Old dogs and children, and watermellon wine...

[Codger_64]

"Ever had a drink of watermelon wine?" he asked
He told me all about it, though I didn't answer back
"Ain't but three things in this world that's worth a solitary dime,
But old dogs and children and watermelon wine."

And old Schrades that have seen a lot of work. Occasionally some "old dog" Schrade catches my eye and begs to be adopted. Like it wants to still be appreciated for the life it has left but also for the tales it could tell. I found this one recently. So ugly no one else seemed to want it. No box or papers, a sheath that had seen better days.

Someone thought to "restore" the blade with sandpaper evidently. So no great loss if I glaze and patina it again. And give it my preferred "A.C.A. Edge". I can expect to use it occasionally instead of my original Sharpfinger from the mid 1970's. This one seems to be the same approximate age. Just needs an appreciative owner to put it back to use.

Here is another "old dog". Woof!

Easy to see why so many are sold without sheaths. Still glad these sheaths weren't tossed. They are definitely a part of the knife's story.

 

[J Buck]

Lot of life yet to be lived by that 'ol blade. Some are for saving, and some are for using.

 

[Codger_64]

In my research into Imperial Schrade/Camillus history I ran across an old interview with a founder. Part of what caught my eye was the industry standard that most knives had about a four year life expectancy. This was the age when knives were tools owned and carried by Everyman (and most boys and many ladies).

On rare occasion I have bought an old knife from an original owner and learned a bit about it's history. Most often we can only guess by looking at clues like the two knives above. Heck, we can even dream up our own stories about them like some eBay sellers. That chewed sheath suggests a boy on Christmas morning many years ago. Underneath the tree that morning was a Shining new Schrade Sharpfinger and a new Labrador pup. Whether or not the boy went that day on his first duck hunt and began training the retriever who was his companion at home and afield for life, we can't know.

 

[glennbad]

Those 152's have a whole lot of life left in them. The sheaths? Maybe not as much...

Nice ramblings, Michael!

 

[Codger_64]

I still have a small supply of replacement sheaths from the factory auctions. Not many, but a few. And I am realigning my collection so will be moving many odd pieces out. Still going to seek out a couple of patterns. There is still a lot to learn about my favorites.

 

[Codger_64]

Here is another one the dog found but not much chance of salvage.

 

[black mamba]

Michael, as the title of this thread is non-specific, and I wanted your input, here is one I'd like any info on that you could give. Craftsman stockman #9470, has pinned through bolster, so not Swindon. Do you know when and by whom it was made? Camillus or Ulster, or pre-Swindon Schrade? The peachseed delrin is very nice!

 

[Codger_64]

Sales records from 1959 indicate 19,155 of the Sears #9470/Ulster 98 being shipped. The 9470 pattern is still listed and illustrated in the Fall/Winter 1965-66 Sears catalog. Handle material isn't mentioned but I would wager that it was derlin. Er... Delrin.

 

[black mamba]

Thanks, Codger, always appreciated!

 

[Codger_64]

You're welcome. FYI there is a forum search box in the upper right corner. Enter a query (Craftsman 9470) and select this forum only then search.

 

[winchester73]

Talking about memories Codger, My folks had a country store when I was a kid. I got my first Schrade which I still have. It's a Schrade bowie you know which one, sort of like the H15. They let me order it with Raleigh cigarette coupons they got out of cartons of cigarettes. That knife and I had great times. I still have it and it's in great shape, almost like new and so's the sheath(even as a kid to this day my stuff looks pristine, guns, knives etc) , except I didn't like the brown sheath and dyed it black. It turned out well but of course now I wish I hadn't dyed it. Sometimes I still carry that knife on hikes.

 

[deltaboy]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Wh59b6]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Wh58KM]

Here my 1984 152 OT![/url][/url]

 

[Saddlebum]

I don't mean to be hijacking this thread, but I wanted to add to Codger's response to Black Mamba. I am inclined to think that the handle material on the Craftsman knife may be Bonite instead of Delrin. I may be wrong but it looks like Bonite to me. The shield on the knife is an early one as it does not have the Craftsman Crown logo on it. The crown logo was introduced in late 1959 or 1960. This according to someone who researched the different Craftsman logos over the years and made the chart below. This would place the date on that knife as 1959 or early 1960 and Bonite was being used by Ulster at that time. I have provided a picture of my later Craftsman 9470/Ulster 98 which carries Delrin and one of my early Craftsman 9494/Ulster 63 as an example of 1959 (or possibly '60) Bonite and Craftsman shield. Black Mamba's knife is a very nice knife!

 

[black mamba]

Thanks for the info, Saddlebum. Does anyone know if Bonite has a different chemical composition to Delrin, or was it just Ulster's house name for the same material? Google provides very little on this subject.

 

[Saddlebum]

Bonite and Delrin are different. Bonite is inferior to Delrin because it shrinks like celluloid.

Michael's research on Delrin
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/dupont-delrin-staglon-research.439751/