Okay, I got my Schrade 165.... now...

[Lavan]

A few questions. I think it is 1095 steel. Is that correct? Any idea of the hardness? I touched up the edge yesterday when I got it in the mail and it seemed very tough. Like an old Buck. Actually the Sharpmaker didn't do the job I wanted so I went to hand doing with DMT diamond stone.
That worked.
Also how is the guard attached? It appears to be a split pinned arrangement.

I quit bidding on a MINT one the week prior and had this lightly used one in my sights as backup. Actually I'm glad I got the used one as I can ...USE.. it.

 

[orvet]

Lavan,
Congratulations! You have a great user knife. Codger may be able to tell you for sure, but it is probably 1095. Most of them I have seen are 1095, but they may have made some that are stainless. Does it say Schrade +? Schrade + is the designator for stainless, but does not appear on all stainless blades.
The guard is two piece brass pinned through the tang & most I have seen don't look as good as a single piece brass guard. But for production purposes the two piece is faster & therefore cheaper to produce. They used the same type guard on the 160OT,Mountain Lion, as well.

Hope this helps,
Dale

 

[Codger_64]

Yes, if it is one of the earlier standard production knives (and I believe you told Mr. Levine it was a Walden...pre 1973), it is 1095HC with a Rockwell of between 56 and 58, if I remember correctly.

You are also correct on the two piece guard. The serpentine full exposed tang handle, and the blade too are too large to slide a slotted one piece guard over, and the radiused lower choil provides no stop for the front of a guard the way the earlier blade patterns did. Fit and finish varied over the years, but most mint specimens from the earlier years were finished in such a way that the joining lines of the two halves, and the pins too, were not visible. Had they used a slide on guard (as was used on the 153UH), there would have been gaps from the guard slot where it was enlarged to clear the tang, and there would not have been the positive stop for allignment the notches provide. Here is a 165OT blank:

It is more secure than you might imagine.

Codger