More Hardware Store Finds

thawk

thawk

Joined
Oct 28, 2006
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In between kid shuttle stops yesterday (pet store and movie theatre), my daughter and I stopped into a dumpy True Value. More of a truck rental place than hardware store. Two old knife cases with amost empty inserts. Asked to open them up, and walked out with two 77OT and a 124UH. Woodgrain boxes with white dust sleeves. The muskrats had never been opened.



The 124UH was loose inside the storage area of the second case, the box was buried in the corner, a 123OT box, with 124UH written on the dust cover in ball point pen, along with $25.95 (the best part).



There was a 125OT sharp idea box with just the sheath, no knife (dang). I'm going back to try and negotiate for the nearly empty old Schrade case and a several more nice Schrade knives, when no children are in tow. No more woodgrain boxes though.

It was easy to see in a place like this how easy it was for knives and original boxes get separated or lost. In the case of knife displays in retail outlets, I believe there was often not a whole lot of emphasis put on display knife/empty box management.

I've driven by this place dozens of times and never stopped in.
 
Excellent find. The 124 is worth the price of stopping again and again..
 
Nice find! Imagine those muskrats, sitting there for years, waiting for you to find them!!
 
Good hunting!

I would have snatched them up too, just to have future trade items.

BTW, what is the tang stamp on those 77OT knives in the wood-grained boxes?

-Bob
 
Thanks for checking. My 77OT is in the black-and-tan box and has that same stamp. I had half-expected the brown boxes to have a different stamp, SCHRADE / NY USA, for example. Perhaps the 77OT was only made with that one stamp...

Best Wishes,
-Bob
 
Very nice finds thawk, I most definitely have to hit some of those old stores up here in the Catskills. Your knives are a perfect example of what's still out there.
Dave
 
In my experience, the tangs with NY in them are the ones with the felt covered cardboard insert, rather than the ones with the oily sponge.

I have a 33OT and 34OT, both with a NY in the stamp. I have an an 897UH and a 197UH with the felt cardboard inserts, and both of them are SCHRADE over USA #97.

The paperwork with both of the NY Old Timers came with an old steamship on the leaflet cover. Other things to look for when looking at pictures with limited information.

I've found the Uncle Henry's with a colored warranty usually have a serial number in the liner too.
 
Great finds! Isn't it awesome to walk into a store you figure holds no hope and then to see the magical words "Schrade"? I love that feeling. Great day for you to be sure!
 
DaveinNY said:
Very nice finds thawk, I most definitely have to hit some of those old stores up here in the Catskills. Your knives are a perfect example of what's still out there.
Dave
Click to expand...

No pattern as to what stores are best to check. I've found them in small towns, and on the outskirts of metropolitan areas. This last one blew me away, it was one block off of a major highway.
 
ducks_and_bucks66 said:
Great finds! Isn't it awesome to walk into a store you figure holds no hope and then to see the magical words "Schrade"? I love that feeling. Great day for you to be sure!
Click to expand...

You can just imagine. I opened case one and saw two brown boxes, opened case two and "Bingo!" there's a 124UH laying on the shelf!
 
In my experience, the tangs with NY in them are the ones with the felt covered cardboard insert, rather than the ones with the oily sponge.

I have a 33OT and 34OT, both with a NY in the stamp. I have an an 897UH and a 197UH with the felt cardboard inserts, and both of them are SCHRADE over USA #97.

The paperwork with both of the NY Old Timers came with an old steamship on the leaflet cover.
Click to expand...
Very observant, but I don't think those are steadfast rules. For example, I have a 34OT with the "oily sponge" in wood-grain box. It came with a very long and thin pamphlet (not the steamer boat), and the SCHRADE/NY USA tang stamp. Most of my knives were bought second-hand so the package and contents aren't necessarily correct. But this knife is different - I bought it brand new at a store over 20 years ago. :D

Best Wishes,
-Bob
 
Bob W said:
Very observant, but I don't think those are steadfast rules.
Click to expand...

Your information doesn't surprise me at all. Michael has brought up some very good points in previous threads on how knives from different times could end up the same boxes, or the same knives in different boxes.

I consider the NY in the Tang Stamp knives to be in between Schrade Walden and Schrade USA (No NY) in age, but I have no proof of that.

Seems like with Schrade, or in any manufacturing process, it was not unlikely, if a bunch of blades manufactured from several years previous were used on knives they were making. I'm sure in inventory areas, they didn't necessarily rotate stock to accomodate an anal collector's (me) tang stamp observations 30 years later. :p
 
I consider the NY in the Tang Stamp knives to be in between Schrade Walden and Schrade USA (No NY) in age, but I have no proof of that.
Click to expand...
I think that's correct.

One thing to keep in mind is that the changes in box designs, tang stamps, and pamphlets weren't on any systematic schedule; they didn't change the tang stamp the exact same day they changed the boxes for instance. So there are going to be overlaps of every sort.

-Bob
 
i find it awesome as hell to find schrades in a store anymore. but like u, i have found them in "out-of-the-way" joints, and inside big metro areas. to be honest, i consider finding one in a store right now the ultimate challenge. it is getting harder and harder to find them, and it is gonna get even worse when more people start realising that schrade, the real schrade is gone.

great finds. that should have made your day!! if for some reason u decide that u just cant keep'em, i will give'em a wonderful home!
 
Finally did it !!! Today I had to go to the local hardware store to pick up some odds and ends for my workplace. While the store clerk and I were picking through the parts bins I asked about out of stock knives and possibly Schrade knives in particular. Sure do, was the response, so I followed him to a back room where he started to open drawers and drawers of old stock knives. After a half hour of sorting through China made knives and Imperials with missing scales I ended up with.

890T with box & papers
Uncle Henry LB7 with box and papers
897UH no box
89OT no box
94OT no box
Plus some odd boxes without knives.

Thanks DB and thawk for the inspiration to ask the magic question.

Smiling Dave:)
 
Good finds there, all of you!

RE Unscheduled changes: I've often said that most changes in manufacturing details, packaging components, and tang stamps were called "running changes", they were implemented as dies arrived and old parts inventory was used up.

For instance the Schrade Walden/ Schrade name change. We often quote "1973 1/2", or mid-1973, but the first 1973 Schrade Walden Cutlery Catalog for 1973 shows knives later discontinued. The 1973 REVISED Schrade Cutlery catalog included new knives such as the '49er series. The Schrade Cutlery Dealer and Distributor price lists are dated January 1st, 1973.

Michael
 
Bob W said:
Very observant, but I don't think those are steadfast rules. For example, I have a 34OT with the "oily sponge" in wood-grain box. It came with a very long and thin pamphlet (not the steamer boat), and the SCHRADE/NY USA tang stamp. Most of my knives were bought second-hand so the package and contents aren't necessarily correct. But this knife is different - I bought it brand new at a store over 20 years ago. :D

Best Wishes,
-Bob
Click to expand...

To add to this discussion, today I received another "Ebay Find". A 94OT Gunstock Trapper in the larger woodgrain box with blue felt insert, and the steamboat pamplet. The tang stamp is SCHRADE over U.S.A over 94OT. No "NY" in the stamp, but the pattern stamp is on it's own 3rd line.



Nice knife too!
 
what about this: 94OT with 2 line tang stamp; SCHRADE/ USA94OT. the few others i have seen (in pics.) are SCHRADE/USA/94OT. does this denote a different time frame ?l
 
rprocter said:
what about this: 94OT with 2 line tang stamp; SCHRADE/ USA94OT. the few others i have seen (in pics.) are SCHRADE/USA/94OT. does this denote a different time frame ?l
Click to expand...

It does if you know what to look for. In this case the third line is older than one I had in a brown/tan box, where the pattern was on the second line. I don't have newer knife anymore.

In this case, I kind of know mine is the oldest stamp before the stamp had NY in it. I'm not sure if there was a 94OT with a NY on the front. Or if there was a 94OT Walden.:confused:

There are a few in some patterns with NY on the front, and the pattern number on the back (called the ricasso). This was how some were done during the Schrade Walden era. Is some cases I get too caught up in the stamp, looking for clues, but I find the tang stamps very interesting.

With this particular knife, the wood grain box has felt covered liners, which were older than the ones with sponge inserts. The little pamplet with the steamship was one they put in with "Old but not necessarily the oldest" Old Timers. The Uncle Henry's had a similar pamplet with the older ones, but I don't have any of those particular pamplets. You can find Old Timers that came in plastic tubes (I have an 108, 34 and an 8) and there are Uncle Henry Waldens as well.

The Schrades that were put out on the cusp of moving from Walden to Ellenville have some interesting hybrids when it comes to blade markings. Fun stuff for those who are plagued with obsession.:o

Codger and Irv are better than me at tang stamp analyzing and pattern dating.
 
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