) 2343AC (assorted celluloid ). However since your knife is 3.1" and the middleman and its grandfather were 3,5/16" ( and the shield is wrong) it becomes obvious that your reference is just to the blade patterns. By the way when this is done I believe the actual size of your knife will be 3,1/8" not 3.1 ( still you were pretty close ).

Now we come to the next point which is a bit unclear and that is the bolsters which I am guessing are round not squared off like the middleman. If I am correct in this then the next thing to determine is what the handles are made of, in this case I feel quite confident that they are celluloid. The celluloid you describe was a brown lined cream Pyralin ( Pyralin is a brand name for a company that made celluloid). Today this color combo is often referred to by collectors as butter and molasses. It had the Schrade designation of K ( called K horn, there were two types of K horn, this is the first or celluloid product), at the end of the digits denoting the model number. The designation for this type of material on a model number was usually a K or AC ( assorted celluloid.)

This now narrows the search down to a model 2424 3/4KEO The 2 means two blade, 42 is the equal end jack knife pattern, 4 means celluloid, 3/4 means clip blade, K means the brown lined cream, If your knife has an easy open notch in the handle it would have EO after the K in the model number. If the handle is different than what I believe you have described then it would have AC ( assorted celluloid) instead of K in the model number. The oval unmarked shield is correct for this model. I have traced this pattern back to at least 1926. I hope this helps. Rich
 
Hello Rich!

Wow, i'm really impressed!
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You seem to have tracked it down, despite my clumsy description. The handle is definitely "butter and molasses" celluloid. I did a Google search after i read your reply and found a few images of this material.

Regarding the size: I measured in cm (Germany. Metric system. :D) and converted it. Maybe i was a few mm off.

Yes, the bolsters are round and yes, it has an "easy open notch". Didn't know the words, sorry.

The exact marking is:
SCHRADE
CUT CO.
WALDEN N.Y.
(3 lines) in plain letters. It's on both blades. There isn't any Patent marking.

I guess a G.I. brought it to Germany after WW2 and sold or lost it here.

The condition is quite good for its age. A few scratches in the handles and bolsters, a few rust holes (well, not holes - you get my meaning) and a few nicks (?) in the blades.

I paid approx. 10$. I still think it was a bargain. :D

Thanks again.

-Walter
 
I am glad I did alright. You did fine on the price. The notch makes it a bit unusual in that pattern. I am glad I could assist. I did not think it would have a patent date but rather wanted to show the possible steps to take when tracking down the age on these items. Patents were more often found on the auto versions of Schrade knives. Good hunting Rich
 
Pretty sharp, good pun. Thanks for the nice words. It is all due to an ill spent youth. Rich
 
Just to revive a looooong forgotten thread. ;)

In the meantime i got a digital camera, so here's a quite bad picture of the knife:

schrade.jpg


I still find it very impressive, how Rich tracked down the knife just from my bad description.

-Walter
 
Wow, Doctor! You're a great guy to return after a couple of years to show us the pic.

Yep, our LT (Rich) is truly amazing when it comes to the old Schrades.

Phil
 
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