Another newbie with a question

T

tropical

Joined
Dec 20, 2005
Messages
5
Have always loved knives and collected without any idea what i was doing. i've recently begun to organize my collection and am trying to learn as much about my knives as i can. from Schrade, i've got an OT Grandad's Barlow Special Edition in the box and the subject of my question today, my 897UH

the 897 is the knife my grandfather carried in his pocket every day. when he died some years ago, the knife came to me. it's a great knife although it has seen plenty of use. what i'd like to do is to identify the handle material (staglon, but would be nice to know what the color is called) and figure out how old the knife is for my files.

the knife is in the original box (brown leather-look with "Uncle Henry" across the top in gold script and "897UH" in gold on one end) with the "Guarantee Against Loss" registration form and a small fold-up brochure showing the Uncle Henry signature collection still with it. it has the standard shaped shield with "Stainless" engraved on it and has handle scales of a light to medium brown color in a jigged bone look. the turkish clip point blade is marked Schrade Walden Stainless NY USA and the paperwork is all marked Schrade Cutlery Corp. Ellenville New York.

Can you tell the age from this info? if not, is there a way I can figure it out? either way, it is a great knife with a lot of history and it will be with me for a long time.
 
You have most of the puzzle pieces to determine the approximate age of the knife. They were first made in 1967, and the name changed from Schrade Walden in 1973 1/2 to Schrade Cutlery. The copyright dates on the papers might give more clues. A picture or scan would help me.

Here is a thread where this pattern is discussed.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=343968&highlight=897UH

Codger

Welcome to the forum Tropical!
 
Codger, thanks for the reply. it seems you are the go to guy on this topic. i will get a few pics made and post them in a day or two.

as to any copyright dates, i don't find any. at least nothing obvious. on the guarantee form there is a number (5084) in the bottom corner of the mail-in portion and on the brochure there is a number (3226) along one of the folds.

the paperwork says to find the serial number stamped on the liner but it is not visible on my knife. any suggestions for cleaning up the liners?

a couple more questions, does the fact that the shield on my knife is marked "stainless" instead of "Uncle Henry" mean anything? the pic in the brochure shows the shield on all the UH pocket knives marked "Uncle Henry." also, the bolsters on the knife in the pic are plain but mine have a line stamped into them. any significance? and finally, the brochure calls the 897UH a pocket knife, not a stockman or premium stockman.

anyway, i'll get on the pics (need a set for all my knives, i guess) and i'll post them asap. thanks again for your help and your kind welcome.
 

I have one made like the earlier open stock knives. It has the same "stainless" shield, but not pinched bolsters. The top knife in the scan is a 787. LT? Del? Larry? Redshanks? Someone help us out here?

Codger
 
Tropical,
Please take a close look at the tang on the main blade. Use a magnifiier if need be and verify that is says 897UH.
I have not seen the stainless stamp on the shield of a UH (but Im still new at this compared to a few here too) before but as Michael shows us the open stock did put stainless on the shield and there is a knife that looks like the 897 with the stagalon type handle that was from the open stock. I cant find it right now but as I remember we talked about it in a thread sometine early last year.
Posting a picture of the knife will sure help but the guessing is fun too.
TTYL
Larry
P.S. Who says LT has a lock on run on sentences!
 
SCHRADE+
USA 897UH

This is the tangstamp on the bottom knife in the picture.
Sorry for the lousy scan. The shield is "Stainless" in script.

Codger
 
Sounds more like the knife not matching the box, I'm not familiar with an 897UH having pinched bolsters. As lrv (Larry) said, look at the tang stamp on the main blade.
 


Hey, wait a minute....are those folders? And they're all mine (not the 95th anniversary one).:eek:

Codger

(897LTD. Second cut bone has pinched bolsters)
 
Excuse me...pardon me...

Oh hell, I already did that one. I've got some folder envy going on here...those are very nice Michael...please send them all to me...(he,he)...:D

Bill

P.S.
It sounds more like a scored bolster (line stamped)...not necessarily pinched.
 
Yeah, well, could be but... that's a folder term, and I wouldn't want to sully my vocabulary by learning the right terms. Heck, if I did that, someone might think I actually know what I'm talking about. I wouldn't want to give folks the wrong impression. Besides, I don't even own one of the 897UHs with the punched boosters. Yet. By the way, the Lewis and Clark 897 had lines on the metal end thingies.

I don't have one of those either. Maybe I can get a loaner. Bill. William. Larry. Dale. Bob. Kent. Del. Rich. Phil. Tom. Dick. Harry.

But then again, that might just be the folder that pushes me over the edge, to the point of no return, right up to the hilt. I'll just sit here with my picture collection. It really is cheaper to just collect pictures, you know.

Codger (there is a grovel hidden in here for those skilled enough to find it. For the rest of you, it is just a cleaverly hidden subliminal message):)
 
Codger,
Of course you are quite knowledgeable about all types of knives and knifelore...and I hope everyone knows I was just goading and teasing you a bit about FOLDER jargon. :)
In fact, it appears as though you have scored some very nice folders for your collection.


Bill
 
Why Irv...er, lARRY.....

Schrade blue balls, of course.

Here is a FOLDER I once scored from a forum member. :cool:

Bill

P.S.
Hey Tropical, I forgot to say welome...:eek:
Are you on the River?
 
Welcome tropical,

Pinched ?, sounds like a curse word in Spanish...

Luis


Click to enlarge
(With thanks to Phil)
 
Pinched bolsters:
I looked over my OT and UH lines and only found 2 with fancy bolsters.
The 2OT has what was called a Washington bolster and the 858OT hasa bolster with the pinched line seen on the previous knife pictures.

Now nothing is ever written in stone reguarding the Schrade pattern lines but from what I have seen and with the examples published so far, I'd venture to say the pinched bolsters go with limited/special editions. The DU multiblade's I have, have the pinched bolsters as do many of the anniv, cigar box and blue boned knives.

As for Codgers 897UH with the brown jigged handles and Stainless shield... I dunno. I await the Schrademiester to straighten this all out for us.

TTYL
Larry
 
I apologize in advance for these quick (and crummy) pictures...:eek:

The top knife is a 100th Anniversary stockman...with both bolsters scored/threaded and pinched at the tips.

The second knife is a NKCA version with only the squared bolster at the foot being pinched.

I may have done some tipping and pinching :)eek: ) when I was much younger...but as I recall, I rarely scored. :rolleyes:

Just for some fun and comparison, and to BOLSTER Codger's folder jargon. :D

Bill
 
Not being a knife collector,I guess pinched means squeezed.
The fella that did that operation on the assembly line sure must have powerful arms and hands! or did they do that with a press?
I learn something new every day on here!!:)
 
Well, the bolsters of an 897UH are solid, not shells that are stamped out of sheet metal, then "pinched" , or the decorative line put in. The 897 is "keyhole construction", not pinned like many knives. They seem to be cast with, or without the decorative line. The term, and what they imitate goes back to the medevial days of knifemaking, so again, we need to call upon the Schrademeister to 'splain it to us.

Codger
 
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