schrade usa 735 improved pattern rigging knife

[Capt. Rob]

Anyone know for sure what year Shrade made the model 735 rigging knife with improved pattern and schrade USA tang stamp it has a heavier marlin spike and different delrin handles than the Walden era knives. I know it was only made 1 year but not sure if it was 1973-74 or 1983-84?

[poq]

Hi Capt. Rob
The Schrade Catalog of 1975 with pieces of the Schrade Walden 1975 Catalog shows the Original Walden 735 Rigging Knife as being Discontinued and to my knowledge it was made 1983-84 with the Improved Marlin Spike

[orvet]

Capt Rob,
In my research through the Schrade and Schrade Walden catalogs I found three knives with marlinespikes, the 735, 735L and the 736.

The 735 appears in the catalog somewhere around 1950, though we don’t have all the catalogs from the earlier days Schrade Walden it appears that 1950 was when the knife was introduced however, it could’ve been a carryover pattern from Schrade Cut Co. It disappeared from the Schrade Walden catalogs about 1955 or 1956. This model, from what I have been able to piece together from limited resources, apparently did not have lock for the marlinspike.

These 735L was introduced about 1957 and stayed in production until 1973. The L stood for Lock. This model had a lock on the marlinspike. Shortly thereafter the L was dropped from the model number and it became simply known as the 735.

The reference poq made to pieces of the 1975 Schrade Walden catalog I believe comes from the 1975 Schrade catalog posted on the Collectors of Schrade-R-us website. I believe a piece of the 1973 Schrade Walden catalog was inserted into that 1975 catalog either when it was copied or perhaps Schrade sent that page along as a supplement of their 1975 catalog so that they didn’t have to go to the expense of printing more pages. At any rate the 735 listed on that catalog sheet has the word DISCONTINUED stamped across that listing, denoting that it was no longer available.

The 736 was the other model of marlinspike knife that Schrade Walden produced from 1953 to 1955 or 1956. It does appear on the 1955 pricelist, but we have no catalog or pricelist from 1956 for Schrade Walden, so we don’t know which year they actually discontinued that knife.

I could find no reference to a Schrade marlinspike knife from the 1980s.

I didn’t have time to do exhaustive research today but this is just a quick check of some of my resources that I’ve compiled.
I hope it’s helpful,
Dale

[Capt. Rob]

Thanks Dale these knives have a Schrade USA tang stamp not a Schrade walden stamping so they are 1973 or later. there the same general pattern as the walden era 735's biut have a different delrin scale with the peach seed ends were the jigging is sanded off to the bolsters and a thicker marlin spike. the knife is listed it in my aapk store item# 61837 if you want to look at it, I managed to find 3 of them last week so I'm selling 2 of them.

[kootenay joe]

"Schrade 735 Improved"
Did Schrade use the word "Improved" ? I have not heard this before. Is it the 735L ?
What i find so odd is that the Schrade Walden 735 was not made with a locking spike, yet the knife still has the lever that releases the spike lock.
Was this an old Schrade Cut Co pattern that did lock and then S-W used left over frame parts to make the non-locking 735 ?
kj

[ea42]

The 736 was a carryover from Schrade Cut Co, which at that time was the model # SS7359GSil. The Cut Co version had nickel silver handles rather than the stainless handles of the SW version:

I wasn't aware of an eighties re-introduction though, nothing shows up in the catalogs but that doesn't mean they didn't do it. I'll see if I can find a reference somewhere else.

Eric

[Capt. Rob]

Not sure the person that told me they were made in 1983-1984 said "improved spike" was the key to findng it but really don't know. I just figured out how to attach photos maybe they will help. Tang stamp reads SCHRADE USA 735 S.S.

[kootenay joe]

Very nice example !
Does the spike lock ?
kj

[Capt. Rob]

YES SPIKE LOCKS VERY SECURELY AND SPRING IS STRONG AND SNAPPY.

[kootenay joe]

Just to be clear, by "locked" i mean that you have to depress the spike release lever to close the spike.
It 'should' be marked 735L if locking and 735 for non-locking. The "SS" is stainless steel, but all 735's (Schrade & Schrade-Walden) i believe are stainless steel.
kj

[Capt. Rob]

YES IT LOCKS TIGHT AND YOU HAVE TO DEPRESS THE LEVER ALL THE WAY TILL IT TOUCHES THE BLADE BEFORE IT WILL RELEASE. DON'T THINK THE KNIFE WAS EVER USED. DID YOU SEE THE PHOTOS I POSTED?

[philco]

Nice one Capt. Rob. I've got a few Marlin Spike knives and really like them. (Not sure why, I live a long way from the ocean.)

[Capt. Rob]

NOT A PROBLEM, EVEN COWBOYS USE ROPE, SPIKE ALSO MAKES A GOOD ICE PICK AND THE BLADE CUTS JUST AS GOOD ON LAND AS SEA.

[kootenay joe]

Quote Capt. Rob: "DID YOU SEE THE PHOTOS I POSTED?"

Do you read all the posts ?

Right under your pictures i posted: "Very nice example".

The reason i wanted to be 100% clear about locking is that your knife is marked as non-locking, no "L".
Further more some people have posted that a blade 'locks into place firmly' (or something like that) in reference to a slip joint with a strong spring, no actually locking involved.

The importance of your knife is that it sheds doubt on the "L" being used to denote a locking spike in the 735 pattern.
If everyone reading this would check their 735's to see if they lock and if marked with "L", we would be able to tell if Rob's knife is just a one off or if there are other locking ones marked "735", no "L".
kj

[Capt. Rob]

SORRY ABOUT THAT, YES I READ THE POST BUT DIDN'T TIE IN THE NAME. I LOOKED CLOSE AT THE BLADE AGAIN TO SEE IF POSSILBY THE BOLSTER WAS HIDING ANY MAKINGS LIKE SOME CASE KNIVES BOLSTERS HIDE DOTS. I SEE NO L OR SIGNS OF AN L. THE BACK EDGE OF THE SPIKE ALSO HAS A 1/4" LONG NOTCH WITH SHARP CLEAN EDGES CUT IN IT FOR THE LOCK PIN

[kootenay joe]

Capt. you have a very good knife. In my experience a minority of the 735's lock. But this needs more research. Does anyone have a Schrade-Walden 735 with a locking spike ? Or was it only Schrade that made these with a lock ?
kj

[Capt. Rob]

For what it's worth I have had Walden marked 735's in the past that did lock unfortunatly I have sold them so I can't look for an L on the blade but don't remember an L. The Walden Era knives and the new China junk Schrade 735's have a design flaw, They use a thin spike that doesn't allow for any meat on the back end of the notch on the spike that locks it in place and the back edge sheared of easily under pressure leaving you with a lever but not a locking spike or a spike that would easily jump out of lock position. When I was using rigging knives on a daily basis that is the main reason I went to the Buck 315's back in the late 60's early 70's. This pattern with improved spike in my opinon is a better knife than the old Buck 315's. it's beefier all the way around both in spike thickness and blade width also the Schrade handle is easier to hold when you have to twist and pry to work an old shrunken tightly twisted line and seemed to hold an edge just as good as the buck did.

[jerryd6818]

I have a Schrade Walden that has the locking mechanism but doesn't lock. The unlocking lever is gone. I can't really tell if the tab is sheared off or was never there in the first place. This knife doesn't have 735 stamped on it so I have no idea what I have.

[Capt. Rob]

look on the back end of the spike with knife closed or spike 1/2 cocked at the end you should see a notch that the release pin drops into. That was the problem with the Walden era 735 knives the thin spike didn't allow enough on the back side of the notch to hold it was just a sliver. photos are of the improved spike knife, If you se the front but no signs of the back it is sheared, unlocking spikes had no notch and from my experience also had no lever. your knife is a 735 why it doesn't say 735 I don't know just another Schrade mystery. My suspission is they were useing the same blades in the rope knives with no spike that they did on the rigging knives with a spike so no number was stamped on the blades. it may also be on another line and hidden by the bolster

[jerryd6818]

No offense intended but I know how it works. I have a Buck 315 that locks and I've seen what you're talking about. It just doesn't look like anything has sheared off on the Schrade. Could have worn off smooth with time and use though. It's just an example knife that I received in a POS exchange so I'm not really concerned about it. The spike flops around from side to side a good bit.

I had trouble focusing my camera on the tang stamp so I had to blow it up from the full knife picture and crop it out. Probably would not have been able to focus on the area where the lock tab should have been.

[Capt. Rob]

No offense taken, guess I've been dealing with the ebay novices so long I've forgotten how to communicate with knowlegable people.No offense intended to you ebay guys, but you know how ebay gets all kinds some know what they are talking about others don't know the difference between a pommel and a guard.

[kootenay joe]

I have 2 near identical knives in front of me. Both are marked: "Schrade/Walden/N.Y. U.S.A." on the front tang & "735/Stainless" on the back. Both have the "Spike Release" "Press Down" lever. The spikes are identical, one is not heavier duty than the other. Neither has been used.
The only difference is that one has the spike with the notched tang & it locks open, while the other has no notch and does not lock.
I find it odd that both versions were made during the same time period and that there are: 1) no markings to indicate locking and 2) the spike release lever is present on the non locking knife.
kj

[Capt. Rob]

That does not surprise me, It has been my experience in the past on the Walden era 735 knives that it can be hard to tell were the back of the lock notch sheares off it is such a thin tip on the back edge of the spike on many it only took 1 time with pressure, even just trying to close them in the lock position often would shear it off.I have personally sheared more than one off in the past that way. If it is a clean break it looks the same as the rest of the grind. I suspect that is what happened with your knife it was broken before it was used. As a rule if it had the release lever it had a locking spike. That is not to say some may have gone down the assembly line with spikes intended for a non locking knife but they should have been cought along the way by workers or inspectors. That thin slender spike was the Walden era 735's downfall it got a bad rep. leading to poor sales and finally being discontinued in 1973. They could not compete with Camillus and Buck with there heavier tougher spikes.Schrade made good knives but the Walden era 735 was not one of them It had that design flaw that was never corrected. The improved spike model aparently was an attempt to take some of that market back. It was a large market in those days, everyone that worked or played on the water carried a rigging knife. Schrade finally made a good rigging knife with the improved spike version but it was to late the 735's past poor performance record stopped potential buyers. It may have cough on if they had also changed the model #. I carried and used rigging knives on a daily basis for approx. 40 years starting in the mid 1960's. For every other type of knife I had no quams with Schrade knives but like every other seasoned sailor passed on 735's and went with Buck or Camillus until I actually got one in my hands with the improved spike.

[kootenay joe]

Capt., your explanation is logical but it is speculation. Logical speculation in the past has led to much mis-information becoming accepted information & then part of knife history. This is something that Bernard Levine has frequently commented on. When facts do come to light they are often different from the logical speculation.
To know if S-W made both the locking & non locking versions, shop floor notes or minutes of meetings or the testimony of a former employee is needed.
The S-W paper work is owned by someone (Eric ?) so it is possible that the needed information is present but needs finding.
I will post a pic of the spike tangs, S-W, locking & non locking. To me the non locking does not look to have had 'tab' sheared off, but Capt. states that this is how they look when sheared off. I am not yet convinced.
kj

[Capt. Rob]

Yes you are correct it is speculation on my part. I have no written proof. i would br interested to see what you find out. I know they made both locking and non locking knives. The non locking versions AKA "yacht knives" often had bails but to my knowledge not release levers.I may be wrong and it would not be the first time I was proven wrong. am interested to know what you find out.