It will do the job as a large skinner, and works well for deep cuts on large game. For the shape and blade length, they make excellent hog stickers. And yes, they do work for general camp chores, enough heft to the blade to cut tent stakes (they didn't always come made of bent aluminum or plastic). True, it is a bit large for quite a few chores, but the scimitar shape, the serpentine handle that feels good in the hand just scream sportsman. Or did in another century.
After the first ten years of production, Henry listened to users wishing for a similarly shaped knife in a more compact size. Voila! The Sharpfinger was born. And it far outpaced the larger Deerslayer in sales. The Deerslayer obviously still had a following among hunters and fishermen wanting, if not needing, a larger blade. It wasn't dropped from the catalogs until after 1997. And even then, the large flat blade made the perfect pallett for artwork. Ducks Unlimited and others continued to order them in small quantities up until the end in 2004.
Now, how many erstwhile nimrods bought one and never used it? Quite a few I'd wager. The fact that so many appear on the market today in pristine condition after 42 years speaks not only of the quantity sold back then, but of the percentage that were bought for "the big hunting trip" or given as a Christmas or birthday present to the family hunter, but never saw use. If I were strictly a small game and bird hunter, or a fisherman of panfish, I doubt that I would find one useful at all. But I deal every year with a lot of deer, hogs, and cattle. And some 35#+ catfish. A large blade can be handy for large tasks, but they are not for everyone. I'm going on my second dozen of the 15OT pattern in my collection, and have several more users.
I've learned not to discount the usefulness of a knife pattern simply because it doesn't fit my personal needs. Many of the later Schrade knives I've bought and reviewed here I find do not fill a role in my needs. But that alone does not denote a poor design.
Michael
