Schrade Walden 896k

R

RoGuE1230

Joined
Apr 3, 2006
Messages
5
A google search pointed me to this forum. I have a Schrade Walden 896k that I recently found while I was moving. My father says that it might have belonged to his grandfather. All of the blades are EXTREMLY sharp and they snap closed really quickly....I know firsthand about the snapping, I almost lost a chunk of skin from it. Does anyone know the history or age of this knife?

Pics:
im0017630ka.jpg
 
RoGuE1230-
It would be helpful if you could post a close-up if the tang stamp or at least tell us what the tang stamp says. That would make it easier in dating the knife.

Dale
 
The 896K normally had "K-Horn" plastic covers (seen in the bottom picture) which were meant to mimic a celluloid pattern. Your knife (as the one in the top picture) has an early stagged delrin instead. Mine has the Walden tangstamp showing it to be produced before the name change from Schrade-Walden to Schrade Cutlery in mid 1973. The pattern numbers of both are on the backs of the master blades.

I don't know for sure exactly when or why the newer type covers came to be used, but a guess is that it was an experiment for the soon to be produced 897UH Uncle Henry Signature Premium Stockman. The "stagging" on these is rather light, but the cream base material and top accent dye is similar. The 897UH was introduced in 1967. The 896K (with the same blade configuration and frame size) was used for many years.



Codger
 
Dang! The dreaded double post! Well, might as well make some use of it:
The 896K dates to at least the early 1950's and is last seen in the 1981 catalog as an open stock knife. This is with the K-Horn covers. The staglon is not shown that I have found, but earlier catalogs mention the option of bone stag as the number 895.

Codger
 
I have a stagged delrin cover? Is it rare?

So my knife could be at least be as old as the early 1950s?

The tang (which I guess is the base of the blade) says:
SCHRADE
WALDEN
N.Y. U.S.A.

-Reverse Side-
896K
 
Same knife as mine. I doubt it is as old as the fifties, more likely the mid sixties to late sixties. The pattern 896K dates back to the fifties (and even earlier with the number 8964K in cell), but I think ours are later. Like between when the Old Timers came out and the early Uncle Henry years. Perhaps LT or someone else can date them more closely, but this is my take on them.

Dupont's Delrin was invented circa 1952 (Dupont's assistant research director Frank C. McGrew called it "synthetic stone"), and development took another four years. They patented it in 1956 and the plant to produce it was finished in 1960. Schrade trademarked their name "Staglon" for Delrin in 1963, but first used it in 1961, so they were among the first to use it, particularly on knives. I haven't yet found Albert Baer's personal connection to the Duponts, but I'd bet there was one.

Codger
 
I guess these knives aren't too rare are they?

I got a few other knives that I can't find. I hope I come across them soon so I can post pics of them.
 
Oh, they are uncommon. You want rare, go for a mint knife provinanced to 1904. You want nice and not seen everyday...you got it!:thumbup:

Codger
 
RoGuE1230 said:
I guess these knives aren't too rare are they?
Click to expand...


A knife that belonged to someone in your family? I'd say it's 'one of a kind', and priceless.

Hang on to it and enjoy it.

Glenn
 
Thank you for all the answers! Is there a way I can clean the black marks off the blades and shine up those 2 edge pieces?
 
Rogue... Many knife collectors, me included, think it is a shame to remove the age marks on a knife. What you call the 'Black marks', I think is just a patina of age.. which holds the history of the knife and will also keep the knife from rusting. Think of it this way: Some of that patina was created by the oil from the fingers of your grandfather.

Thanks for bringing your knife and it's history to us.

Phil
 
Codger_64 said:
The 896K normally had "K-Horn" plastic covers (seen in the bottom picture) which were meant to mimic a celluloid pattern. Your knife (as the one in the top picture) has an early stagged delrin instead. Mine has the Walden tangstamp showing it to be produced before the name change from Schrade-Walden to Schrade Cutlery in mid 1973. The pattern numbers of both are on the backs of the master blades.

I don't know for sure exactly when or why the newer type covers came to be used, but a guess is that it was an experiment for the soon to be produced 897UH Uncle Henry Signature Premium Stockman. The "stagging" on these is rather light, but the cream base material and top accent dye is similar. The 897UH was introduced in 1967. The 896K (with the same blade configuration and frame size) was used for many years.



Codger
Click to expand...

Codger,
is that what is referred to as "Winterbottom jigged",on the first knife?
Ron
 
No, the pattern is not "Winterbottom". It is close to the now-standard UH Staglon jig, but not nearly as deep. Schrade would have refered to it as "Stagged" Delrin, I think. It is really a lot smoother than it appears. Given the bomb shield, I believe it may be a very early attempt at the two-tone UH covers, but that is only a guess. Anyone have a 1996-67 ad for the 897UH?

Codger
 
Ron,

Just in Case you're interested...I couldn't find a Schrade example...but here is a Queen that is a pretty good example of Samuel Winterbottom's style of jigging.

Bill
 
Is there some kind of trick to getting the blades out? The only blade that I can fold out by hand is the completely straight blade with no curve. The other too are too recessed to even get my fingernail in so I need to use either pliers or a screwdriver.
 
No, there is no trick. Your knife is evidently worn to the point that the blades nest too low on the springs. Either the kicks are worn (or accidently mis-ground), or the springs are worn where the blade kicks rotate on them, Maybe someone here knows of a fix for this other than adding metal, but I don't. I might just consider that one as a display with the blades open, or be satisfied with it's one useful blade. I have an 897 in the same condition.

You could loosen them with penetrating oil, then poke foil into the space between the liners as a make-do "stop", but I don't know how long that would work. Maybe some type of hard set adhesive would work too (dry before you close the blades against it). Either way, I would put it near the center pin to allow the spring ends free movement. Just a thought.

Codger
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top