Schrade - Keen Kutter ?

D

dlk

Joined
Jan 26, 2005
Messages
145
Can anyone tell the story on this 8OT with Keen Kutter etch?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6549972388&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1
There are a bunch like this on ebay right now by the same seller.
The tang on these reads SCHRADE / N.Y. U.S.A. / 8OT.
I have one like it, picked up a year ago, that reads SCHRADE / WALDEN / N.Y. U.S.A. and 8OT on the back. Both have an etch that reads: KEEN KUTTER HAND MADE 8OT. I never knew Keen-Kutter and Schrade were associated. Any enlightenment appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave
 
Schrade made Keen Kutters for many years, and I am not sure but I doubt that Keen Kutter ever made a knife for themselves, making use of 'contract knives' for their cutlery line up.

I find a mention of the 100th anniversary Keen Kutter 'small stockman' (which would be a 34OT, I think) in my references, made in 1969. It is listed as a 'private issue' by Schrade-- which is a knife made on contract for another firm or organization for whatever purposes... Giveaways, for-profit sales, ect. That is all I know for sure, but I also know this: Schrade made lots and lots of knives over the years and when you are dealing with millions of knives, anything can happen, and has, like our LT points out in this thread:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152268&highlight=keen

Perhaps your 8OT and the sellers' knives were prototypes that were not accepted. I note the seller also has a black handled version up on auction. I do personally thank you for pointing these out to me... I am putting together a display case filled with etched and engraved bladed Schrades and the 'Keen' 8OT would be a nice addition, so I am bidding on one of them.

Let's not take my answer as the final word. Perhaps our other members have a better one. Lots of Schrades of all different kinds are floating to the surface right now, bringing with them lots of questions.

Glad you brought your question to us-- welcome to the forum!

Phil
 
Not unusual I saw this item. Keen was made on contract by Walden Knife they were made after there closing by Schrade. The OT series started in 58 or 59 so it is legit nice little offball. Obviously this guy worked or had an in and this is what was part of what he took with him. Nice weirdo I may over pay for one of them myself. LT
 
Thanks for the information and the warm welcome. I'll have to check in with this forum more often. Glad to know these are somewhat interesting, since I already overpaid for mine. I find it curious that they exist with and without "-WALDEN" on the tang stamp. Is it reasonable to surmise they were made around the time of the change-over (where they dropped the walden name)?

Dave
 
At what point was the "Walden" dropped from the tang? I'm also bidding on one of these simply because I haven't overpaid for anything in, oh, let's see...maybe two or three days now.

Pretty new here. Great forum, which I figure will get busier and busier in the years to come.

Thanks,

Casey
 
Casey, a correction, we ALL have a lot to learn. We have no factory moderator/representative here, but we do have members here with real interest and collections that try very hard to find the answers.

Schrade Walden became just Schrade in 1973, but 'Schrade-Walden' has been brought back a few times for special issues.

Welcome to our forum!

Phil
 
Well, Well,

Glad to see you got comfortable enough to join us here Casey. Welcome to UNCLE HENRY'S LOST SOULS and a VERY educational forum... :)

Welcome to you as well Dave... :)

Into the abyss.....after you, of course....

Bill
 
So this is where you go when you vanish, huh?

I'm trying to venture out more and more on occasion, testing the waters as it were. It's good to be here. I've never looked around over here much, but there are certainly some different and interesting forums and places here that I'm not, how should I say, "accustomed to." lol.

I look forward to learning with all of you, textoothpk. Thanks for the warm welcome.

Casey
 
These are edge knives in that the are on the cusp of the timing 72 - 73 so you will find them in Schrade or Schrade Walden . The secret here for collecting is to have one of each. The later issue of repro tanging is not applicable in this situation. LT
 
I just bought one of the Keen Kutter OT8 from the same seller. $15.50 sounded fair to me. Isn't the 'serrated' nail nick on the 8OT diagnostic of a certain time period? Seems I read that somewhere.

-Bob
 
Looks like three of us got our Keen Kutters last night from that seller. Damn, I bid on the first one, which I think was most expensive. I knew not to bid on the one Casey was pursuing, but Bob, I didn't know your ebay handle till now. I'll make a note not to bid against ya. Any of us scored on the folding hunter?

Casey, thanks again for the heads up on that knife.

Phil
 
I got a couple of them, but not that folding hunter -- of the 8OTs and the 58OT. Glad the other 8OTs are going to good homes.

Dave
 
Bob, I didn't know your ebay handle till now. I'll make a note not to bid against ya.
Click to expand...
No reason not to bid against me. If you're willing to pay too much for a knife, you can have it. :D My wife would appreciate it if you would all bid against me more. :)

-Bob
 
phil,
Your Spirit of St.Louis was done by Schrade as a 50th anniv of the 1927 flight across the atlantic by charles lindbergh. 1927+50= 1977. watch out for some frost made keen cutters but not this one.
TTYL
Larry
 
textoothpk said:
Casey, thanks again for the heads up on that knife.

Phil
Click to expand...

You're welcome, my friend. I have never knowingly bid against anyone on the forums and don't plan to start. My ebay name is caseyfp-c, so if anyone is ever bidding on an item and I show up and bid, send me an e-mail and I'll back off, guaranteed.

Yeah, I got one for $14.50. I've paid more than that for old beater knives to destroy in my shop, so I was pleasantly surprised when these went for that. I'm anxious to get my hands on my first genuine Schrade slipjoint. Can you believe a boy could grow up in the woods of southwest Mississippi and never have owned an Old Timer or Uncle Henry slipjoint? Only OT I've ever owned is a fantastic big lockback hunting knife my sis gave me for my 14th or 15th birthday. I now know that the reason it's been the most durable edged hunting knife I've ever owned is that they used great 1095 heat treated perfectly. But for some reason I just never owned another. And in the span of two days I've bought 3 on ebay. Thanks a lot there, fellas! Just what I needed!!

;)

Now what I need is someone to point me in a direction that will help me start on my journey toward a greater knowledge of this great old company.
 
My Keen-Kutter 8OT arrived today. Very good condition with no evidence of use or sharpening. Funny thing though, I opened the main blade, snapped it closed, and the OldTimer shield fell off. "They don't make 'em like they used to," thankfully. I'm sure that with a touch of epoxy it'll be good as new, or better. :)

Anyone narrowed down the date of these things?

Best Wishes,
Bob
 
Mine came a couple of days ago, also in good shape. Now I have one with and without the "-Walden". Within maunfacturing tolerances the knives are identical except for tang stamp. So I can only agree with LT (see post #10 above) that these are "edge knives" from 72 - 73 (when they dropped "-Walden").

Sorry to hear about the shield Bob. Easy to fix, but sorta ruins the afterglow of a new knife...

Regards,
Dave
 
Sorry to hear about the shield Bob. Easy to fix, but sorta ruins the afterglow of a new knife...
Click to expand...
For $15 I can't complain. That's less than I paid for a 'modern' 8OT at the hardware store.

-Bob
 
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