Schrade LTD

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Jul 1, 2005
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I have seen alot of "Schrade LTD" stamped knives for sale lately. Does anyone know if there was a specific number of knives in each model to be stamped "LTD" or did it just depend on the order at the time.
 


I do not believe there was a limit on how many blade blanks would be stamped "LTD". But they probably had an announced production limit for each use of the blade blank. The same blanks might be used for six different issues, or private issues. Almost all of the LTD. blades were stainless, allowing them to stockpile them for future production demands. Hard to do that with 1095 carbon steel blades.

The flurry of LTD knives appearing on ebay at the moment has to do with the selloff of the WIP (works-in-progress) bought by several large companies at last October's Schrade asset auction. Excess inventory stored in the factory, knives completed during the shutdown process, unshipped orders to Ducks Unlimited, samples and prototypes from the Engineering Sample room, etc. account for most of these. Some interesting ones are turning up. Some destined for production that never made it, some that were just samplemaker's fancy.

Prices are generally dropping for the regular production stuff as user and collector markets are getting saturated. The owners of the stockpiles wisely have held back most of the odd stuff until now, and are unloading it, but the declining market may catch their dealers with overpriced inventory. Who knows. It is interesting to watch and speculate. And some really neat varients have turned up.

Codger

Codger
 
Thanks, I could'nt ask for a better answer. I suspected that many of the offerings were orders in progress or rejects from the factory closing.
The few I have puchased are still very nice examples of fine workmanship, and very nice knives that you don't see everyday.

Thanks, Rick
 
I have a couple of the rejects as well. A mismatched stag or bone handle, a scratch or two, a missing shield, a pin crack.... obviously from the reject bin, but still a nice knife for the price.

I have my suspicions that a few knives were completed post dispersal too. Odd shields placed on DU knives for one. And of course near the closure date, the Schrade employees were likely told to "slap em together ladies and gents!" That would account for the Uncle Henry scales and shields on the Old Timer knives, and vice versa. They were after quantity, not quality.

Codger
 
I'm starting to take a liking to the Scimshaws that have not been scimmed yet.
Oh well, we'll see.
Thanks Rick
 
I bought a LB7DP with what is purported to be Koa wood scales. The handle is very nice, but the rounded blade point looks kind of odd. They couldn't have made too many of these ugly ducklings; the regular clip point looks much better on this frame.
 
I attended the local club show in Lexington, KY last weekend, there was a good bit of Scrade stuff there. I didnt see any of the odd ball, mis-assembled last run pieces described, but then I wasnt looking for them. I did find one dealer that a large supply of Schrade Old Timers; Sepentine stockman and , my favorite, the singled bladed, liner locked, sepentine trapper. #194. They wanted $12.00 but all I has was $11.25. So she said, "Well, let's get it done!," and handed me the knife. The last one I had came off the counter of River City Hardware on Summer Ave in Memphis, about 1994. $9.99. so the price hasnt gone more than anything else in 11 years I suppose. This one looks like regular run production. I compared it to my old worn out one, and it is very very similar, identical even in that the new on had the exact same mis-alignment on the liners in one place where the brass rises up a little above the scales.
 
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