Put a Harley in your pocket! A HL7CP that is!

Codger, are you sure that particular Sears Craftsman is made by Schrade? I have several of those and they are not the same as the LB7. The key is the shape of the front bolster.

I believe the knife you have pictured and the Craftsmans that I have are made by Camillus. This photo is from the Camillus site, take note of the front bolster and the pin arrangement on the handle:

9.jpg


This photo shows the Schrade LB7 on top and the Sears (Camillus) on the bottom:

LB7-CamillusMedium.jpg
 
You could very well be correct. I was going by the catalog numbers I have complied and some we were given by a member a while back. I do see a difference in the front scale pin location, the nail nick location in addition to the different lines on the front bolsters. Tom Williams, formerly of CAMCO gave me some information a while back on knives made for Schrade by Camillus, and the LB7 was not listed. However...it has come to my attention that the lockbacks were also made in a production cell at Imperial in Providence before that plant closed and consolidated with Schrade in Ellenville. Maybe Phil knows about these! It does bear investigation and I appreciate your pointing it out! What catalog number does your Cam-Sears knife have?

Codger

Edit: Yes, he was quite correct!!
 
The top knife pictured is marked Sears #95416, the bottom knife is Sears #95206. If you compared these side-by-side to an LB7, it would be immediately apparent that the Craftsman knives are not LB7's. Notice the difference in the blade grinds between the Craftsman knives, the bottom knife has a flat grind, which I've never seen on the LB7 except for the LB7DP, the top knife has the customary hollow grind. The edges of the bolsters are also more rounded over than on a Schrade and the angle of the rear bolster where it meets the handle is different.

Sears was well known for changing suppliers over the years and it's entirely possible that at some point in time, Schrade made the equivalent of the LB7 for Sears, but these are not them. I'm convinced that these two, plus the one you showed, were made by Camillus, or if not actually made by Camillus, they're based upon the Camillus version, not the Schrade LB7.

 
I don't have a Cam to compare my LB7s to, but looking at the pictures posted, it appears to me that there is a difference in the bevel on the front edge of the Cam compared to the LB. It may just be different angles in the pics, but it appears that way to me.

Dale
 
Yes, I think once again you are right. Here are some scans of the 95416 in the 1993 Sears catalog.




Albert Baer had Sears' buyers loyalty for many, many years (one reason he wound up owning Ulster and Camillus, but that is another story). We must'nt forget that Camillus was a Baer enterprise, and they made knives for not only Sears and others, but also for Schrade and Imperial.

Here is the knife from the 1996 Camillus 120th Anniversary brochure:



Codger
 
Redshanks, I took the liberty of marking up your knives to make the differences more apparant between the LB7 and CM9. Don't worry, it is just red crayon and it will wipe off like it did from my screen. :)



Codger
 
Nice work, that makes the differences readily apparent.

The question is, did Schrade ever make a Sears branded LB7? I have seen scores, maybe hundreds of the Sears Craftsman knives listed on eBay as Schrades and every single one of them was a Camillus. The front bolster is all that I have to see.
 
redshanks said:
Nice work, that makes the differences readily apparent.
Click to expand...

It sure does. great technique! :thumbup: Makes the differences much more apparent.
I noticed a difference in the depth and radius of the cut out for the lock release also.

Dale
 
The two Craftsman I have like this have brass pivot pins instead of stainless like my LB7s.One has the two spacers in the back like a 6OT instead of the solid spacer like an LB7.I guess I should add these are #95206.Arnold
 
The 440 stainless Frontier All Americans - lockback Models #AA31, #AA41 and #AA51 were a low priced knives with cast zinc bolsters and spun pins made for IKCO circa 1983 per Camillus.

24zyo1c.jpg

24zy6qf.jpg


Codger
 
There are more differences, especially in the bolsters. These are the views that I didn't show previously.

The Schrade LB7 is on the left, the Sears-Camillus is on the right:







 
It may be of interest that Imperial Knife Company sold knives to Sears from Schrade, Imperial, and Camillus. Sometimes a Camillus pattern number is noted, sometimes not. Sometimes a Camillus was substituted for a Sears pattern request when the other two manufactories could not meet the contract specifications or required quantity/time limitations. And at times Camillus could not supply knives to spec and they were turned over to Imperial or Schrade. Yes, some Schrade made lockbacks were provided, and some Imperials, and some Camillus. The same for folders.

I also ran across the meaning of the Sears trademarked "A.C.A. Edge". I had thought maybe it was cryo treatment, but it is fine buffing to remove final edge grind marks. This will be seen on both packaging and on blade etches, folding knives and fixed.



Codger
 


I'll let him introduce and explain them.

And the LB7 tang stamp die! I reversed the image to make it readable.


Codger:thumbup:
 
THANK YOU Codger, This is the tang stamp that has stamped alot of your SCHRADE UNCLE HENRY U.S.A. LB 7'S this may not be the only one! but I was lucky enough to buy it from a guy in the great white north and he really likes D'HOLDERS! I have also posted 2 LB7's that this stamp may have made its mark on and here are some of it's cousin's. The first knife is a Schrade + LTD nickel liners and nickel bolsters. The second knife is a 507SC brass liners & bolsters. The 3rd kinfe is an LB7 3 pin. The 4th knife is also an LB7 serial numberd and very special to me having belonged to my father. The 5th and final knife is NAHC 15th anniversary stag handle gut hook unserialized.
I smell the Tenn. mafia in there somewhere.
thanks w5rwu
 
redshanks said:
Like everything Schrade, there are exceptions. This LB7 is from one of the Dixie sets produced in 1978, it has Staglon handles and the Uncle Henry shield. Not a true LB8, but a forerunner:

Click to expand...
Here it is 15 years later, I agree with you when you called this knife a forerunner of the LB8 and I think it should not be refer. to as an LB8 with a LB7 blade. Two different knives
 
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