All About Pocket Knives

What is a 'real' Schrade Walden knife and how can I identify one from an unreal one if I don't know the seller?
What makes them stand out among Schrades in general?

You can always pm me with a link to any particular knife that you are interested in. I am fairly well tuned in to the fine points, but I am not the only one. There are a good dozen kind folk who look here that would do the same for you. I can tell you that if you see a 'Schrade Walden' folding knife with glued-on bone handles (the rocker pin being the only pin), they were made by Bear and Son after the 2004 bankruptcy and are therefore not authentic Schrade Waldens. There are other ones that are a little more difficult to identify, made by Camillus and Utica. And there were knives and parts of knives made for Schrade by Imperial and Camillus BEFORE the 2004 bankruptcy. All three companies shared some corporate ownership and there was a lot of interchange among them.There are also Schrade Walden stamped knives that were made by Imperial Schrade many years after the magic 1973 cusp, which are authentic Schrades; they just weren't made under the old corporate structure which had included the name 'Walden' as part of the trademarks. Schrade continued to own all the former trademarks, and they used some of them from time to time in the later years.

Good thing I asked. I had no idea it was so tricky.
Thanks for offering your expertise.
Pre-1973 sounds more like a collector's piece than an edc, especially if it's pre-Swinden as well, so at the moment I'm just looking around and trying to match Walden quality with Walden price. But from what I'm reading on some posts, the 'real' Waldens are the gold standard of the Schrades.

Edgewise wrote:But from what I'm reading on some posts, the 'real' Waldens are the gold standard of the Schrades.

Close, the cut co’s are the gold standard but the early walden’s are almost the same. Later walden’s (pre 1960’s) were very good knives but still a little outclassed by the cut co’s. Schrades were always good but the bar did consistently lower, such is the way of all the old cutleries that lasted into the more modern era. That’s why we like the old stuff.

KnifeSlinger#81 wrote:

Edgewise wrote:But from what I'm reading on some posts, the 'real' Waldens are the gold standard of the Schrades.

Close, the cut co’s are the gold standard but the early walden’s are almost the same. Later walden’s (pre 1960’s) were very good knives but still a little outclassed by the cut co’s. Schrades were always good but the bar did consistently lower, such is the way of all the old cutleries that lasted into the more modern era. That’s why we like the old stuff.

X2

KnifeSlinger#81 wrote:........ Later walden’s (pre 1960’s) were very good knives but still a little outclassed by the cut co’s. Schrades were always good but the bar did consistently lower, such is the way of all the old cutleries that lasted into the more modern era. That’s why we like the old stuff.

I'm intrigued by these cut co s. I've never held one and don't have the experience to tell the difference, but I have a new Case and I still don't have the experience to see or feel any difference from my four line Camillus from the 1940s. I can't say if my new Case will be the same in seventy years time though because the four line can't be any better than it is seventy years ago, except for a little blade loss and some patina .
So, was using a new cut co back in 1913 any different from using a well made new Case in 2018, performance wise?
And how would the cut co s compare with the new customs like the Davison customs?
I think that narrows the comparison down to four things, fit and finish, walk and talk, durability and performance; cut co vs. new well made Case.

I'm always intrigued by such topics....

There for a time, the cut co knife seen as my avatar, I used as my EDC. It carries an edge that has impressed me like no other knife & I have never had to sharpen it. I became apprehensive about carrying it thinking I'd do something foolish that would end up damaging a nearly 100 year knife. So I replaced it with a Scrade-Walden 234K ( I do like my B&M handles). I have not been able to get the edge as razor sharp as the cut co, but its good enough for a EDC. (Reminds me, I don't have any pics of the 234K... need to take some.)

While I'm not too familar with Case knives.... I have made comparisons between the Cut Co. & its related descendant - Canal Street Cut.
While the CSC has demonstrated to me that the craftsmanship in a modern knife can be every bit as good as the "ancestry" knife... the older knife will always hold preference with me purely on the fact... it has already survived the "test of time".

I'm speechless!!! A hundred year old knife with celluloid handles that looks like it was made yesterday!!!
So, steel quality and the test of time. That's good enough for me.
And that avatar is ...... I'm speechless again.
Those cut co s are stratosphere knives; too high for me, and to be admired from afar.
I think I'll settle for a Schrade Walden NY USA. I may still get one that nobody wants to fit my meager budget.

Modern factory knives really don’t hold a candle against a nice cut co. There are multiple reasons for me to say this. They have traits that are pretty common on quality knives of the same era, which is why the pre war knives are better in general.

Cuts have more thinly ground blades with a thicker blade stock than the majority of modern knives. Based on my sharpening experience most older knives have a little softer steel than their modern contemporaries, which makes them easier to get a very fine edge. Also helping in that regard is the thinly ground blades. It’s very easy to get a razor sharp edge on most old knives, they just respond to it very well. Most old knives are just flat cutting machines, better that your average modern knife without modifications.

Cuts have more slender handles than most modern knives, which is a nice touch that makes a pocket knife better for which it was designed. It also gives them a much more clean and trim appearance. The wonderful bone of old knives (and schrade in particular) hardly needs explanation. Another thing is snap, cuts usually have a very nice sturdy snap that is much more clean and crisp than most current knives have.

Now for me the big thing is blade grinds. When they say “they don’t make them like they used to” this is what I think about. The grinds that schrade cut put on their knives was so good that no modern factory made knife even comes close. The crisp lines that are evident on their blades is one of the main attractions to schrade cut for me, right along with peachseed. Also their crocus and glaze finishes are very striking, again something that is not replicated by modern production knives.

Fit and finish is a big subject, so I’ll try to keep it short. Fit and finish is not just flush springs, no gaps and centered blades. Much of it is in the finer details of the entire assembly of the knife, the way all the parts come together to make a truly excellent knife. This starts from the ground up and can’t be done after the fact. Things on old knives like the thick blade stock that tapers to a thin cutting edge and slender handles are aspects of fit & finish, for example. Polishing on old knives is far superior to new, the type of grinding and buffing wheels they used to use are no longer available IIRC, they produced a different and better result. In these areas of f&f older knives are superior, but sometimes in the more superficial areas of f&f modern knives can be superior. By superficial f&f I mean things like no gaps, centered blades and such- things that effect only aesthetics. In general schrade cut has very good f&f in all aspects. I have a number of examples I would consider to have as near perfect f&f that you could for a production knife.

As far as cuts being unobtainable $ wise that is not always the case. You have to keep an eye out, but sometimes you can pick up nice examples for very little money. I have a schrade boys knife with original chain and a small half congress, both knives retain most of their original finish and have near full blades in very nice condition and can be safely used (but not work a day, that is not safe) and they were had for around $40 and $20 respectively. I also have a large stockman with some wear but very good blades and monster snap, really an ideal edc and it was $18. I like it better for edc than 95% of my knives. That’s less money than many a brand new case, and they are far superior.

One last thing is custom knives. I don’t have any custom knives to use for comparison but I will say this, many of the custom pocket knife makers take inspiration from old knives. This includes many things like patterns, details like bolster types, shields, bone jig and such. Obviously a full custom knife made by someone that’s very good will outclass any production knife in f&f, attention to detail, material and build quality but the fact that many a custom maker gets inspiration from the old knives says it all.

I’ll try and remember to get some pictures of the aspects of cut co’s I have discussed here in the next few days, it’s too dark outside now.

Edgewise wrote: I think I'll settle for a Schrade Walden NY USA. I may still get one that nobody wants to fit my meager budget.

My budget is so meager that I nearly have to get someone to pay me to take a knife. Even so, I just last week won an online auction for a Schrade Walden 825 knife in mint condition for $30 delivered. I was simultaneously following an auction for another Schrade Walden that ended up selling for $23 and change.

I'm one of those who falls prey to the "older is better" mentality, but there's room for error in that thinking. Can the oranges that I slice at lunch tell the difference between a new Case or--heaven forbid!--a knife made on foreign soil and my 50-yr-old Schrade Walden? What about that packing tape on those Amazon boxes? Generally speaking, our pocket knives these days don't suffer from overuse, although exceptions abound..

Don't get me wrong. I'd take a Schrade Cut Co knife in a heartbeat and carry it daily if I found one at the right time for the right price!

Let us know what you buy. When time permits, I'll take and upload pics of my S-W 825 on the proper thread.

KnifeSlinger#81 wrote: As far as cuts being unobtainable $ wise that is not always the case. You have to keep an eye out, but sometimes you can pick up nice examples for very little money.

This one would prefer to be re-handled, and I will make it so, but it could be carried or kept without doing that, because the gassing off has finished some 70 years ago, no doubt (unless subjected to traumatic conditions). It is 3 3/8 inches closed, hard half stops, perfectly centered blades, crocus finished on mark side, 95% original finish, never sharpened or used. $41 shipped to me. May the Force be with you.

Many thanks to all four guys in this thread who took the time to explain and illustrate at length what I wanted to know.
You have convinced me and my next search is for a Walden to match my Camillus fourline, hopefully in price as well.
I don't promise that the Force will be with me like it was with tongueriver, but I'll keep you posted in my quest to join cult Walden.