It has been almost exactly two months since I first posted the question of Honesteels and I began delving into their production history. I still have not come up with definitive answers to a lot of questions, but I do understand better the time periods of their production, and the varients that were produced over the span of their manufacture. Here is what I have come up with so far with the help of Larry and others.
HS1 Honesteel Research
The Schrade HS1 Honesteel was a unique knife sharpener which came boxed with a sheath, leather thong, and use instruction sheet. According to the Schrade instructions, its uses are; General sharpening on most cutting tools, Cracking Deer Pelvis, Wood Splitting and as a fish "billy". Touted by Schrade as "The Lazy Mans way to Sharpen", they were designed to be used without the need for oil or wetting agent. The unique sheath is designed as a handle for easier sharpening.
The Honesteel was patented by Henry B. Baer (“Uncle Henry”
, and assigned to Imperial Knife Associated Companies. The design patent was filed in June of 1971, and issued in July of 1973. The patent expired in 1984, fourteen years. The design claim allowed was “The ornamental design for a combination whetter and sheath”. The patent does not mention the tapered end, nor show the sheath deployed as a handle, or claim that it can be used as such. The patent drawings also show the finial as the bottom part of the female snap portion, though no claim for it’s use is mentioned. Neither is there mention of the honesteel’s surface texture or material, or uniqueness of it’s use. Those details would have been subject matter for a utility patent which evidently Henry’s patent attorney advised against, probably based on a search of prior utility patents. The patent issued July, 17, 1973 as #D-227733. The name “Honesteel” did not appear in the patent, where it was referred to as a “combination whetter and sheath”. “Honesteel” was a separate copyrighted trademark name.
The HS1 first appeared in the 1972 catalog with a stamp of SCHRADE - WALDEN over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL over PAT. PEND. Most of these came in a “Schrade-Walden” stamped sheath. These early ones had a single face bevel, later changed to a double bevel. Patent Pending stamps are more commonly seen with the Schrade tang stamp, indicative of the patent issue after mid 1973 when Schrade Walden became Schrade Cutlery. The Schrade-Walden (and early Schrade) HS1 Old Timer Honesteel appears with two holes in the handle. The first, smaller hole (0.262), is a thong (or lanyard) hole. The second, larger round hole (0.274), is for handle attachment into the finial when the Honesteel is reversed into the sheath. The first thongs were tied in a square knot, or included loose in the box. Later it was permanently attached with a metal cylindrical clamp band near the joined ends.
The Honesteel was listed in the 1973 Schrade Cutlery catalog as HS1 Hone Steel, patent pending, and sold for $10.00 with sheath/handle and thong. In 1975 it is also called the HS1 Hone Steel (picture notes still pending, though this may have just been an oversight) and sold for $11.00 with sheath/handle and thong.
By 1980, the name in the catalog was made one word, Honesteel (as it always was when stamped on the tool), the thong hole had been eliminated, and the second hole made teardrop shaped to facilitate the included thong while still allowing handle attachment, and the price was $15.00. The thong was shown permanently attached with a metal clamp band. Since the Honesteel this was seen on was mint and complete in the brown woodgrain folding box with the accompanying paperwork, this was a factory installed item.
In 1988 the price was $20.95 (thong not illustrated now), $22.95 in 1989, and $24.95 in 1991, and $25.95 in 1992. In the 1999 catalog it listed for $36.95, and the single hole for handle attachment was made round. The price was $37.95 in 2000, when it appeared alongside the new SK-1 diamond sharpener which sold for $9.99. Schrade dropped the HS1 Honesteel from the catalog in 2001, and from then until the closing, the SK-1 was the only hone offered by Schrade.
The sheath style stayed the same for the full production period, though variations in finish paralleled those of production knife sheaths. I have one circa 1980's with a tan suede sheath. Most I have seen have been either smooth brown polished leather or natural undyed polished leather like the replacement knife sheaths. It is a rectangular tubular folded sewn sheath with a small rivet at each end of the brown or white stitching for reinforcement. A male stud (sometimes called a finial) affixed to the interior engages the hole in the Honesteel when the sheath is used as a handle, and a bifold lateral flap has male and female snap studs for closure. The back of the sheath is folded over the back and riveted with two small rivets midway down the sheath back forming a belt hanger. The first sheaths were stamped “SCHRADE-WALDEN over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL”, though most of the sheaths seen are embellished with the identifying emboss "SCHRADE over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL"
The true composition of the Honesteel is, according to the included sheet, "high carbon cutlery steel" (I occasionally see one with rusted spots) and impregnated with chromium carbide. It seems to be several times harder than common steel, as I have never seen one worn out. They are seven inches long, 1" wide, and the end opposite the stamp and hole is tapered to a chisel shape, purportedly for splitting deer pelvis.
The aggressive surface texture is a modified file, striated lengthwise. It works well with most blade steels, but I find the handle contrivance to not be rigid enough to be of any help in actual use. Often when I see an older used unit, the back of the sheath shows signs of stropping, which is a good use. Schrade sold a good many of these over the years, and whether or not there were repeat customers for them, they are a useful tool. A set of the three main types makes for an interesting addition to any Schrade knife collection.
Type 1
Stamp: SCHRADE-WALDEN over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL over PAT. PEND.
Sheath Stamp: SCHRADE-WALDEN over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL
Thong: Tied
Holes: 2 round
Bevel: Single (front)
Stamp: SCHRADE-WALDEN over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL over PAT. PEND.
Sheath Stamp: SCHRADE-WALDEN over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL
Thong: Clamped
Holes: 2 round
Bevel: Double
Stamp: SCHRADE over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL over PAT. PEND.
Sheath Stamp: SCHRADE over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL
Thong: Clamped
Holes: 2 round
Bevel: Double
Stamp: SCHRADE over HS-1 PAT. NO. Over D-227,733
Sheath Stamp: SCHRADE over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL
Thong: Clamped
Holes: 2 round
Bevel: Double
Type 2
Stamp: SCHRADE over HS-1 PAT. NO. Over D-227,733
Sheath Stamp: SCHRADE over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL
Thong: Clamped
Holes: 1 teardrop
Bevel: Double
Type 3
Stamp: SCHRADE over HS-1 PAT. NO. Over D-227,733
Sheath Stamp: SCHRADE over OLD TIMER over HONESTEEL
Thong: none
Holes: 1 round
Bevel: Double
I still need to get a type 3, and as yet do not have a copy of the instruction sheet. The Honesteel I can find, but the instruction sheets are a bit harder to come by. Anyone have a spare? Or even a scan of one?
Codger
