Schrade 165SM Deerhunter
In 1992, Imperial Schrade received an order from Smokey Mountain Knife works for 2,500 of their pattern #83, the venerable 165OT Woodsman which had been dropped as a listed production item after the 1991 year catalog. While I have been aware of this knife for quite some time, and added one to my collection with the help of a forum friend a while back, I had been calling these knives the165OTO, as in "Old Timer Orange", but now find that Schrade called them 165SM (at least initially) in their records. I am not sure where I came up with the OTO designation, but I may have mistakenly transposed it from the later orange handled Safe-T-Grip series of knives. If someone has a box marked either way, I'd sure like to see it, likewise a copy of the SMKW catalog showing this knife! It was common for Schrade to use a white stick-on label to alter the regular production boxes for these SMKW SFOs. They did so on the orange handled SMKW 15OT which I have. It's label is marked "SCHRADE ORANGE SH15DH".
Specs listed for the knife were:
Smokey Mountain Commemoratives
165SM
165OT pattern with blaze orange handles and special "DEERHUNTER" shield
Blading .135 thk. 1095 Carbon
Flat Grind w/ full sabre/ double header finish/ ACA Edge/ Common Swedge both sides
Tangstamp: SCHRADE over U.S.A. 165
Guard: Forged Brass Guard
Covers: Molded blaze orange Delrin w/ Old Timer Sawcut
Serialized: No
Shield: Large OT "DEERHUNTER" N.S.
Pin: N.S. Compression Rivets
Knife Finish: Fine Dressed Tang; Polished Guard
Packaging: Knife is sheathed and placed in polybag w/OT/Carbon Steel (Ivory) Brochure. Bulk packed 6 pcs./box
Sheath: Leather (std.)
Quantity: 5,000 pcs. (according to SMKW)
Shp: 7-21-92
As mentioned, this special hunter blaze orange sawcut delrin handled edition with a "DEERHUNTER" shield produced as a special factory order for Smokey Mountain Knife works who, I was told by Mr. Clemente, paired them with an orange delrin 152OT Sharpfinger in a "father and son" hunting set. It has a production tangstamp of SCHRADE over USA 165 and came with the standard three ply flat stitched sheath. Also as mentioned, a 15OT and a 158OT was likewise handled in orange delrin at that time. It is possible that a later second run of some of these orange handled knives may have been made circa 2001. It is interesting to note that many examples of the 165SM seen today, including the one in my collection, are more salmon or coral colored than blaze orange. Perhaps this is an artifact of material color variation, or colorfastness of the delrin over a long period of time (10+ years).
The 1992 smkw fall/hunting catalog cover knife ad states “Discontinued by schrade in 1991, 5000 made, blaze orange sawcut delrin, 95/8th overall, high carbon blade, brass guard. Retail was 51.95 - your cost 19.99. Order 165B”. The pictured knife on the cover says “DEERHUNTER” on the shield, and the tangstamp is SCHRADE above U.S.A..165.
A later SMKW "Blowout ‘98". catalog advertised the “Father and Son Hunting Knife Set”. The listing states “Produced exclusively for Smoky Mountain Knife Works, these Limited Edition hunting knives feature sawcut blaze orange Delrin handles inlaid “Limited Edition” shield, high carbon steel blades, genuine leather sheath. Limited production run of 3000 each.
Collector’s set - Includes (1) Deerslayer and (1) Sharpfinger. SC15SET was $44.99 - Now $32.99
Deerslayer - 10 ½” overall - Grooved thumb grip - SC15OH was $29.89 - Now $19.99
Sharpfinger - 7” overall - Smooth thumb grip - SC152OH was $19.99 - Now $14.99
This is all I can find at the moment. Does it help?
