Schrade Old Timer 24OT

Darren Wright

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I never know what to get dear my dear ole parents for gifts. They have just about everything they want and more that we've sent them they probably don't. So this year I've been buying them craft stuff. I bought Mom a bunch of colorful paper and a book on origami and paper air planes this year.

It's dad's turn, so I came across the Schrade Old Timer OT24 multi carving blade knife. It's a bit like the Flexcut Carvin' Jack, but at 1/6th the price.

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It seemed to have good reviews, but mentions the blades being thinner than the flexcut, but most still gave it high reviews for the price. Anyone have one?

I also ordered him some basswood blocks to practice on and a whittling book.
 
I've watched a couple of the youtube reviews and most say the quality is an obvious difference between it and the flexcut, but price wise is good for a beginner. The obvious things are the need to sharpen all the blades, most have machine marks. The blades don't lock open, but isn't really an issue since most of the carving wont be on the push that causes it to close. The blades are thinner and looser, but all say it's a great beginner for the price.
 
Looks like a great choice. I've looked at the Flexcut but my pocketbook never approved. Plus, I have several Shrade/Old Timer knives and have always been happy with the quality. That would be a great thing to carry on a vacation, especially camping trip, to........er.......whittle away at the time.
 
Loose blades would give me a bit of a pause. You need a fair bit of tool control for whittling so personally I'd prefer a simple three blade knife with good steel and tight blades to one with a lot of blade options. I'm guessing that at the price point there's a fair bit of quality variation, so it might be best to try and see if there's someplace you can pick one up in person? I don't have either but have a small collection of pocket knives that occasionally see duty as whittler's.

I might also suggest a book or two. Both of these are fairly well oriented towards getting most of it done with just a regular pocket knife.

This book by Tangerman is kind of the whittler's Bible. It is/was long out of print but wasn't too hard to find used or maybe reprint now.

Whittling and Woodcarving (Dover Woodworking)
by E. J. Tangerman
Paperback, 1962

The Lubek book here is less complete but has some nice introductory work and some pretty cool and well documented easy starter project ideas.

Whittling Twigs & Branches, 2nd Edition: Unique Birds, Flowers, Trees & More from Easy-to-Find Wood (Fox Chapel Publishing) Step-by-Step, Create Unique Keepsakes & Gifts with Just Your Pocketknife
by Chris Lubkemann
Paperback, 2004
 
Loose blades would give me a bit of a pause. You need a fair bit of tool control for whittling so personally I'd prefer a simple three blade knife with good steel and tight blades to one with a lot of blade options. I'm guessing that at the price point there's a fair bit of quality variation, so it might be best to try and see if there's someplace you can pick one up in person? I don't have either but have a small collection of pocket knives that occasionally see duty as whittler's.

I might also suggest a book or two. Both of these are fairly well oriented towards getting most of it done with just a regular pocket knife.

This book by Tangerman is kind of the whittler's Bible. It is/was long out of print but wasn't too hard to find used or maybe reprint now.

Whittling and Woodcarving (Dover Woodworking)
by E. J. Tangerman
Paperback, 1962

The Lubek book here is less complete but has some nice introductory work and some pretty cool and well documented easy starter project ideas.

Whittling Twigs & Branches, 2nd Edition: Unique Birds, Flowers, Trees & More from Easy-to-Find Wood (Fox Chapel Publishing) Step-by-Step, Create Unique Keepsakes & Gifts with Just Your Pocketknife
by Chris Lubkemann
Paperback, 2004
I would agree with you on testing out the knife. I'm not shy about sending stuff back when it comes from amazon, costs nothing but time to return if something is wrong with the item. ;)

Both books look like great recommendations. I remember checking that first one out at the library several times years ago. I just found the other over on abe books and picked up a copy, along with a cane handle carving book.
 
I've watched a couple of the youtube reviews and most say the quality is an obvious difference between it and the flexcut, but price wise is good for a beginner. The obvious things are the need to sharpen all the blades, most have machine marks. The blades don't lock open, but isn't really an issue since most of the carving wont be on the push that causes it to close. The blades are thinner and looser, but all say it's a great beginner for the price.

Mine arrived today. Looks to be good quality overall - especially for under twenty bucks. Contrary to other reviews, the blades on mine are tight to the frame - no 'looseness' noted. They all need sharpened, or at least honed, before they'll be used. Other that that, fit and finish is pretty good. I'll be able to comment more on steel quality after I've sharpened the blades and used them a bit, but overall I'm initially favorably impressed.
 
Well, I'd say my evaluation is about the same as Jim's. It's not a bad knife. Things aren't really loose at all. The blades all show the sanding marks on them, so they need a "good" sharpening. The thinness of a couple of the blades is noticeable, mostly the flat chisel and smaller gouge, but won't know how those work until I use it a bit.
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Just went to the mail box and picked mine up.

Super similar to the the flex cut carving jack, but yeah, not much work on the sharpening.

Speaking of sharpening, who knows how to sharpen those weird little blades. Dang.

carving jacks.jpg
 
The thinness of a couple of the blades is noticeable, mostly the flat chisel and smaller gouge, but won't know how those work until I use it a bit.

A couple thin blades can be handy if you want to whittle things like pliers or scissors. Not sure how well that flat chisel would work for those exactly but it looks like a pretty candidate for giving it a try! (y)

Speaking of sharpening, who knows how to sharpen those weird little blades. Dang.

Just like a tiny little gouge :D The side scorp might be a wee bit tricky yo keep lined up but shouldn't be to bad. Search for "Sharpening a Veiner Gouge" to find the Mary May video, she explains it a LOT better than I can.
 
I’m not much into knife carving but knowing how often I pick a different tool to carve, I think it will be a nuissance to fold and unfold the tool I need when carving. I’d rather have a couple of knives an learn to make the most out of them, but that is only my opinion.
 
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