New Schrades

I haven't seen, much less tried the new ones. I did a rather extensive research and writeup years ago on the originals, acquired one of each marking and production change except the one made for Sears. I still have them stored here somewhere. I didn't care for them at the time when I tried them. Some people love them though. I personally use diamond hones and old fashioned Arkansas noviculite and carbonium stones.

HS1 Honesteel Research


The Schrade HS1 Honesteel was a unique knife sharpener which came boxed with a sheath, leather thong, and use instruction sheet. According to the Schrade instructions, its uses are; General sharpening on most cutting tools, Cracking Deer Pelvis, Wood Splitting and as a fish "billy". Touted by Schrade as "The Lazy Mans way to Sharpen", they were designed to be used without the need for oil or wetting agent. The unique sheath is designed as a handle for easier sharpening.

The Honesteel was patented by Henry B. Baer (“Uncle Henry”), and assigned to Imperial Knife Associated Companies. The design patent was filed in June of 1971, and issued in July of 1973. The patent expired in 1984, fourteen years. The design claim allowed was “The ornamental design for a combination whetter and sheath”. The patent does not mention the tapered end, nor show the sheath deployed as a handle, or claim that it can be used as such. The patent drawings also show the finial as the bottom part of the female snap portion, though no claim for it’s use is mentioned. Neither is there mention of the honesteel’s surface texture or material, or uniqueness of it’s use. Those details would have been subject matter for a utility patent which evidently Henry’s patent attorney advised against, probably based on a search of prior utility patents. The patent issued July, 17, 1973 as #D-227733. The name “Honesteel” did not appear in the patent, where it was referred to as a “combination whetter and sheath”. “Honesteel” was a separate copyrighted trademark name.

The HS1 first appeared in the 1972 catalog with a stamp of SCHRADE - WALDEN over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL over PAT. PEND. Most of these came in a “Schrade-Walden” stamped sheath. These early ones had a single face bevel, later changed to a double bevel. Patent Pending stamps are more commonly seen with the Schrade tang stamp, indicative of the patent issue after mid 1973 when Schrade Walden became Schrade Cutlery. The Schrade-Walden (and early Schrade) HS1 Old Timer Honesteel appears with two holes in the handle. The first, smaller hole (0.262), is a thong (or lanyard) hole. The second, larger round hole (0.274), is for handle attachment into the finial when the Honesteel is reversed into the sheath. The first thongs were tied in a square knot, or included loose in the box. Later it was permanently attached with a metal cylindrical clamp band near the joined ends.

The Honesteel was listed in the 1973 Schrade Cutlery catalog as HS1 Hone Steel, patent pending, and sold for $10.00 with sheath/handle and thong. In 1975 it is also called the HS1 Hone Steel (picture notes still pending, though this may have just been an oversight) and sold for $11.00 with sheath/handle and thong.
By 1980, the name in the catalog was made one word, Honesteel (as it always was when stamped on the tool), the thong hole had been eliminated, and the second hole made teardrop shaped to facilitate the included thong while still allowing handle attachment, and the price was $15.00. The thong was shown permanently attached with a metal clamp band. Since the Honesteel this was seen on was mint and complete in the brown woodgrain folding box with the accompanying paperwork, this was a factory installed item.

In 1988 the price was $20.95 (thong not illustrated now), $22.95 in 1989, and $24.95 in 1991, and $25.95 in 1992. In the 1999 catalog it listed for $36.95, and the single hole for handle attachment was made round. The price was $37.95 in 2000, when it appeared alongside the new SK-1 diamond sharpener which sold for $9.99. Schrade dropped the HS1 Honesteel from the catalog in 2001, and from then until the closing, the SK-1 was the only hone offered by Schrade.

The sheath style stayed the same for the full production period, though variations in finish paralleled those of production knife sheaths. I have one circa 1980's with a tan suede sheath. Most I have seen have been either smooth brown polished leather or natural undyed polished leather like the replacement knife sheaths. It is a rectangular tubular folded sewn sheath with a small rivet at each end of the brown or white stitching for reinforcement. A male stud (sometimes called a finial) affixed to the interior engages the hole in the Honesteel when the sheath is used as a handle, and a bifold lateral flap has male and female snap studs for closure. The back of the sheath is folded over the back and riveted with two small rivets midway down the sheath back forming a belt hanger. The first sheaths were stamped “SCHRADE-WALDEN over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL”, though most of the sheaths seen are embellished with the identifying emboss "SCHRADE over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL"

The true composition of the Honesteel is, according to the included sheet, "high carbon cutlery steel" (I occasionally see one with rusted spots) and impregnated with chromium carbide. It seems to be several times harder than common steel, as I have never seen one worn out. They are seven inches long, 1" wide, and the end opposite the stamp and hole is tapered to a chisel shape, purportedly for splitting deer pelvis.

The aggressive surface texture is a modified file, striated lengthwise. It works well with most blade steels, but I find the handle contrivance to not be rigid enough to be of any help in actual use. Often when I see an older used unit, the back of the sheath shows signs of stropping, which is a good use. Schrade sold a good many of these over the years, and whether or not there were repeat customers for them, they are a useful tool. A set of the three main types makes for an interesting addition to any Schrade knife collection.

Type 1
Stamp: SCHRADE-WALDEN over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL over PAT. PEND.
Sheath Stamp: SCHRADE-WALDEN over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL
Thong: Tied
Holes: 2 round
Bevel: Single (front)

Stamp: SCHRADE-WALDEN over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL over PAT. PEND.
Sheath Stamp: SCHRADE-WALDEN over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL
Thong: Clamped
Holes: 2 round
Bevel: Double

Stamp: SCHRADE over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL over PAT. PEND.
Sheath Stamp: SCHRADE over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL
Thong: Clamped
Holes: 2 round
Bevel: Double


Stamp: SCHRADE over HS-1 PAT. NO. Over D-227,733
Sheath Stamp: SCHRADE over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL
Thong: Clamped
Holes: 2 round
Bevel: Double

Type 2
Stamp: SCHRADE over HS-1 PAT. NO. Over D-227,733
Sheath Stamp: SCHRADE over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL
Thong: Clamped
Holes: 1 teardrop
Bevel: Double

Type 3
Stamp: SCHRADE over HS-1 PAT. NO. Over D-227,733
Sheath Stamp: SCHRADE over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL
Thong: none
Holes: 1 round
Bevel: Double
Click to expand...

Here is a picture archived of Henry Baer using a Honesteel on his then-newly designed Sharpfinger circa 1973.

2d0b22f.jpg
 
I'm sure you all remember the good old days, when the wholesale price of a dozen lovingly made by hand Schrade knives went for $27.00, wooden box included, and you could buy it for $5.00 or less...where's Archie & Edith when you need 'em?

 
Everything is realtive I suppose. $5.00 in 1959 is equal to $40.00 today. A knife which sells today for $5.00 would have sold for $0.35 cents back then. :D
 
Codger_64 said:
Everything is realtive I suppose. $5.00 in 1959 is equal to $40.00 today. A knife which sells today for $5.00 would have sold for $0.35 cents back then. :D
Click to expand...

To think I thought I was living the high life back in 1960, delivering newspapers on my Columbia bike for $2.00 per week delivering the Walden Citizen Herald. I averaged about $4.00 per week in tips, with Mother Sigman giving me 1 Morgan Silver dollar each week as a tip, and 2 Morgan's per week for delivering on snow days...not bad change for a 12 year old.:)
 
Alnamvet68 said:
To think I thought I was living the high life back in 1960, delivering newspapers on my Columbia bike for $2.00 per week delivering the Walden Citizen Herald. I averaged about $4.00 per week in tips, with Mother Sigman giving me 1 Morgan Silver dollar each week as a tip, and 2 Morgan's per week for delivering on snow days...not bad change for a 12 year old.:)
Click to expand...

Knives man, Knives! :D Albert Baer was forced to go to work at age 16, about 1922 or so. He was such a salesman, faucets and bungs for casks, that he brought in $100 a week, beating his father's earnings. What cost $100 in 1922 would cost $1354.39 in 2012. :eek:
 
Codger_64 said:
Good points. However imported cutlery, in all price points, has been a major factor in our own cutlery industry from the beginning. I seem to remember that George Schrade made several forrays overseas, mostly Europe, selling his inventions like the machine that jigs bone and some of his automatic designs. George was quite the inventor and evidently smart as a whip. Brothers force you out and take your inventions and try to sue over subsequent inventions? "We don't need no stinking lawyers", says George. Beat them soundly in court on his own because he knew his patents better than they did. The more things change, the more they stay the same. ;)

PS- For those not knowledgable about George, his inventions included the player piano and the dime bank as well as a machine to inlet knife shields, previously done by hand..
Click to expand...

I don't think George was driven to make knives as much as he was to invent. We were told during his latter years, after his son and grandson took over the knife business, was his pursuit of the perpetual motion machine. Still as elusive as it was back then.
 
I've seen the new "Schrades" while I was walking past them on a pegboard in a store. I didn't bother stopping.
 
Stelth said:
I've seen the new "Schrades" while I was walking past them on a pegboard in a store. I didn't bother stopping.
Click to expand...

You know something... I just remembered. My daughter and her husband gave me one of the new Schrade marked knives a few years ago for Christmas and I thanked them and put it back in it's can. Maybe I should take it out and look it over? :confused:\

Be right back.


Alrighty then. First a webfind picture.
hskhnn.png

2n877o4.png


...and the merchant rap...
Schrade Walden Gunstock Trapper Knife Since 1946 Collector's Society. Comes In A Collector Money Bank Can.
•Money Bank Tin 5" Tall
•Measures: 3" Closed
•Blades: 2" & 2-3/8"
•Stainless Steel Blade
•Nickel Silver Bolsters
•Brass Liner And Pins
•Gray Bone Inlay Shield
•1946 - 2011 Schrade Walden Imprinted On Blade
•Stock #2693BCT-6
•Wonderful Pocket Knife Of The Highest Quality
Click to expand...

No mention of origin and not marked on the knife in etch or stamp. Another seller lists origin. The back of the pocket blade is stamped only 2693BCT. Another seller adds "Imported by Taylor Brands LLC". The UPC label on the bottom of the shrink-wrapped can does state origin. There is no warranty paper inside, and neither the knife nor the tin have the name of the importer on them.

F&F are not bad. Flush joints. No gaps between liners and springs. Springs have strong snap. Blades are fairly sharp.Swedged on both sides of blade, but roughly finished, as if a one-swipe on the grinder per side. Crinking is good and blades center in the brass liners when snapped shut. They walk and talk with strong halfstops. Shield (stainless or nickel) inletting is not bad for smooth shiny bone and a complicated shield shape. The three pins, two cover and one spring pin are brass and finished smooth with the bone with no pin cracks. I have no idea of steel quality, but all and all it is not bad for a cheap knife. Anyone know the MSRP on this?

Welp, back in the tin it goes.
 
Last edited:
I can't stand the way they're doing the Delrin handles now. The colors don't blend at all, they're kind of brown in the center and stop at the cuts to go into this ugly cream color, where it meets the bolsters,,Absolutely awful!
 
I just looked at the "new" 8OTY that we bought Dad 3 years ago. It is surprisingly well made. Great snap, no wobble, well finished with only a couple of small blemishes on the scales by a bolster corner. Grinds are even and only the slightest amount of liner gap in one spot (I had to really look to find it). Not as smooth on opening as an original but not a bad knife for less than 20 bucks shipped. As I said before, we bought dad (with his consent) 3 of these 8OT's when he started losing his Shrades (and Schrade Waldens) in the fields around the farm...he is a very light user these days so these work fine.
 
Last edited:
I think a large part of the problem people are having in accepting the new Schrade nostalgia marked knives is that they are trying to compare apples and oranges. Let's look briefly at the pattern I have mentioned, the 897UH. Made in the U.S. by Schrade Walden and then Schrade for 38 years, 1966-2004. And now the pattern with nostalgia marking is made overseas. It's first MSRP was $10.00. Last MSRP was $39.45. The TBLLC pattern can be found online for $17.99. $10 in 1966 would be about $70 today. Conversely, $18 today would have been $2.58 in 1966. I would not have expected much of a $3 knife in 1966. Rather than buy the cheapest pricepoint knife at that time, I spent three times that much and bought a much better knife. Here is both side by side. Visually they are different. I am pretty sure they are functionally as well. Look closely at details like kicks and the fit of the covers to the bolsters. Look at the final grinds and nicks. And look at the cover finishes.

1695jix.png


Both knives are what they are, in their respective pricepoints. Anyone who doesn't like the low pricepoint version can still find the older higher pricepoint version new in the box for actually less than the converted MSRP of $70. I probably have thirty of them myself. And will likely buy more over the next few years. And I may even buy the TBLLC low pricepoint version just to compare for the halibut. :D

Here is the Colonial '05 Old Cutler version:

15yge15.jpg


Again, it is a different pricepoint of the pattern.
 
This thread needs to remain on topic of the knives. NOT where they are made. If we cannot stay on the topic of the new Schrade Knives made by Taylor, the thread will be closed.
 
Michael, did Schrade only make the Uncle Henrys in Delrin handles? While this is all I've ever seen, I haven't payed very close attention to them over the years.
 
Sorry Frank. For saying "If there not made here, I don't want them". I understand that there are millions of dollars to be made with that junk in sells and obviously here on BF as well. Thanks for the warning I received. Not that I was stating my dislike for any other country of manufacture only my like and pride in my own countries ability to still manufacture.

Bye bye freedom of speech.

Now, ban me so I can go cry myself to sleep:yawn::rolleyes:

What a sissified forum.

Now, I will happily slink back to other forums with pride and BALLS!

Here I come DA thread. Here I come W&C thread. Here I come Don't give a flying fu*# thread. Here I come forums with National Pride and BALLS!

AM I GOING TO "EDIT" MY EARLIER POST? NO. AM I GOING TO EDIT THIS POST SEVERAL TIMES UNTIL I FULLY EXPRESS MYSELF? YES. SHOULD I BE SURPRISED BY CONTINUED "POLITICAL CORRECTNESS" SHOVED DOWN MY THROAT? NO, BUT IT STILL PISSES ME OFF AND I STILL AM. OK. END OF MY RANT. NOW LAUGH AMONGST YOURSELVES. OR ROLL YOUR EYES. OR STAND THE F UP FOR THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION AND THE AMENDMENTS THAT KEEP US SAFE, ALLOW US TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS, AND MOST OF ALL THE AMENDMENT OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH AS YOU WERE. SEE YOU GUYS IN THE FUNNY PAPERS.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top