White 14OT. What the heck?

B

Bob W

Joined
Dec 31, 2000
Messages
17,079
Can anyone clue me in on this, based on the [ended] auction photos?

Original box. Authentic tang stamp. White handle. "PROTOTYPE" etch or stamp.

$(KGrHqV,!rUFEuVIguCUBRh5vGFLlw~~60_57.JPG


$(KGrHqN,!rUFEt99Go5jBRh5vIwCdw~~60_57.JPG


$(KGrHqV,!q8FE01Mys(WBRh5vM4,Z!~~60_57.JPG


Link to ended auction:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SCHRADE-USA...bOedvfH%2FPzC8DS0%2FM%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

There were no other bidders.
 
Imperial Schrade would not have pantograph engraved "prototype" on a knife that may have been intended as a sample to show a prospective customer. IMHO, that was done by an aftermarket owner/dealer. May even be an aftermarket assembly of a factory remanent blade. Compare the compression rivet material and size with an original 41OT. Taken together, it is suspect enough that I would not want it unless it were cheap and I was looking for a user of this pattern. But that is only my own non-expert opinion.
 
I watched this knife for months thinking the same things Codger pointed out. This one took forever to sell. It eventually sold after a price-drop but the fact that a world-full of Schrade collectors ignored it for so long also supports the not-what-it-seems theory.

The square looking front (tang) edge on the micarta, those tiny rivets, the "Prototype" engraving itself and the lack of noticeable grain to this particular "micarta" makes it unlike any other Schrade I've seen. The obvious lack of a guard is also unlike any other authentic 14OT variations I've come across. (Did Schrade make any fixed blades without a guard? I can't think of any.) I've seen lot's of yellow and a fair bit of white linen micarta on Schrade knives but never any white paper micarta and if that knife is indeed micarta at all it's more likely paper than linen (or canvas). I think it may even be a delrin-like material. The pic below shows very little if any layering when I look at it.




I really believe it's an aftermarket monstrosity originally conjured up by a con-man (not necessarily this seller). I might very well be wrong but that's my opinion.
 
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That all sounds very reasonable. Perhaps it should be sent around as a Schrade Collector's Passaround when it arrives and you can all inspect it in person.
 
I have a 14OT assembled end-of-days at the Schrade factory with a wooden handle and no guard.

But look at the size of these pins!

DSC_1238.jpg
 
Codger_64 said:
15OT, 152OT, 15UH, 152UH, 154OT, 156OT... yeah, I can think of a few.
Click to expand...

Sometimes I raise the bar lol Side-effects of my green medicine. Yeah, those all count. Sharpfinger, eh? Never seen one of them. ;)



Bob W said:
I have a 14OT assembled end-of-days at the Schrade factory with a wooden handle and no guard.

But look at the size of these pins!
Click to expand...

I've seen those too, now that you mention it but as well as the pins being too small (nice example Bob), I doubt Schrade was engraving "Prototype" on their End-of-Days completions.
 
I've seen a very similar Prototype logo somewhere... can't remember... Maybe if I bump my head it'll jog my memory. :)

Those small pins though... even the new Chinese imports have fat pins.

Interestingly, or not, another Michigan seller offered a different knife for auction. Using very similar wording in the eBay ad, it's likely the two sellers are the same person.

Auction listing by Camp9mm:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SCHRADE-USA...original-display-box-NIB-14-OT-/261225712640?
Auction listing by Knife8909:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Schrade-14O...178?pt=Collectible_Knives&hash=item257f10c42a

There's nothing suspicious in the recent listings by either seller. I find this interesting, and will ask the seller if he recalls where he purchased it.

Part of the original Schrade factory collection, purchased before the bankruptcy auction in 2004. Came to me rather quickly after the auction, and I have had it since then.
Click to expand...
 
Bob W said:
I've seen a very similar Prototype logo somewhere... can't remember... Maybe if I bump my head it'll jog my memory. :)
Click to expand...

It made me think "Yellowhorse". I've seen similar engraving on David and Brian Yellowhorse prototype knives.



Bob W said:
Interestingly, or not, another Michigan seller offered a different knife for auction. Using very similar wording in the eBay ad, it's likely the two sellers are the same person.

Auction listing by Camp9mm:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SCHRADE-USA...original-display-box-NIB-14-OT-/261225712640?
Auction listing by Knife8909:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Schrade-14O...178?pt=Collectible_Knives&hash=item257f10c42a

There's nothing suspicious in the recent listings by either seller. I find this interesting, and will ask the seller if he recalls where he purchased it.
Click to expand...

I think that's the same knife being offered by same seller using two different accounts (for whatever reason). Compare camp9mm's 4th picture with knife8909's 1st pic. Same knife, placed the same way, on same box, on same rug, no? Nice catch though Bob. I'd missed who was selling the knife. I kept seeing it being re-listed but didn't pay close enough attention to catch the two accounts.
 
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The seller had multiple accounts here at one time, but he is a straight seller not prone to making up stories like some do. Not at all likely that he did the assembly or marking, IMHO. I suggest that whoever he bought the knife from originally post-dissolution-auction was responsible.
 
koldgold said:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/406142-Old-Timer-14OT-yeah!?highlight=schrade+14OT

What about this one? I would say this is the same knife. Ken
Click to expand...

textoothpk said:
I can't resist... my Frank Sinatra book commemorative 13OT and my Prototype white micarta handled 14OT. Each one of a kind.

Phil
Click to expand...

Phil, aka textoothpk who was banned, is also from Michigan. And the seller's name is also Phil.

It seems I just bought textoothpk's white Old Timer, which hasn't been shown on Bladeforums since 2006.

And here's the topic where he bought it in 2005:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/371759-Need-help-with-Ebay-buy?highlight=14ot
Phil had many of the same questions in 2005 that we are asking today in 2013. LT, a very knowledgeable collector, asserted it was real.
 
yes that is what makes this forum so fun to visit and be a part of. going back to 2005 to see ole "been banned" Phil and the questions he was asking then. i looked at that old thread, wonder how much he paid for the knife in the beginning? and the box which apparently was added later to the acquisition? went back and double checked to make sure he did add the box later and he plainly stated he did. so if this knife is the same one, some one is not exactly telling the truth knowingly or unknowingly about the box being with the knife.
 
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Well this topic is certainly bringing the "Old Timers" out of the woodwork. :D
That alone is worth the price I paid for the knife.

Speaking of price... I can't help but think it would have sold higher if it had the ordinary brown handles.
 
Bob W said:
Well this topic is certainly bringing the "Old Timers" out of the woodwork. :D
That alone is worth the price I paid for the knife.

Speaking of price... I can't help but think it would have sold higher if it had the ordinary brown handles.
Click to expand...

Interesting how small Schrade-world can be. Same knife, new discussion all these years later. Nice effort digging through the archives Ken!

This white handled knife is one with an interesting story no doubt. I get the feeling we will never know for sure where and when it was made but it's unique in many ways and a very cool collectable as a result. I sold a brown-box 14OT for $120.00 a couple years back so yeah, this one was not overly pricey imho

Bob, I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the handle material when you have it in-hand. "Handle material.. I am not sure. I think it is very fine linen micarta. Smooth, silky smooth."- textoothpk That's pretty well what I am seeing in the pics. I'd like to learn what a new Schrade-possible handle material looks like in fuzzy pics. I'm always trying to find cheap bone and micarta pearls in a sea of delrin.

Here's camp9mm's (somewhat inaccurate but likely honest) seller description for posterity:

"Part of the original Schrade factory collection, purchased before the bankruptcy auction in 2004. Came to me rather quickly after the auction, and I have had it since then. Found it in my knife room the other day, thought I would auction it off, as I do not collect Schrades.

A real factory prototype, one of a kind, it is so marked. Has a beautifully finished white Micarta handle, and no bolsters as did the production models. Looks like two stainless steel pins that secures the handle sides. Blade is more unfinished, and makes sense as Schrade was trying a new handle here, not a new blade. Has PROTOTYPE engraved on the blade as shown (not stamped). Tang stamp: Schrade, U.S.A. 14OT on two lines.

Comes in the original 140T display box as shown. No paperwork. Has an excellent leather sheath, and it appears the knife was never inserted into it. Original plastic blade sleeve.

All in all, great addition to any Schrade collection."
 
There is one way that I am aware of to verify/debunk the origin of the assembly. And that would be to impose on member Eric to take the photos to CSC and ask the former prototyper (sample-maker) himself if he recognizes the knife and knows the origin and handle material. Again, I am not casting shadows at our former member, the seller. I had dealt with him on purchases in the distant past and found him to be an honest man. He just may or may not have known the "Paul Harvey" on this particular knife as the early linked post suggests. And I most certainly don't know the story on it any more now than I did way back then.
 
Bob W said:
Well this topic is certainly bringing the "Old Timers" out of the woodwork. :D
That alone is worth the price I paid for the knife.

Speaking of price... I can't help but think it would have sold higher if it had the ordinary brown handles.
Click to expand...

I agree on the thought regarding plain brown handles...
 
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