All About Pocket Knives

No pattern # tang stamp on the master backside. Master tang stamp is.... Schrade, over Walden, over N.Y. USA. It's 3-7/8" closed length... It's got wood handles, split back spring... Same blade compliment as the 804. When I compare it to my marked #804, the springs on the wood handled knife are noticeably thicker than the 804.... but the frame and shape seem to be exactly like the 804. I've searched the old catalogs and the open stock list here, in the Research section. I'm thinking it's late '40s, to early '50s timeframe. Anyone know for sure what this one is???

The earliest Schrade Waldens did not have "U.S.A." in the tang stamp, so your knife is not one of the earliest ones. No one seems to know when that running change might have taken place. Otherwise, I am guessing that the difference in the gauge of the springs is just a Schrade variation in materials. The knife is an 804 with different than usual handles. Nice knife.

Thanks Cal! The reason I was thinking late '40s to early '50s, is because other strata-wood and prop-wood, etc knives in the catalog around that time. I thought it probably was an 804 but then I started noticing the differences in material dimensions and it made me wonder if it was something else that I hadn't figured out yet.

I'll take side by side photos later today, to show the difference to a marked 804 I have.

I have a few of the wood handled Schrade-Walden knives and find them most attractive. They do not show up very often so likely not many were made.
kj

I have a S-W 804 with Delrin scales... and this wood handled, S-W, unmarked "804". I made measurements with a dial caliper. Here are the differences: (note: I made multiple measurements and averaged/rounded for convenience)

Master blade thickness:
Delrin 804 = 0.090"..... Wood version = 0.100"

Back Spring thickness where split:
Delrin 804 = 0.070".... Wood version = 0.080"

Back Spring ends together:
Delrin 804 = 0.100".... Wood version = 0.120"

Overall knife thickness at center pin:
Delrin 804 = 0.510".... Wood version = 0.535"

Here's the pictures from this morning...

kootenay joe wrote:I have a few of the wood handled Schrade-Walden knives and find them most attractive. They do not show up very often so likely not many were made.
kj

kj,
Thanks for chiming in! I think what you say about them being uncommon, is true, based on my research. I was trying to figure out if this is an 804 or if it is a different #, because of the wood handles. Like an 806 or an 807 for example, because those numbers are not listed in the research material.

I've just posted the dimensional differences and new pictures, comparing a marked 804 I have, versus the wood handled one.

You are also likely to find, after seeing a few, that some of the later manufactured 804s had a flat-ground master instead of sabre-ground.

tongueriver wrote:You are also likely to find, after seeing a few, that some of the later manufactured 804s had a flat-ground master instead of sabre-ground.

Like pictured above?

I have the same knife but in poor condition. Shield on mine is different, heraldic. The blade is stamped with the pattern # 821. Handles are a wood laminate similar to what Case calls pakawood. I believe Schrade calls it Wondawood.

Here is an AAPK link. Judging from info available on the net this is not a common knife.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=46607&view=previous

btrwtr wrote:I have the same knife but in poor condition. Shield on mine is different, heraldic. The blade is stamped with the pattern # 821. Handles are a wood laminate similar to what Case calls pakawood. I believe Schrade calls it Wondawood.

Here is an AAPK link. Judging from info available on the net this is not a common knife.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=46607&view=previous

Thanks for the link Wayne! The difference I see, is that the 821 in the link has a small pen blade, mine has a small clip blade. Wouldn't that make mine a different pattern? The other difference is, the 821 is 3-9/16", my knife is 3-7/8" in length.

Mine is uncannily like an 804, but something tells me S-W would have had a different designation for it.

btrwtr wrote: Case calls pakawood. I believe Schrade calls it Wondawood.

And I call it plywood.

CheckSix wrote:

btrwtr wrote:I have the same knife but in poor condition. Shield on mine is different, heraldic. The blade is stamped with the pattern # 821. Handles are a wood laminate similar to what Case calls pakawood. I believe Schrade calls it Wondawood.

Here is an AAPK link. Judging from info available on the net this is not a common knife.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=46607&view=previous

Thanks for the link Wayne! The difference I see, is that the 821 in the link has a small pen blade, mine has a small clip blade. Wouldn't that make mine a different pattern? The other difference is, the 821 is 3-9/16", my knife is 3-7/8" in length.

Mine is uncannily like an 804, but something tells me S-W would have had a different designation for it.

The knife I have is 3 9/16 also. Quite a bit smaller and lighter than the 804 or your knife. Unfortunately all I can tell you about the small blades is that they are not files. Previous owner should have had a screwdriver.

jerryd6818 wrote:

btrwtr wrote: Case calls pakawood. I believe Schrade calls it Wondawood.

And I call it plywood.

They tried really hard to come up with names that avoided that connection.

The O.P. knife is an 804 with wood handles. The slight variation in stock dimensions is from Schrade using what their suppliers sent them. And the lack of pattern # is normal for early Schrade Waldens.
I am NOT a Schrade expert but i do believe all the above info confirms '804'.
Sometimes we look too hard at the minute details and can be led astray.
kj