It's Old Timer time, fellas: Show your U.S.-made OTs

hsherzfeld said:
That’s interesting. I had always assumed that all of Schrade’s OT knives were carbon steel, because all of the Old Timers that I had as a kid (early 2000’s) would rust quickly in Houston’s humid climate. I vaguely remember going to a sporting goods store with my grandfather because he had lost his OT and wanted a new one, and I had to show my knife (a 104OT) to the employee at the knife counter to show him what my grandpa wanted. The employee was surprised I had one because he said they were no longer available. I think we went to several different stores in Wichita Falls (which isn’t very many in WF) looking for one.
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There were a few OT's that were stainless from the start; Such as the 98ot. The 858ot and 51ot were stainless but there is still question as to whether it was always stainless or carbon very early on. Most of the OT lockbacks started as carbon and were changed to stainless.
 
You can take Paul's info to the bank. Meanwhile, not to sound anal, but most 'stainless/rostfrei/rust-free cutlery steel is high carbon steel. Some Schrade advertisements even called their SCHRADE+ stainless steel "high carbon." Carbon is what differentiates iron from steel, and stainless has carbon in it, except for some very non-typical and irrelevant steels which I don't know anything about. This is why I call 1095, 1075. A-1, 5160, etc. "non-stainless steel." Just me.
 
I realize that it’s technically redundant to say “carbon steel” or “high-carbon steel”, I just use those terms to differentiate rust-prone steel that will take on a patina from rust-resistant steel that stays shiny. I think I’ll start using “non-stainless” instead.
 
black mamba said:
I've got one new one as well, the big boy 858OTB with bone handles. Good knife, cleaned a whitetail with it this past season and it did great.

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Is that a US made OT?
 
Mark, Jim is correct. It is a Taylor Schrade made in China, but with the bone covers I had to check it out.
 
TheChunk91 said:
There were a few OT's that were stainless from the start; Such as the 98ot. The 858ot and 51ot were stainless but there is still question as to whether it was always stainless or carbon very early on. Most of the OT lockbacks started as carbon and were changed to stainless.
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I found an 858 OT with the stainless+ blade. I did not like it and sold it.
When I found a very early one, in a brown box with all the bling - I snapped it up, for my collection.
When this question came up, some years ago now - I tested the blade and found it was non-stainless. Ken.
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koldgold said:
I found an 858 OT with the stainless+ blade. I did not like it and sold it.
When I found a very early one, in a brown box with all the bling - I snapped it up, for my collection.
When this question came up, some years ago now - I tested the blade and found it was non-stainless. Ken.
medium
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How did you test it?
 
koldgold said:
Cut a lemon. [acid]
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Interesting. I think I saw a photo of somebody's 858 they posted on bladeforums and it had patina, this was years ago before I was a schrade man. I wish I could find that photo since I really can't remember for sure.
 
I've seen 858s for sale on the big auction sight that had patina . . . but they wanted way too much for them.
 
I recently snagged a pair of 108OT knives on the Bay, and I just finished getting them all nice and sharp.
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This is the second time that I've bought two Old Timers online, and again, one has maroon-brown delrin in the center section of the scales, while the other has dark brown-black delrin. I find myself more partial to the lighter brown delrin. Both knives have good snap, and the upper knife's pen blade is a nail-breaker to open even when its spine doesn't catch on the nail nick of the sheepsfoot blade. It's been so long since I had a 108OT that I had forgotten about that particular issue that they all seem to have.

My winning bid for the lighter-brown knife was a whopping $8.50 plus shipping; the other was $20.
 
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hsherzfeld said:
I recently snagged a pair of 108OT knives on the Bay, and I just finished getting them all nice and sharp.
View attachment 1096944
This is the second time that I've bought two Old Timers online, and again, one has maroon-brown delrin in the center section of the scales, while the other has dark brown-black delrin. I find myself more partial to the lighter brown delrin. Both knives have good snap, and the upper knife's pen blade is a nail-breaker to open even when its spine doesn't catch on the nail nick of the sheepsfoot blade. It's been so long since I had a 108OT that I had forgotten about that particular issue that they all seem to have.

My winning bid for the lighter-brown knife was a whopping $8.50 plus shipping; the other was $20.
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I was once at a work party where spouses and girlfriends were present. One of the wives needed something opened up so all the guys pulled out their latest clip in the pocket, one handed, gladiator sized pig stickers. As they sat there trying to figure out which knife was better I just pulled out my 108OT and opened the item without saying a word. All the women knew who the real man in the room was after that....the pig stickers went back into pockets with tails tucked firmly between legs;);)
 
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315 said:
I was once at a work party where spouses and girlfriends were present. One of the wives needed something opened up so all the guys pulled out their latest clip in the pocket, one handed, gladiator sized pig stickers. As they sat there trying to figure out which knife was better I just pulled out my 108OT and opened the item without saying a word. All the women knew who the real man in the room was after that....the pig stickers went back into pockets with tails tucked firmly between legs;);)
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My maternal grandfather carried an Old Timer 108OT for as long as I knew him (passed away in 2009). He was a retired Shell engineer, a child of small-town Oklahoma during the Depression, and a great whittler. When he was a child, he carved toy jeeps and trucks out of fruit crates for his brothers, probably with a similar knife. One of Old Timer's slogans was "A Knife Like Granddad's," and in my case it is quite literally true.
 
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