New owners of Schrade

I am glad they are much better than when they first went overseas. I handled one of the very early overseas knives and it was quite a disappointment. It is always nice to hear that things have changed for the better.
 
tongueriver said:
I am standing with pre-1960 Schrade quality and I am standing with the American worker.
Click to expand...

No doubt you are correct, but I find as a non American and overseas buyer that pre 1960s Schrades are extremely costly and or in rather poor shape, not surprising.

I have a couple of OT 3 small lock backs that are contemporary Chinese make. The F&F is good, lock up without play and seem to retain their edges OK. I'd like to have a US made 3 OT to compare them with but the prices asked seem very high for what was a good tough basic range of knives .
 
I have been modifying and selling as well as using the Chinese "Schrade knives for several years now. I have also used several US made Schrades over the years. I used to a fair bit of moose disassembly with an LB7. I use them pretty hard for whittlin' and to loan to my students.
I also loan out a couple of USA Schrades.
The quality of the Chinese made ones is EASILY as good as the post Swinden key US ones. I agree with afishhunter. I think they are better at holding an edge and do not develop the unfixable wobble that comes with the blasted Swinden Key system. All in all a better product. I doubt that those who call them junk have ever given them a fair try.
 
Edit: forgot I was in the traditionals forum. I haven't tried any of their slipjoints, seen a few folders and have been satisfied with their fixed blades, particularly the frontier series. Seems their carbon steel HT is decent.
 
Last edited:
Frank's post #28 along with Mr. Chips' post #43 have opened my eyes. I first tried the Taylor Schrades back in the late 2000s at that large blue roof knife store in Tennessee. They had shelves (yes, shelveS) full of them, so I tried at least 6-7 examples of five different patterns, checking F&F and W&T. These were the jigged bone versions with the bollux shields of roughly 10 years ago. I ended up NOT buying a single one, they were not up to par. Early Rough Riders were not as good as they are today, but were still WAY better than those early Taylors. I have always wanted the jumbo 858OT, but the prices have gone up, up, up, so I'm going to order one of the Taylors in bone. Should be here is about a week, and I will weigh in again with a report.
 
I just fairly recently got the 8OTB Stockman with bone covers and it is a nice knife.
I would rate it between RR and Case.

I’m glad that they are improving their OT line, I really can’t compare to the USA OT cause all of mine were pretty beat up when I got them.

I even tried one of the new Imperials and it is a good 10 dollar knife.
In some ways it is a bit better than my old clam shell bolster USA and Ireland Imperials.
 
black mamba said:
Frank's post #28 along with Mr. Chips' post #43 have opened my eyes. I first tried the Taylor Schrades back in the late 2000s at that large blue roof knife store in Tennessee. They had shelves (yes, shelveS) full of them, so I tried at least 6-7 examples of five different patterns, checking F&F and W&T. These were the jigged bone versions with the bollux shields of roughly 10 years ago. I ended up NOT buying a single one, they were not up to par. Early Rough Riders were not as good as they are today, but were still WAY better than those early Taylors. I have always wanted the jumbo 858OT, but the prices have gone up, up, up, so I'm going to order one of the Taylors in bone. Should be here is about a week, and I will weigh in again with a report.
I got one and you will be happy!
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I got a pro hunter fixed blade that i absolutely love. It takes a sharp edge. Doesnt hold it long, but it doesnt take much to get it back to sharp. Easily resharpened in the field. A little thick on the grind but hey, its supposed to be a robust stout little woods blade. However, i also got a small little lockback (5OT maybe?) That wont take an edge for anything. Both of them Taylor Schrades. Cant figure it out. Tried and tried but it just wont take a super keen edge. Its like its got a bad heat treat or something. Strange becausr the fixed blade is great. So wanted these to be good becuase they seem like a good economical option, but i honestly don't think i'll buy another one.
 
deltaboy said:




Click to expand...
Holy sheep dip Bat Man, that is a BIG'n ! LOL I just had to find one in bone covers and snap that trigger :D I don't know anything about this 9CR something or whatnot MOV steel but I can't wait to see this thing in person...if this steel is anything like what I've seen in the AG Russel line of imports, it should do just fine.
 
My Taylor-Schrade 858OTB (Old Timer Bone) arrived today, and I'm impressed. As I said, some 10 years ago I couldn't find a keeper out of 2-3 dozen Taylor-Schrade knives I inspected in person, but this one, ordered sight unseen off the web, is terrific. First the pics, then the report.

IdpgUBZ.jpg

ij4UAqH.jpg

psb1nox.jpg

vxpbpT1.jpg


This is a jumbo stockman, measuring 4.56" closed and weighing 4.3 oz. I wanted to see if the extra size brought any benefits, so I compared it to a 1990s vintage S&M extra-large stockman at 4.29" closed and 3.8 oz.

n9W5F9t.jpg


The S&M's clip main is 3.28", while the Taylor-Schrade's is 3.39", so you get an eighth inch more blade for a quarter inch more frame. Next I compared the Fit & Finish: gaps, bone to bolster fit, bone and jigging quality, blade grinds and finish. The S&M won out for gaps and bone quality and finish, while the T-S was better (near perfect, in fact!) in bone to bolster fit and edge grinds (look at how even they are!). Remember, this is comparing a $20 knife of today with a $100 knife of 25 years ago. Depending on what you place more importance on . . . I call it a wash.

Walk & Talk: Very good on both, but I slightly prefer the T-S. All three pulls are very consistent, firm and smooth at about a 6, with excellent snap. The S&M pulls are a little firmer, 6½-7, with a slight increase in resistance at the halfway point. I prefer the smoother pull of the Taylor-Schrade. One negative of the T-S is that the nick on the spey blade is shallow enough that it all but ensures you will leave a rub mark when opening it, unless you first open both the other blades. You have to push quite hard on it to keep from slipping out of the nick.

For a work knife I am thoroughly impressed with this 858OTB. Very well made, smooth functioning, it lacks some of the cache of the more expensive S&M, but for the money is a terrific value. Highly recommended!
 
Thanks Jeff....

For the report....I have to say I didn’t expect the Taylor Schrade bone to look so nice...
I haven’t converted yet to off shore slipjoints, but I’m convinced now to....
 
Nice review, thanks!
Glad you are happy with it.
I wish I could talk myself into buying one just to see, but I can't.
Ill put my 12$ towards a cheeseburger and piece of apple pie.:D <joke

I look forward to some testing. Will it take an edge? Will it hold it?
Do the blades flex in every direction like the other TS's I've handled?
 
Last edited:
Mark, when you say flex, do you mean at the joint (wobble) or within the blade?
I'll answer both: the blades themselves have VERY little flex, certainly no more and maybe less than any others, and for wobble, the sheepfoot has a little, the clip and spey are completely solid.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top