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

I've added a pick and some info on the 153uh over at aapk. I don't know how to post pics here yet. Not that technically savy I guess. But if you hit the link previously posted(I don't know how to provide a link either). The info may narrow things down a bit. Then again maybe not.
 
Hi James! I was hoping you would find your way back to this thread. How did the spa treatment of your knife turn out? To post pictures just upload them to a hosting site like tinypic.com then copy/paste the tag here.

[IMG]http://i57.tinypic.com/14e6ick.png

The problem with this distributor list notation is that there is no way to tell who made it or when. The first catalog appearance, as you know, is in the revised 1973 catalog. Coincidentally or not, the same revised catalog that introduced the 152OT Sharpfinger. This suggests to me that a salesman or distributor updated this sheet after the revised 1973 catalog had come out.
 
Hey Codger, always good to hear your opinion. I always admire you methodical approach to these subjects. I do not regret having this knife rehabbed one bit. Almost all my uh's are mint with boxes and paper work. The walden 153 was worked on by a couple differant people at canal st. One of them was Dave swinden. To have him and others work on this knife in the same part of the old schrade factory where they made their fixed blade hunting knives makes it very special to me. If you look at the hand written notation for "153uh" there is a date also"11-25". This don't me it wasn't written in 73. My first impression was these were late additions to a factory catalog. Maybe that's just what I want to believe though. Do you think the pieces stamed schrade were made first and the sears order was filled after. Were the stamps done at the same time the blanks were punched out?
 
I hope we can see your knife. No doubt a lot of the skill from the Schrade we knew resides in that old factory among those owners and employees. I could speculate on the 11-25 notation if you like. But really it would be no more meaningful than your own. Perhaps the notations were added before that date when the product was announced at the annual sales meeting. A salesman scribbled them in on a distributor sheet he had in hand, with the expected release date. But that is just one possibility of several. I think we have seen by now that the name change from Schrade Walden to Schrade Cutlery Corp was not like flipping a switch. So whatever knives were in process with the old markings were sent on thru the normal channels as orders came in.

Look at the 152OT notation now. So is "11-25" a date or a distributor price? $11.25? We see the Sharpfinger listed as $5.25 and $14.00. And the Golden Spike is $11.25 and $30.00, both matching the revised 1973 catalog retail prices. So I really don't think it is a date at all. But what someone was told would be wholesale and retail prices when released. I am still looking for a Schrade Walden Sharpfinger other than the nostalgia marked knives.

How were the tang stamps added? I believe Eric told us that the knives were blanked, then stamped, then heat and cryo treated, then ground, assembled, then edged and inspected. So a quantity of unmarked blanks would be pulled from stock to be SFO stamped for Sears. Impossible to tell at this point whether they were to be Walden or Schrade marked blanks before being stamped Craftsman. A close comparison of the grinds might tell since Larry303 indicated the Walden knives have a slightly different grind than the Schrade knives. Or the manner in which the handles were glazed (the whole tube was dyed then mounted and buffed to reveal the cream Delrin).

ETA: Yes, looking at the 1973 catalogs and price lists, we see the wholesale and retail prices of the 152 and 153 match the written-in notation on the above 1972 price sheet. 11-25 is indeed $11.25.

http://collectors-of-schrades-r.us/Catalogs/images/1973-CATS.pdf

As to the displays shown in with the 1972 catalogs. is it possible they are misfiled? The sheets themselves and the displays say "Schrade" not Schrade Walden. And there is no date-control number on them as with many documents from the archives.
 
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Excellent continuation of this thread I started back in 2009. The first photo of the second group of photos on page 1 shows how dis-similar the blade grind of the Walden Golden Spike is to the earliest examples of the Schrade stamped examples..in that changeover period of some months? the staglon marking changed markedly <pun intended> and so did the blade grind...in addition to Schrade not continuing with the golden 'Golden Spike' sticker on the box lid....so in addition to the tang stamping there were four alterations which help identify...my Schrade Walden Guarantee in my minty box has been neatly cut in two and the name/address details etc would seem to have been sent back to Schrade for guarantee/replacement purposes...this indicates to me it was not a salesman's example or even one in a display of Schrade Walden knives, rather a normal purchase/issue at that time....why it was then never touched/used after returning guarantee is also a collector mystery.....as I feel it would not have been a collector item back then....rather they were purchased as users...unless as Codger previously speculated it may have been a gift/present to a hunter who may have passed on after receiving it and it lay forgotten in some Den....all this speculation is what makes collecting all the more fun/interesting IMO...Hoo Roo
 
Codger, 11-25 is indeed a price and looking at the displays closer they have the new 171uh pattern in them,possibly pages filled in to complete that portion of a catalog year. Also if I had a low serial# of a new pattern I might tuck it away and take advantage of the loss certificate for a user. I bet by the time the replacement came back it was with all the changes mentioned. P.s there is another pic of an early 153 in the craftsman section of collectors of schrade.
 
The Craftsman 153 was one I owned that was stolen last fall with my other two 153's. The elephant hide sheath says it was in the American Eagle Collector series of knives. I did not have the box and papers for that one.
 
Craftsman knives with the boxes are hard to come by. There are some being auctioned on eBay now but his prices are very high. I still can't imagine how difficult It most of been to have most of your collection stolen. Very disappointing to hear. I have an elephant grain sheath for my 165,171 and 153. These I believe are simulated. I did purchase one from a gentleman who bought and still has the uh boards from the factory collection. This looks to be real elephant hide. Those boards are for sale by the way. I have kept my uh collection going by adding all the waldens, craftsman,camillus,and protos. I spoke to a Freind who worked in the schrade custom shop who told me they made three 124uh knives with liner locks as samples. Now I have to start working him! I had a chance to buy some recently discovered sharp fingers that are believed to be proto's. I passed on them and do not have the pics anymore. Now I'm wondering if they had the walden stamp you are looking for. I can reach out to him if you are interested. I generally stay away from LTD knives in my uh collection but I do have a sharp finger uh with a gut hook. Finding samples and proto's is pretty hard so my attention has gone to naponoch,honk falls,and walden knife co. Still there are uh leads I am pursuing. Like I said I've heard of a walden 153 with stacked leather handle reported to be in a box with Larry's famous sticker. But it has been hard to even talk numbers with the owner, seems he is not keen on selling it yet. These things take time. This is why the sears golden spike in the H-15 pattern interests me. This knife might fall into a progression of ideas that led to the golden spike as most people know it.
 
I would be very much interested in documenting an original Walden marked Sharpfinger... even owning it if such actually exists. However I am limited in what/when I can pay for a knife. Much more limited than over the previous 10-11 years when I acquired my 165OT collection, the bulk of which was stolen. I have no fantasy of recovering or replacing those ever. Though a few generous members have donated examples like a Shikari. And another helped me purchase the renowned 165OT SW #00009. I also managed this winter to locate and buy one of the earliest production Sharpfingers which came in a slip-top gift box with the stone as seen in the earliest ads.

According to Eric (I don't have mine to reexamine), these elephant hide sheaths really are elephant hide, not faux stamped cowhide. Albert made a hunting trip to Africa and imported the tanned hides from which the sheaths were made.

As to the Sears "Golden Spike" marked knife, Sears and Baer had an agreement of sorts to allow them to mix and match trademarked and trade dress pattern names on other SFO knives. Thus the 165 pattern "Deerslayer" (Woodsman) and 41OT "Sportsman" (Maverick). The Golden Spike name on that different "Utility Hunter" pattern does not indicate much to me. It may well have issued after the 153 pattern began using that name as it was continued in the production lineup well past the intro of the 153 and the '49'er series.
 
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I'll make some calls. Seems like everything I find is top dollar these days but who knows. Eric is probably right. What do I know about elephant hide anyway.
 
james counsellor said:
I'll make some calls. Seems like everything I find is top dollar these days but who knows. Eric is probably right. What do I know about elephant hide anyway.
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Same here. I always just assumed that it was simulated. We know what often happens when we assume. ;)
 
uh? you get you hide tanned? sorry couldn't resist. tired after working for 14 straight days.
 
The Sears golden spike in the H-15 style did pre date the 153,I saw the order sheet. I ask for permission to post the info and was denied for whatever reason.i was grateful for the opportunity to review this info. The binder had much info and clues but would take much time to diceminate. It contained hand written notes from Henry Baer complete with the pictures and doodling Henry was famous for. I was surprised how close the relationship between sears and schrade was during that time period. The overall impression was the golden spike knife concept was driven by the desire for sears to offer a comerative piece, which turned into schrade going on to produce a whole lot of them. I believe the first offering was a stop gap to put something out because they were already late to the game. That is speculation but kind of make sense. Funny how much we are interested in a knife that they sold to retailers for $11.25
 
$11.25 was real money back then. Albert Baer went way back with Sears. First as the salesman for Camillus and then as owner of Ulster, postwar owner of Schrade and then Camillus, eventually Imperial. He dealt personally with General Wood, Dunlap and Sears buyers. He held a near lock on their knife business much of his life. In fact, he and Henry were instrumental in getting Ted Williams to be their sporting goods figurehead. He and Henry were fishing buddies. And Baer is the one who developed the three pricepoint knife system for sears, Dunlap, Kwik Kut and Sta Sharp, then using the Craftsman branding on his knives when he left Camillus. "American Eagle" was a Imperial/Schrade trademark as well. I guess that whoever has that binder intends some day to publish the contents themselves.
 
Codger_64 said:
According to Eric (I don't have mine to reexamine), these elephant hide sheaths really are elephant hide, not faux stamped cowhide. Albert made a hunting trip to Africa and imported the tanned hides from which the sheaths were made.
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Not to beat the poor horse any longer, these sheaths are definitely the REAL DEAL. There is absolutely no question about it. For those who have not seen them, they are VERY nice.
 
I have four of the elephant hide sheaths and one looks and feels very differant. I'm not sure what to make of it. As for Henry and Albert they don't enough men like that anymore.
 
james counsellor said:
I have four of the elephant hide sheaths and one looks and feels very differant. I'm not sure what to make of it. As for Henry and Albert they don't enough men like that anymore.
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Since studying the company history and the men behind it. I have always felt that had one or both had sons trained by them, Imperial Schrade and Camillus would still be competetive in today's market. Just an old Codger's opinion. However both companies fell to disinterested owners after their deaths and there was little that management could do to save them other than to postpone the inevitible.
 
I agree for the most part codger. After spending a lot of time with people involved,and in the area I have decided the internet changed the world. It changed so rapidly many didnt even realize the profound effects as they were happenig.It made the world smaller. Cheaper labor and materials,products and shipping were at everyone's fingertips. I Agree Albert and Henry would still be in business. For sure many buisness don't last two or three generations for a reason. The world changed,as it has many times. I started making knives about a year ago, I have some old wooden trays from the schrade factory. Maybe even ulster. They remind me of a time when things were simpler. Something primal about making or even using a knife. The Chinese are getting better at it. Scary part is we not only sent the jobs away we sent the manufacturing equipment away! I don't advertise my knives. I use word of mouth. A lot of times I just make what I like and don't seem to have any trouble getting rid of them. Money corrupts everything. You know
 
The advent of the internet changed business and society in general for sure, but I remind myself that the Baers lived through many such changes. Albert died in October 1997. ISC had a web presence in 1991. They lived through WWi, the stock market crash, the depression, WWII and the following wars, inflation etc. Albert discussed the advent of air travel and how he took advantage of it. And we know about the overseas ventures, some sucessful and some not. So I am led to believe that the brothers, or their like-thinking sons/protoges, would have mastered these changes we have witnessed in recent years as well. This outlook of mine is not meant to cast dispersion on the company management. They were essentially hamstrung by the heir/heirs.
 
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