Schrade 152OT Sharpfinger

Hello again, I have a few more questions. Maybe Codger can answer them.

Since I bought and started EDCing my Sharpfinger (it sits on my hip as I write this) both my mother and father have asked about it, handled it and expressed interest in having one. Hey, apparently a good knife sells itself. Anyhow, my dad's a carpenter by trade like I am, and my mother is a gardener by inclination. Since they expressed interest I've been trying to hunt up good user-knives for them on Ebay. I tried to get my father a real vintage Schrade for Christmas last year, but Ebay defeated me; I was forced to buy him a Taylor clone. Don't hate me, it is more or less the same knife and I wanted to see if he'd actually like it in use. My dad is a mad-scientist craftsman, and like most of his kind he's real persnickety about what tools he bonds with. No one can predict which ones he'll like until he tries them.

But in the end, he told me he likes the Sharpfinger, so I went hunting for a real one. recently I found him a good user on the bay. It's a standard-issue Sharpfinger in a third-pattern sheath, in good shape. The sheath is a little munged, but since my dad will likely be keeping it in a tool drawer rather than wearing it on his belt, not a problem. The knife itself is in excellent shape.

For my mother, I went hunting for a stainless Sharpfinger. Why? Well, again she's a gardener, and wants the knife for gardening tasks. Plant acids and dirt are hell on carbon-steel blades. Plus, she wants to add it to the tool belt she hangs up in her unheated, drafty garden shed...an environment otherwise known as "the place carbon-steel tools go to die". So a carbon-steel Sharpfinger was right out for her.

Recently I found a Sharpfinger that could work for her; according to the Ebay article its a 1979 Guns & Ammo model with a stainless steel blade. It's a beautiful knife, and considering its age its in great shape according to the pictures, although its not "new in box". I won the auction so I'm gonna get it, but there's a problem; mom doesn't much care for gun culture.

Which leads to my questions; how rare is this knife? I had the idea of having the GUNS & AMMO handle plaque ground off and replaced with my mom's initials, but would that destroy a rare collector's item? Was there a '79 Guns & Ammo Sharpfinger released or is Ebay lying to me?

(Note: scored it for $33 + shipping and taxes, so no matter what I end up doing with it I feel happy.)

Also, the knife I bought for my father showed up today (yay!) and my fiancee and I were examining it. Since she has an eclectic background, she remarked that the "SCHRADE U.S.A. 152" stamp seemed way too deep for necessity's sake. She's not wrong; the stamp marks are in fact way thicker than my '81 vintage knife, and she pointed out how there was substantial 'dishing' around said stamp marks. She wondered if maybe the knife steel grew milder in later years of manufacture but nobody adjusted the hydraulic press to compensate. Can Codger speak to this difference in stamping style?
 
The G&A knives are 1095 carbon steel, not stainless. For stainless you have to buy either a 152UH Uncle Henry, or one of the last Sharpfingers made circa 2000-2004. You can recognize them by their different grind. Hollow ground, not the traditional plain ground. All that said, the G&A knives are not rare. There were many thousands made and sold. So alter it if you wish.

Depth of the tang stamps did vary. A new die would mark nicely without having to be excessively deep. As the die wore, it had to be struck deeper after each repair. And too, the steel stock thickness varied somewhat over the years. And within each of the three distinct style stamps there were surely multiple stamps made since there were millions of the Sharpfingers made. Did that make sense?
 
Thanks for the info, Codger. The Guns & Ammo Sharpfinger showed up yesterday and while its a beautiful knife (and its in really good shape), you're right; it's carbon steel, not stainless. It was well-polished (that and the seller's assertion that it was "stainless steel" was what fooled me), but mild pitting on the spine of the blade revealed the difference. My search for a good knife for my mother continues. I guess she'll have to deal with a hollow grind. Ah well, a hollow grind might work better for gardening purposes.

Also, I might have been bitten by the collector-bug; I currently have three Sharpfingers, another is en route to my mailbox and I have two active bids. I'm telling myself that I'm just looking for the "right" knife, but my lady just knowingly shook her head at me and said, "no honey, this is how it starts". I'll make an Imgur account soon to document my finds.

As an aside, in my canvassing of Ebay I did come across what I believe to be an NIB 1977 Scrimshaw model (I'd link it here but apparently there are rules against linking active auctions), that you might be interested in. Just a heads-up. :)
 
Glad you are enjoying the Sharpfingers and spreading the joy! And thanks for the heads-up on the Scrimshaw. I keep a running search on there and see most of what goes through, though not all. That issue is one I have already. But I just bought one SFO Ducks Unlimited and am watching some others. I am still amazed at how many different ones they made. It won't take you long to find a stainless one if you keep looking. Particularly if you will settle for a lightly used one. But then it will be at a good price point. Happy hunting!
 
Oh yeah, the Ducks Unlimited knife. With the help of a kind friend, I have this one coming in the mail. I know very little about it yet. No papers and no previous sightings. Other than one photo archived from way back of one like it for Wisconsin DU, 1 of 200. This one, hopefully you can read the lasered text, is Kansas, 1 of 75. Kinda suggests that similar editions may have been made at the same time for other state chapters either through an event promotion company or the National DU organization.

466-Kansas-DU1568222693.jpg

I see a few hints as to the date. First, it is based upon a plain ground 502SC blade which would be 1999 or earlier. And the most obvious, lasered presentation box with hinged lid. The first of this style box I remember seeing was the 1987 Federal Duck Stamp issue. So while not exact, they give us an approximate time span of 1987 - 1999, a twelve year window. Note also the smooth solid color Delrin handle. Hopefully one of you will have some helpful information on these knives?
 
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That's a nice find, Codger.

I just bought my first new-in-box; its a Scrimshaw model with a drop-pouch sheath. I paid $45 for it, should be in my mailbox around Monday.

Speaking of the pouch sheath, I bought one and yes that solves all the southpaw issues for me. It's easy to draw, easy to put away and rides even more comfortably than either the first or third-pattern sheaths did. So, we have a winner!

Also, here's my collection thus far:

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Leftmost is the knife I've been carrying lately; again, the pouch sheath works for me. Next over is I believe a late 80s/early 90s model I bought and ended up selling to a co-worker (currently he's on a fishing trip with it, hopefully he catches a lot of fish). Next is the 1981 Scrimshaw model I first bought and fell in love with, although the sheath was definitely a pain in the ass. Last but not least is the Guns & Ammo model. I plan on keeping that one.
 
The Peterson Guns & Ammo issue also came in the pouch sheath as well as the choil strap sheath yours came in.

"Honey" is right though. This is how it starts. Like opening a can of Pringles to eat one chip. I can't tell you yet how many Sharpfinger chips are in the can though. After more than fifteen years of noms, I am still finding new ones every month to add to my collection of (research materials)!
 
@Codger: Yeah, I've seen examples on Ebay of G & A Sharpfingers in pouch-style sheaths, unfortunately both I saw were a tad over-priced for me. I'll keep hunting.

Question; you said a few posts ago that a stainless "Sharpfinger" would have to be an Uncle Henry 152. Well, I have one in my bidding sights and its around $100. That seems a bit steep. Is it?

Anyhow, since I took delivery of two new knives (including my first NiB), here's my current collection:

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The top left example is slated to go to my father as a gift. The middle-right one (a.k.a "the ugly one") is a knife I picked up for $12 and bought it solely to experiment with methods to restore users. I figure what the hell, I can't make it any worse than it already is.

The bottom-right example is weird; it came with an obviously aftermarket left-handed sheath that is totally ghetto - like, I wore this knife for five minutes and was all "NOOOPE" with that sheath. Nylon and Velcro are apparently not for me.

I figure I'll match it with the beater knife and try to flip it if I can restore the beater to something like usable condition, and put the nicer knife in the right-handed pouch-style sheath once I have a custom lefty pouch-sheath made for me.

Also, just closed the deal on what as far as I can tell was an absolute STEAL; A 1975 new-in-box limited edition "Grand Dad's Sharp Finger" set.

Edited to Add: Hopefully this image link works. Here's what I bought:

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Nice GDOT! Should be a serial on the pile side ricassso.

Stainless? Well, eventually they were all stainless though not marked as such. The last few years they switched the grind from the traditional plain grind to a hollow grind on the 152OT. All of those I have seen are stainless. Also many of the later plain grind limited editions and Scrims may be stainless. Yes, you are a bit high on the 152UH IMHO. Unless it is perfect, new in the box with all papers and sheath and you intend to keep it that way. I see users go for half that quite often.

But for gardening, unless she plans on planting the knife, carbon steel will do just fine. Even left out in the weather and sun, they do survive and can be sharpened and cleaned as needed. I have one I bought recently that was evidently lost outdoors and found much later. Dye on the handle is almost entirely gone. Blade has deep pits. But it would not take much to put it back in good usable condition, even with some pits. Try oil and an abrasive green Scotchbrite pad from the dish wash section at Wal-Mart. You might be surprised.
 
Yup, there is a serial...it reads "7427 LTD". I'm real happy about finding it, considering I scored it for $37 +shipping.

Thanks also for letting me know about the pricing on 152UHs. That one seemed a little extreme. I'll let it go.

When it comes to my mom and the Sharpfinger, At the end of the day I'm thinking I'll let her have the Taylor clone and stop there. The reason; she has abnormally small hands, and the Taylor (which is smaller, thinner and shorter than the vintage Sharpfinger) apparently works for her. My dad gave her the knife I gave him (knowing that I have a knife to give to him), and she flat out loved it. So, no need to look for a different knife for her. Also, she likes how the Taylor is not expensive so she doesn't need to feel bad about beating it up if necessary - which can happen, the way my mom likes to garden.

Both my parents are hell on tools, lol.
 
Here is one I recently came across. Standard 152OT but with added blade etch for a small company, D & K Coal Co., Summerville, WV. Nothing fancy. Likely cost them .35 cents each over the base wholesale price.

D--K-Coal-Co-31568222904.jpg
 
My favorite Schrader sharpfingers 152s are the GUNS AND AMMO and the Presentation Limited Editions Boxed Grand Dads Sharpfinger.
Interestingly enough the number 152 does not appear on the blades stamp of either knife.
“Note I have seen one guns and ammo knife with the common 152 stamp”
The knives of this period are of the original thicker stock blade and black delrin handles.
Usually can be found in very good condition considering there age.
 
Hi Old Mate,
The knife above has "honey/brown" bone handles, and came in a special order set. It looks much the same as the Blue bone set, with the same blade etch and shield. I have only one sharp-finger for the display, and two of each of the other knives.

Most of these knives, I have seen; do not have the blade etch or shield.
I believe these knives, were part of a special order that was cancelled. [2002-03]


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I see. Seems like I just thought the honey bone was red from that picture. IIRC, Eric once told us the sets were made for customer Chromate.
 
I just upgraded to a well-made leather and alligator sheath for my customized H. Williams Sharpfinger. I felt his fine fixed-blade creation deserved an upscale sheath to complete the package. Three of the seller's pics below. I will post some pics of my knife with this sheath when I get them taken.

Any 152OT would be happy in one of these. It's saddle-stiched and fully welted as all good sheaths should be. I think the maker did a good job of reverse engineering and adding the welt etc while keeping it looking just like the originals.

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Here is a neat SGS-1 gift set for Quail Unlimited. I don't think there were too many of these event enhancement sets made for them.
SGS1-Quail-Unlimited-11568223051.jpg

SGS1-Quail-Unlimited-21568223096.jpg

As you can see, they only chose two custom options... the logo foil printed on the box lid and the custom blade etches.
 
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