Is this usual?

[ducks_and_bucks66]

Well, I got the order in of the 22 knives. Not much to speak of although it did have a nice 194OT in it. The rest need cleaning up and would be okay EDC knives. However, I did receive two 104OT's that are in rough shape but one of them has 2 blades and the other has 3 blades. I believe the knives to be older than end of days knives and was wondering if it was usual to have a 2 blade and a 3 blade in the 104OT? I went to the Schrades R Us site and the pics only show a 2 blade knife. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[ducks_and_bucks66]

In looking at the knive with 3 blades, it looks just like a 108OT, however, the tang stamp clearly reads 104OT. Did Schrade make a lot of mistakes like that (putting the wrong blade on the wrong knife)?

 

[Codger_64]

Not a lot, but you can see how it might happen with the blades being the same except for the tang stamps. I'd call that a Monday or Friday knife and enjoy the oddity!

Michael

 

[Bob W]

That's sounds right, a blade mix-up during assembly. No functional difference, as the blades are identical other than the stamp.

Don't know if that makes it more valuable as a collectible, but to me it's more interesting than just an ordinary 104OT or 108OT. If that knife was mint/unused, it would definitely be something that I'd chase on eBay.

I believe the knives to be older than end of days knives

That tang stamp is the same one used up until the factory closed. So they could be end of days knives, but such errors were common long before that.

Cool find,
-Bob

 

[Codger_64]

Carbon steel blade. If you'll check your 104/108 stash, I think you might find the latest ones with unmarked (no "+") stainless blades.

 

[Bob W]

Even at the very end, the 108 was being packaged in boxes that advertised "Easy to resharpen high carbon blades." In fact, many of the final closeout OldTimers were packaged in "carbon steel" boxes. Could be they were using old boxes. And I wouldn't be suprised if the knives were randomly carbon or stainless, or mixed. I don't have the guts to actually test the blades to see...

My 104OT was also purchased after the factory closing, blue stripe clam pack listing High Carbon Steel Blade. Bought it at K-Mart though, so it could have been in the store's inventory for some time.

-Bob

 

[Codger_64]

The blue striped clampacks and boxes date circa 2001-2002, so they would more likely still be carbon steel. But even the catalogs kept calling knives carbon thru 2003, then in 2004, they just didn't say.