What do I have a find or a flop?

[PDSchrade]

I have one the way an Old timer SC503 with Delrin handles. With a little research, after the fact or course, I see that all SC's come with scrimshaw not delrin scales. What am I getting?
PA

 

[Bob W]

It was a long-standing tradition at Schrade to occasionally mix-and-match blades and handles from different knife series.

Not only that, but in the final days of the factory operations, workers were literally assembling any parts that fit to get finished knives out the door.

I have OT blades on UH handles, OT handles with SC blades, Craftsman blades on Primble knives... You get the idea.

If you post a picture, there's a chance someone could be able to tell you more, and perhaps make a guess as to whether your knife is an older example or one from the factory's final days.

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Welcome to Bladeforums, and especially welcome to the Schrade Collector's area. Seems that not many folks find there way here, so it ends up being a very quiet little corner of the internet.

 

[Bob W]

I seem to have the same factory error knife in my collection:

 

[tongueriver]

The 503 blade in the OT is a perfect example of Bob W's description of the last (month?) at the Schrade factory. BTW, Delrin is a molded plastic which was "sawcut" in the OTs and "ivory" smooth in the "scrimshaw" models, but it was all Delrin plastic. There were a very few knives made with micarta, the most notable being the American Express boxed set of Presidents Jackson, Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson. There were quite a few loose knives at the end with "blank" "ivory" smooth handles which had not yet received the hot scrimshaw process.