Schrade 152OT Sharpfinger

Thank you for an amazing amount of valuable Sharpfinger history,the more I learn,the less I knew.
I have found a clone by Kissing Crane,looks to be a quality knife,question,-what is the significance/rarity of the G.D.O.T.??

Cheers,Grumpy.
 
grumpyone said:
Thank you for an amazing amount of valuable Sharpfinger history,the more I learn,the less I knew.
I have found a clone by Kissing Crane,looks to be a quality knife,question,-what is the significance/rarity of the G.D.O.T.??

Cheers,Grumpy.
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The G.D.O.T. (Grand Dad's Old Timer) was one of the first uses of the Sharpfinger as a commemorative. They were limited editions though I don't recall the actual number produced.

http://collectors-of-schrades-r.us/FLYERS/SC-1973-1979/pages/SC-75-3.htm

After Schrade closed in 2004, several companies began producing their versions of the Sharpfinger pattern. These include the aforementioned Klass, Bear & Son, Camillus, United Cutlery and several others. As early as 2005 Taylor Brands began importing their clones from China. And other importers brought in their clones from Pakistan and other overseas cutleries.
 
Cool thread
Thanks for sharing all the pictures and information.
I have never owned a sharpfinger, I may get one now
 
Back in June I showed a Guns & Ammo Sharpfinger shipped from Peterson Publishing in 1983 (dated by postmark on box and sheath type).

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And now, if the planets align (which doesn't always happen) and mates come through (which they always have), I'll be adding another NIB example of the G & A Sharpfinger to the collection, one from the other end of production. Shamelessly stolen picture below:

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Research is continuing to find out how and why examples were sent out as late as 1983 with then current sheaths for a subscription offer that was by then five or more years old.
 
I previously showed the 2004 100th Anniversary birdseye maple Sharpfinger and here is another made for the anniversary, a "double shield".

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As you can see, it is essentially a stock production 152OT with the coined anniversary shield added to the handle.

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The exact number produced before the July 2004 closing is unknown, but there don't seen to have been many.
 
The 152 pattern was used by Peterson Publishing in 1976-77, along with the 154 pattern, for promotion of two-year subscriptions. Shields on the black sawcut Delrin handles were stamped with the magazine names, "Guns & Ammo" on the Sharpfinger, and "Hunting" on the Drop Point Hunter. I’ve not seen both patterns with both stampings. They used the production 1095HC blade blanks and custom "SCHRADE over U.S.A." tang stamps. As an interesting aside, after years of searching, I finally acquired an example of this knife in it's original shipping box from Peterson. It contained a SAS17 pouch sheath and the box was post marked 1983. So did Peterson order remainders in 1983 when their supply of 1983 promo knives (a different brand) was used up, but obligations were still outstanding to subscribers?
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I did some more research, sans access to the issues of G&A magazine, to see just when the offer began and ended. Perusing old factory production records brought some more information to light. Here is the original 1977 magazine ad in close detail. Note the stated offer end date: October 31st, 1977.


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Year end records show none produced in 1975, but 1976 records show an order for 20,350 knives with 14,250 shipped by year's end and 1,676 left in stock. 1977 records show a final shipment of 6,000 knives and 42 left in stock. 1979 and 1980 both show no shipments and 249 left in stock. Those disappeared unaccounted for in 1981 with no shipments noted and none in stock.

But the year end records in 1982 show 9,548 shipped. 1983, the year of the above dated example, shows 32,931 pieces shipped and a final 2,500 shipped in 1984.

So it appears that the Sharpfinger 152GA was offered and produced twice. First production beginning in 1976 totaled 30,600 pieces. Second production beginning in 1982 totaled 44,979 pieces, for an overall total production of 75,579 knives.

Of the two production runs, the earlier 1976 run would be the least common, though neither are low production by any metric. This explains why so many show up on that auction site year after year, most of which are used to one degree or another. One could surmise that this is because the majority of original owners were multi-year subscribers of Guns & Ammo and therefore more likely to be active hunters and outdoorsmen than the average retail purchaser.

In summation, the sheer number produced and shipped, 75,579, dictates that this SFO is by no means rare. However it appears that new in the box examples are uncommon and therefore somewhat attractive as a collectable to fans of the pattern. With these two production examples in hand, I am done with actively searching for examples of this SFO. Unless... a NIB example with the more familiar SAS-19 handle retainer strap comes to my attention. Duck/junebug. :p

Oh, and anyone who happens across a later (1982-84) Guns & Ammo ad for this knife, please bring it to my attention. Better still if you can give me a good scan. I cannot afford to buy those 36 magazine back issues to pin down the offer dates and attempts to get sellers on the auction site to look through their issues have been fruitless so far.
 
Codger_64 said:
I did some more research, sans access to the issues of G&A magazine, to see just when the offer began and ended...
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Thanks for researching and posting more very interesting, future-search gold on the Sharpfinger. I love it when puzzle pieces fit and the holes tick me off lol
 
I've done a bit more research on the Sharpfinger sheath styles. Schrade production records are mute on the subject of sheath changes and factory catalogs are suspect due to lithographers reusing old artwork. At best, we can pin the changes down to "circa" using dated examples which are mostly SFOs and limited editions. No doubt there was often overlap in the style/type used as sources and in-house inventories changed.

There were three basic sheath types. The first had a minor change early on, the shape of the end of the choil retainer strap. I find no record of part number or dealer/customer order I.D. like I do on the last two sheaths identified as accessory sheaths sold as replacements, SAS-17 and SAS-19. So I have given each style an arbatrary identifier, T-1, T-2, T-3 and T-4.

T-1: This first sheath style is noted in early (1973) catalogs and on flyer artwork as well as examples up to 1976. Many of the production sheaths of this type used contrasting white stitching.

T-2: This revision of the sheath, rounding the tab of the choil retainer strap, is first seen in a 1977 dated example though it did appear earlier in the 1975 flyer for the 152GD. It is last seen in a 1984 dated example though it continued to appear in catalogs and flyers for a few more years. Most of this type used color coded stitching as did the suceeding types.

T-3: This (SAS-17) pouch style sheath first appeared in 1983 dated catalogs, flyers and examples. The last appearance I have found so far is an 1987-88 example (502SC) and 1986 flyer. As seen on a few dated examples, some T-4 sheaths were used concurrent with the T-3.

T-4: This last sheath type (SAS-19) with handle retaining strap was first seen in a 1984 catalog, 1985 flyer and 1985 dated example. It was used with very minor construction changes through end of production in 2004.

Several special sheath textures were tried (mostly in the T-1, T-2), though none were adopted for regular production. Likewise colors of leather.

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This trivia is only important in that it gives us an additional means (when the sheath is original to the knife) to approximate the date of production of an example. Since the same woodgrain fold down box was used for so many years (1973-mid 1980's) they have limited utility in dating. Likewise the tan box (c. mid 1980's - 2000) was used over quite a period of time. The blue stripe box saw only and approximate two year use (c. 2001-2002) as did the last blue/grey box (2002-2004). As always, an original enclosed brochure is the best indicator on a NIB non-SFO, non-limited edition Sharpfinger.

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These knives were a limited production SFO for the Glencadia Rod & Gun Club to celebrate their 65th anniversary in 2003. These Sharpfingers were given out to the members at a annual dinner.65 pcs. According to the engraving on the rear tangs, there were to be 65 pieces produced. A good many of those wound up on eBay in '05 and '06.

Note the "Limited Edition" coined shield used.

 
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Codger_64 said:
These knives were a limited production SFO for the Glencadia Rod & Gun Club to celebrate their 65th anniversary in 2003. I don't know why, but it seems they were never delivered and wound up in the post 2004 dispersal auctions. According to the engraving on the rear tangs, there were to be 65 pieces produced. A good many of those wound up on eBay in '05 and '06.
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Note the "Limited Edition" coined shield used.
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In your opinion, are these "last of the breed" Sharpfingers comparable to the early ones? Is the quality as good at the end of their run as it was at the beginning?
 
Yes, the quality was good. But they made an unannounced running change (circa '02) to stainless steel on most of their blades. It wasn't noted in catalogs, ads, or on the tang markings (SCHRADE+). Also you will note that the grind was changed to a hollow grind. I personally don't care for these changes, but they were well done. One reason for the change to stainless was their open-ended agreement with WalMart and Sears to accept returns for any and all reasons. Modern buyers felt that a stain on a blade or rusting was a defect, not a feature of the non-stainless steel. So vast numbers got returned. These returns had to be reprocessed and repackaged for sale. Another reason for the switch was lowered production costs. Stainless sheets/coils appropriate for fine blanking actually became cheaper than the older 1095 steel in that form. At least this is how it was explained to me here and elsewhere by former employees. I believe Tim Faust posted about it pre-July 2004.
 
Here is yet another Sharpfinger SFO, 152HD, made for Harley Davidson Motorcycles. According to the new product file and memos, it appears to have been produced between 1988 and 1990 with a volume of 2,000 pieces +/-. I note that on this used example, only the blade etch was added to the knife and the black coating on the sheath did not wear well. The black Delrin covers were ordered from Crown Plastics.

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Another variant seen in the distant past. I can only guess, but from the orientation and pattern of scrim art, this could have been a sample submitted to Kresge (K-Mart) for their custom scrimshaw series back in the early 1980's. The blade is likely stamped 205SC.

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Codger_64 said:
Another variant seen in the distant past. I can only guess, but from the orientation and pattern of scrim art, this could have been a sample submitted to Kresge (K-Mart) for their custom scrimshaw series back in the early 1980's. The blade is likely stamped 205SC.
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Neat! Since you mentioned it, I've looked for examples of the "reversed scrims" showing up on K-Mart or Kresge knives but haven't seen any. Now I have as this is a mirror of the regular 1983 502 scrim. Thanks for posting this one.
 
I am aware of the 705SC (507/LB-7) scrim, the LB-1 scrim (with stock tang) which was it's first use as a scrim, also made specificly for K-Mart. There may also be others that I haven't seen or have seen but don't remember. They evidently wanted something "unique" to sell along with their regular sales of clampacked and boxed Schrades. K-Mart did sell stock Schrades right up to the company's demise. I bought a few afterward marked down on closeout. The black scrim showed up not long after the closing and likely came from the factory sample stocks. A few other Sharpfinger oddities like this showed up at that time.
 
Hello. I am new to this forum. I have many knives. I am a collector who likes to use knives so pristine knives are not my deal. My favorite knife to use is an "Old Timer" Shrade 152. The blade is stamped Shrade USA 152 near the edged of the handle at the back of the blade. The blade is super ugly yet very sharp. The handle has been abused,(by me) but has held up well and is a bit scratched up. I am considering putting some sort of custom handle(must be tough) although I may just keep it the way it is. I am very interested in genuine American made Shrade knives, particularly the sharpfinger 152. You seem to know more about this brand and so I would like to ask you if you would bother putting a custom handle on American Shrade blades or would money be better spent on original handle old Shrade knives in better condition. I like the look of the Yellow handled 152's. Is the Yellow Devlin tougher than the brown whateveritismaterial?
I know this post is a bit convaluted but I hope you get where I am coming from and can steer me toward a good source for genuine American Shrade's for sale
Thanks.
Leo
 
Ebay is a constant source of supply of Sharpfingers in every condition, from spanking new to well used and everything in between. There are plenty of knife customizers here on the forums who will rehandle your sharpfinger and freshen the blade if that is what you want. WHile Schrade did use some other materials such as wood, stag and bone on some limited editions and special orders, the production knives are all Delrin handled regardless of material color. Most common are cream with brown dye, black and ivory. But they are all the same material. Delrin is crazy strong but it will eventually scuff and can be melted. What you do with your knife is your dcision to make. For a custom, stabilized wood is pretty durarable. I believe that by the time you pay shipping, material costs and labor though, you could easily have bought a new or near new original knife. Good luck!
 
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