Kevin! Hush your mouth. Don't you know how horrible these knives are? You keep going on about them and the prices are going to continue to climb!!! As it stands, I've only got 2 in my pile. It's the only knife I've decided to stockpile. 
Ok, there are some current knives that get close but I totally agree, the real Old Timers have something going on. Here's mine that is a worker and frequent pocket carry.
schrade-5ot by Pinnah, on Flickr
This one was tipped and had the blade slightly reprofiled. It's a bit more blunt looking.
David (OWE), I find my 5OT to be stiffer than my Opinels. I think of this as my "Might Mouse" knife. Looks small and unassuming but it's a very, very solid knife. Last year by brother-in-law still had his sail boat in the water when a nasty storm with hurricane force winds made it's way up the east coast. He got the boat to a protected boat yard but still needed to secure it. For some reason, I had my 50OT in the pocket and spent much of the day cutting heavy ropes and making line shrouds by cutting sections of old garden hose. The tricky bit was plunge cutting the hose to pass zip ties through it. The point here is that having a lock back in my pocket and one that was tough enough for hard use really paid off. It's a knife that punches above it's weight class.
Speaking of weight, I find this to be the best carrying knife I own. It's the flat profile. Just wonderful.
Two minor nits to pick. First, the blade is a bit thicker and requires some breaking in with a stone - more so than say, my Ulster Camper. Also the blades on mine have decided grind marks, which I dislike. Took some time to sand them out.
Second, the sharpening indent at the choil of the blade can hang up on some cutting projects. I notice it cutting cordage. The line can hang up on the indent if I'm moving quickly. Also notice it when cutting down boxes. It causes the blade to spit out a stream of torn cardboard if I plunge the blade in up to the hilt. I've "fixed" this a bit on my user 5OT by carefully sharpening the front edge of the indent.
Schrade made several variations of this knife. There was a stainless Schrade+ version with brown derlin scales. A scrimshaw version. A wooden scaled "Ducks Unlimited" version. And a green version with thumb studs.
If I had to replace mine today, I would look at the Buck 501 squire (420HC blade) or the Bear and Sons 4th Generation lock backs (1095 blades). Are there others like this?
Ok, there isn't anything exactly like the original 5OT.
Ok, there are some current knives that get close but I totally agree, the real Old Timers have something going on. Here's mine that is a worker and frequent pocket carry.
schrade-5ot by Pinnah, on Flickr
This one was tipped and had the blade slightly reprofiled. It's a bit more blunt looking.
David (OWE), I find my 5OT to be stiffer than my Opinels. I think of this as my "Might Mouse" knife. Looks small and unassuming but it's a very, very solid knife. Last year by brother-in-law still had his sail boat in the water when a nasty storm with hurricane force winds made it's way up the east coast. He got the boat to a protected boat yard but still needed to secure it. For some reason, I had my 50OT in the pocket and spent much of the day cutting heavy ropes and making line shrouds by cutting sections of old garden hose. The tricky bit was plunge cutting the hose to pass zip ties through it. The point here is that having a lock back in my pocket and one that was tough enough for hard use really paid off. It's a knife that punches above it's weight class.
Speaking of weight, I find this to be the best carrying knife I own. It's the flat profile. Just wonderful.
Two minor nits to pick. First, the blade is a bit thicker and requires some breaking in with a stone - more so than say, my Ulster Camper. Also the blades on mine have decided grind marks, which I dislike. Took some time to sand them out.
Second, the sharpening indent at the choil of the blade can hang up on some cutting projects. I notice it cutting cordage. The line can hang up on the indent if I'm moving quickly. Also notice it when cutting down boxes. It causes the blade to spit out a stream of torn cardboard if I plunge the blade in up to the hilt. I've "fixed" this a bit on my user 5OT by carefully sharpening the front edge of the indent.
Schrade made several variations of this knife. There was a stainless Schrade+ version with brown derlin scales. A scrimshaw version. A wooden scaled "Ducks Unlimited" version. And a green version with thumb studs.
If I had to replace mine today, I would look at the Buck 501 squire (420HC blade) or the Bear and Sons 4th Generation lock backs (1095 blades). Are there others like this?
Ok, there isn't anything exactly like the original 5OT.
