A nod to the Schrade 6OT Golden Bear

J

jude_061

Joined
Jan 29, 2006
Messages
791
I thought there used to be a Schrade sub forum here, but maybe not. Back in 1996 or so, I worked for a custom cabinetmaker while I was in college. One of the guys I worked with carried a spyderco frn delica with the integral plastic clip, fully serrated. I, being into knives, had one too, but it didn’t really suit me for working in a woodshop. I wanted, and bought, a buck 110 from Stoddards on Temple Place in Boston, but in those days, as a poor college student making the princely sum of $10 an hour, I thought it too extravagant a knife to beat the crap out of in a wood shop. There was a hardware store down the street from where I grew up that had all the Old Timer and Uncle Henry slipjoints and the Imperial Kamp Kings in the cardboard displays. They weren’t expensive and I had a few of them here and there. I liked the 110 I had, and wanted something in a similar size. I worked as a mate on a charter fishing boat on the weekends and when my hands were wet, opening a slipjoint stockman or scout knife was hard. Plus the carbon rusted pretty easily in the salt water. This hardware store had very few lockback knives; if I remember correctly, they had the LB7 (the buck clone) and the 6ot, which was a sawcut-delrin-handled version with only a front bolster. (I don’t remember seeing the version with two bolsters or the staglon model.) what appealed to me though, about the 6ot (besides the modest price) was the lanyard hole. I beat that knife up. I cut wood, scraped glue, cut wire, used it as a screwdriver, punched holes in things, but bait, cut monofilament, cut wire fishing leaders, whittled, cut up boxes, cut rubber hose, punched holes in things, and completed a myriad of other tasks. I liked the grippiness of the sawcut delrin, and was pleased with the lanyard hole. I remember the knife didn’t hold an edge as long as the Buck 110, and some days I had to sharpen it after a day of use, but I remember it being a good, inexpensive, utilitarian knife. That knife is at the bottom of the ocean now. I’ve thought about replacing it for sh*ts and giggles, but I can get a better knife in a Buck 110 for less than what some USA Schrades are going for on the ‘bay these days. These days, I’m a Buck guy through and through, but for a poor college kid that Golden Bear served me well. I have some goon knife nut nostalgia for it.
 
The 6OT had a 440A blade. I think Buck was using either 420HC or 425M in '96.
If memory serves they switched from 440C to 425M in the early 80's ... maybe '83?

The 6OT was never available with a 1095 blade, like the 7OT was.
The wood and fake stag ("Stagalon") handled was the Uncle Henry versions of the 7OT: LB7 and LB8. I think the LB8 had the wood covers.
Pretty sure all the Uncle Henry's had "Schrade+" 440A blades.

The 6OT and 7OT's I've had cut better than the 110's. Schrade had the better edge geometry. Buck did run their blades a bit harder than the competion, then and now.
 
afishhunter said:
The 6OT had a 440A blade. I think Buck was using either 420HC or 425M in '96.
If memory serves they switched from 440C to 425M in the early 80's ... maybe '83?

The 6OT was never available with a 1095 blade, like the 7OT was.
The wood and fake stag ("Stagalon") handled was the Uncle Henry versions of the 7OT: LB7 and LB8. I think the LB8 had the wood covers.
Pretty sure all the Uncle Henry's had "Schrade+" 440A blades.

The 6OT and 7OT's I've had cut better than the 110's. Schrade had the better edge geometry. Buck did run their blades a bit harder than the competion, then and now.
Click to expand...
I thought the LB8 was stagalon and LB7 was rosewood. The 8 I have was called Papa Bear, I believe.
 
Great post, J jude_061 . Back in high school in the 80s, I spent a LOT of time with an LB7 in my back pocket. Cheaper than Buck, but still a dadgum solid knife. And in my neck of the woods, Schrade's stainless had a reputation of being far easier to keep sharp than a Buck.

My other main carry back then was a 33OT jack. Carried that to school nearly every day (and no, we weren't allowed to carry knives but ..... well, what's a knife knut to do!? 😄 ).

-- Mark
 
Yesterday, GF was cleaning out her father's truck and was about to throw this one away 😱:

mqGY2q8.jpeg

Somebody say "patina"? We've hit peak verdigris!
Obviously a bit neglected and with a crack in the delrin at the most narrow point of the pile side's lanyard tube - it still functions exactly as expected.

I'm just happy I could save it from the trash!

Might try to clean it up lightly and maybe attempt to stabilize the crack.

Please excuse the dog hair on the background knives - it's husky shedding season again. There are only two times a year that huskies shed - the first half and the second half. 🤣
 
birdsbeaks said:
Yesterday, GF was cleaning out her father's truck and was about to throw this one away 😱:
Click to expand...
Nice save!!!

Growing up, most guys had a Buck if they carried something that size. I don't think I actually saw an Old Timer until I stumbled across Blade Forums a few years ago. It's likely that I probably did and just thought I was seeing a 110.

On the other hand one of my friends from college grew up on a farm in a different part of the country. He said all anyone had was Old Timers.
 
birdsbeaks said:
Yesterday, GF was cleaning out her father's truck and was about to throw this one away 😱:

mqGY2q8.jpeg

Somebody say "patina"? We've hit peak verdigris!
Obviously a bit neglected and with a crack in the delrin at the most narrow point of the pile side's lanyard tube - it still functions exactly as expected.

I'm just happy I could save it from the trash!

Might try to clean it up lightly and maybe attempt to stabilize the crack.

Please excuse the dog hair on the background knives - it's husky shedding season again. There are only two times a year that huskies shed - the first half and the second half. 🤣
Click to expand...
Nice knife. I wish I still had mine. I have an LB7 I got on the bay. I don’t have any of my old schrades or other knives from the 1990s anymore. And I carry a 110 every day these days. I like reminiscing about the knives that got me into this hobby back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Thanks, guys, for the pics too.
 
Oldy said:
Is that actual silver or silver plated or what ever they call it.
Click to expand...
Sterling silver, with a Gold-washed Bear!! The one-time owners of Schrade, the Baer family (translates to Bear!) were fond of those critters!!🧸🐻
 
jude_061 said:
I thought there used to be a Schrade sub forum here, but maybe not. Back in 1996 or so, I worked for a custom cabinetmaker while I was in college. One of the guys I worked with carried a spyderco frn delica with the integral plastic clip, fully serrated. I, being into knives, had one too, but it didn’t really suit me for working in a woodshop. I wanted, and bought, a buck 110 from Stoddards on Temple Place in Boston, but in those days, as a poor college student making the princely sum of $10 an hour, I thought it too extravagant a knife to beat the crap out of in a wood shop. There was a hardware store down the street from where I grew up that had all the Old Timer and Uncle Henry slipjoints and the Imperial Kamp Kings in the cardboard displays. They weren’t expensive and I had a few of them here and there. I liked the 110 I had, and wanted something in a similar size. I worked as a mate on a charter fishing boat on the weekends and when my hands were wet, opening a slipjoint stockman or scout knife was hard. Plus the carbon rusted pretty easily in the salt water. This hardware store had very few lockback knives; if I remember correctly, they had the LB7 (the buck clone) and the 6ot, which was a sawcut-delrin-handled version with only a front bolster. (I don’t remember seeing the version with two bolsters or the staglon model.) what appealed to me though, about the 6ot (besides the modest price) was the lanyard hole. I beat that knife up. I cut wood, scraped glue, cut wire, used it as a screwdriver, punched holes in things, but bait, cut monofilament, cut wire fishing leaders, whittled, cut up boxes, cut rubber hose, punched holes in things, and completed a myriad of other tasks. I liked the grippiness of the sawcut delrin, and was pleased with the lanyard hole. I remember the knife didn’t hold an edge as long as the Buck 110, and some days I had to sharpen it after a day of use, but I remember it being a good, inexpensive, utilitarian knife. That knife is at the bottom of the ocean now. I’ve thought about replacing it for sh*ts and giggles, but I can get a better knife in a Buck 110 for less than what some USA Schrades are going for on the ‘bay these days. These days, I’m a Buck guy through and through, but for a poor college kid that Golden Bear served me well. I have some goon knife nut nostalgia for it.
Click to expand...

Schrade Knives Collectors Forum

Imperial Schrade Corp. - maker of Schrade Knives & Tools, including the famous Uncle Henry and Old Timer Brands - all made in the USA. Since Schrade closed their doors, this forum has become a site for the collectors to meet and share informatio
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
Bloefield said:
No problem. I like the 6OT also:)
rvVUqyH.jpg

v7ZKpS8.jpg
Click to expand...
At the time, I remember, it was my “beater” knife, because I sort of “looked down“ on it not having the rear bolster. But I love a lanyard hole on a knife, and Schrade put a good lanyard hole on that knife. I could get a good beefy piece or heavy cord through it. Not that it mattered, though, as I kicked one overboard on a boat I worked on after setting it on the deck of the boat I was working on. But it was a good grippy knife that I didn’t worry about and could sharpen easily. I appreciate how “un-fancy” and utilitarian it was.
 
I’ve never had a 6OT but I’ve always had an eye for them as I like barehead knives.

I always liked but never have had the chance to acquire the 5OT as well.

Schrade’s line of knives was really solid and it’s a shame they are gone. When I was a kid they were what folks had more than anything else. If you had a Case it was more of a status symbol but a lm Old Timer was a working mans knife.

The Buck 110 is a good knife but it is a might butt heavy in the balance.
 
jude_061 said:
I thought there used to be a Schrade sub forum here, but maybe not. Back in 1996 or so, I worked for a custom cabinetmaker while I was in college. One of the guys I worked with carried a spyderco frn delica with the integral plastic clip, fully serrated. I, being into knives, had one too, but it didn’t really suit me for working in a woodshop. I wanted, and bought, a buck 110 from Stoddards on Temple Place in Boston, but in those days, as a poor college student making the princely sum of $10 an hour, I thought it too extravagant a knife to beat the crap out of in a wood shop. There was a hardware store down the street from where I grew up that had all the Old Timer and Uncle Henry slipjoints and the Imperial Kamp Kings in the cardboard displays. They weren’t expensive and I had a few of them here and there. I liked the 110 I had, and wanted something in a similar size. I worked as a mate on a charter fishing boat on the weekends and when my hands were wet, opening a slipjoint stockman or scout knife was hard. Plus the carbon rusted pretty easily in the salt water. This hardware store had very few lockback knives; if I remember correctly, they had the LB7 (the buck clone) and the 6ot, which was a sawcut-delrin-handled version with only a front bolster. (I don’t remember seeing the version with two bolsters or the staglon model.) what appealed to me though, about the 6ot (besides the modest price) was the lanyard hole. I beat that knife up. I cut wood, scraped glue, cut wire, used it as a screwdriver, punched holes in things, but bait, cut monofilament, cut wire fishing leaders, whittled, cut up boxes, cut rubber hose, punched holes in things, and completed a myriad of other tasks. I liked the grippiness of the sawcut delrin, and was pleased with the lanyard hole. I remember the knife didn’t hold an edge as long as the Buck 110, and some days I had to sharpen it after a day of use, but I remember it being a good, inexpensive, utilitarian knife. That knife is at the bottom of the ocean now. I’ve thought about replacing it for sh*ts and giggles, but I can get a better knife in a Buck 110 for less than what some USA Schrades are going for on the ‘bay these days. These days, I’m a Buck guy through and through, but for a poor college kid that Golden Bear served me well. I have some goon knife nut nostalgia for it.
Click to expand...
After all that, I don’t see how it was sharp enough to whittle!
 
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