schrade walden? cant find any info on it.

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Mar 12, 2006
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hello im looking for some info on this knife i bought on my uncles estate auction. On the tang it says SCHRADE for sure and 2 things under it that i cant make out for sure. I believe one says walden and the other looks like cutlery or something starting with c. on the other side it has 3 paten dates that read like this. dec 21-09 sept 13-10 june 6-16. it also has a button on it kind of like a switch blade any help would be great.the knife is 8 3/4 long open and 5 in closed with what looks like a bone handle. it also has a hand protector that folds up just like the knife does and is attached to the blade. and its just one blade. I would attach photos but i cant figure out how. if some one want to see them i know i can send the pics by e-mail let me know thanks Joel
 
Obviously, we need LT for a definitive answer.

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On page 57 of R.V.L.'s Collector's Guide to Switchblade Knives, there is a very similar knife, a Schrade Cutlery Company Hunter's Pride. The patent dates, swing guard, and overall appearance match, but the safety opening does not go all the way into the button opening. Perhaps this one is a repair, or has been altered or damaged? He says that the floating guard is often broken off and missing from these. He gives a model number of G1543 3/4 and a 4 7/8" length. Lt knows these like the back of his hand and can tell at a glance if I am wrong with this I.D. Hopefully he will be along directly. Sorry I can't help more, but my knowledge of these is poor at best!

Codger
 
Hello your knife is a Schrade Cut Co Hunters pride. Your tang should read Schrade Cut Co Walden NY US pats Dec21`,09 Sept 13,10 June 6, 16. It is a model G1543 3/4, and is 4,7/8" closed. Originally your knife had an electro etch with the words HUNTERS PRIDE. Your knife has jigged bone handles. the button is obviously for the release of the blade and the sliding piece is the lock. The bone between the lock and button has over the years broken. These knives were made by Schrade in jigged bone and celluloid under Schrade Walden and in a composite early imi jigged bone plastic under the tang marking of Schrade Walden from 1946 until 1956. In the condition your knife is in it is worth under 100 dollars ( retail ). much Less to a dealer even if that is all that is wrong with it. If this knife was mint in original condition it could bring well over 600 dollars if it could be restored to near mint condition 400 plus. Blade rust, the light tang markings handles ect would make it cost more to repair than it would be worth ( unless you did it yourself in which case unless you had another ( parts) knife the original handles are virtually impossible to find. I have attached some pics of these in various handle materials. Also these were made under contract to several other companies so i included a picture of a Diamond Shapliegh ( which was the same knife but contracted under there tang from Schrade ( as an example ). I also included a Schrade Walden in composite. If I may be of any further assistence please let me know. To the other forum members thankyou for advising me of the question and your regard on the subject. LT
 
I have noticed that the Baers continued to make this pattern for a while under the Schrade Walden tangstamp, or they continued in illustrations at least, through 1955 or so. Were they discontinued in '57, or '58? They bear the pattern number 153 then. All the features appear to remain the same as the SCC knives, though it is impossible to tell for sure from pictures. And the handle materials are not specified in the illustrations I have found. Still bone, comp and cell to the end?

Again, I must say that I recommend LT's book highly. ISBN 1-58160-283-9 if you search for it, or just order from the author, or the publisher.

Codger
 
They were discontinued after the switchblade laws of 58 actually earlier since they did not make them in Ellenville but rather only in Walden. A very few of the first ones ( when switching from Schrade Cut to Schrade Walden were in jigged bone.) However the vast majority were in composition. Yes as in all ( or at least the vast majority of patterns ) the number was shortened. These were not made in cell . If you find one in bone it is probably rehandled however the fact that a few were done this way gives legitimacy having one in bone. A handful were done in pearl these were usually ordered by people as special gifts or given to well known people ( ie Eisenhower ). A few were done in pearl to local people going to or coming back from Korea or similar special reasons. Some were done this way by the employees on special permission by Schrade to give as thankyou gifts to leaving or returning vets. Usually a son. A couple others to high ranking people . There were only a handful (perhapes a dozen maximum) as such they because of rarity and in some cases provenance, bring a premium. However 999 times out of a thousand the ones that come up are rehandled and not original a pearl side really boosts the value since there were so few and is virtually impossible to tell if it is a replacment if done properly. There was another floating cross guard model ( during this timeframe.) which was offered to the government as an alternative to the orange handle shroud cutter MC-1 which was accepted as the government para ie survival knife. This was offered to the government in a ( orange red plastic handled small hunter size ). This was the only small hunter floating guard style ever produced by Schrade. The government turned these down some were sold on post exchanges and some offered to the public. However Baer who was a close affialiate of the Sears Roebuck company sold the idea to them however in the full size hunter version not the original small. Same color handles ( an possibly one or two variations ) however usually in the red orange. These have become rather rare. Again all automatics ( EXCEPT THE GOVERNMENT CONTRACT MC-1 ) were discontinued after the idiot switch blade laws took effect. If you check the first pictures I posted you will see the comp version and should be able to decern that the pattern is the same. Thankyou for mentioning the book. LT
 
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This is my orange one, trying to pin down what year it is, if possible. I have read that it is early 1900's and I have seen other colors of celluloid handles, but none of this color. Mine also has the same Pat. Dates as the above knife
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