All About Pocket Knives

My mother gave my father this knife in 1972. My dad gave it to me when I was 16 in 1986. I still have it. Has never been used. Check it out.

Nice fishing knife! What does the tang stamp say? And welcome to the Schrade subforum!

Welcome!

I never realized fishing knives were that big--I always thought they were around Trapper size.

That's a fine knife! It's an Ulster 208SS Fisherman's Pride. It has no tang stamp so if you don't have the box or are not familiar with the model, it's hard to know. Some came without the hook sharpener and tang stamped, ULSTER USA 208SS. The closed length is 5" with solid Delrin scales. They also made one with a red handle and one with wood and one made for Craftsman. Nice family heirloom!

I spent half an hour last night looking through the old Schrade catalogs to see if I could find any listing for a Schrade “Fisherman’s Pride”. I knew Ulster made a Fisherman’s Pride, but the only yellow handled Schrade I could find prior to 1972 was the 208, “Fisherman’s Pal,” which was discontinued in 1963.

I was tired and gave up and went to bed before going to the Ulster catalogs.

Thanks Mustanger for posting the pics!

orvet wrote:I spent half an hour last night looking through the old Schrade catalogs to see if I could find any listing for a Schrade “Fisherman’s Pride”. I knew Ulster made a Fisherman’s Pride, but the only yellow handled Schrade I could find prior to 1972 was the 208, “Fisherman’s Pal,” which was discontinued in 1963.

I was tired and gave up and went to bed before going to the Ulster catalogs.

Thanks Mustanger for posting the pics!

The Fisherman's Pal rings a bell, but I can't remember anything about it. I do have pictures in my photo files of a Schrade Walden 208 Fisherman's Special. It obviously has a different scaler/hook disgorger blade and appears to be Schrade's version of the 208 pattern. Just saw one sold for $225 on the web. And Then there is this Schrade Cut. Co. (that appears to have celluloid scales) that I just copied from an ebay auction. I'm not an expert on the subject and the only knives that I've posted that I own are the two Fisherman's Pride models on top. I missed out on the Craftsman in an auction.

The Fisherman’s Pal is the name given to the 208Y in the 1957 catalog pages. I don’t have another listing of that knife except Short Line listings until 1961. The short line listings do not give a full description or a large picture like the catalog pages do.

The 1961 catalog page lists it as; “No. 208 – 5” Fisherman’s Knife” but the picture shows the “Fisherman’s Special” blade etch like in the Schrade #208 you posted above.

Wow! A wealth of knowledge here. I asked my mother, and she said the knife could have been given to my father in the 60's and I may have been wrong. Anyway, it's a cool knife. Are they really worth $200? My mom thinks she spent only a few bucks in it way back then.

Jhale wrote: Are they really worth $200? My mom thinks she spent only a few bucks in it way back then.

A knife is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. That can vary ALOT. I felt good about paying $38.00 and $49.00 for the two I have. (the 1st two knives pictured) Another boxed set like mine sold for $65.00 on ebay last year. I've only ever seen two of those sets. The Schrade Cut. Co. would understandably be pricier because of it's age and tang stamp. I don't know what the deal is with the Schrade Walden Fisherman's Special. I personally wouldn't pay $200 for one. You have a cool old knife with sentimental value that is worth more than $200 anyway.

orvet wrote:The Fisherman’s Pal is the name given to the 208Y in the 1957 catalog pages. I don’t have another listing of that knife except Short Line listings until 1961. The short line listings do not give a full description or a large picture like the catalog pages do.

The 1961 catalog page lists it as; “No. 208 – 5” Fisherman’s Knife” but the picture shows the “Fisherman’s Special” blade etch like in the Schrade #208 you posted above.

Just as confusing as trying to track down reliable information on the Schrade Walden "Old Lunker" fish knives that have staglon scales.

I like those scales better than the yellow on my knife, for sure.

In 1963 the Schrade Walden #208 fisherman’s knife sold for $5.95, remember that this is the last catalog listing for that knife. I have gone into stores and seen knives for sale that have not been manufactured for years. Your mother may well help purchase that knife in the 1960s or 1970s, depending on how long it had been setting on the dealer’s shelf. The nice thing about pocketknives is they do not spoil if they are kept dry.

The Schrade Walden fishing knife with the jigged Delrin handles is model #209. It was introduced as new in the 1972 Schrade Walden catalog and it appeared in the 1973 Schrade Walden catalog but, when the 1973 Schrade catalog came out (after the name change in June 1973) the #209 is not listed. This means the #209 fish knife and a production life of about 1 ½ to 2 years. It is even possible that there may have only been one production run of this knife. You don’t see too many of them due to their short production life. Why Schrade decided to stop making them, I do not know. Perhaps there was a production issue or they just were not selling well. Whatever the reason for their short life I find disappointing, because I really like this pattern.
CORRECTION
Upon taking a second look at the 1973 Schrade Line catalog I see that the 209 is indeed listed. It is not however listed in the 1974 Schrade Line catalog.

Thank you for the info., Dale, and helping me clear up the confusion. The reason I was confused was because in the past when I tried to attribute #209 to that knife, I saw it listed in the reference guide as being 5.5" long. My knives measure 5". Because Ulster produced both a 5" and 5.5" fish knife, I thought maybe Schrade did too. I have tried to find to find a 5" knife number to attach to these knives. BUT, after using your date info I was able to track down a picture of one listed on the '73 distributors list. Not much of a drawing, but good enough to identify the knife as a #209 because of the bail attached to the end. I've been up in the air over that model # for 3 years. Thanks!

BTW, did Schrade attatch the name "Old Lunker" to that knife? I have seen controversy over that too. The first one I bought was advertised as a 850 Old Lunker. Ebay, go figure.....

For interest sake I posted one with a sheath, which seems more rare than without. And, a sheath for one that just says Schrade on it. That makes ya wonder, don't it?

I have noticed a number of inconsistencies in length in the Schrade catalog listings.
From the best information I have been able to gather; Schrade Walden moved into the Ulster factory on Canal Street in 1958. Schrade Walden have produced a 5.5 inch fish knife, or did they just produce the 5 inch fish knife? You know I am reluctant to speak in absolutes when it comes to Schrade because they made so many things that were not “catalog items.” Schrade seems to have more exceptions than most companies.
My feeling is the 209 was just produced in the 5 inch length in the catalog listing of 5.5 inches is an error. I’m glad you were able to identify the 209 from the pathetic pictures they use in the Line and the Short Line catalogs. Now you can appreciate the difficulties associated with those two formats, especially when other formats are not available to double-check the information.

The name “Old Lunker” sounds like a name Sears might use, but I don’t have any information on the Old Lunker name per se. Schrade certainly could have used the name; I just have not seen it.

As to the sheath with the Schrade name on it – I have a Schrade Cutlery Company Distributor Price List with the effective date of 5/14/73 that lists the #209 w/s, with a suggested retail of $8.80. Note that this is not a Schrade Walden price list but a Schrade Cutlery Company price list. Apparently the name change was affected prior to June 1973.

I rechecked the 1972 and 1973 Schrade Walden Line catalogs and both show the #209 came with sheath. It was written: “209 w/sheath”.

An Interesting Point about 1973 Pricelists (Schrade Minutia)

#1 – The 1973 Schrade Walden Line catalog probably came out in November 1972 for presentation at the national sales meeting.
#2 – The 1973 Schrade Cutlery Line catalog I have does not have an effective date for the prices.
#3 – I also have a 1973 Schrade Cutlery Distributors Price List with an effective date of 1/1/73. This pricelist shows the 209 and retail price of $8 and no mention of a sheath.
#4 – The fourth pricelist in 1973 is entitled: Schrade Cutlery Company Distributor Price List; the effective date is 5/14/73. It is this pricelist that shows the 209 w/s with the retail price of $8.80.

Aside from the information pertinent to the #209 there was something else that caught my attention on these pricelists.

I have always been told that Schrade Walden changed its name to Schrade Cutlery in June 1973, which is also the time at which they changed their tang stamps, dropping the Walden from the stamp. I realize course that a change of this magnitude is not something one does overnight and I think the names on these catalogs reflect that. The catalogs for the coming year were generally introduced to the salesman at their annual sales meeting, which were usually held in October or November. This gave the salesman some time over the holidays to become familiar with their products for the New Year. So, I believe #1 (1973 Schrade Walden Line catalog) was probably introduced in November 1972. #2 the Schrade Cutlery Line catalog was probably printed prior to 1 January 1973, which, I believe, is also the case for #3, the 1973 Schrade Cutlery Distributors Price List.
While I don’t know when the #4; Schrade Cutlery Company Distributor Price, was printed, I believe it’s a good bet it was printed prior to the effective date of the pricing which was 5/14/73.


For those of you who are not into the Schrade minutia, this probably seems like a lot of mumbo-jumbo. For those of us who have spent long nights sweating over seeming contradictions in Schrade data, this is one more contradiction that we can sweat about!
You see, it is commonly thought among Schrade collectors that the dropping of the Walden from the company name and from the tang stamps did not happen until June 1973. However, from these catalogs we can see that they were already slowly introducing the name change much earlier in the year, possibly in January.

I spent two hours, from 3 AM to 5 AM this morning researching and comparing these documents. It is these kinds of details that Schrade collectors seem to enjoy, or at least a handful of us enjoy.
Maybe it’s just the real sickos like me that enjoy this?

Schradomasochist- one who spends countless time and money becoming the end all and be all of what my wife calls "The King of The Obscure"

Now toss in the model changes that occurred during that 72-73 time frame like the 171UH that have both name stamps.

Fantastic knives folks.

Phil.

Awesome! Thank you for doing the heavy lifting on this subject and so much more, Dale. The closeness to Ulster and transition period in which these knives and others were made and short run production explains why there is so much confusion about them. And the carryover usage of parts that were already produced with a SW tang stamp and other factors can cause obsessive behavior and sleep depravation for the collector.

For me, this discussion has finally laid to rest the positive identification of the #209 and production dates. BUT, I'm still curious about various overlapping/shared model numbers by Ulster and Schrade. I always wonder, did Schrade adopt a particular number from Ulster or vice-versa. The #208 for instance. They both shared that number on the 5" fish knife. Opps! Hope I didn't just post something to cause you more sleep loss!
Just one of the many things that I muse and speculate about concerning Schrade and Ulster knives.
Thanks so much for your help, patience and all you do for the cause!

Jhale wrote:My mother gave my father this knife in 1972. My dad gave it to me when I was 16 in 1986. I still have it. Has never been used. Check it out.

I was thinking about this stuff again today and wondering, (if you're still engaged in this thread), does your mother remember if your knife was packaged as a Schrade or Schrade Walden knife at the time of purchase? Or how did you come to believe it is a Schrade? I got to wondering if Schrade marketed some Ulster knives as Schrade knives after they merged together. The lack of a tang stamp has always been a mystery to me, but seems somewhat common on the Ulster fish knives. Just wondering if your mother remembers. Sometimes I think my mind wanders too much.

I've been eyeballing that one on feebay. A Schrade Cut Co version. But they are asking to much IMO @ 175.

gwelker62 wrote:I've been eyeballing that one on feebay. A Schrade Cut Co version. But they are asking to much IMO @ 175.

It's age, (pre-1946), and good condition make it a more valuable collectable than some other knives. I'd like to have it, but not that much. It IS ebay, though. I've seen post bankruptcy spare parts knives sell for over $200. Then the same spare parts knife sell for 30 bucks at other times. I'm the guy who generally waits for a shot at a $200 knife for $30. I'm sure someone thinks the knife is worth that much to them since it's a nicer collectable than the newer Schrade Walden Fisherman's Special that flirts with $200 often and sometimes takes her to the prom, ($225).

BTW, I found that knife listed in the 1938 and 1940 catalogs as, "No. SSD2084PO" with Onyx Celluloid scales.

gwelker62 wrote:I've been eyeballing that one on feebay. A Schrade Cut Co version. But they are asking to much IMO @ 175.

You’re absolutely correct in my opinion!
While the stainless steel blades and springs are not affected by the off gassing of the celluloid, the brass liners are affected.

If you notice the shrinkage near the front bolster that tells me the celluloid is not stable.
If you notice the dark stain showing through by the rear bolster and rear handle pin that is an indicator to me that the deterioration of the celluloid is probably affecting the liner. To see the same black mark around the rocker pin at the bottom edge of the knife really scares me away from this knife.

I have taken apart too many knives with that dark coloration at the rocker pin only to find that the celluloid had so weakened the brass liner that the stress on the pin from the back spring had caused the liner to crack.

The only thing I would be interested in this knife for is for parts. Without examining the knife I wouldn’t pay over $25 for it simply because I feel there is too great a chance that the liners are so badly damaged they will need to be replaced.

orvet wrote:I spent half an hour last night looking through the old Schrade catalogs to see if I could find any listing for a Schrade “Fisherman’s Pride”. I knew Ulster made a Fisherman’s Pride, but the only yellow handled Schrade I could find prior to 1972 was the 208, “Fisherman’s Pal,” which was discontinued in 1963.

I found a Schrade Walden "Fisherman's Pride". I was going to buy it but then I found a nicer "Fisherman's Special" that wasn't crazy expensive. I also found the same knife with a blade etch that says, "CRAFTSMAN 9461 / CUSTOM MADE". I haven't come across a Fisherman's Pal yet. The end date that you came up with for it may just be when they changed the blade etch? It appears to have changed twice, not counting Craftsman of coarse.

I found this 1958 John Plain Catalog Co. page with a Schrade Walden Fisherman's Pal on it.

gwelker62 wrote:I've been eyeballing that one on feebay. A Schrade Cut Co version. But they are asking to much IMO @ 175.

Dale has one of those with the nasties that he is sprucing up for me. Just like yours with the ick.