All About Pocket Knives

I bought this knife back in the 80's a 4" stockman a beautiful Red Bone on the Tang it has HERITAGE Schrade N Y USA but it has XX stamped over, as the seller told me these were Factory Seconds also on the back side of the main blade is the # 8801 So what you guys have any experience in this particular knife?

If this could be moved to the Schrade forum, the 'experts' there could explain this knife.
Maybe a moderator will move it over there ?
kj

Yes this knife is a factory second or production overrun. The Heritage series knives were very well made and attractive knives. They made several patterns in both smooth green and smooth red bone. Muskrat, Stockman, Barlow and Trapper.

I once had a guy swear up and down to me those markings meant the knives were for export--even after me mentioning TWICE I knew that they were factory seconds. Figured forget reasoning--since he wanted more than $40 for the hawkbill. Don't even know where that came from.

Seconds can be safety hazards, Bear sells them that way to Amazon without even marking them as such. Yet, I have several Kutmaster seconds, and despite minor cosmetic goofs (like someone drilling two holes on one side of a hawkbill's handle, they perform just fine.

I have a few of the Schrade Heritage knives LDF, though not the stockman that you own. A couple of mine have the X mark through the stamp as does yours, and it is my understanding that the X indicates a factory second. I have wondered about the criterion for determining a second, since one my seconds looks better than one that is not a second.
I have not seen a lot of info about the Schrade Heritage series, but check out this thread for some info.
viewtopic.php?f=64&t=31622&p=294189&hil ... ge#p294189

Schrade did grind off the factory tang stamp, either by the two XX as shown in the OP or by a line ground through the name.
I have had a number of Schrade seconds over the years, including some in the Heritage series. I can't recall ever being able to identify what the blemish was that caused it to be graded a second.
Schrade had high quality standards and it's often the case that the seconds look as good or better better than the first do, I have had some like that also. Schrade marked knives as seconds that had cosmetic blemishes, not a problem with the function of the knife. The blemishes are usually so minute that most people can't locate them.

Kershaw USA uses a similar practice; they denote their seconds by etching XXXX on the pile side of their blade. These are also for cosmetic blemishes, not for functional issues. I had one Kershaw knife that was graded a second and the fellow I purchased it from showed me what had caused that knife to be graded down. It had a heavy black finish on the handle that seemed fairly thick. When they were being manufactured in Tualatin Oregon, the knives were clamped in a jig to hold them while further assembly or testing took place. The left a tiny mark on the side of the handle about 3/8 of an inch long and about as wide as a pencil. It was nothing more than a scuff mark to the finish and yet Kershaw graded 300 knives as seconds because of that mark. The price was less than half of what the retail price was for the knife. Once I put the knife in my pocket and carried it for half an hour, I could not even find where the market had been.
IMHO, seconds are a good way for someone to have a high quality user knife without paying the premium price for a premium knife.

Some details regarding the Heritage series.

They were introduced in 1983. The last year they were made was 1986. In 1983 Schrade offered 3 handle colour choices: red, green and brown. In 1984 only red and brown were made available. For 1985 and 1986 only brown bone was available.

Many links:

1983
http://collectors-of-schrades-r.us/FLYE ... 3-33-1.htm
http://collectors-of-schrades-r.us/FLYE ... 3-33-2.htm
http://collectors-of-schrades-r.us/FLYE ... 3-33-3.htm
http://collectors-of-schrades-r.us/FLYE ... 3-33-4.htm

1984
http://collectors-of-schrades-r.us/FLYE ... 4-33-2.htm
http://collectors-of-schrades-r.us/FLYE ... 4-33-3.htm
http://collectors-of-schrades-r.us/FLYE ... 4-33-4.htm

1985
http://collectors-of-schrades-r.us/FLYE ... C85-33.htm
http://collectors-of-schrades-r.us/FLYE ... 5-33-1.htm

1986
http://collectors-of-schrades-r.us/FLYE ... C86-37.htm
http://collectors-of-schrades-r.us/FLYE ... 6-37-1.htm