Schrade knives

[DUBSY]

Picked this up for $20 shipped. Does anyone here have experience with this company? They're an old company and have been through a lot of changes. I think they're under Taylor now. When I was very young my grandfather let me have his very used Schrade- Walden automatic. Back then they were called switch blades. It wasn't much to look at. Having been very abused it's still usable though. 

[syntaxerrorsix]

Schrade has been in business forever.  They make a variety of bargain knives.  They fall into the "nothing special" category for me but I'm a full on knife snob so I'm clearly biased.

[fastbolt]

I ordered that model for the same price just to check it out.

Personally, I dislike that it uses a separate toggle/lever to assist the blade in opening, versus just pressing against a protrusion of the blade, itself.

Thick, bulky and okay-ish, and it immediately became my yardwork/toolbox "beater" folder for light duty cutting chores. I've picked up sale knives for the same price that I like much better.

FWIW, Schrade is one of the knife companies now owned by S&W, under their Battenfeld Technologies company (along with Old Timer, Imperial and Uncle Henry brands).

 

[DUBSY]

1 hour ago, fastbolt said:

I ordered that model for the same price just to check it out.

Personally, I dislike that it uses a separate toggle/lever to assist the blade in opening, versus just pressing against a protrusion of the blade, itself.

Thick, bulky and okay-ish, and it immediately became my yardwork/toolbox "beater" folder for light duty cutting chores. I've picked up sale knives for the same price that I like much better.

FWIW, Schrade is one of the knife companies now owned by S&W, under their Battenfeld Technologies company (along with Old Timer, Imperial and Uncle Henry brands).

 

Thanks for the reply. Mine will be a "beater" as well. I had trouble getting it from my pocket without it deploying in my pocket.

[fastbolt]

I didn't care for how sensitive the toggle lever was, either. When working on the slope above the river, I made sure to switch it to "manual", just so I wouldn't worry about a sudden slip or hurriedly grasping it from a pocket wouldn't open the blade before I could get it from my pocket.

This assisted opener design may look good on paper, and easily open the blade when just handling it and looking at it, but I don't care for it as a EDC folder. Hence, being relegated to the yardwork/beater role. ;)

[limeylad]

The first thing I purchased when I arrived in the States was a Buck 110 copy sold by Craftsman.  It is made by Schrade.  It's held up very well over the last 35 years.

[fastbolt]

The 110 was iconic and a trend-setter, and had a strong influence on a number of folders made by other companies over the years. Many of them were made of decent materials and assembled pretty well for the time.

The G 96 knives were pretty obvious clones, and were probably the best known of all the influenced models that were widely available (and in more configurations than just the 110-type single lockblade), and they could be bought for less money. You could easily find G96 folders in stores where you couldn't find a Buck Knives display. Some folks liked the G 96 steel (440) better than what Buck used in the 110, and they were a very popular knife. I always thought they appeared a bit rougher in overall fit & finish, and never added one to my collection. (Also imagine a Buck 100 look-alike made like a SAK, with added accessory tools, which G96 offered.)

I remember the Schrade version being compared favorably to the original Buck, but the Uncle Henry was often priced a bit higher and advertised as a "higher end" version. Schrade was a "working man's" line of knives, without the extra attention and "polish" on the blades and scales. Good value for the money. Then, there was the Puma version that was imported. ;)

While I owned a Buck 110 (I think I bought it sometime in '69-'70), in the mid-70's I picked up a couple of Rigid Knives R9 Apache folders at a local sporting goods store. I vaguely remember Rigid being started by at least one former employee of Buck Knives. The R9 Apache was a larger, thicker noticeably more robust folding single lockblade based on the 100 influence. The R9 model had a heavier Bowie clip blade that has great edge geometry, as well as thick wooden scales & brass liners that were cut to form finger grooves. The lock spring was HEAVY, the bolsters were thicker and the sheath was of gun holster leather quality. Not a bad bargain and upgrade for a $35 folder of that era. I kept one for use, and one I put away for my then-2 year old son. The one I put back for my son (who is now 40) had the original box and brochure. If you search for the R9 Apache Rigid folder, and look for the Bowie balde version, there's some good pics remaining online. I have a few other Rigid knives, but they're fixed blade versions.