What's your latest Schrade? START DATE 8/12

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Buddiiee said:
Kinda jealous you have that knife... It's a small world out here. I'm 99.99% sure that's my uncle's knife. There's not many left from Bartlett. Not really the same Bartlett you see on the internet now. They were in Detroit when my uncle John worked there many years ago. There's no way another employee kept his pocket knife in that pristine of condition. That knife came from an entire box of still wrapped in wax paper Schrades that was part of an estate sale from my Aunt, because she was going into an assisted living apartment. They were both hoarders, and kept EVERYTHING. I was one of the rightful heirs to the contents of her house, (she was trying to keep it but there was no place for all her stuff, so she said sell it all) and she hired a estate sale place to do all the selling, and they got there a little too early and monies had already exchanged hands, and those dam greedy vultures jacked the prices up on all those knifes (and a lot of other old, cool stuff as well) and I was bummed. There was no way I was paying that price (I think something like 30 bucks a piece) for those old knives. There's about 15 of those knives floatin' around now because of that. I got one and my little brother got one and that was it. What a travesty. They were very hard to open, but shaving sharp though. I'm pissed Schrade like soo many others transformed into some cheap china crap company. I wish they were still the same Schrade from back when I was a kid.
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I'm glad you got one but I paid $90 for mine and I consider it a good deal. It is sad Schrade exists only in name now. The workmanship on this example is remarkable and it looks as though it could have been made last week. If you don't mind my asking, what did your uncle do for Bartlett and was the knife an award of some kind or did he simply buy it from his workplace?
 
Stelth said:
I'm glad you got one but I paid $90 for mine and I consider it a good deal. It is sad Schrade exists only in name now. The workmanship on this example is remarkable and it looks as though it could have been made last week. If you don't mind my asking, what did your uncle do for Bartlett and was the knife an award of some kind or did he simply buy it from his workplace?
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90 bucks???? That sucks. Though they are great knives, they're not 90 dollar knives lol. I hate greed. Can't stand it. I kinda forget what uncle John did for them. I'll ask right now. The knives what I understand weren't awards. They sold them to whomever wanted them. I'm assuming for a discounted price. Probably a dollar or there abouts.
 
$90 is steep if you compare it to its original price. If you wanted something similar made today (which isn't even available) it would easily be close to that price. Look at what GEC charges for two bladed jacks with wood handles and 1095 steel.
 
Uncle John worked there from the late 50's to the early to late 80's, and was in charge of shipping & receiving in the latter years. Apparently, those knives were free, and were given to employees and customers as well. Lucky ass customers if you ask me. Of course, I'm sure most pocket knives back then were made with quality materials.

Here's mine.

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Thanks for the info! It is very sad to me that the true Schrade company no longer exists. Thanks to your uncle's care in preserving these knives, it is my privilege to own a fine example of their craftsmanship.
 
I landed a fish on the bay last night. Most of you regulars and a few of you very irregular guys know I like the 897UH pattern. Well I got this one cheap because it isn't pretty and has a lot of pocket wear and what looks like a burn scar. See if you can figure out why I wanted it. Eric may be the only one to notice besides Larry and Larry. They should wait to see if anyone else notices.

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koldgold said:
Hi Codger, looks like you have found an 897UH made by Camllus...Ken
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Mebeeso. I need the opinion of an expert more knowledgable than myself. Documentation would be great. If it proves out, it will be the first one I have seen. Hmmm... maybe I need to open my display case and take a closer look.

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I have been looking at some knives I have never seen out of their boxes.
All my UH897s were made by Schrade. Like you I have never seen one like that one.
Good find Codge, I know you were looking for that one.

I have some Buck 301 knives made by Cumillus; sometimes the pins are hard to see on a mint knife.
Just huff and puff on the bolsters and the pin will start to show up. ..Ken

I even found a "MM897MAC" and a Walden 855; and some Primbles: "923,933,934 and 935" in my collection.
 
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Q: Robert Clemente states in his catalog history that the 897UH was actually manufactured prior to its first appearance in catalog 1967 and various handle materials were used in the earlier productions before Schrade settled on Staglon....are you suggesting that sister Company Camillus actually made them in those earlier years and in your case used genuine stag, and then from 1967 they were made by Schrade Walden with Staglon handles and with the Schrade front pin/bolster construction rather than the Camillus construction which you clearly show in your photo...and which Ken suggests you should huff and puff on to see the pin to prove Camillus construction?......is that why you always wanted this model?....to prove they were made by Camillus?.........I've never seen your knife example before either....how few were likely to have been made?...and are they genuine protos?...or did they sell some?.....so many questions.....Hoo Roo
 
Well for certain it is standard classic Delrin molding. It matches the late mold of my daily user, less the fadeing of the dye. Matched peak and valley precisely, so no way it is stag. It has the later of the tangstamps I have noted so it isn't early production, neither is it one of those early alternate scale patterns, I have examples of two different of those and they are distinctly different. No, it was the lack of Swinden construction apparent by the bolsters being pinned through. The pins are visible even without blowing on them.

The 897UH is not a pattern I've previously identified as having been manufactured for Schrade by Camillus. And I would hesitate to identify the patterns which were if it were not for Tom Williams having sent me copies of the Camillus S-cards ordering the patterns so identified, and having then seen examples myself. 897UH is not among those cards. Then again. Tom never said his search of his card files was exhaustive.

Complicating matters is the fact that the condition of the blades seem to be better than that of the covers. Almost as if someone rebladed an old worn frame. But why do that? That is a lot of work to fix a relatively cheap, mass produced knife and particularly one without noteworthy covers. The one bolster I showed in the mark closeup looks like it has been possibly tampered with. Or are those strikes next to the pin just artifacts of pocket wear?

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Here are the two alternate covers I have. I really need to take pictures better than these old scans and eBay save picture.

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Codger, my suggestion to blow on the bolsters was a test to find pins on a “Mint knife” only if the pin is hard to see.

Is your knife a proto-type knife, for the Uncle Henry knives Cumillus made; using Schrade stamped blades?
This is my 886UH made by Cumillus. The pins are hard to see on this one - I have Buck 301s that you can not see the pins
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tongueriver said:
The two smaller pictures directly prior to this post are, as you say, alternate covers. But are they stamped 897? From the mark side I would think 825 and 832. ?
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Both are typical 897Uh other than the covers and shields
 
koldgold said:
Codger, my suggestion to blow on the bolsters was a test to find pins on a “Mint knife” only if the pin is hard to see.

Is your knife a proto-type knife, for the Uncle Henry knives Cumillus made; using Schrade stamped blades?
This is my 886UH made by Cumillus. The pins are hard to see on this one - I have Buck 301s that you can not see the pins
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Prototype? I don't think so. I still need to hear from Tom or Dave to see if there was an order for them from Camillus or it this might be a repair. Camillus did often assemble from parts shipped from Ellenville or Providence though. On patterns like this it wouldn't make sense for them to create the dies, molds and jigs inhouse, when all of that preexisted at Schrade.
 
Quote "it wouldn't make sense for them to create the dies, molds and jigs inhouse, when all of that preexisted at Schrade.
I find it hard to understand anything about Schrade sometimes."

Your knife could have been made with all Schrade parts, only the bolsters would need to be changed. (this could save time and the cost?)
Why would Cumillus make an 886UH when Schrade made a 885UH? I have also seen other UH knives made by Cumillus.
I think I will sit on the fence and see what you find.

Codger, check the thickness of the bolster on your knife and another Schrade.
Schrade bolsters are thicker then the Cumillus bolsters - due to the Swinden construction
 
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Why would they? Because Schrade paid them to do it to their specifications right down to the tang stamp.
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Why would Schrade do that? Sometimes for a special customer like LL Bean, Moore Maker, Belknap, Pennys, K-Mart. They wanted knives like that but somehow different that their competition didn't/couldn't sell.
 
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