Post-Christmas Knife Haul!

[s&wchad]

There was a small one-day gun show the day after Christmas and it's about an hour drive by freeway from my home, so I almost didn't bother going. One exhibitor has been selling old stock that he's been sitting on for decades and I snagged some really nice stuff from him in the past, so I dragged myself out of the house and got there just before they opened.

I made a beeline for his table, picked out these four knives and asked for a price. He's big into military items, but doesn't tag his commercial knives and obviously doesn't check the internet for values. I made a quick loop through the show and was on my way home a half an hour after they opened. Another dealer offered me 50% more for the Blackjack Anaconda than I paid for everything, but I politely declined.

Here's my haul…

I got two Schrade Old Timer 150T "DeerSlayer" knives. I bought one from him at the last show, but couldn't pass them up. These are the old USA made large "Sharpfinger" style knives with carbon steel blades. No boxes, but the blades are flat out new and very sharp!

He also had an old S&W Survival knife (6030), with no sheath or box. I believe these were designed by Blackie Collins and made by S&W back in the 70's. It appears unused and I'm working on getting a sheath. A half-wit scammer actually sent me a PM last night trying to con me into sending him money for a sheath he doesn't own. I guess he hasn't seen all the scam alerts we've posted and didn't notice my moderator title. Talk about stupid crooks!
It didn't take long for new member falconjosh2345 to get thumped with the ban hammer! His current email is [email protected] and he's a known scammer, scumbag and loser.

This is the most valuable knife of the bunch, a 1980's Blackjack Anaconda II made in Seki City Japan. Mike Stewart was CEO of Blackjack at the time, later ran Marble's (Gladstone, MI) and now Bark River Knives (Bark River & now Escanaba, MI). The Acaconda II is a massive Bowie and sharp as a razor. It's nothing I'd ever use, but they seem to have almost a cult following and should be perfect for fighting off zombies and Big Foot!

 

[PatriotX]

Man, you scored.

Well-done.

 

[Valmet]

Those are some sweet blades- thanks for posting them up

 

[jeffrefrig]

Nice haul, indeed. That handle is very eye-catching on the S&W knife. No words except perfection for that Anaconda/Sheath combo! All 4 knives were definitely worth your 1 hour drive.

 

[KalamazooKid]

Very nice score!

 

[Onomea]

Chad, well done!

Use the Anaconda for a carving knife for holidays. I'm sure it would work well in that role, would be fun to use, and would be quite the conversation piece for any guests at the table!

 

[Xfuzz]

Great score...

During deer season here I'd bet 50% of the Old Timers in the
East Texas Piney Woods have a "Sharpfinger" in their
back pocket or on their belt.

 

[garddogg56]

Chad Oldtimerare my favorite no frills knife

 

[kennyb]

Love the S&W survival knife !

 

[kaaskop49]

" It's nothing I'd ever use..." Thanks, Chad, I needed that! Now, no more guilt, no matter how fleeting, to buying ANYTHING!

And a Happy New Year to you, sir.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[ColbyBruce]

I like them all.

 

[Buick]

A Schrade Old Timer "Deerslayer"

Was the first sheath knife i ever bought with my own money.
I'll bet i wasnt 13 years old! I still have it.

 

[Maddog 521]

Those are very nice
I bought my son a Sharpfinger many years ago for hunting. It's still here in a box of his stuff that he left here. Great knives

 

[Echo40]

That's a sweet haul!

I received a couple sweet knives as Christmas Gifts this year, including my own personal Grail Knife, the Buck 639 Fieldmate!

Those of you who may be familiar with the Buckmaster 184 and 185 LT may recognize the similar profile of the blade.

The Buck 639 Fieldmate is essentially a miniature Buckmaster 185 LT sold at a lower pricepoint. The major difference is its size, as the 639 is more in line with the Buck 119 Special Purpose Knife while the Buckmaster 185 LT was more in line with the Buck 120 General Purpose Knife. Also, the 185 was skeletonized full tang with a polymer coated grip whereas the 639 has a hidden tang with a molded rubber grip.

From what I can gather, (information on this knife is quite scarce online and rather difficult to verify) the Buck 639 Fieldmate was manufactured for just under a decade from about 1986 until 1994, when it was discontinued by Buck in the midst of a lawsuit between Buck and Phrobis -- the designers of the Buckmaster knives -- who claimed the 639 Fieldmate as an unlicensed derivative of their Buckmaster design. Unfortunately, for all the clones of the Buckmaster 184 floating around on the market, nobody ever bothered to make any clones of the 185 LT or the 639 Fieldmate, which is a shame because they're both excellent knives.

The Buck 639 Fieldmate features a 5" 425M Stainless Steel clip point blade with sawteeth milled into the spine. Being a derivative of the Buckmaster Knives, these sawteeth were designed for cutting through thin aircraft aluminum and canvas rather than wood, although they can obviously still saw through wood in a pinch.

My particular example has "639<" on the ricosso, with the < being a date code indicating that it was manufactured in 1987, making it an early example of the knife. Later examples have a variety of differences from black rubber handles or black phenolic handles rather than the OD Green handle featured on mine. In addition, there are other models which lack the sawteeth on the spine, as well as a few special edition one-offs made from leftover blade stock once production had ceased.

While the 639 Fieldmate is thankfully nowhere near as scarce nor expensive as the 185 LT on the used market, it's still harder to come by than a 184, albeit significantly less expensive, so it makes for a decent alternative for those who desire a Buckmaster but don't want to pay hundreds of dollars or purchase a cheap clone like the Rothco Ramster.

I really wish that Buck would bring back these knives, or at the very least offer sawtooth spines as an option for Custom 119s and 120s on their website so that folks could sort of special order something similar.
However, I'm extremely happy to finally have my hands on one!

In addition, I also received an engraved Buck 110 Slim Pro as a gift from my brother.

This one has since been adopted as my new EDC Knife, and I unfortunately learned first hand just how sharp she is when I accidentally closed the blade on my middle finger.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

 

[CH4]

Definitely a nice haul!
Well done

 

[mauser9]

Super indeed. Only received my new Sog trident AT but could not be happier. Great EDC knife.