Schatt 043109 4" Stockman

Guyon

Guyon

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This knife has brownish green jigged bone scales and ATS-34 blades. I recently purchased this one online for two reasons: 1) my Queen Cattle King is the best slipjoint I own in terms of fit and finish & walk and talk 2) ATS-34/154CM is probably my favorite blade steel. Haven't received it yet, but am looking forward to carrying this knife.

Can anybody provide any information about this run of knives? How long were they made? What was the retail price? Any reviews from folks who own a similar model?
 
That knife was part of the annual limited Schatt series for 1998....so there were only about 600 made and it was only offered that year. I have one in my collection.

I did carry and use the small doctors knife in ATS34 from the same series....took a fantastic edge with minimal effort to sharpen...the edge was more like the sharp edge of broken glass than a knife edge. I cant comment on the edge holding because I ended up losing it.
 
Got one from Cutters and Collectors not long ago. Knifeaholic pay attention:D

Was not too impressed. Don't get me wrong, it is a nice knife and the ATS34 blades must command a premium. But was a bit disappointed that the knife was not clearly outstanding.

I would say an Eye Brand in carbon and stag is just as if not more impressive.

Maybe I was expecting too much. Would appreciate your views once you have yours in hand.

And of course, those sharp corners on the exposed parts of the tang are a nuisance :mad:
 
airyq, same place I picked mine up. Could you be more specific about what disappointed you in the knife? It's worth noting that Ron offers a money back guarantee--one reason I ordered from him instead of getting one I saw on eBay.

Eye Brands, I understand, can be rougher in terms of fit and finish, so I'm surprised that you'd rate them above a Queen/Schatt & Morgan knife. For example, here's a caveat that appears on all knivesplus.com pages featuring Eye Brand knives: "Reviewer's note: Great using knives with hammer forged steel. They don't go to alot of trouble to fit and finish. Expect minor imperfections. Handle pins are not domed and spun, just hammered down. Best carbon steel around. A favorite with Ranchers in Texas!"

Here's the knife I ordered:

schattantgreenstock.jpg


Will have more to say when it arrives.

FWIW, I plan to get an Eye Brand stockman one of these days, but I already am prepared for "minor imperfections" from what I've read about them in several places.
 
Guyon,

I got the Schatt and the large Eye Brand Stag carbon steel at the same time.

The Eye Brand was faultless to my eye, did not see any minor or major imperfections at all. Perhaps, Ron vets through all his knives.

I have 2 Eye Brands, one SS stag stockman and the large stag carbon steel and I think the caveat on the Eye Brand knives is quite uncalled for.

Nothing wrong with the Schatt either and it is a nice knife. The fault may well be mine, in that I was expecting too much. It was my first Schatt, Schatt being the best that Queen Cutlery can offer.

Although I fully expected to pay a premium for the ATS34 and also the fact that it was made in 1998, I thought that for the much higher price as compared to the Eye Brand, the Schatt would be just much more exceptional.

Walk and talk is good, fit is good but the finish is not quite there. I am afraid that I am not able to answer your query and to pinpoint exactly any faults of this knife.

This is one of the reasons why I did not send it back to Ron as I did not think that there was any major flaw in my knife. The other reason is that I had gotten my regular dealer in the US to get it from Ron and then send it to me. So, it was some time before the knife got into my hands.

The following thread may be of interest to you, the Schatt referred to is the one that we are talking about now http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=366276&highlight=Unfinished+tangs.

All in all, it is a good, nice knife but not an exceptional one. It is my most expensive stockman but I would hesitate to say that it is my best. Apart from the blade steel, I would say that my large Case CV in amber bone gives the Schatt a good run for its money and maybe even some more.

I would be most interested to have your opinion. Like I said, maybe my expectations were just too unrealistically high.
 
Got the Schatt & Morgan a couple of days ago. I must say I was a little ambivalent at first--not because of the unfinished tang portion you mention in your linked post, but because of the scales, which are different from any other bone handles I own. Coloration is hard to describe, but it's a greenish brown that, at first, struck me as odd. Hard to put my finger on why exactly.

That section of the tang you discussed in your linked thread is not polished on my knife, but my other stockman knives, including a Case CV in Bonestag, appear the same.

The scales have since grown on me. They look, well... very old-timey. That is, the knife looks like something out of another era of knifemaking to me. The more I looked at it and the more I handled it, the more I liked it. It's as though I have an older design/pattern souped up with some really nice steel.

The fit and finish are above average on this knife. Springs/snap are strong, with half stops and good positioning with the blades open. Scales, liners, and springs all have tight construction. No rub between blades. The best part of the knife is its steel. It came razor sharp, and I hope the ATS-34 has a good heat treat. Nothing to report yet as far as edge holding. So far though, I'm pretty pleased with it.

Is it as nice as my Queen Cattle King? Well, yes and no. Depends on what you're looking for. It's a pleasing knife, and I'm glad I bought it. It's hard to find ATS-34 in a stockman unless you want to shell out some serious cash for a custom. So the steel alone makes this knife a winner in my book.
 
Guyon,

Was waiting for you to return to this.

Glad to hear that you like your knife. After my last post, I played with mine for a while.

You are right about the scales being different. The colour is certainly unusual. Apart from the unusual colour, my scales have a translucency about them which I do not see in my other knives with bone scales of recent productions, eg. Case, Boker red bone. To me, the scales appear almost as iof they have been worn, ie. the surface colouring has been worn away leaving the translucent inner layer showing, which has absorbed some dye but is not as vividly coloured as the surface.

Does any one know if in fact old bone was used?

Apart from the tang issue which I have highlighted, you are correct about the contruction of the knife, it is quite well put together and it all snaps together nicely.

I did round off the sharp tang corners though. Mine came really pointy, but this is a Queen thing. Are you living with the sharp corners?

The main attraction for me was the ATS34 blades.

Also agree with you that it is difficult to compare this knife with another stockman of recent manufacture.

Notwithstanding that I was initially underwhelmed, I too am quite pleased with having an ATS34 stockman without having to break the bank. It is an interesting knife to have in my collection.

Lastly, Ron's leather slips are nice touch. Do not have to worry about keys etc banging up the knife.
 
Originally posted by airyq:
To me, the scales appear almost as if they have been worn, ie. the surface colouring has been worn away leaving the translucent inner layer showing, which has absorbed some dye but is not as vividly coloured as the surface.
Click to expand...
This is a great description of the scales. Well worded and indicative of their unique qualities.

The sharp corners aren't so much of an issue in the leather slips (about which I may start a new thread). On the Queen Cattle King, they are more of an issue, and I may get a larger slip for that knife from Ron.
 
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