schrade 'old timer' opinions

[kevin.303]

i had bought a schrade old timer skinning kinfe a while back and was impressed with its comfortable grip and it's ability to hold a razor sharp edge. i was using it as my kitchen knife when camping last weekend and left it in the sheath sitting on the picnic table. it rained that night and when i pulled out of the sheath was quite surprised the find small rust spots on the blade. i assumed it was made from stainless steel. is there any way to remove the rust and protect it from happening again?

[Joel]

A lot of the Old Timer Blades aren't stainless.  Usually when Scrade uses a stainless steel the blade is marked schrade+ to indicate it is stainless.  Not that it matters; any knife blade will rust, including stainless, if subjected to enough moisture.  The usual method or removing rust is to spray with WD-40 and rub with some fine steel wool.  In really serious cases, I've used Naval Jelly, which will remove any sort of rust(including bluing).  Keeping your blade rust free is usually a good subject for a discussion free-for-all; everybody has their pet ways.  One of the best ways I've found to keep a blade rustfree is to keep it out of the danged sheath unless I'm actually toting it.  Sheaths can hold all kinds of moisture, blood, dirt, mud etc, that can screw up any blade in a heartbeat.  Second way is to use some kind of rust preventative on the blade. All sorts of stuff out there.  I use Johnson's Automotive wax on all my knives, handles, sheaths etc.  Works fine, unless rubbed off while the blade is being worked. When I use a knife hard, especially in some of that inclement weather, I get it home and it gets immediately washed, dried and waxed.  The exception to that is on my hardworking, carry about every day blades, that either sit in a sheath or are in my pocket.  They also get waxed, but to tell you the truth if they get a little rusty or stained, I don't get real excited about it.  First chance I get, I clean them up, but sometimes that may take a day or two.  Actually, I like my Carbon(non-stainless) blades better after they've picked up that nice ol' patina they get.  That's just me, of course.[/img]

[HBL]

If you have access to a buffing wheel, start with a good dose of emory. That should take the rust spots off but will leave the blade a slight dull in appearance. Make sure to keep water handy to dip the blade in every now and then because the wheel will get the blade hot.

Finish with a rouge bar, probably yellow or green. Green is mostly for stainless but I also use it on High Carbon with good results. It will put a mirror shine on the blade. This is what you want to help keep the corrosion down.

And if you don't have access to a wheel, you can always use emory paper with some elbow grease.

Good luck,

Been there, done that,

HBL

[Gregory]

Schrade Old timers are my favorite knives.  I have four, a 3OT, 12OT, 125OT, and a 9OT.

My primary hunting knife is the 125OT and it is not stainless, I keep a light coating of oil on it to prevent rust.  Over the years the blade has developed a darker color, it almost looks stained.  To me. that gives it character.  Very easy to keep this blade sharp.

[dread]

My Schrade Old Timers are all carbon steel and would rust if I didn't keep them dry and oiled. I remove them from the sheath and wrap them in an oiled cloth. The blades look discolored too, but I like that look also. All good tips on keeping the carbon steel in fine shape.  :grin:

[ironglow]

I prefer carbon steel in a work knife. Stain is no problem...gives it "character".
  As far as care of the steel goes..care for it as you do your gun ,  as far as cleaning and oiling goes. And yes; store it outside the sheath!

    The carbon steel Schrade knives are one of the really great knife buys...just my 2 cts.

[dukkillr]

I carry my 77OT every time I hunt.  It cleans lots of critters every year, has been completely stained, and stays as sharp as ever as long as you take care of it.  I consider the 77OT to be the ultimate waterfowl breasting knife available.

[wormbobskey]

In my opinion, like a lot of you guys, I like carbon steel better than stainless.  I have about a half dozen different schrade knives, but my favorite is the 150 Deerslayer, I just like the sleek flowing lines and it skins a deer like nobodies business. Next in line is the Sharpfinger. I use this knife to skin anything from rabbits to coyotes and everything in-between. All of my schrades have that dark finish that good knives get from use. Wouldn't have it any other way. Worm

[powderman]

I read a RUMOR on another board about schrade going out of business. Anybody heard anything? POWDERMAN.    

[Joel]

There's another post on this board to that effect; but yeah, Schrade is out of business officially.  They actually closed their doors in July.

[IntrepidWizard]

Parker also is out of business.

[kevin.303]

so i can safely assume that it no longer has a lifetime warranty?

[Joel]

Yep, Kevin.  That's a safe assumption all right.  Schrade closed their doors and laid off the last around 350 people, so no one there to do ANYTHING.  Shame.  I've a couple of their knives that I've carried for years and really liked them a lot better then Case.

[TimWieneke]

Steel prices are hurting/killing alot of steel-based businesses.  I haven't bought new stock for a while - been doing a lot more scrounging lately.

Tim

[ironglow]

Sorry news about Schrade....hate to see such a grand old company close!
   If you truly like Schrade products...look for them in yourt local store and buy them up for your kids/grandkids....great excuse to tell the little wife why you're buying "another Knife"..

  If you like great American knives, and want to stay with them, take a hard look at the Ontario/ Queen line.
  The Ontario plant is about 4 miles from my house.  The Vice Pres. is a personal friend of mine and I am familiar with the plant and most of the workers there. The workers are more like a big "family" rather than people that just come in to make a paycheck.
  They have I believe, about all the military contracts for edged weapons and take pride in how well they make or exceed the govt. specs.

    My grandson is the company armorer for his Marine unit at Camp Lejeune, and he says that ALL his edged weapons are stamped ONTARIO, USA...even the vaunted K-Bar pattern blades.
 
  The survival / military line  for Ontario is called the Spec 5 series....1095 steel, very durable and virtually indestructable.
 
   I organized a tour for fellow black/ blade smiths about a month ago. The bladesmiths were much impressed, particularly with the hardening/ temper drawing process.

   Ontario also owns Queen Cutlery of Titusville Pa. That is their hunting/ folding knife division. The Queen line is extremely high quality at what I call bargain prices, considering the quality.
   The Queen line is made "the old fashioned way", with lots of hand operations, done by experienced cutlers. Many Queen folders have as many as 93 hand operations , including emery polishing of the blades.

   I carry a Queen "Paladin" Senator series as my personal pocket knife. It has embossed brass scales, a 2 1/8 inch spear blade and a sheepfoot blade. This folder is just a hair over 1/8 inch thick; drop it in your pocket, and you forget it is there, until you need it....thin enough, so it doesn't wear those thin spots on your jeans that other "pocket" knives do.
    For a reasonable price (a tad over $13) it is an excellent "gift" knife for a lifetime of use by someone you admire.

  Recently; Queen has gone completely to D2 steel...for the edge..

    If you are like me and don't want to see any more American knife companies fold....take a look at Ontario/ Queen...and buy American...


        <www.ontarioknife.com>

        <www.qcutlery.com>

[kevin.303]

well ironglow, i'll take that little nugget of advice. i fdound a local dealer that still has them in stock, so on saturday i'm going to buy another one, maybe 2. i had a couple friends who had the folding "gator" ( i think) and i really didn't like it much. the blade was short and funny looking and it was half serrated and useless for cutting rope and such.

[ironglow]

Right Kevin...serrations have their place, but I don't own many of them...guess I'm just "old-fashioned".