Schrade Golden Spike

D

DPris

Joined
Nov 27, 2003
Messages
1,317
Searched for it, not much mention. I'm a little reluctant to ask about a particular knife on that maker's forum, so I ask here.
I keep running across the Golden Spike over the years, and it gets harder to pass it by. Good steel, or should I keep on passing it?
DPris
 
If there is a knife you like and you can afford it why not buy it. You might try searching Schrades site for that information. I bet that whatever steel it is made of you would'nt regret buying one if you got it. Don't wait till they discontinue it and try to find one. Just my 2 cents.:)
 
Hi JTC,
I'm going through something of a mid-life crisis at 51. The last time I counted them, I had about 25 knives, most of them either low end or outright junk, and that was about 7 years ago. I've acquired a few more since then, but, like my guns, I'm realizing that there's just not going to be enough time left to use everything I've got, and I'm trying to scale back on quantity in favor of quality.
In the past, I've occasionally bought a couple of these and a couple of those in passing because I thought they looked sorta neat, and then found out later that they weren't quite up to what I wanted them to be.
I'm not really a collector, more of an "accumulator", and I'm at the point in life where I'm thinking it's senseless to clutter up the house much further with things I'm not going to use, and to tie up more money in them that could be better spent on getting out in the wilds with something I would use.
Lots of blades I'd love to have, but my enjoyment is in the using of a good tool, not the mere possession. Please don't take that to mean I'm putting collectors down.
Also, too many years of getting something that was just "adequate" at the time, then stepping up a bit on another later buy that superceded all previous buys and left them sitting in the basement. Time to be more efficient and more selective.
DPris
 
That knife reminds me of one of my hunting buddies. He's one of the most experienced hunters I know.

He's been using that knife for as long as I can remember. I've never heard a complaint about it.

I've always like that knife!

Collecter
 
DPris

The Golden Spike is one of the first knives I have ever purchased. I bought it when I was 15 with the blessings of my dad in a less anti knife era. It is a solid factory made knife. No bells and whistles just a solid knife. I have had it now for 20 years, it shows some tarnish and hard use that only a teenager can give it. The one thing that I remember is that as a youngster I found it difficult to sharpen. If I remember correctly it has a "Moran" edge on it and I found it difficult to get the correct angle on a whetstone, "high tech at the time". The blade stock is a thick 1/4". The knife has seen a lot of game and preformed without a hitch. You could do better with more money but you can't go wrong.
George
 
Thanks, that's what I'm looking for.
Sounds like it wins the tossup over the Randall on consignment at the gunshop? ;)
DPris
 
quantity in favor of quality..time to be more efficient and more selective
Click to expand...

Uh, you didn't give us a price range, but isn't most any knife better than a shrade?

You are talking about this?

Golden spike
 
That's the one.
Are Schrades that bad? Never used one, don't know.
DPris
 
As far as I know their stainless steel (Schrade+) is 440A and their non-stainless is 1095, so the Golden Spike would be 440A.

I´ve only had one Schrade fixed blade (Sharp Finger) but have had and used Schrade slipjoints since the 60´s (I EDC a Schrade stockman). I think they are good knives considering the price range, specially their traditional designs, I do feel they need improvement in the design of their modern styles.
 
The Golden Spike was the 2nd knife I bought myself, probably over 20 years ago. I carried it whenever I camped or hiked for several years. Never used it as a skinner, but it was a decent camp knife, although as trldad points out, the blade stock and grind are a bit thick (that's how they made them in the 20th century anyway).

BTW, my first knife was a Buck 110, and that was certainly a better slicer/cutter/skinner, but the Spike looked cooler so that's what I carried. :)
 
Is the question now: is there a better $35 fixed blade knife out there than the Schrade?
 
That price is what has me wondering. I'm not a knife snob, but I do want a blade that'll hold up to a reasonable amount of general duty use. I wouldn't count on it for felling pine trees to build an emergency cabin or cut my way out of an airplane (I don't fly much and I make sure there's at least one door on every plane I do get on), I'm just wondering if it'll keep an edge if I need to do minor camp stuff like cutting & sharpening willows for marshmallows, fuzz sticks if necessary, and so on. I know even the Pakistani steel will do a little of that, but I don't want to have to sharpen it after every use, and if I bought one there's a chance it might be the only one along on a trip to the desert or hills, so it would need to be fairly dependable as a non-Rambo survival knife in a pinch.
I'd probably stick with my Ruana or the KaBar for most uses, but I also have a son-in-law who might like a knife (I have hopes for him) as a birthday gift, and I wouldn't want to give him junk.
DPris
 
I don't think you have to worry about it being junk, you'll probably be fine.
 
At that price range I think it would have to be either a simple stainless like 440A, 420HC, AUS6 or non-stailess such as 1095, O1, etc. the non-stainless should do a better job for the price yet need more care.

Schrade, Buck, Camillus, Ka Bar, and some others would be fine IMHO.
 
DPris,

The Golden Spike is a fine knife and will perform all the tasks you described and more!

440A is fine performer. Many military knives around the world use 440A with great success. All the stainless knives Eickhorn makes are from 440A but you'd have to spend twice what the Golden Spike costs to get one. Same goes for Puma and many other brands that you'd have to spend three or more times what the Golden Spike costs.

Schrade does a good job with the heat treatment of their stainless as does Buck with their 420HC but many people here will tell you that Buck knives are no good either.

There is no "night and day" difference between almost any blade steel used today.

Is that Randall knife that costs the same as a car payment worth over ten times the cost of buying one Golden Spike? HELL NO!

I've found that a lot of the advice on this forum is based on "I have one so it must be a good knife!"

If you like the Golden Spike, get it. It will serve you well.

Collecter
 
Thanks Collecter,
Think I just might.
Would it be considered tacky to wear the Golden Spike, the Buck Vanguard, the Marbles Ideal, and the SOG Revolver on a belt at the same time? I don't get out as much as I used to (or need to), and I'm gonna have to double up on some of these knives when I do to get some use out of them. All together they might balance out a Ruger .45 Colt Vaquero on the other side of the belt?
What would it take to balance out a Trailmaster, a Swamp Rat, and a khukri all at once?
DPris
 
I had an almost identical Schrade in 1095 carbon steel. A very good hunting knife. Less good for general purpose use, as it has a fairly high upswept tip, and the old sheath deign was many times better. I lost it years ago, and replaced it with a Schrade 150T Deerslayer. I would certainly have gotten a Golden Spike, but I far prefer carbon steel.
A buddy of mine has a Schrade+ stainless knife. It takes a fair edge, and holds it fairly well. It seems that they heat treat it quite hard, as it doesn't sharpen very easily.
 
DPris,

It's only OK to wear all those knives and that Hog's leg on your belt at the same time only if you are going to do some banking!:p

One fixed blade and sheath for a folding blade is plenty to carry on your belt. You'll need to carry the rest of those knives in your pack.

Perhaps you can do some cutting tests for us on all those knives...Golden Spike, Buck Vanguard, Marbles Ideal, SOG Revolver, Trailmaster, Swamp Rat and khukri!

Sh!t man, you already have some decent knives!

Collecter
 
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