Schrade 153UH - Need Help

A

aj4gq99

Joined
Jul 1, 2010
Messages
28
I'm posting this as a new thread because, being a newbie and a little slow, I posted to the Fathers Day thread. Sorry.

Hello to The Codger and everyone. This is my first post so if I'm in the wrong place or out of line, just stone me until I get it right. I have a Schrade 153UH that I bought new sometime between 1974 and 1983 or so. (Just wait, your memory may start failing you, too.) I'm trying to find out when it was made and get a rough idea of value to a collector or user. I have the knife with the sheath with the little stone in the pocket, no box or paperwork. On the right side of the blade heel (tang?) it is stamped SCHRADE and below that U.S.A.153UH; nothing on the left side. On the right side of the blade there is a faint SCHRADE with SUPER SHARP printed(?) below. On the right outside of the fingerguard is Uncle Henry in script; on the left is serial no 388486. The spacers on the what appears to be a real stag handle are white and black. I've sharpened the knife and have used it only a few times because the handle is just a little too small for my hand. I think it is in very nice condition with only minor sharpening/use marks.
Any help would be appreciated. Let me know what additional info you need.
Thanks,
Hart
 
Welcome Hart!

Judging by the S/N I'd fathom a guess (Codger'd likely be better at that than me) that the knife was made sometime in the mid to late seventies. Value is hard to judge without seeing pics, heck it's hard to judge anytime, the market can be mighty fickle, but you're probably looking at somewhere around forty bucks give or take ten.

Eric
 
Yours is a carbon steel version, which is good. Make sure if you sell it, it is described that way. Most of the 153UH knives are Stainless Steel, marked SCHRADE+.
 
Hart, these guys are pretty well spot on with their information. Late seventies is my guess as to the production period going just by the serial number. The GOlden Spike was introduced in 1973 (only a very few have been spotted with the earlier Schrade Walden tangstamp last used in 1972 and earliest 1973). Hunting knives did not sell in nearly the large volumes every year that pocket knives did, so a serial of 388,000 would have taken some years to come around.

We still aren't certain exactly when the switch was made from carbon steel blades to stainless, but documents indicate that serialization was to end in early 1980, and other documents suggest that stainless wasn't used on this pattern until circa 1994.

Condition of the sheath can be a big factor in resale value since they often fared worse than the knives over the years. A really nice sheath is therefore a plus.

Unless there is an unusual amount of scratching on the blade from the stone or pitting. Since your etch is still somewhat readable, I would guess this isn't the case with your knife.

Michael
 
Wow, you're all amazing. Thank you for the welcome. Late 1970s sounds about right now that your comments have stimulated the grey matter. Knowing that it is carbon steel is also very helpful. Mr. Codger, Sir, there is very little scratching and no pitting or staining. The sheath is in good condition, not damaged, there is darkening, almost black from the brass, where the fingerguard rests, and it has some minor scrapes from storage. I'm wondering if the handle is real stag or staglin and how can I tell?
I'd like to attach some pictures but so far I've failed to decipher the instructions on how to do so. If I could e-mail them to someone who would then post the pics, I'd be grateful.
Hart
 
Hart, if you can do it soon, email them to me and I will post them. Otherwist, got to tinypic.com and upload them there. Copy the " .....[IMG] tag and paste it in your post here. Easy even for us old Codgers!

My email is found by clicking my forum name at the top of this post.

As to real stag... a few were, but those usually had stainless blades and SCHRADE LTD. tangstamps. How to tell if it is Stag or Staglon Delrin? Compare the ridge detail to another one. If it is a near exact match, it came from the same mold.

[IMG]http://i47.tinypic.com/6s3ype.jpg
 
Yup, it looks just like in your picture. Amazing. Staglin - Delrin, whatever.
Couldn't see your e-mail address, so if you would send me one to aj4gq99 at gmail dot com, I'll pick it up and send you the pics. If that doesn't work, I'll try the IMG rout.
Thanks,
Hart
 
2hnmmap.jpg


207usl1.jpg


dnk1l5.jpg


un3ow.jpg
 
The Codger ( That would be Mr. Codger, to you) has saved the day and posted these pics. Opinions, gentlemen?
Hart
 
Just Michael will do. :eek:

It is Staglon which was Schrade's name for Dupont Delrin molded and dyed to look like stag. It does appear to be carbon steel, very lightly sharpened and not scratched at all. This shows very good self restraint on your part. Many new owners slid that stone all over their new knife and made a mess of fine scratches. The sheath appears to be correct and original with moderate "shelf/storage" wear. But it is still in good condition with complete snaps, relatively clean.

WHile we thought for a long time that more of this pattern were stainless than carbon, the opposite is actually true. Unlike most Uncle Henry knives which were stainless from introduction through the end of production, the Golden Spike 153UH was carbon from 1973 until nearly 1994, as mentioned above. Therefore, only ten years or so of the thirty years of production were stainless.

Nice example! :thumbup:
 
Just is an unusual first name, but so is Hart. Thanks for the assessment and kind words. Prior to 1981, I was very careful when honing or sharpening and then I bought a Lansky system which gave me sharp knives and pretty much eliminated my tendency to screw them up. There is a scratch about 1" long on the right side from the tip down and following the curve of the edge. It didn't show up in the pics. I loaned the knife to a deer hunting friend and he returned it when I was visiting his woodworking shop. I made a subtle comment about "There's dried blood on my knife, you *&^%$*." He grabbed the closest thing at hand, a piece of 320 grit sandpaper, and a quick swipe later, the blood was gone. It's not very visible if you're old and your vision's not real good.
I think I'd like to sell it and would appreciate some advice on where and how.
Thanks,
Hart
 
I recently got a 153UH along with many other knives from my dad's collection. It has been neglected a bit and would like to clean the blade and was wondering what is a good approach? It has been in the sheath for quite some time I would imagine, the blade is in great shape and the Schrade Super-sharp on the blade looksto be in great shape. any tips are appreciated.
 
Don't clean the blade with any of the metal polishes (Flitz, etc.) because that will remove the blade etch.
if you post a pic. better advice could be given, but possibly it needs little cleaning. there is no real need to make it shiny.
as a start, coat the blade with mineral oil and leave it on for 12 hours or so, then rub it off. may not remove much, but no harm to blade finish will have been done.
roland
 
I've used Eezox for a long time as a lubricant and a rust preventative on guns and just started using it on some knives. It's also a solvent which cleans off grease, etc. Has anyone had any experience with it?
Hart
 
not meaning to be coy here but just helpful but i am sure it will fit my hand just perfectly.

aj4gq99 said:
I'm posting this as a new thread because, being a newbie and a little slow, I posted to the Fathers Day thread. Sorry.

Hello to The Codger and everyone. This is my first post so if I'm in the wrong place or out of line, just stone me until I get it right. I have a Schrade 153UH that I bought new sometime between 1974 and 1983 or so. (Just wait, your memory may start failing you, too.) I'm trying to find out when it was made and get a rough idea of value to a collector or user. I have the knife with the sheath with the little stone in the pocket, no box or paperwork. On the right side of the blade heel (tang?) it is stamped SCHRADE and below that U.S.A.153UH; nothing on the left side. On the right side of the blade there is a faint SCHRADE with SUPER SHARP printed(?) below. On the right outside of the fingerguard is Uncle Henry in script; on the left is serial no 388486. The spacers on the what appears to be a real stag handle are white and black. I've sharpened the knife and have used it only a few times because the handle is just a little too small for my hand. I think it is in very nice condition with only minor sharpening/use marks.
Any help would be appreciated. Let me know what additional info you need.
Thanks,
Hart
Click to expand...
 
I'm sure there was no coyness involved. Here's how we test the hand fit. First take a sufficient number of $20 bills and hold them in your hand until your hand feels slightly over full. Mail said $20 bills to me and I'll have the knife mailed to you. There is a money back guarantee. If the knife doesn't fit your hand perfectly, I guarantee to not give you your $20 bills back. Deal?
Hart
 
I like the old spaghetti westerns like "A fistful of dollars". Imagine what you can get for "A few dollars more"! :p
 
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