Schrade 152OT Sharpfinger

As a fledgling Sharp Finger fan, I thank you very much for this thread. Lots of great info that really makes the itch one that must be scratched.
 
I've scratched my head with a Sharpfinger before. Be careful! :D

I really need to update this research and fill in a few details.
 
One of my latest two additions is a 1976-77 Guns & Ammo SFO for Peterson Publishing, one of 20,200 ordered. I already had one but this one comes in it's original postmarked box. The postmark is 1983 and it comes with a brown SAS19 pouch style sheath which was current for 1983. Custom stamp and shield, black Delrin handle.



Another is a 1988 SFO for L.L. Bean. Records indicate 788 shipped that year. As far as I can tell it has the standard stamp with custom shield.

 
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Thought you might like to see a few Sharpfingers and their close cousins, the 154OT's.




 
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Hi from Australia,Thank You Codger for the History of the 152.
People like you make us all remember, America is a very proud nation.
Mr. Taylor’s knives are missing just 3 letters “USA”. Sixty years ago I was told those letters stood for Quality.
My 152 came in a Brown box ... Ken
 
You're welcome Ken. Sometimes I think we are too proud and other times not enough. I had the great pleasure yesterday of meeting a forum member who worked at Schrade and whose extended family worked at Schrade. While the meeting was too brief because of schedules, it was quite refreshing to discuss many aspects of Schrade with a fellow collector who had as deep of an appreciation of the history as I. We covered a lot of ground in that brief time.

I wish that we could have a week-long convention of Schradeophiles from all over the world. I would like to hear a lot more stories of Schrade history from firsthand sources. I do what I can researching through the sources I can find, but by far the best confirmation of information comes from the people who made the knives. I am in awe of the depth of collective memory they have of the company, the principal owners and management and the knives. In fact, if I had the time, skill and wherewithall, I should like nothing better than to seek out each and every one for a personal indepth interview to record their knowledge.
 
Thanks for the pics Codger! Knife "Family Photos" really entice me. I wish all us Schrade fans weren't spread so far and wide as well. Most folks I know don't give a hoot about such things. That's a whole lot of 152/154 variations! Nice to see them all lined up. :thumbup::thumbup:
 
There are a few 158's in there too. and the "HUNTING" shielded black handled 154's that were Peterson Publishing SFOs along with the "GUNS & AMMO" sharpfingers. The green one is, IIRC, a SKOAL Ltd. And I have a few more that didn't get dug out of boxes in time for the family portrait like the 100th anniversary issue. The 154UH is a hard one to find now and I am yet to score a 158UH.

I just got a NIB 3rd sheath variant today (first handle retainer strap, 1st tang stamp). Alas it has the wrong papers, but correct Schrade Cutlery fold down woodgrain box, knife and sheath.

ETA: I should mention that one of the Sharpfingers in the above photos is the barely known 512OT, the 440 stainless variant ordered for Europe.
 
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I can't recall that I've ever seen a 158UH gut-hook. It must indeed be elusive. Any total production numbers on the 158UH?

The 512OT is news to me as well. Thanks for continuously challenging my muddled memory with more patterns!
 
Dave Thinkstoomuch said:
I can't recall that I've ever seen a 158UH gut-hook. It must indeed be elusive. Any total production numbers on the 158UH?

The 512OT is news to me as well. Thanks for continuously challenging my muddled memory with more patterns!
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Quoted from my 2006 post on the subject of the 512OT:

In early March of 1991, an order was received by Tim Faust, products Manager at ISC Ellenville, from the European sales office for five special Old Timer patterns for export only. These knives, designated “Product Family - Old Timer Europe”, were the19OT, 126OT, 226OT, 512OT, and 518OT, all based upon domestic patterns, but with unique tang stamps and stainless blades. All were specified to be placed in black varnished boxes with gold imprinting, and packed with a standard OT/UH brochure.


19OT - A two blade pen knife, stainless blades and springs, OT handles.
Est. Qty. 1991: 600
Total Produced: 1,835
Total shipped to Europe: 251

126OT - One blade Mustang, stainless blade, OT handles, same knife as 125OT except stainless.
Est. Qty. 1991: 1,000
Total Produced: 1,483
Total shipped to Europe: 637

226OT - Same knife as 225OT except stainless.
Est. Qty. 1991: 500
Total Produced:
Total shipped to Europe: 953
(A subsequent order for this pattern appeared in 1994 for 500 pieces)

512OT - Same knife as 152OT except stainless.
Est. Qty. 1991: 750
Total Produced: 2,181
Total shipped to Europe:25

518OT - Same knife as 158OT except stainless.
Est. Qty. 1991: 600
Total Produced: 2,246
Total shipped to Europe: 26

It is unknown exactly what became of these knives, other than the numbers shipped to Europe, except that some of the 19OT and 512OT have shown up on the U.S. market in regular production boxes, and they dwindled in the year end inventory without showing shipment to Europe. I am yet to acquire an example of the 19OT, 518OT, 126OT, or 226OT. No record has been found indicating that the subsequent 1994 order for the 226OT was ever filled. Oddly, the tangstamp order blueprint for the 512OT is dated 9-28-90. The whole story is as yet unknown.
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30-1991-512OT1568326959.jpg
 
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Codger_64 said:
Thought you might like to see a few Sharpfingers .... In the back row are the copies, the TBLLC knife in the trick package, United Cutlery Outdoor Life, Pakistani, and Winchester by CK&T.
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Very nice collection. I'm impressed.

In the front row.. the knife closest to the photographer.. would that perhaps be a Gran' Pa?
 
citytransplant said:
Very nice collection. I'm impressed.

In the front row.. the knife closest to the photographer.. would that perhaps be a Gran' Pa?
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Good eye! Yes, it is. It's main visual cue is the oval shield. I used it once this fall to help in the skinning and butchering of a buck and could tell no real difference in feel or function between the Camillus GP152 and the original Schrade 152OT, both in carbon steel. Out of curiosity and anal attention to detail, I recently asked a former Camillus design engineer if they had ever made the Sharpfinger for Schrade prior to it's closing. I had thought that there may have been dies or fixtures remaining in-house when Schrade closed making the tooling setup for the Camillus verion less expensive. He told me no. However, as with most things Schrade, conflicting information has come to light. At least one Schrade SFO New Product order for a 152OT states that the components were to be sent to Camillus for assembly. And so it goes.

I've not done an indepth search of records for it, but my impression is that the 158UH was an SFO which merely substituted the Staglon 152UH/154UH covers for the standard 158OT covers, and was not a cataloged item, much like the uncommon 15UH that appears from time to time.
 
Mid Term Test!

Here is another Sharpfinger NIB. See if you can estimate it's production year.

16jh9qh.jpg

k4tf0y.jpg

2m7bv2s.jpg
 
protourist said:
Is that a 1975 model?
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Nope. Go back to the first couple of posts in this thread where I identify the sheaths. This is the correct sheath and box for this knife.

Here is a NIB knife, sheath and box from 1974-75.

35-197475-NIB1568327040.jpg

35-197475-Stamp1568327112.jpg
 
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Codger_64 said:
Nope. Go back to the first couple of posts in this thread where I identify the sheaths. This is the correct sheath and box for this knife.

Here is a NIB knife, sheath and box from 1974-75.

2gyaqfs.jpg
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1983 was a very good year...
 
Darn close. That is my estimation, 1983-1985. Circa 1985 they changed the box design from the woodgrain to the tan "Sharp Idea" box. Also, circa 1984-85 they began using Imperial Schrade Corporation instead of Schrade Cutlery Corporation as Baer had absorbed Imperial. The SAS19 first appeared in 1983 as an accessory sheath and with the Scrimshaw edition of that year. There was some mix and match with the sheaths though between the more common sheath with the handle retainer strap as it was sometimes used and sometimes not until they gave up on the pouch sheath design entirely. The earliest had the choil retainer straps, first with a pointed tip as above, and then with a rounded end. I may be able to estimate the test knife more closely when it arrives, by looking at the enclosed paper. If it advertises a pattern not made in 1983, or one not made in 1984...
 
Codger_64 said:
Darn close. That is my estimation, 1983-1985. Circa 1985 they changed the box design from the woodgrain to the tan "Sharp Idea" box. Also, circa 1984-85 they began using Imperial Schrade Corporation instead of Schrade Cutlery Corporation as Baer had absorbed Imperial. The SAS19 first appeared in 1983 as an accessory sheath and with the Scrimshaw edition of that year. There was some mix and match with the sheaths though between the more common sheath with the handle retainer strap as it was sometimes used and sometimes not until they gave up on the pouch sheath design entirely. The earliest had the choil retainer straps, first with a pointed tip as above, and then with a rounded end. I may be able to estimate the test knife more closely when it arrives, by looking at the enclosed paper. If it advertises a pattern not made in 1983, or one not made in 1984...
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Thank you for the continuing education. I sure appreciate it.
 
If you hadn't noticed, I am continuing to educate myself. I am just sharing the process here.

This is the first revision of the sheath, a minor thing, the end of the retainer strap is now rounded. If you have ever seen a well-used first revision, the pointed tab tended to show wear rather quickly with the tip curling and fraying. We don't know for sure when this minor change was made, but it was evidently early on. We can't trust the catalog illustrations because the artwork was recycled. The Scrimshaws are the most easily datable as are a few or the SFO's, so that is a good place to find a general rule of the timeframe for sheath changes.

39-2nd-Sheath1568327212.jpg
 
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Codger_64 said:
If you hadn't noticed, I am continuing to educate myself. I am just sharing the process here.

Codger, now you have me looking at the straps on my old 152 knives. You have spent some time on these Sharpfingers.
I do have a "GUNS & AMMO" 152 also ... Ken
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