Codger_64
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- Joined
- Oct 8, 2004
- Messages
- 62,324
...away from the Friday fleamarket without spending a dime. Almost.
I love looking at the sheer quantity of oddball antique items at these outdoor fleamarkets. A lot of junk freshly off the boat from China as well. I've made it a habit to look into boxes, under tables, in the bottom of piles. Sometimes treasure really is buried.
I must say that I would not have gotten off lightly if I had my new home office built. I have in mind finishing and decorating it in 1940's style, and everywhere I turned was some item, utilitarian or decorative, which fit that style in my mind.
The knives were everywhere, mostly as you might expect, either those rare and desirable Case knives, or imported junk from the middle or far East. I flipped a few over out of curiosity just to see where they were made, but invariably walked on while ignoring the purveyor's banter, at most giving them a nod and a friendly smile. Several times I was briefly fooled into picking up and examining an apparent Schrade only to find a Chirade.
I had almost made the circuit of the sixty or so vendors when I spied a knife roll. Opened it. Case. Flipped the divider. Case. Again. The last section held some older junk knives and... a familiar 3OT.
"How much?" "Mfff...." "Excuse me?" (I am nearly deaf). "Seventeen dollars". "O.K."
The seller winced slightly, his "tell" that he had just made a mistake and should have asked more. All the while I was mentally half congratulating myself and half kicking myself for not dickering over the asking price. But... I know my Schrades fairly well, and decided not to risk giving him time to backpeddle and up the price.
I dropped the knife into my pocket and forked over the dollars. I didn't take it back out to look at it until I was well down the highway headed home. I'm sure most of you have done this only to be smacked between the eyes with "buyer's remorse" that you didn't look more closely before concluding a purchase.
But... Uncle Henry was with me this time and the knife was pure-dee mint. Not a scratch on the bolsters, no ground mark or whetstoned blade. Fit and function would have passed even Henry's inspection, and it may well have before it left the factory and began it's journey from Ellenville to...??? Along the way it lost it's box or clam pack and papers, so how it survived out in the world without even a hint of handling marks I haven't a clue.
The 3OT Bearhead (you just have to know that Henry named this one) was first cataloged in 1986 and last appeared in 2004. It always had a Schrade+ stainless drop point blade and at 3" closed fit the niche between it's smaller cousin the LB-1 Cub (1986-96) and the larger 5OT Bruin (1987-98). It's Uncle Henry equivilent was the LB-3 Brown Bear (1982-95). At only 1.5 ounces and relatively flat profile, it would fit very unobtrusively in the pocket for daily carry if I were so inclined. It's 2 3/16" blade would take care of a lot of smaller tasks.
The only similar sized and shaped Schrade lockback which springs to mind is the Lightweight series Zytel handled SP2 Raider (1989-2004) also at 3" closed.
Now, at $17 was it a deal? Using the inflation calculator and the last MSRP of $35.45, today's MSRP would have been $38.62. The $17 spent to acquire it yesterday is nearly the same as the suggested wholesale in 2004, which when adjusted for inflation would be $19.01. So I bought it for less than original suggested wholesale. Mr. Levine's method of third highest offer can't be applied. But... do any of you think it is worth less than I paid?
Michael
I love looking at the sheer quantity of oddball antique items at these outdoor fleamarkets. A lot of junk freshly off the boat from China as well. I've made it a habit to look into boxes, under tables, in the bottom of piles. Sometimes treasure really is buried.
I must say that I would not have gotten off lightly if I had my new home office built. I have in mind finishing and decorating it in 1940's style, and everywhere I turned was some item, utilitarian or decorative, which fit that style in my mind.
The knives were everywhere, mostly as you might expect, either those rare and desirable Case knives, or imported junk from the middle or far East. I flipped a few over out of curiosity just to see where they were made, but invariably walked on while ignoring the purveyor's banter, at most giving them a nod and a friendly smile. Several times I was briefly fooled into picking up and examining an apparent Schrade only to find a Chirade.
I had almost made the circuit of the sixty or so vendors when I spied a knife roll. Opened it. Case. Flipped the divider. Case. Again. The last section held some older junk knives and... a familiar 3OT.
"How much?" "Mfff...." "Excuse me?" (I am nearly deaf). "Seventeen dollars". "O.K."
The seller winced slightly, his "tell" that he had just made a mistake and should have asked more. All the while I was mentally half congratulating myself and half kicking myself for not dickering over the asking price. But... I know my Schrades fairly well, and decided not to risk giving him time to backpeddle and up the price.
I dropped the knife into my pocket and forked over the dollars. I didn't take it back out to look at it until I was well down the highway headed home. I'm sure most of you have done this only to be smacked between the eyes with "buyer's remorse" that you didn't look more closely before concluding a purchase.
But... Uncle Henry was with me this time and the knife was pure-dee mint. Not a scratch on the bolsters, no ground mark or whetstoned blade. Fit and function would have passed even Henry's inspection, and it may well have before it left the factory and began it's journey from Ellenville to...??? Along the way it lost it's box or clam pack and papers, so how it survived out in the world without even a hint of handling marks I haven't a clue.
The 3OT Bearhead (you just have to know that Henry named this one) was first cataloged in 1986 and last appeared in 2004. It always had a Schrade+ stainless drop point blade and at 3" closed fit the niche between it's smaller cousin the LB-1 Cub (1986-96) and the larger 5OT Bruin (1987-98). It's Uncle Henry equivilent was the LB-3 Brown Bear (1982-95). At only 1.5 ounces and relatively flat profile, it would fit very unobtrusively in the pocket for daily carry if I were so inclined. It's 2 3/16" blade would take care of a lot of smaller tasks.
The only similar sized and shaped Schrade lockback which springs to mind is the Lightweight series Zytel handled SP2 Raider (1989-2004) also at 3" closed.
Now, at $17 was it a deal? Using the inflation calculator and the last MSRP of $35.45, today's MSRP would have been $38.62. The $17 spent to acquire it yesterday is nearly the same as the suggested wholesale in 2004, which when adjusted for inflation would be $19.01. So I bought it for less than original suggested wholesale. Mr. Levine's method of third highest offer can't be applied. But... do any of you think it is worth less than I paid?
Michael
on the auction site BUT couldn't get myself to pay $10.00
WTHeck!!?
