Schrade Walden 165 Old Timer

While we're talking about 165's, how do I check the manufacture date of a 165? When did they stop putting a serial number on the tang? :confused:
Thanks guys. :)
-Bruce
 
First, look at the tang marking. Schrade Walden became simply Schrade in 1973. At some point (1971-72 is an educated guess), they moved the marks from blade left to blade right. Shortly thereafter, they discontinued the serial numbers. The serials never were intended for dating the knives. They were placed there for warranty control. As production increased, and the numbers climbed, they gave it up. Production of the pattern as a regular item ended in 1991. It was used in small quantities later for special factory orders and even for one of the ill-fated 100th anniversary editions.
 
I just crunched some more numbers. It appears that the 165OT serials ended around late 1969, earlier than I thought. A total of 24,317 had been shipped by that year's end and we have not yet seen a serial that high (21XXX is the highest recorded so far). If this is as it appears to be, then about half of the Schrade Walden 165OT production had both tang stamp right, and no serial number. Not having a memo ordering the tang stamp move or the cessation of serializing, we can only extrapolate using year end production figures.
 
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