Case Copperlock

David you are a great example of how to get maximum enjoyment from playing with knives. As an accomplished "Edge Master" you can experiment with narrowing a profile and bringing edges to various levels of smoothness. Doing this allows you to understand how different steels 'react' and how the heat treatment might vary with the knife manufacturer.
This is Max Enjoyment ! whether slicing tomatoes, gutting a deer or whittling, getting the knives 'ready' and then seeing the effects of your efforts is so rewarding. Way funner than forever using an edge the way it arrived.
I'm envious. My sharpening is rudimentary. All i need is more practice time, but there always is something else that needs prompt attention. Hope i get 'there' before it doesn't matter anymore.
roland
 
rprocter said:
David you are a great example of how to get maximum enjoyment from playing with knives. As an accomplished "Edge Master" you can experiment with narrowing a profile and bringing edges to various levels of smoothness. Doing this allows you to understand how different steels 'react' and how the heat treatment might vary with the knife manufacturer.
This is Max Enjoyment ! whether slicing tomatoes, gutting a deer or whittling, getting the knives 'ready' and then seeing the effects of your efforts is so rewarding. Way funner than forever using an edge the way it arrived.
I'm envious. My sharpening is rudimentary. All i need is more practice time, but there always is something else that needs prompt attention. Hope i get 'there' before it doesn't matter anymore.
roland
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I accumulated a whole bunch of knives for a long time, before finally finding at least one decent way to sharpen any of them. So that's been refueling my 'obsession' for a while now. Much, much less expensive to tune up the knives I have, rather than accumulating even more. I have a ready-made inventory to 'practice' on, and it has been greatly rewarding, way beyond what I would've anticipated when I started. :)

This thread prompted me to take out one of my Copperlocks and give it some more consideration. Since yesterday, I've already started tweaking the edge on mine (red Pocketworn model, mentioned earlier). I had done sort of a quick re-bevel on it a while back, and wasn't quite satisfied with it. Yesterday, I fiddled a little bit with some wet/dry sandpaper on it. A bit better cutting, but still sort of sloppy. So, today I did a more meticulous re-bevel with my Lansky, at a more acute edge angle, and it's looking much better now. Haven't 'tested' it yet, on food anyway, but it's begging to introduce itself to some Roma tomatos I know are in the fridge. :D
 
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The mini copperlock in natural bone arrived in today's mail from jdracing. Not easy to get good mid-day photos of stainless steel and the light colored bone, while still showing some of the bone texture. These are as good as I can get right now.

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I really like how slender this thing is, will carry quite comfortably. I have not yet decided whether to keep it natural, or do another dye job.
 
I did some experimenting with dye mixes today, and have decided to transform the natural bone mini copperlock. I will do the work tomorrow, and post about it then. Meanwhile, here are my last two photos of the knife as received. Even these less than stellar photos show that the pile side scale is a bit creamier than the whiter mark side. Will be interesting to see how it turns out.

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Roland, is it a full sized copperlock or a mini? I have had both, full sized in burnt stag and a mini that was a SFO from smokey mountain in ebony. It is without a doubt one of my favorites. very pockitable and you can open it with one hand. I have been using it recently due to a smashed fingernail.
 
I have a 99 full size Copperlock in some of the ugliest stag I've ever seen. I'd love to see Case offer more full-size & mini Copperlocks in CV steel.
 
navihawk said:
I wonder if that will make it more of a collector piece with tang stamps and all?
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Maybe only to a hardcore collector of the Copperlocks, or to those interested in accumulating other 'Vault' items. But, I don't think it'd affect the real $$ value much. Case puts certain selected models in the 'vault' on a regular basis, and it's generally known that it's only a temporary hold on them, usually for a few years (at least 3).

Here's a quote from a popular Case vendor, explaining Case's motives for the 'Vault' program:

"The Case XX Vault program took effect January 1, 2008. Four popular patterns and all related tool works were locked away inside the “Case XX Vault” for a period of at least three years before being reintroduced to the public. In the following months other patterns will be locked away as well

The reasons to institute this program are twofold. First, there are the manufacturing concerns involved in operating a factory with 140 different knife patterns. Meeting the incredible customer demand for hand-crafted Case knives is a real challenge; one that is magnified each year as Case introduces new knife patterns. Second, and more importantly, this program will be a tremendous benefit for Case Collectors. The time a pattern is on hiatus will give the Case Collector time to find those rare knives missing from their collection. At the same time, the knives already in their collection are likely to become even more valuable.
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Halfneck said:
I'd love to see Case offer more full-size & mini Copperlocks in CV steel.
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I would as well. I have the small and large yellow derlin in CV, but hope to see it offered with CV in bone or stag one day.


BTW Halfneck, I'm not far from Calhoun, and have had two jobs there many years ago.
 
Here it is, excellent knife:

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This knife is just 'top notch', first rate. The action is smooth and the lockup about the best i've ever experienced. At 4 1/4" it's a perfect size and fits in-hand with perfection. My index finger naturally fits around the rise in the copperhead bolster and my thumb rests on the blade spine/spring junction.
It feels GREAT.
The sheath is also super nice and is made of a softer leather, more glove like that the usual stiffer leather used for sheaths.
This is the nicest post 1970 Case that i have. I got very lucky here for my $57.

Here's another picture showing it with a 4 1/8" Trapper:

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roland
 
That looks great Roland!

That was one heck of a deal for the knife and a great looking sheath. I love the pattern, and feel it's one of the most overlooked Case knives IMO.
 
Roland, the Copperlock is the sensiquencial traditional knife. You can easily open it with one hand by pinching the blade, and the clip is to die for. Not to mention the pattern, which seems to me a combination of many traditional patterns. Congrats on your new aquisition. I do recommend the mini copperlock for EDC as it is an all around single blade workhorse.
 
I love the full-size Copperlock, and am quite disappointed that only the mini remains in production.
Had one in orange G-10 that I gave to a friend, and they were discontinued before I got myself a replacement.
 
puukkoman said:
I love the full-size Copperlock, and am quite disappointed that only the mini remains in production.
Had one in orange G-10 that I gave to a friend, and they were discontinued before I got myself a replacement.
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A few new versions of the full-size Copperlock are currently available (noted earlier in the thread).
 
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Ah! Sweet! I haven't looked at their current offerings in a while. Glad to hear it's back.
 
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