Schrade Old Timer 34OT

Joined
Oct 20, 2003
Messages
284
Well, I recently purchased a Schrade Middleman 3.25-inch Stockman, the 34OT. When I got the knife, I was a little disappointed. The fit and finish was flawless. Sure, the knives are not much to look at (delrin handles) but there were NO, absolutely NO, defects of any sort. (The 8OTs I purchased before for some friends also came without any defects, so I think the quality is the norm, rather than an exception) I discovered, however, that the blades were NOT, in fact, 1095, but rather, 420HC. I was ready to relegate it to the 'collection' bin, but I was out of town for the week and this was the only knife I had on me.

The knife came pretty dull. Not useless dull, but it would barely slice paper. Reprofiling it was very easy, and at 40 degrees, it was very, very sharp. I polished it up to 1000-grit (I was not intending to keep the knife very long) and left town the next day, with this as my only EDC.

Well, my father and I went to the grocery store, and when we got home, I had to open a good deal of packaging with the knife. I found the little knife really growing on me. It was very small and unobstrusive, and the blades opened with a nice twack. No nail-breaking springs, but a solid opening nonetheless. The narrow, thin blades went through the packaging without any hesitation. Cutting other materials with it was a joy as well.

I found the steel very workable and easy to sharpen, and it would take a very, very nice edge. Whatever Schrade did with the 420HC, they did it well!

All in all, I'd say this is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a rather cheap slipjoint. I got mine for around 22$ (28$ shipped), and I think it was money well spent.
 
Ivan,

I have a Schrade 34OT and mine is 1095 for sure. It turned rather gray over the years but is still a cool little knife. The main blade wobbled a little on mine when I got it and it still does. I am an idiot when it comes to sharpening knives and 1095 steel is definetly very easy to sharpen even for an idiot like me. Enjoy your knife.

S.
 
I have a 340T aswell, i know what you mean when you say it came dull. Mine did too. $7 or $14 (i forget) discounted at wal-mart. :)
 
I picked up a 340T the other day at Walmart (clearance $8.50) and found that the blades do in fact appear to be stainless steel. :grumpy:

Tom
 
Has Schrade changed the OT line to 420HC? It has been a few months since I bought an OT, so I dont know.

How is the blade stamped, Schrade or Schrade+ ?
 
I like Schrade+ stainless. No, it's not S30V or anything, but it doesn't really need to be. On a slipjoint of this size, 420HC or 440A is fine with me. If anything, the Schrade+ is at least heads and shoulders above Case's Tru-Sharp in my experience.

With that said, I'm very sad to see Schrade abandon their 1095 carbon steel. I really love the 1095, and it probably means that my hopes for a carbon steel Middleman with bone scales are gone forever.
 
Richard said:
Has Schrade changed the OT line to 420HC? It has been a few months since I bought an OT, so I dont know.

How is the blade stamped, Schrade or Schrade+ ?



The blade is only stamped Schrade. There have been other threads in this and other forums about this. One person reported that only one blade on a stockman style knife was stainless.

Tom
 
There have been comments in the Schrade forum about the steel in Old Timers, it seems that for the moment they are using 420HC (which is their Schrade+ stainless at this time), but plan to return to 1095, I have a 34OT bought December 2003 that is marked Schrade (no "+" sign) yet is stainless.

Also, I believe that in the past not all OT models were 1095, I have one old OT stockman and a couple of old OT lockblades that are Schrade+.
 
Morgoth412 said:
Are you sure it is an Old Timer and not an Uncle Henry?
-Kevin

I am not sure exactly how old it is but he has obviously had it for some time by the looks of it. I will check again when I get the chance, but I am pretty sure it was an Old Timer.

Tom
 
My old Schrade+ OTs are 3OT lockbak, 5OT lockback and 98OT stockman, I don´t remember when I got them, probably mid 90´s.
 
May I revive a thread? LOL
Like the history, have a 34ot and 8ot.
Blades dont say 'China' - maybe still in the store room after the sale to overseas?
 
Love old threads. I have several Schrade USA's (34OT, 194OT, 98OT, 3OT, 895UH & 897UH) and I have to say the F&F is just about perfect on all of them. When you consider the price point, even when adjusted for inflation, Schrade made a helluva knife. eople brag about GEC but you pay a lot more to get what was standard at Schrade,
 
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