Post your 165's!

Indeed! And very few of the original UH sheaths survive so that is a plus. This serial is yet more proof that the 165 Uncle Henry serials weren't concurrent/consecutive with the 165 Old Timer serials.
 
That very knife has field dressed a few 8,10,12, a14 point bucks over the years and another 10 pt buck this year. The stories it could tell. I have been thinking of surrendering it to one of you fine collectors. To display in all of its glory. Sure would look good all polished up in a display case to be viewed by all.
 
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These knives were originally made for two reasons. First and foremost to make a profit for Schrade Walden's owners. Second, to be used and appreciated by the eventual owners. Becoming "collectable never entered into it until the introduction of limited editions in later years. The serials were for warranty identification.

The knives which are the most uncommon today are the few that were bought, received as gifts and never used at all. Collectors value them as examples of how they all once looked when seen in a store or when opened on Christmas morning with all their associated packaging. Many of us also find value in the used but not abused ones precisely for the factor you stated, "The stories it could tell". The one above is the original one I purchased when I was still a young man. Like yours, it has been a faithful companion on many hunts and other adventures over the years.

That knife is yours to do with as you wish. Be forewarned that polishing it would reduce it's value to a collector. Once used, a knife can never be made new again. It would also erase a lot of it's well earned history. Also I should mention that, while you have not offered it for sale, it is against the rules to do so in this forum, or to do so in the proper forum without a paid membership.

Again, a very nice knife and nicer still that you have owned and used it for years as the makers intended.

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Thank you for the info Codger i understand about the sales bit on here. glad i didn`t polish it up either. yes as you said among the many bucks it has field dressed it also has skinned and processed many doe`s as well as pheasants,ducks,geese, coyotes and so forth. my wife about tore my head off when i mentioned the thought of selling it. it really does tell a story of part of my life as an outdoorsman. times get tough people lose their jobs and times get tough around the holidays. she reminded me that things would get better and i would really regret selling my favorite knife. as well as a part of the old school Schrade Legacy.
 
You're welcome Jeff. That knife and the memories it evokes make it a part of your own legacy. I well know the meaning of hard times, but there are a few things that we can own in life that cannot be replaced.

I could offer you money for the knife and even if you could find a replacement for the same cost when things got better, the replacement just wouldn't be the same. The knife, with a brief narrative of it's adventures and maybe a photo or two and an expired hunting license would make an excellent heirloom to hand down to grandchildren or other heirs.

As with the sentimental value it has with yourself, so goes the value it might have to them. I have my father's 7.7 Arisaka rifle from WWII. To me it is worth a thousand times more than what it might bring at a gun shop or auction. And my grandchildren will have it as I have my grandfather's pistol and great grandfather's cast iron cookpot that he carried as a circuit riding Presbyterian minister after the Civil War.

Few material things in life have the value of items which connect our future generations to their ancestors, no matter their collector value or lack thereof. Once gone, they cannot be replaced.

It sounds like you have a good wife. Do whatever you have to to keep her as well. :thumbup:
 
Thank you sir I appreciate your kind words. I like how you put everything into perspective. I also have a WW2 Rifle I adore M1 Garand. And several other rifles and pistols my father & grandfather left me.
 
Another 165 SFO, one of the American Eagle Collection knives with the signature gaucho sheath by El Cid of California. This one is odd to me because it came in a blue box instead of the more familiar tan leatherette box of the rest of the knives in the series that I own. In fact, I have this pattern (all with the same #21524 brochure) in three different boxes now. The most common is the gold printed tan leatherette, but I also have one in a hinged woodgrain box (like the first 165OT came in but with a red felted tray) with gold printing on top. This one has the gaucho sheath, but it is dyed brown and not painted as are the rest of the series.

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These are in addition to the other series which used the most modified 165, also called Deerslayer.

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The Sears Craftsman American Eagle Collection story is explained, as best we have been able to find out so far, in this thread:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/750711-Father-s-Day-Knives?highlight=American+Eagle

As they were limited quantity instore sales only, our chances of finding point of sales literature, displays or advertisements are not good. Sears, as we have discussed here before, has near zero corporate memory regarding the history of their knives.

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This is my first day in the forum. I am looking for information about a 165OT that was left to me by my Father who passed in July 1991. I have read all the posts here and am really confused. My knife has Schrade Walden 165 and serial number 06340 on the left side of the blade. On the right side of the handle is OLD TIMER. The sheath is stiched with two rivets. I am going to give the knife to my Great-Grandson. My confusion is that to my knowledge my Father never hunted after the late 1940's because of his back problems. But from what i have read here the knife probably wasnt made until the late 1960's. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
 
Greatdad, the knife your dad left you is a great knife. A man doesn't have to be a hunter to appreciate a great knife. He may have admired it in a store or it may have been a gift from an old friend or a family member. The first pieces were sold in late 1966 before they appeared in catalogs. Yours was likely made in early 1968 (but could have been sold retail later than that).

While it was designed and intended as a knife for hunters, I've owned one for many years and used it for many things besides hunting. I've taken it camping, fishing and canoing. I've used it to butcher not only wild game and fish I have hunted, and game given to me by friends, but also small livestock I have raised or bought. I've used it in the kitchen and in the workshop. I've even kept it close as personal protection a time or two.

My own ability to hunt is very restricted these days, but friends frequently gift game to me and in return I process game for them (Deer, ducks, fish, turkeys, etc.) and I still enjoy a brief walk in the woods with my old friend and companion, my Woodsman knife. If he had kept it and used it that long, I would venture to say that it had some special meaning for him, perhaps beyond it's obvious intended use.
 
Thank you so much tongueriver and Codger. I am keeping the knife in the family by giving it to my Great-Grandson.
 
Here is the latest, Schrade Walden serial #18282, stamped blade right. It isn't the highest blade right with serial we have seen, but the highest I have with box and bling.

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ETA: The knife arrived today. It came sans papers but with original unused stone in the polybag. This stone is exactly like the earlier ones I have in gift boxed sets except that it is not printed with the white shopsign SW logo. The seller said that he was the original owner. It was a gift from a friend who was a deer hunter, but the seller wasn't a hunter, just a fisherman so he never carried or used the knife. My guess of the production time frame is 1971-1972* based upon the serial number, tang stamp and logo on the box.

The provenance of this knife is close to what I expect was the story behind Greatdad's knife. A gift kept unused, but treasured because of the giver.

ETA: I reviewed production figures and as best I can estimate, serializing the 165OT ended some time by mid-year 1969. By the end of that year, there had been a total of 24,317 pieces produced and shipped 1966-69.
 
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Welp, here is the next production variant, the Schrade Walden 165OT without serial number. It would have been produced from mid-year 1969 through year end 1972.

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This is the latest 'get' (and the last for a while), Schrade Walden #16223 as new in the box. Late 1968 production by my estimate.

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Note that they had eleminated the hinged top gift box by then and gone to the slip top gift box.
 
G'day Cal, soooooo what are your thoughts on my Schrade Kious Ostrich pouch/sheath, and my Schrade Barnett Shark Skin sheath??.....I always assumed they were all just imitation with similar markings......Hoo Roo
 
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