I know that there are only 2 variations of the Schrade 75th Anniversary clasp knife, the $100 knife with Staglon handles and the $1000 knife with gold overlay on the blade and stag handles. The $1000 dollar knife also has file work on the back of the blade by Herman Williams and is decked out with sterling silver bolsters, liners and shields.
(the one pictured has extra file work)

  I recently bought a knife from a seller on Ebay that goes by the name “ tradenhappy “ He was claiming that there was a third 75th Anniversary Clasp. The auction title was

“SCHRADE USA ETCHED CLASP KNIFE 75TH Ann ABALONE TOOLED BLADE CIGAR BOX !!!!”




Right away I knew that the cigar box in the picture was the one used with the china clasp knives sold by Taylor LLC. The frame wasn’t made by Schrade and I suspected the handles weren’t abalone but the blade was not only a genuine USA Schrade 75th Anniversary blade, it was the one used for the $1000 knife with original Herman Williams file work. The $100 knife has “275“ ( the model # ) on the reverse side of the tang and the $1000 dollar knife has “75 ANN.”

I sent “tradenhappy“ an email and asked if he could shed some light on this knife.

Here is his reply:
“the knives ere an enigma to me. The boxes in china are some of the unused stock from the old factory. There are millions of bit and blades and parts left over. Some knives are still made by past Camilus employees, in NY, even unto today.
The guy who bought the white bone knife has explained a fortune of information to me. In my hay day, mid 80's to early 90s, I bought 10s of thousands of knives Directly from Jim Parker, through his solo time, Jim Frost partnership, and through his Case ownership. My other supplier was (still is) Jim Sargent and daughter. This other fellow tells me Schrade made 5, 75th anniversary knives
The one with the etch and silver tab, I had for sale
Etch with white bone and file work
The one you won that seems to be abalone (he has one) and file and etch
1 in a soft clam shell with no file, but etch and silver,
And a Gold 1, with no file, but has etch
Schrade made so many , information comes happenstance. And I have over 5,000 knives in my "private stock", including several enigmas. I set them aside as I get them. I bought these from someone who inherited a collection. And just dumped them on buy it now auctions. I no doubt have sold some knives for under $100 that belong in museums.”
“All I can tell you about your knife, that I know on my own, it is quite mesmerizing to me, the fit and finish do not have that china garbage feel to it, and what this other fellow shared with me”


By golly, now there are 5 models of the 75th Anniversary knife…. The white bone knife he is referring was another like this one, that he sold on Ebay.

I bought the knife because I wanted the blade and when it arrived, I was not disappointed. The blade was correct and the file work was by Herman. The blade had never received the gold overlay and most likely came from the bankruptcy auction.

The frame isn’t a Schrade or Taylor frame, the bolsters are much thinner and appear to have been ground down, the box and paperwork are Taylor LLC .

I sent “tradenhappy” an email:
"I find it simply amazing that someone who has bought and sold as many knives as you claim to have, cannot tell the difference between real abalone and cheap plastic.”
“The only thing that Schrade made on this knife is the blade. Any competent dealer or collector can see that this knife has been put together by someone other than Schrade. Even the paperwork that you sent with the knife has Taylor LLC printed on it. I am going to keep the knife because I want the blade that is correct, and so I can post pic's of it on all the knife forums and give the credit to you.”
"I also think that you should refund at least half my money for selling me a knife that has plastic handles and not abalone."

His Reply:
“I don't fully understand what you're saying. If you're not 100% satisfied wit the knife, I offer a no questions asked refund, and pay for return shipping.
No idea who put "paperwork" in that box. Ebay has paperwork, boxes, for Case, Schrade, and most major knife companies. If where I purchase these does not specifically state.”
“ I am No expert on judging material such as abalone (the inside of a clam, oyster, etc) That is how I bought the knife, and sold with Satisfaction Guarantee. If you'd like to take pictured and post them to a forum, you may certainly do so, then return the knife, as said, for a FULL refund, including return shipping. If you doubt my past history with knife dealers, I cannot help that. No one knows everything. I openly admit I learn new things every week. The man that purchased the White bone one of these, informed me that Schrade made 5 different 75th Ann Clasp knives with the blade etch.
“ I sold 3 of the 5 clasp knives made for 75th anniversary. At least 3 of the were filed by a famous couple. The man who bought the whit bone one, already has the one known as "abalone". It is 100% 1979 factory produced.”


Here we go again with the 5 different anniversary models and now Herman Williams is a “couple”. I don't know what factory he is referring to but it certainly wasn't the Schrade factory in Ellenville N.Y.
I also questioned him about the “factory edge”…I have butter knives that are sharper..




His reply:
"Factory Edge" = "never re-sharpened". "never been sharpened" technically means, the knife NEVER had an edge. And is improper wording.”

Boy, was I having fun now.

This is Ebay's definition of seller fraud:“Any attempt by sellers to misrepresent themselves, or the products they're selling, is seller fraud.”
At this point he had pulled all his listings off ebay.

I sent another email:
“What you are doing by selling a knife that has been put together out of parts and then listing it as a SCHRADE USA ETCHED CLASP KNIFE 75TH Ann ABALONE TOOLED BLADE CIGAR BOX !!!! is seller fraud.”

His reply:
“I have NEVER had n issue such as this in all my years. Some things get confused both buying and selling, and get resolved. But you're pulling words out of the air and accusing me of FRAUD ? I WILL NOT STAND FOR IT. And ebay Will back me they have ALL our msgs.
You're unhappy with knife, Return it for a full refund.
DO NOT TRY TO RAILROAD ME INTO DISCOUNTING
UNHAPPY - RETURN / SIMPLE”

There were a few more emails back and forth. In the end I figured:

The cost of a frankenknife with a genuine Schrade 75th Anniversary blade, file worked by Herman Williams….$72.00
The enjoyment received from screwing with the seller…PRICELESS

By the way, Herman is going to put that blade into a Schrade frame where it belongs.