All About Pocket Knives

i recently purchased a knife. it is stamped uncle henry on the bolster and is identical in every way to the 171uh. however it has no other markings (171uh,schrade,usa,taylor,china) nothing stamped on the base of the blade. can anybody tell me what i have here? it shows some age and looks like it has been polished with some kind of rubbing compound or something.it also came in a black leather sheath that is embossed with the RMEF logo with schrade underneath the two look like a mismatch but i don't no.

Can you post some pictures?
It is hard to tell about any knife without pictures.

hello, orvet is right a picture would help. it may be a china. or it may be a second with the tang stamp ground off or may be missed stamp with out a tang stamp. thanks

The Chinese made ones just had a little mark on the blade (china) that could be rubbed off very easily. Thats probably what you have if there is no other tang marking.

Hello Mr. HalBob,

In the absence of a picture, I have a couple of questions for ya.

What shape pommel is on your knife - Square brass or Bird's Head shape aluminum?
The pommel is the cap at the butt end of the handle.
Where you see Uncle Henry is on the brass guard, I believe.

I ask as I also have a knife that completely resembles a Schrade Walden 171UH with a Bird's Head pommel AND also no tang stamp whatsoever.

Also, Does your knife have a serial number on the guard opposite ? Opposite the Uncle Henry.

Thanks -- Howie

howie the answer to your question is that the knife has a square brass pommel and no serial numbers, the only marking is uncle henry in long hand on the finger gaurd. i'am beginnjng to yhink it is a china made schrade. the rocky mountain elk foundation stamped sheath has me stumped also.

i have another question on the uncle henry 171uh. does anybody know how the stamped serial numbers worked. like what was the highest number produced on the 171uh in the usa plant before closing. i see a 171 on ebay with no markings and a 83006 serial number (china or usa?). there's not a lot of info on the web or maybe i'am looking in the wrong place. any suggestions would be apprciated .

Hi HalBob,

I have a Schrade USA 171UH with serial# 93444 - so they go at least that high.
Don't think I've ever seen one over #99999

Also, it looks like the numbers may have reset back to 00001 after the changeover from Schrade Walden USA to Schrade USA in Mid-1973.

I have a Sch/Wal #06965 Bird's Head pommel (made '71-'72)
and a Sch/Wal #21748 square pommel (made early '73)

I've seen an auction for a Schrade USA # 05416 (made after Mid-'73)

HalBob - You want to collect Schrades? Prepare to be confused!

As for info - you've found the place - also check out bladeforums.com.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forum ... tors-Forum
It's also loaded with very reliable Schrade Walden and Schrade USA info

Howie

HowieAreyu wrote: Also, it looks like the numbers may have reset back to 00001 after the changeover from Schrade Walden USA to Schrade USA in Mid-1973.

I have not seen any evidence of this.
Do you have a Schrade Walden with a higher number than a Schrade, in the same model number, with no prefix or the same prefix?

Remember that Schrade used up all the numbers and 99999 and then added a prefix of A and started again.
They went through the alphabet to Z then went to the prefix of AA, then AB, AC, etc.

While the number itself may be lower, you must consider the alpha prefix.
Some patterns were more popular than others, e.g., the 897UH was made from 1967 to 2004. One would expect higher numbers on the 897 than on a pattern that was only made for a few years.

Eventually the numbering system was dropped all together. I am not sure when that date was, perhaps Hal, Eric or LT know.

Hi Dale,

None of the numbers I've mentioned have any alpha prefixes.
Yes, to answer your question - all are 171UH

The outlier is the auction for a Schrade USA # 05416 (currently active as of time of this post) http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-SET-SCHRADE-17 ... 0597168572

I know, it has me confused also.

Thanks for stepping in with the voice of reason.

Howie

OK. This is one of those strange patterns that Schrade made with broken production dates; produced for a few years, discontinued for several years and then reintroduced into the line again.
At least with the 171 it is basically the same knife, not like the 707UH!

1971-1983 the 171UH is listed in the catalogs as 10-1/2” OAL with a 5-5/8” blade.
The later version; 1990-1991, it is listed as 10” OAL with a 5-1/2” blade.

I think what may have happened is that they restarted the numbering on the second production run. Though there were some changes to the knife, the pattern is essentially the same.

That is the only thing I can think of that makes sense, even for Schrade!

I have not heard of them restarting the numbers when the name was changed in 1973.

johnie you brought up and interesting point about the listed catalog length. so i got out the tape measure and it measures 10" tip to tale. with that point of the serial numbers being used up and the later production run 1990-91 listing the 171 as 10" maybe i do have a usa made knife. this mystery is getting craze.

Hi Dale -

As you've shown in the past, there may not be enough evidence before the jury to make the call that serial numbers were restarted.
I'm waiting to get an answer on the overall length of the #05416.
Will update when/if I get the info

Howie

Howie,
Few things about Schrade are carved in stone.
About the best I hope for any more is to find something etched in Jell-o!

Schrade seems to have more exceptions than it has rules.
It gives me a headache at times, but collecting Schrades is NEVER boring!

Well HalBob - There's More info that hopefully sets the Jello

BUT - I don't think we've gotten any further on your question with no serial# to go on.
The 10" overall length (OAL) puts it 1990 or later but we haven't confirmed USA.
I've not seen any info that the Taylor (China) knives were numbered.

I got a reply that the Schrade USA 171UH #05416 is 10" overall length.
Makes it from the 1990-1991 issue.

Bird's Head pommel:
No tang stamp with #06965 (Sch/Wal made '71 to '72 ??)

Square pommels:
Sch/Wal USA #21748 10-1/2" OAL (early 1973)
Schrade USA #93444 10-1/2" OAL (late 1973 to 1983)

Schrade USA #05416 10" OAL (1990 to 1991) from an auction description

Original issue Sch/Wal (1973) thru Schrade USA (1973-1983) appear to have same series of #'s
2nd Issue Schrade USA's (1990-1991) look to have restarted the counter??

Thanks Dale!! The extra info on the OAL difference was the Cool-Whip on the Jello.
I'll watch auctions and postings for more serial#'s and lengths to confirm the restart.

Howie

I also have some questions. I picked this up today and could not find any serial number anywhere. I did see the Uncle Henry. Also, this had a custom sheath and not the original. Very well made. I hope I didn't get scammed with some cheap chinese Schrade. Is it normal to not have a serial number. I had this under a magnifying glass and couldn't see a serial anywhere. One pic is a little out of focus but still shows the screwhead.
Thanks so much for sharing the knowledge.

It looks like a USA Schrade.
What is the OAL; 10" or 10-1/2"?

After a period of time putting serial numbers on Uncle Henrys, Schrade dropped all serial numbers on the regular production Uncle Henrys. Some special editions may have been numbered, i.e. Ducks Unlimited.

From long point to long point it is 10 inches.

I would say it is a legit knife from the 1990-1991 issue, after they stopped stamping serial numbers on Uncle Henrys.

Awesome. Thank you very much.