Something easier...old pruning knife? whaler?

[TooManyKnives101]

I know from the tang stamp that is knife was made sometime between the early 50's and mid 70's. Does anyone have a more exact date? The blade is so worn that I can't tell if it was a pruning knife or a whaler. What kind of wood is the handle made of?

 

[Codger_64]

A hawkbill pruning knife. The Schrade brothers sold their company to the Baers in early 1946 and the name was changed from Schrade Cutlery Company to Schrade Walden Cutlery. So you knife predates that. It is a #1391, 3 9/16, brass lined, nickel silver bolsters, cocobola handle. If it is steel lined, it could be from 1940-1945. Brass was a stratigic metal and became restricted in cutlery use during the years leading up to WWII. It is listed in the 1932 Schrade Cutlery Co. catalog supplement. In 1940 #1003, a 4" long pattern companion knife is steel lined with steel bolsters and a stagged bone handle.

Michael