Rarest Schrade? Nope... One of the Nicest? I think so!

D

Dave Thinkstoomuch

BANNED
Joined
Jun 15, 2009
Messages
1,196
(Dealer I bought this from called it "the rarest schrade". I now know it's not but...)
I just bought a custom "LTD" etched LB-7 raffled off at the February 2000 Ducks Unlimited Minnesota State Convention from a dealer in that State. He says he purchased a collection of knives and that the collector likely bought it from the person who won it in 2000. I find this gold etched, blued, black delrin handled knife to be exceedingly beautiful and I would love to know more about it specifically. Were there approx. 50 of these made in "2000" (1999 seems more likely than in Jan of 2000 if ya get right down to it)or was a different custom design offered to The DU State Conventions in other parts of the USA ? Basically my question is: Is this a true one-of-a-kind or are there another 50 out there with different States written on the pile-side handle? Either way, I love this knife. Dave p.s. If anyone who worked at the Imperial Schrade factory around 1999-2000 is out there and remembers this custom I would really love to hear what you have to say. Unlikely perhaps but I have to ask. Thanks!

01.jpg

02.jpg

03.jpg

SchradeBearPawdisplay.jpg
 
Last edited:
Dave,
I can't tell you anything about your knife, other than I think you paid just a bit too much for it, but that's just personal opinion. What I CAN tell you is that the knife you linked to in the auction is a legitimate Schrade issue knife. I have one myself, and its a beautiful example of Schrade's work.

Also, for what it's worth, I would venture to say that the guy selling that knife knows FAR FAR more about Schrades than the guys at Jays Knives. If he says something, it's probably true. If he doesn't know for certain, he wouldn't claim it to be true. And making unfounded implications here won't make you any friends. It's probably why you've gotten 63 views on your thread before anybody commented. Just a word of advice.

Dave
 
Last edited:
Dave, the black coating/black handle combo isn't all that uncommon (not very common either though;) ), especially on the LB's, they did it for DU and Copenhagen among others as far back as 1995. Pivot pins are likely stainless in both knives, bolsters are both the same brass, and those gold etches were always just that-gold. Also, not all LB's had a choil(I think this is what you're refering to as a nick) in the blade.

Do you have yours in hand, or are you going by the pictures? I'm not too sure about ebony for those handles, not likely, but it's possible. Black or white delrin (with a four pin setup like yours),or cocobola/wondawood were the handle materials used most often. You've definitely got a unique knife there in that it's a convention knife, surely there aren't many of those around, and it's a beauty:thumbup: .

I've got to agree with DaveT63 on those seller comments, the guy's definitely on the up-and-up, and is a passionate Schrade collector. He wouldn't pull the wool over anyone's eyes, hence those question marks in his description. If he's not 100% positive he puts a question mark there, plain and simple. I wouldn't assume that every oddball knife you see is an end of days knife. Schrade did thousands of SFO's over it's lifetime (over fifty for DU alone from 1987-1997), and I'm sure we haven't seen 'em all. Those Pro Rodeo knives were done almost fifteen years ago.

Eric

PS- made a couple of corrections above
 
Last edited:
Actually, handles are handles, the scales are the center liners found on multi-blade knives such as stockman and congress knives. they're cut out to allow the blades to pass over them, yet give the knife rigidity. It's a modern misconception to call the handles scales. Nicks are what you pull the knife open with, you'll just confuse newbs by using the term for a different part of the knife.

There's really no need to show hostility here, there are only a handful of people here with the paperwork handy to give you an idea of production numbers and blade composition. Not everyone on this site has such info handy, especially for uncommon knives such as yours. if you'd have some patience eventually you'll get an answer, but surely not if you throw all that sarcasm in the mix. Same goes for the pin placement. Schrade tweeked the LB7's a few times, two times in the nineties as I recall around the same time that "Uncle Henry" was used on the tangs. They used both a solid lock bar and one with a wire attached, which might have someting to do with it but I'm not certain and would rather wait until someone with more knowledge notices the thread and replies. Likely it had nothing to do with walk and talk and more to do with durability, but again that's just a guess on my part.

As far as the "etch" on the blade, all I was saying was that it's likely gold "filled", as there aren't many other materials that can be, or were used by Schrade to achieve that effect. Whether it's on the blade surface or cut into it makes no difference. Whatever the image on the blades, I'm sure they're (the blades) made, or coated with the same black material. There was a lot of overlap at Schrade with models that were used for SFO's in order to use up excess material. To assume that they would invest time and money in a process that they'd only use on fifty knives is a little unreasonable. Again, I defer to more informed folks for the answer..

Eric
 
Dave,
You're being pretty harsh here for someone looking for information. Keep in mind that even the most knowledgeable Schrade collectors will freely tell you they don't know everything. Schrade did so many different things with knives that new/different things are STILL popping up out of the woodwork. So I wouldn't expect to find too many absolutes about Schrades, in ANY aspect.

Pictures of my knife can be found in this link. It has the Schrade tang stamp, but I still wouldn't question the authenticity of the knife in the auction. But not all knives made by Schrade had there name on them. Schrade made tons of knives for the likes of Sears and Belknap without a Schrade stamp anywhere.
 
Sorry bout handle/scale confusion. My bad. Brain fart. I am genuinly sorry bout any hurt feelings but hey...man-up and roll with it. We are (often hunting-) knife collectors for God's sake not a quilting club. I've said all I had to say. I think these differing points of view are healthy and people can choose to believe or ignore any of us as they see fit. I don't care if I am proven wrong. I think what the knife sells for will tell the tale cause if its a great knife then shrewd collectors will buy it. I'm done bashing everything and everyone. I'm off the soap-box and back on the couch.
 
Last edited:
Cool:thumbup:, Now I'm off to dig over the garden with my 1095 bladed, ash handled shovel:D

Eric
 
I can get a bit preachy. I was a Union Leader back in the day, went down fighting when Levis Strauss and Co. closed down all North American manufacturing and wash plants in the 90's and just after 2000 very much like what happened to Schrade to go offshore for cheap non-union labour though Levis affected thousands not hundreds of North American workers. I have a strong "stand-up-for-the-underdog" way about me that sometimes goes to far. Have Fun! Dave
 
Last edited:
DaveT63 said:
Dave,
You're being pretty harsh here for someone looking for information. Keep in mind that even the most knowledgeable Schrade collectors will freely tell you they don't know everything. Schrade did so many different things with knives that new/different things are STILL popping up out of the woodwork. So I wouldn't expect to find too many absolutes about Schrades, in ANY aspect.

Pictures of my knife can be found in this link. It has the Schrade tang stamp, but I still wouldn't question the authenticity of the knife in the auction. But not all knives made by Schrade had there name on them. Schrade made tons of knives for the likes of Sears and Belknap without a Schrade stamp anywhere.
Click to expand...

Sorry...where's the link?
 
Can you confirm what my eyes are telling me? Your Pro Rodeo has a true etched into and then filled marking on the blade whereas the one at auction has the marking applied to the blade complete with shadows to accentuate the raised as opposed to recessed look. I don't want to discuss the merits of each. I just want to know if you see what I see and that I know what the word "etch" means when it comes to metal. Thanks Dave
 
For the record I tried to mellow the tone of my earlier posts by some edits so that history will recall this better. They are now hopefully not as aggressive and I will be less personal bout things in the future. Dave
 
I think what you're seeing is a trick of the camera. I believe those letters are recessed and what you consider shadows are actually reflections off the backs of the recessed letters. I'm quite sure the knives are one and the same other than the lack of a tang stamp. (It would be interesting to know how that one got through)

I really think we should drop the subject of the auction knife now as it's generally a rule here that we don't discuus auctions in progress due to some nasty misunderstandings in the past. Lets leave it up to the collectors to decide on whether the knife is production, proto, or what not since the pictures pretty much explain everything.

Eric
 
I really can't confirm any more than what you can see in the picture posted right now. My knife is packed in anticipation of an upcaoming move and it will be several weeks before I can unpack it.

Dave

Dave Thinkstoomuch said:
Can you confirm what my eyes are telling me? Your Pro Rodeo has a true etched into and then filled marking on the blade whereas the one at auction has the marking applied to the blade complete with shadows to accentuate the raised as opposed to recessed look. I don't want to discuss the merits of each. I just want to know if you see what I see and that I know what the word "etch" means when it comes to metal. Thanks Dave
Click to expand...
 
Thanks everybody. No more bout knife at auction. I started to thread to learn about my knife. How many made exactly like it? I want it's story....if someone out there knows about it please let me know. Dave
 
Last edited:
Uh Oh, easy Larry, easy....:eek::D
 
G'day Dave and Eric and thanks for your support. The established protocol is certainly taking a hammering re current auctions, anyway I thought I better set the record straight as I dont need my credibility being called into question with regards Schrades.
I have added some info to my listing which I didnt put originally as it sounds like a typical Ebay pump up.
This knife was obtained about 3 years ago from member Ikedoc who would be one of the most respected Schrade sellers on Ebay and elsewhere and no doubt will chime in shortly.
It was a SAMPLE knife he obtained from the original factory collection sale and is indeedy a genuine Ellenville Schrade, and as such was probably used to show the Company's prior to production on the Pro Rodeo ...and Schrade Tang stamp would have been hardly needed to promote to Copenhagen/Skoal....He calls the blade gun blued and the gold etch to blade is indeed 24K. There are at least 3 photos showing the nail nick on blade so I cannot be held responsible for folks' need for new glasses.
I added the sheath as I have dozens of them and I have been trying to educate Australians about Schrade in my Ebay listings and I always supply Retail Price lists from 1990,1996 and 2004 Anniversary to every Oz buyer and I find myself fielding many many queries. All these Oz collectors are potential members of this Forum if given a chance and I always refer them to it. I called the handle in the absence of anyone knowing precisely heavy Schrade plastic but mentioned the alternative possibilities as 90% of my buyers are Oz and they do not know the term Delrin well. It is indeed IMO black Delrin as Eric suggests. I have a very low price on this knife and nothing like that price on the other which should give a genuine collector a nose bleed.....
This talk of rarest Schrade could perhaps be contained to the 3OT <only 1 in existance and photographed in Sargents'> or the Walden Golden Spike <only one seen to date by this Forum> or perhaps the Gold Calendar <only one seen to date> or perhaps No1 Russell Barlow or No 1 Liberty Bell or the only Walden Divers knife Mint in Box in captivity etc etc... all my knives shown previously on here....and I have seen some absolute gems displayed by other members on here and very rare/scarce......
Thinking before engaging mouth I have always found a useful exercise..... Hoo Roo...
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top