Those hard to find Old Timers

[Meridian_Mike]

Thanks for that nice history lesson Jason!
I always wondered why some knives were made exclusively for shipment to Europe.

[jxr1197]

..Europe.

This is kinda neat - it's the dealer display they made for those knives. The plexiglass window spins so you can land the opening over the knife you want to pluck out and show to the customer. It includes a couple of those hard to find Old Timers.

[Meridian_Mike]

WOW.... that is a COOL display Jason!
Thanks for showing it to us!

[JAMESC41001]

Very cool. Never saw that one!

[jxr1197]

You gotta look past its "I just got run over by a train" vibes to see the beauty here. Bone 58OTs are nearly impossible to find and even Delrin 934s are a bit of a challenge but a bone 934 is something that's never been on my radar because I had no idea they even existed. Proof positive, this hard to find Old Timer does in fact exist.

[tnorton]

You gotta look past its "I just got run over by a train" vibes to see the beauty here. Bone 58OTs are nearly impossible to find and even Delrin 934s are a bit of a challenge but a bone 934 is something that's never been on my radar because I had no idea they even existed. Proof positive, this hard to find Old Timer does in fact exist.
934 bone.JPG

I see the beauty

[JAMESC41001]

Very cool Jason. Couple unicorns

[tongueriver]

Very interesting, Jason; what frame is that? 861? 895? Something else?

[Meridian_Mike]

WOW... great find Jason! Way to go!!
Another great history lesson!

[jxr1197]

Very interesting, Jason; what frame is that? 861? 895? Something else?

The knife is actually a 58OT, but it's the Primble 934 version that was made for Belknap - it's the same comparison as the Primble 935 and an 8OT. The 935 is known (but super rare) to be out there with bone handles but I have never seen pictures, or even heard of, a bone handled 934. It fills a gap in the info I had about the earliest Old Timers.
There were only four OT patterns released pre-Delrin. Since the 2OT never went plastic, only three patterns transitioned; 8OT, 58OT, and 50OT*. The 8OT/935 are pretty well known to be out there in bone, disco plastic (that smooth brown plastic with gold & copper flake), and Delrin. The 58OT is also recognized with all three handles but until I found this knife I had only seen the 934 in Delrin and in two instances, disco plastic. So now both the 8OT and 58OT along with both their Primble versions are all known to exist with all three handle types. The 50OT is just a problem child when it comes to this issue. The 50 was only advertised with Meerschaum Bone handles (a Delrin euphemism) but was seemingly never made with Delrin, only bone and disco plastic.

[tongueriver]

Thanks Jason for a thorough history of these knives.

[Dilbery91]

Well, I’m not typically an Old Timer guy. I collect Robesons. But I stumbled on this little jewel at a flea market. Thought it was a nice looking old user. The handles are perfect bone and beautiful. Was hoping to find out some more info on it as I can’t find much. Any help is appreciated!

[jxr1197]

Well, I’m not typically an Old Timer guy. I collect Robesons. But I stumbled on this little jewel at a flea market. Thought it was a nice looking old user. The handles are perfect bone and beautiful. Was hoping to find out some more info on it as I can’t find much. Any help is appreciated!

Good lawd - that’s one helluva way to stumble into the Old Timer game! The knife is a 50OT (fifty-oh-t) regardless of it pretending to be a 50T (fifty-t). If you stick around long enough you might spot the 1961 flyer for that knife which says it’s a 500T (five hundred-t). Don’t try to make it make sense, it’s a Schrade thing (Schrade and Ulster were the same company). So the knife itself is the 3rd Old Timer pattern released. It was introduced right after the 2OT and 8OT. Its introduction was at the same time as the 58OT so technically it’s tied for 3rd. Here’s the thing, I don’t think they ever actually put that knife into production, but take this next part with a grain of salt because it’s just my opinion. The 1961 flyer introduced the pattern and appears to have it wearing Delrin (plastic) covers. Delrin only started being used in the factory at the end of ’61. What you have is a sample that was made in 1960 or 1961 and probably given to a jobber to take on his route and generate interest with his customers. In all the years I’ve been searching for 50OTs I’ve seen and/or bought less than 20 examples total. Most were covered in dark brown plastic handles (an experimental material they tried briefly in 1961) and I’ve seen maybe 5 or 6 in bone. What I’ve never seen is one in Delrin and I’ve also looked through the old yearly production records and the 50OT was never listed. The 50OT wasn’t a new platform. It’s a rebranded Ulster 50, a knife they were making for years. What I think happened is they grabbed a bunch of parts from the 50 bin and stamped the extra T on them, giving us that “wrong” tang stamp on the back of your knife. BTW the reason it has to be a 50OT is because the OT suffix is for Old Timer and it’s attached to every knife in the line. My guess is the number of these samples that were made is very low. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was less than 100 total, just based on the scarcity of sightings over the years. Yours is one of the nicest examples to surface, and from a flea market no less. I won’t ask what you paid, I’m sure I’ll hate you if I find out. Congrats, it’s a very nice knife.

[tongueriver]

Wow! From both of you!

[doglegg]

Well, I’m not typically an Old Timer guy. I collect Robesons. But I stumbled on this little jewel at a flea market. Thought it was a nice looking old user. The handles are perfect bone and beautiful. Was hoping to find out some more info on it as I can’t find much. Any help is appreciated!

What a find.!

[Dilbery91]

Thank you for all the info Jason! Wow. I had no idea. Just thought it was a nice little knife. And yes, you would most likely hate me. I’ve been carrying it. But now I’m afraid I’ll lose it so I suppose I will be putting it up. Again, thank you for the information!

[jxr1197]

Thank you for all the info Jason! Wow. I had no idea. Just thought it was a nice little knife. And yes, you would most likely hate me. I’ve been carrying it. But now I’m afraid I’ll lose it so I suppose I will be putting it up. Again, thank you for the information!

Happy to help. I do carry a 50 once in a while but it really does fit the definition of a safe queen. It would be a shame to break or lose something that rare. Here's a shot of the 50s from my safe:

The one on the left was factory bone but it was busted up when I found it. I had a new set of sawcut bone handles fabbed up by a former Schrade employee/customizer named Herman Williams. The other two dark brown ones are that weird experimental plastic that made a brief appearence in 1961.

[tongueriver]

Great stuff to see, Jason; who is this Herman Williams of whom you speak? hehehe. I think I sent an 8OT your way with that weird plastic with gold flecks in it, some years back. A real anomaly. I wish I knew more about Fibestos and Fosterene.

[jxr1197]

Great stuff to see, Jason; who is this Herman Williams of whom you speak? hehehe. I think I sent an 8OT your way with that weird plastic with gold flecks in it, some years back. A real anomaly. I wish I knew more about Fibestos and Fosterene.

I've gotten more than a couple special 8OTs from you over the years! The finest of which I don't think I posted to this thread yet. Right in the middle with that funny oval shield. It's got to be the earliest 8OT I have, and maybe that anyone has. No pattern number on it and of course it was never manufactured with that shield yet somehow that knife served as the photo sample for the 8OT until 1971, lol. Only Schrade would do something like that. The second from the top I also got from you - a minty clean Primble 935, full etch. I have a lot to thank you for!

[edge213]

Great stuff to see, Jason; who is this Herman Williams of whom you speak? hehehe. I think I sent an 8OT your way with that weird plastic with gold flecks in it, some years back. A real anomaly. I wish I knew more about Fibestos and Fosterene.

I've gotten more than a couple special 8OTs from you over the years! The finest of which I don't think I posted to this thread yet. Right in the middle with that funny oval shield. It's got to be the earliest 8OT I have, and maybe that anyone has. No pattern number on it and of course it was never manufactured with that shield yet somehow that knife served as the photo sample for the 8OT until 1971, lol. Only Schrade would do something like that. The second from the top I also got from you - a minty clean Primble 935, full etch. I have a lot to thank you for!
all.jpg

Very nice Jason

[CluelessNick]

Asking out of pure ignorance and no offense to the seller but.....is this really a NOS Old Timer ?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/157100114761?i ... Sw0pxoTyWF

Sure is purty. He has 3 bone 8OT knives listed.

[tongueriver]

It is real but very late pre 2004 production- probably in the bankruptcy sale- probably not a finished knife. It's a good one, but not early or complete. No shield, for instance.

[CluelessNick]

Thanks, that shield missing made me wonder about the knife.

[Mustanger]

Asking out of pure ignorance and no offense to the seller but.....is this really a NOS Old Timer ?

Schrade did crank these out for a while. I can't say when or for how long. These are from my photo files and not mine.

[jxr1197]

Asking out of pure ignorance and no offense to the seller but.....is this really a NOS Old Timer ?

Schrade did crank these out for a while. I can't say when or for how long. These are from my photo files and not mine.

The boxes for the green ones were marked 8OT GB, matching the RB box in your pic. My notes on these say made in the 90s using leftover Heritage parts.