Thanks for the input guys. This does seem to be one of the friendlier forums here.
I am looking for a user, carbon steel, preferably one with brown handles - don't know why, it's just a personal preference. I would not want to buy something mint in the box that might be really valuable to a serious collector - unless it's going begging.
I collect a little of everything in the way of vintage knives and guns and I use them all at one time or another. I've got 17 acres of woodlot bordering a state wilderness area so I can walk around with my dog and carry pretty much whatever I want without running into hikers or game wardens.
I remember when the Sharp Finger came out in the '70s and I wanted one then but my rationale for not buying one was "Well, I already have a couple of sheath knives." Please, hold your laughter
. Twenty years later, an older friend who was a knife collector convinced me that was folly: life is too short to deny yourself simple pleasures. So now I have drawers full of assorted knives. I occasionally make primitive fixed blades from files, leafsprings and other stuff.
The only specific things I collect are boy scout patterns, sailors rigging knives, and reproduction knives based on Early Colonial American patterns. I keep an eye out for PAL blades that were made in the nearby town of Plattsburgh, NY. The only Schrade I have is a nice 125OT, but I can see myself owning a few more Schrades. My immediate goal now is for a usable Sharp Finger. I'll be watching eBay and the trade thread mentioned above. I'll snag one eventually.
Don
)