Post your 165's!

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These 165SM knives were bulk shipped to SMKW, if my memory serves me, so there might not have been an original box. Lemmee seee....

In 1992, Imperial Schrade received an order from Smokey Mountain Knife works for 2,500 of their pattern #83, the venerable 165OT Woodsman which had been dropped as a listed production item after the 1991 year catalog.

While I have been aware of this knife for quite some time, and added one to my collection with the help of a forum friend a while back, I had been calling these knives the165OTO, as in "Old Timer Orange", but now find that Schrade called them 165SM (at least initially) in their records. I am not sure where I came up with the OTO designation, but I may have mistakenly transposed it from the later orange handled Safe-T-Grip series of knives.

If someone has a box marked either way, I'd sure like to see it, likewise a copy of the SMKW catalog showing this knife! It was common for Schrade to use a white stick-on label to alter the regular production boxes for these SMKW SFOs. They did so on the orange handled SMKW 15OT which I have. It's label is marked "SCHRADE ORANGE SH15DH".

Specs listed for the knife were:

Smokey Mountain Commemoratives 165SM 165OT pattern with blaze orange handles and special "DEERHUNTER" shield Blading .135 thk. 1095 Carbon Flat Grind w/ full sabre/ double header finish/ ACA Edge/ Common Swedge both sides

Tangstamp: SCHRADE over U.S.A. 165 Guard: Forged Brass Guard Covers: Molded blaze orange Delrin w/ Old Timer Sawcut Serialized: No Shield: Large OT "DEERHUNTER" N.S. Pin: N.S. Compression Rivets Knife

Finish: Fine Dressed Tang; Polished Guard

Packaging: Knife is sheathed and placed in polybag w/OT/Carbon Steel (Ivory) Brochure.

Bulk packed 6 pcs./box Sheath: Leather (std.) Quantity: 5,000 pcs. (according to SMKW)

Shp: 7-21-92 As mentioned, this special hunter blaze orange sawcut delrin handled edition with a "DEERHUNTER" shield produced as a special factory order for Smokey Mountain Knife works who, I was told by Mr. Clemente, paired them with an orange delrin 152OT Sharpfinger in a "father and son" hunting set. It has a production tangstamp of SCHRADE over USA 165 and came with the standard three ply flat stitched sheath. Also as mentioned, a 15OT and a 158OT was likewise handled in orange delrin at that time. It is possible that a later second run of some of these orange handled knives may have been made circa 2001.

It is interesting to note that many examples of the 165SM seen today, including the one in my collection, are more salmon or coral colored than blaze orange. Perhaps this is an artifact of material color variation, or colorfastness of the delrin over a long period of time (10+ years).

The 1992 smkw fall/hunting catalog cover knife ad states “Discontinued by schrade in 1991, 5000 made, blaze orange sawcut delrin, 95/8th overall, high carbon blade, brass guard. Retail was 51.95 - your cost 19.99. Order 165B”. The pictured knife on the cover says “DEERHUNTER” on the shield, and the tangstamp is SCHRADE above U.S.A..165.

A later SMKW "Blowout ‘98". catalog advertised the “Father and Son Hunting Knife Set”. The listing states “Produced exclusively for Smoky Mountain Knife Works, these Limited Edition hunting knives feature sawcut blaze orange Delrin handles inlaid “Limited Edition” shield, high carbon steel blades, genuine leather sheath. Limited production run of 3000 each.

Collector’s set - Includes (1) Deerslayer and (1) Sharpfinger. SC15SET was $44.99 - Now $32.99
Deerslayer - 10 ½” overall - Grooved thumb grip - SC15OH was $29.89 - Now $19.99
Sharpfinger - 7” overall - Smooth thumb grip - SC152OH was $19.99 - Now $14.99
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delmas2nd said:
now that is just wrong!

but hey nice going anyway. truly very gorgeous.
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say what? um... what's wrong?

i'm in love i admit it.
i gave more for it than i wanted to, but i would bet that
if a 165COPE came up and Codgie had a chance, he'd
jump at it. Sometimes the dollars take a backseat to
finally scoring that one elusive blade.
 
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drumroll........

Mr. Michael Codger.

Codger,
Thank you as always for the data. I want to be in your will.... for the research. Oh course it is always here and always shared. Thank you for the work you have done and continue to do.

BZ! (In Navy/Marine Corps terminology that means "great job!")
 
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The best part of these orange Delrin SMKW knives is that you never have to change the batteries! Have you noticed how many newer/recent knives have appeared with orange handles since these? If nothing else, it is evidence of the handle color's utility (perceived or real) in an outdoor knife.
 
And so uniquely ugly you'd never have to mark it to tell it apart from your buddies.

My humble opinion :-)
 
lrv said:
And so uniquely ugly you'd never have to mark it to tell it apart from your buddies.

My humble opinion :-)
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Irv! you hurt its feelings. now apologize and play nice. :mad:

(my 666th post. i felt like doing something evil!)
 
I got the same 165uh serial 00685. my neighbor gave it to me for deer hunting he`s 84 and retired from the hunting scene.
 
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I haven't found much information on this one. They don't have a Sears number on them and I am yet to see an example with the original box and papers. The sheath is a SFO too. It has "elephant hide" embossing and a metal clip at the throat. I believe Larry303 has the "Bearskinner" version of the 171UH which is the same series as this "Deerslayer" edition based on the 165OT pattern. Perhaps he has a box and papers for his? Sears papers often showed other knives in a series, sometimes even the Sears stock numbers.

This picture shows the original sheath.

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I have only seen a few of these in the past five or six years. In fact, I have actually seen more Shikari's than these Sears Deerslayers.

ETA: It has since been noted that these two knives were added to the Sears American Eagle Collection Series.
 
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My latest 165OT arrived today. I have several like it, Schrade-Walden tang marked right with no serial number, but this is my first "mint" NIB example of this production variant. It is in the slim woodgrained slip-top box (2 1/2"x2"x10 1/2") marked with the SCHRADE WALDEN CUTLERY CORP. - World's Finest Knives - EST. 1904 "shopsign" logo on the lid. As opposed to the earlier gift boxes, this one has no internal tray. The rectangular stone is simply polybagged and sits below the sheathed knife in the box. The quadfold insert advertises the Junior no. 106OT, the Middleman no. 34OT, the Senior no. 8OT, the Folding Hunter no. 25OT and theOld Timer Hunter no. 15OT, as well as the Woodsman 165OT. Handle material is called "Unbreakable saw cut Staglon". It carries an unconditional lifetime guarantee against defective material or workmanship.

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Blade, handle and guard are near perfect. The slight mildew on the sheath wiped off with a dry rag.
 
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