Schrade Walden 967 Lobster

[ea42]

Here's another often overlooked engineering beauty. A Schrade-Walden sleeveboard lobster pattern. I'm not sure how long they were produced but this particular model is a carryover from the CutCo days and can be found in the 1930 supplement pages on page 81 of catalog E. There it's listed as a 9676T with the six meaning mother of pearl and the 'T' meaning tipped bolsters. It was also available as a 9679SS , with the 9 meaning misc. handles and the SS meaning sterling silver (engine turned).The backsprings are recessed under the manicure blade, with that blade and the pen blade operating under the same spring. (That's why both blades aren't open together, way too much tension on the spring):

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Eric

 

[lrv]

Very nice. Were you able to find these in your neighborhood. You have a great collection.
Thanks fo showing.

 

[waynorth]

Very nice! And with the box! What a treasure.

 

[rprocter]

nice to see a "different" kind of Schrade. there doesn't seem to be much info available about these lobster or gentleman's knives. i recently won a 4 blade (2 pen, a spear, and a nail file) 2 1/4 in Gentleman's knife in "ivory" with tang: SCHRADE CUT.CO WALDEN N.Y. as posted by seller. i think this puts it to 1946 - '58. all the pics of others i have seen are 3 blade or with scissors.
when the knife arrives i'll be able to inspect it for details and will post pics. i'd like to know a bit about these patterns; popularity in it's day ? an "expensive" item back then ?, yrs. manufactured, basically, everything. roland

 

[ea42]

Thanks guys! I've actually gotten about 90% of my collection from everywhere BUT my neighborhood. My interest in collecting didn't really take hold until just before Schrade closed, which was a really lousy coincidence for me since I live a whole 25 minutes from the old factory and never got to see the "store" or the wall . I actually never even knew a public portion of the factory existed until I found these forums. Now if I had a Schrade for every time I've said "if only....", well, I'd have a lot of knives I have since then gotten to know a few people who were involved, mostly as resellers who became friends of management or knew folks in the office, etc, but the only unusual thing I've seen was a Statue of Liberty knife with a gold shield (not the museum shield) and gold etch that was made only for dignitaries attending the celebration.
There was a time, maybe fifteen years ago and back, when there was a huge flea market that took place every weekend (or maybe every other), in a town called Maybrook, not far from Ellenville. This was where the lunch boxes were cracked open and you could get anything from regular Schrades to Commemoratives to one of a kinds. Mind you this wasn't just employees hawking their wares , but management too! Once again I never had the pleasure of experiencing this first hand, only heard it from a local antique dealer (who happens to be the owner of that Statue of Liberty knife). This guy was a very serious folding razor collector who just recently turned to knives (He's got the only clasp knife Canal Street ever made, and now he's a dealer). He just recently put a "Schrades wanted" sign up on his lawn, so we'll see what happens.I think a good majority of folks who squirreled some away got rid of them after the close while the knives were a hot item, the rest are hanging on or selling at VERY high prices. I'm sure there have to be a quite a few decent local collections though. I think I've been typing long enough, I'm sure I've succeeded in putting you all to sleep:yawn:

BTW Roland, your knife is likely pre '46, have you got a link to a picture?

Eric

 

[DaveinNY]

I remember that Maybrook Flea Market very well. It was not unusual to see 5 or 6 tables in a row with nothing but Schrades of every description. I was like a kid in a candy store, folding knives 2 to 5 dollars and fixed blades 5 to 7 dollars. Although not a collector at the time, how could anyone pass up deals like that. I still have a few from those days, but not many. If I only had a crystal ball.

 

[rprocter]

ea42, here's a link to the ebay listing: http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...PageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=010#ebayphotohosting the bits of red on one side of handle might indicate that this is an old "advertising knife" ? it's far from MIB, but then i get to "play" with it without worry. i just started collecting Schrades about 2 (?) months ago. so far i have 17, and 3 old Imperials. i think this Gentlemans' knife is a nice addition for me at this stage to show some of the range of Schrade knives. i am hoping your post here will get some more pics. and info on the lobster/gentlemans' knives. roland

 

[ea42]

Roland, that looks like a Schrade Cut.Co. oblong lobster #9606W (ivory celluloid handles). You could get quite a collection going with just that pattern, Schrade had over 30 variations on that pattern if you include all the handle materials available for each one. Many were available with gold plate and pearl as well as cell.

Eric

 

[lrv]

From the 1954 S/W Catalog.
At these Prices I'll buy a gross..

 

[ea42]

Larry, that's awesome! Thanks for the post, jeez, that's about what I paid for 1

Eric

 

[ea42]

As a comparison to the Schrade Walden add, here's a copy of the 1930 supplement page for the same knife from Schrade Cut.Co., wording is identical except this one says crocus polish for the blades as opposed to full polish on the Walden:

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[rprocter]

Eric, thanks for the info. so i have a 9606W oblong lobster and probably older than me (>60yrs). v. nice to have the model # to go with it. i'll watch for more of these; i had no idea that even these Schrades have so many variants. they don't seem as popular as other Schrades, so that makes an opportunity for a beginning collector like myself. roland

 

[waynorth]

Great knives guys!
Collecting Lobsters is a wonderful idea. For one thing they are usually more reasonably priced than larger knives, and the engineering is superb on these knives. They were designed for people with money to spend, so were well made. Nicely swedged and fitted blades. With my thug-like hands, it's hard to imagine how such fine work can be done!
Here are my two Cut Co lobsters, an estate pair that were engraved for a couple, obviously. Crappy pics; I will try to improve them in the near future. The blades are perfect, so I don't know why they look so dark in these scans. I think these are a 9676T, and an 8656T