Recon what this is? It has a 97OT blade...

[Meridian_Mike]

I just found this on the bay. I thought it was an Uncle Henry at first. It has a single 97OT blade in it. No shield.....
Recon when this was put together??..... the rivets are dirty and (is this??) an older tang stamp???

Mike

[knives-are-quiet]

The knife looks re-handled to me. The scales look too pristine compared to the bolsters .
If it was re-handled by someone it was done very well.
It doesn't take much time for brass to tarnish up.
With a little ammonia it makes them tarnish real quick.
I can see machined sanding marks on the blade also.
Could be an original blade put on a Taylor brand body?
I'm no Schrade expert.

Mr. Orvet ???

[Meridian_Mike]

Yep, I looked at this knife as one that somebody had put together out of parts.
BUT... like you said, looks like somebody knew what they were doing.
If you look at the close-up of the tang stamp, you can see there is a little bit of nasty around the scale pin.... so, it was maybe done some years ago (??).
The 97 OT is supposed to have 2 blades so I know this is not a 97 OT..... Just what it is, I am not exactly sure....LOL.

Will the REAL 97 OT please stand up......

Yep, the one from the first post sure don't look nothing like this!

[treefarmer]

Meridian Mike, check this out: viewtopic.php?t=25825
Treefarmer

[tongueriver]

Yeah... I have seen several of those 97 whatevers, end of days knives.

[Meridian_Mike]

Meridian Mike, check this out: viewtopic.php?t=25825
Treefarmer

Well now...... There is my knife in Dale's pocket. The exact one......
What do you know.



Well, except for one thing..... mine is not a Schrade+

[kootenay joe]

A Schrade collector could collect these 'End of Daze' knives as a sub group of his Schrade collection. They are real Schrades, made with Schrade parts and assembled in Schrade factory by Schrade workers. You can tell which ones they are because of the mix & match of blades, frames and handles.
kj

[Mustanger]

Here are some of my End of Days knives. The Staglon scales come from Ducks Unlimited, SFO limited edition knives. I never have discovered where the yellow sawcut scales came from on the other one. Pretty neat knives regardless!

[Meridian_Mike]

So...... are most (or all) of these "end of days" knives out there showing up with 97 OT blades?

ALSO..... how were they sold? They weren't REALLY 97 OT knives....

I say SOLD but were they sold or given away?

This is very interesting to me.
This practice doesn't seem to have been used before (to this extent..????)

I know the knowledgeable ones here can help me understand what Schrade did at the end of their time.....

[Mustanger]

Just like SFO knives of the same general pattern, the EOD knives will have blades of whatever inventory is available. 97OT, 96OT, LTD, 296Y, 296SC, Heritage, etc.

I don't know how or even if Schrade sold the EOD knives before everyone went home from work for the last time.

They could have been sold as assets with everything else in the building after the doors closed for good. Just a guess. Tons of parts and stuff went that way.

It's not uncommon to see where Schrade used up extra inventory to make up SFOs and un-cataloged knives. The 8OTY Frontiersman and 34OTY Plainsman come to mind. Most SFOs had cataloged tang stamps (like 97OT) instead of their own custom stamp. These are my observations.

Knives shown below for example. The only one I own is the Scrimshaw SFO for Smoky Mtn. Knife Works. I can't say what the green and orange knives are unless they are EODs or unfinished SFO of some kind. The yellow one may be an unfinished H296 from the 1997 Heritage limited edition knives.

[kootenay joe]

The 97OT and 96OT at 4 1/8" are the largest Trapper in the Old Timer and Uncle Henry lines. They were first made in 2000. I'm sure Schrade thought they would sell well but they did not so this is likely why there were many "97OT" blades still available in 2004 when the factory closed.
I think the 97OT is The Best of all the Old Timer knives. The saw blade cuts well and does not bind. And there is a steel pick & tweezers in the handle end. It came with a sheath. PERFECT belt carry for the outdoors person.
kj

[tongueriver]

The 97OT and 96OT at 4 1/8" are the largest Trapper in the Old Timer and Uncle Henry lines. They were first made in 2000. I'm sure Schrade thought they would sell well but they did not so this is likely why there were many "97OT" blades still available in 2004 when the factory closed.
I think the 97OT is The Best of all the Old Timer knives. The saw blade cuts well and does not bind. And there is a steel pick & tweezers in the handle end. It came with a sheath. PERFECT belt carry for the outdoors person.
kj

Was this one Swinden construction or through-pin?

[Meridian_Mike]

The 97OT and 96OT at 4 1/8" are the largest Trapper in the Old Timer and Uncle Henry lines. They were first made in 2000. I'm sure Schrade thought they would sell well but they did not so this is likely why there were many "97OT" blades still available in 2004 when the factory closed.
I think the 97OT is The Best of all the Old Timer knives. The saw blade cuts well and does not bind. And there is a steel pick & tweezers in the handle end. It came with a sheath. PERFECT belt carry for the outdoors person.
kj

I agree 100%... the 96 OT and the 97 OT are great knives!
AND...I like their size too..... SO, that was one reason I jumped on the knife from my OP. The blade alone told me the size of that knife.

Thanks Roland!

[kootenay joe]

"Was this one Swinden construction or through-pin?"
I cannot see any evidence of a through pin, so probably Swinden.
kj

[orvet]

There have been Schrade parts available over the years that I have managed to purchase.
Here are some of the 96OT & 97OT parts I have in my parts stock. These particular parts do not have the springs held to the rear of the liner by a Swinden Key. The reason these parts probably did not get used during the end of days is anybody's guess. Maybe they ran out of Old Timer handles to complete the 97OT's and so they use the blades for single blade knives with Uncle Henry covers.

I thought you guys might like to see some parts that were not used in the End of Days, perhaps because they didn't have the springs attached.

I just had a brainstorm sitting here writing this, I think I will make a single blade folding saw from one of these 97OT innards.
That would come in really handy I think.

[Meridian_Mike]

I just had a brainstorm sitting here writing this, I think I will make a single blade folding saw from one of these 97OT innards.
That would come in really handy I think.

Now THAT would be a cool folding saw.....
Make sure you show us when your done.....

[Mustanger]

Another interesting thing about last days knives of this type is the limited edition and stock knives that show up from 2003 and 2004 that are "unfinished". Some of us refer to these as unfinished instead of EOD because they were scheduled to be made and sold and seemingly at the last minute everything comes to a halt and the doors close. Pictured is what was supposed to be a 2004 Cigar Box Classic knife. One of 5 patterns that were planned. Shown with an 'unfinished' Muskrat CBC. These carry a nostalgic SCHRADE WALDEN tang stamp that was ordered for the limited edition. Darn nice bone handled knives that are finely finished.

[kootenay joe]

Dale, i am trying to understand your post:
so the 97OT was made the traditional way of the pivot pin going through the bolsters ?
And, Swiden key construction requires a different spring design from a through pin ?
I think a 2 blade: saw plus a cutting blade, is better than just a saw blade. Could be any blade that would fit: clip, sheepsfoot, spear point, long pen, etc.
kj

[orvet]

No KJ,
The 97 OT is made with Swinden pins, like the ones at the front holding on the blades. This is an incomplete set of innards for a knife. It is missing the springs, one on either side of the liner and the Swindon rivet that goes through it.
If this set of interns was complete all I would need are the liner, handle and bolster assembly, one for each side of a knife and one rocker pin for the center.

Since this set of innards is missing the springs I will have to find two springs, drill the rear bolsters and pin them with a through pin. I can still use the Swindon rivets upfront, if it is a Swindon type handle, which most of them are.

Does that help? I'm afraid I wasn't too clear in my first explanation.

[doglegg]

Hey Dale, I'm with M_M on wanting to see it when finished.

[kootenay joe]

Yes, thank you Dale. A pocket knife seems simple but for those of us who have never assembled one they are actually more complex than one assumes.
One final question: can you use the same spring for Swinden or pin through ? Or, does Swinden construction require a spring modification ?
kj

[orvet]

It uses the same spring. It is either pinned with a Swindon rivet or pinned with a through pin , but it's the same spring in either method of construction.

[kootenay joe]

Got it. At least being the same spring it does not further complicate 'mix & match'.
kj

[orvet]

I just had a brainstorm sitting here writing this, I think I will make a single blade folding saw from one of these 97OT innards.
That would come in really handy I think.

Now THAT would be a cool folding saw.....
Make sure you show us when your done.....

Here you go Mike:

[Meridian_Mike]

Dale..... Now, THAT is a sweet knife!
I love it!.... Beautiful and functional.


Well thought out. The tip of the blade is the opener...... Very cool.

I LOVE the look you achieved with the scales. That is what I was trying for with my 6 OT rebuild. Beautiful.!!!!
I have a little thinking to do when I start working my sales down to the finished level.

Mike