The pleasure of user grade knives

textoothpk

textoothpk

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Sep 24, 2003
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Here's one I got lucky on and got cheap. A fine (and well taken care of) 160OT. Great sheath and still has the stone. The best thing about it is that I can carry and use the dam thing. No worry of it not having 'box and paperwork' (or that all important 'certificate of fine production run'), no problems if I scuff it up or scratch the blade or even lose it. And it is a great knife. Whoever owned it was a hunter, he knew to take care of his tool, and it looks like he kept the blade oiled, as it has not developed a dark patina, except on the exposed tang. I like this kinda knife.

I like used knives carried and used by real people. I have an Imperial 7S (survival knife) that was carried by a Chicago Swat officer. He modified the sheath to affix it to his lower leg and it served him well for about ten years, he told me.

It's a pleasure for me to strap on an old and used 144UH, 140OT, 171UH- anything like that- and head afield. New in the box is great, but 'used and taken care of' (to use an ebay sellers description for a 152OT without a sheath I got for $10), works fine for me. And guess what? Don't chip the blade, bust off the tip, keep it oiled and it will never depreciate.

Have a great Sunday, guys

Phil
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Every time I come across a deal on a new-in-the-box Schrade, I start looking for a user of the same model. There is something primal about the urge to try out a new handle or blade shape, and the best fix I have found is to acquire a second one in good user condition. Sometimes the user comes first even. My Schrades were all users until last fall. Pristine knives are handsome and display well, saying "See what Schrade made?" But an experienced knife carries with it an aura hard to explain. An accumulation of stains and scratches, the patina, the scuffs on the sheath that speaks volumns about a well designed tool. Almost the Native American philosophy that an arrowhead carries with it a particle of the spirit of the maker, the user, and the animal it has made meat for the user and his family.

Schrade made good tools. My user carbon steel Schrade Walden 165OT Woodsman will win no beauty contests, but I have put it to work in the field since it was new in the early seventies, and it still looks good , feels good in the hand, and functions the way a tool of it's ilk should. And it is somewhat a friend. Best $22.00 knife I have ever owned.

Codger
 
I wanted this picture posted here, not because it is a good picture, but because the items portrayed illustrate the point I was making in the previous post.

The Walden Woodsman I have carried since around '69-'70 has a well earned patina that almost resembles gun blue. Never any rust or nicks in the blade, brass cleaned when the knife is oiled after cutting an onion (deepens the "blue"). A lot of memories when I pick up that blade and strap it on.

The Fred Bear recurve took my first bow deer many, many years ago and is still a worthy hunting partner.

The rattling antlers are from an eight point buck killed by my grandfather in 1959 in the Arkansas Ozark Mountains at a time when deer were scarce. That rack was his pride and joy, proudly displayed in his entry hall for all to see. He died of cancer a short four years later after introducing me to shooting and hunting. A connection to my past that is an active part of my hunting, and a proud display between seasons.

Codger
 
Mike, that's great. Fred Bear is the guy that got me bowhunting as well, being a Michigan resident and all. I have my first Bear longbow still, although I hunt nowadays with a compound.

Guys, for those of you who do not bowhunt, hunters like Mike that use a recurve are a rare breed.

Phil
 
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