The Schrade Walden 153 Uncle Henry...Golden Spike & Schrade 153UH variations..

Thanx. I heard about the bus but thought it was only carrying people. Do you think I'm making a bad move cleaning and resharpening the 153?
 
It is your knife to do with as you please. Eventually it will be someone els's knife. For best retained collector value, just clean and oil it. But had you returned it to Schrade when they were still in business, you could have had it given the "spa treatment" by them and it would have been refreshed with a factory finish and edge. Again, it is your call. I did return my favorite original 165OT to them in 1996/97 for a replacement shield and new sheath. They freshened it up for me and returned it to me without any charge! :eek:
 
Was the 165 pitted at all? I don't think there is a cure for that. I'm going to give it the works. I plan on taking a before and after so someday I can figure out how to post them. This is one of the few uncle Henry knives I do not have new in the box. I spoke to guy I have purchased a bunch of knives from who claims to have a mint one. He says he was offered $700 dollars for it. Like I said I'm hopping this cleans up nice.
 
We cannot tell from the production records. They only tell us how many total were shipped by the year's end, not how they were stamped, or how many with the Walden stamp were shipped after the tang stamp was changed during the next production year. Our best indicator is the tang stamp serial number range we can actually observe among the surviving specimens. Plus, we do not know the actual date range in which the Walden stamp was used on this pattern before it was changed. It is pretty obvious that they would have continued shipping the Walden stamped knives already produced until they were all gone though, even if that took until the Spring of the next year. As far as I am aware, no one has yet done a detailed serial number study of the 153 pattern (both stamps). At best, this could indicate a production quantity range, as was done (and continues) with the Shikari 165's.
 
Since these knives were not a "Limited Edition," everything Codger has just explained is right on the mark. The number 3000 or 2000 or whatever has no meaning here and certainly not during production at that time. Meanwhile, I wish I had borrowed a few dollars from my brother and bought the sonofabitch and protected it from foolish behaviors. Just my subjective thoughts this afternoon.
 
The original 153 were destined to fill a sears order aside from salemens samples and production samples as you have talked about and makes alot of sense. In 1970 they anticipated an order of 7500 that never happened. They had it labeled as a 138. In 1972(November) they anticipated 3000 for sears in the up coming year(73) I don't know if this happened but if you kook in the catalog the 138 dissappears when the 153 appears. In 72 the catalog shows two of the display cases with 153's in them. These have to be schrade wardens. I wish I knew how many cases went out but I think the number of 153sw is tied to the amount of displays that were shipped in 72
 
I am rather confused here; I see the 138L in the 1972 displays and in the 1973 catalog; it looks like a variation of the H-15 family. I can make no sense whatever out of the previous post, but perhaps that is a symptom of the progression of my mental faculties, in these, the twilight of my years.
 
Don't see the 138 in 74 cat but you are correct sir they are both in 73 cat. As soon as I can I will post a couple documents maybe you guys can make better sense of them then me. I'm sure you will see some of the things I am trying to point out. I did ask if anybody thought it was foolish to clean and sharpen this knife I just wish you would elaborate on your feelings so I can understand better. I've only been at this for about a year. Im pretty sure I would have won this knife either way it's one of the last ones I need and was prepared to spend to much. my only reason for caring about how many were made is because I was told they were extremely rare and had a big price tag on the one being offered. Did not want to spend the money. Luckily peas able to find some answers but not the finale answer. I still believe the first 153's went into 1972 display cases as these seem to be at the initial marketing point.
 
james counsellor said:
I did ask if anybody thought it was foolish to clean and sharpen this knife
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Yes, I do think that would be ill-advised. There have been so many 153UH knives manufactured that they would probably carpet the state of Missouri 118 feet deep. So why would anyone jack around a knife that has only shown to be one of four extant at this point?
 
Internal memos would help a lot for sure. But from what I have seen, early sales projections were not always realized and the launches of new patterns were often delayed while waiting on new tooling and/or ramp up to production as the first ones had to be hand built and tweeked by the Buley brothers and elsewhere in the production process.

For years we collectors thought we knew a definitive cut-off date for Walden marked knives, but more than once we have seen that proven wrong. It now appears that it was a running change with product in process being exhausted before the new product began assembly and shipping, irrespective of the calendar date.

We see NIB Walden 15OT and 165OT in the later Schrade packaging. Likely because the Walden packaging was used up before the Walden knives were. And we have seen original Schrade displays with an occasional Walden knife in them.

A dated memo specifying a switchover date for the tang dies (which still doesn't tell us the number of that pattern produced prior to that date) would help with an estimation. They could have 100 Walden marked blades left in stock or 1,000. No other parts were required for that change as they were with the switch to stainless on that pattern (Both guard and handle tube as well as the butts had to be altered - those parts don't interchange and we have seen the memos).
 
james counsellor said:
Was the 165 pitted at all? I don't think there is a cure for that. I'm going to give it the works. I plan on taking a before and after so someday I can figure out how to post them. This is one of the few uncle Henry knives I do not have new in the box. I spoke to guy I have purchased a bunch of knives from who claims to have a mint one. He says he was offered $700 dollars for it. Like I said I'm hopping this cleans up nice.
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My 165OT was not pitted but then it was not and is not a collector item. I had used it for many years prior to Schrade refinishing it. That did not hurt it's value, since it's value was only as a user. I still use it today. If you believe the knife has any collector value, refinishing it will detract from that greatly, at least for knowledgable collectors. A new collector will be fooled by the shine and not know the difference.
 
I think my first posting in this interesting thread is still as valid as when I wrote it...3485 shipped in 1973...likely mixture of Schrade Walden and the new Schrade from that transition period...as my first post shows the first box's had the distinctive yellow sticker on the brown box, the different staglon 'stag' pattern and different blade grind..I have noted....I guess Schrade <Schrade Walden> would have used all the available handles and blades etc at that time so I reckon upwards of 2000 likely issued...and as James states could well have filled the Schrade Walden display box's.....we are getting closer to the true facts...Hoo Roo.
 
I am anxious to see some memos relating to early production orders and details. Sleuthing the facts is fun!

Any of you lipread? :D

jj07ia.gif
 
....now she has nice bouncing...eyes... does she not?........it's indecent to be THAT happy unless she has sat on her hair brush...she does appear to be bristling on a slippery slope...
Codger, our mate lrv originally supplied those 153 figures to me from his paperwork, so I hope he chimes in and confirms/clarifies......I reckon she will attract him light a moth to light, anyways....Hoo Roo

P.S. Codge ..you better stick to the Schrade forum mate.....not those OTHER sites/sights....
 
Allison is a cutie, isn't she? She is saying, "We'll have fun"! You did notice he lips moving, didn't you? :p
 
tongueriver said:
Yes, I do think that would be ill-advised. There have been so many 153UH knives manufactured that they would probably carpet the state of Missouri 118 feet deep. So why would anyone jack around a knife that has only shown to be one of four extant at this point?
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I generally agree with Hal on this, but first I have to ask if it has a factory edge? If not, and someone has already sharpened it, what can it harm? Maybe even a soak in oil to loosen the crud up too? ;)
-Bruce
 
Well... I wouldn't exactly want to make puppies with her but we could have fun chasing cats for a while. We'll... have... fun!
 
Thanx for the feed back Bruce. Knife went in the mail last night. Might be hard for me as a novice to determine if it's been sharpened before but I can email picks to someone who can post them. Waiting for power to come back up here. Can anyone elaborate on the oil soaking. What kind of oil?how long?
 
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