'65 - '69 Case Eisenhower lost on the roof for a decade.

[birdsbeaks]

Back in the early 1970s, my maternal grandfather gifted my soon-to-be father a stainless Case Eisenhower knife model 06263 in red bone covers. I don't know why it was gifted to him or the knife's condition at the time (or my father's, for that matter - younger than now, I imagine ) - I guess I'll have to interrogate him for the deets. I'm no Case expert and please correct me if I'm wrong, but the tang stamp appears to put this knife in the '65 - '69 era, so I'm assuming it was already a few years old when he got it. I'm envisioning something like the following picture, which is not mine. I wouldn't even know where to obtain green felt.

My father has always preferred small knives, and carried the Eisenhower (bet you $20 dad has no idea that's what this model is called) daily while helping to maintain the communications infrastructure in South Florida as an employee of AT&T, which became Southern Bell, which became BellSouth, and which returned full circle back to AT&T in time for his retirement. Up and down telephone poles for most of his working life, dad's only problem with climbing up on the roof of his single-story home is me threatening to give his ladders away!

Some time last year after a storm dispatched some massive avocados (not those adorable little egg-shaped black things you find in the store...) into his roof, dad popped up to inspect for damage. While there, he saw something glint in the sunlight which, upon closer inspection, turned out to be the pocket knife he had lost about ten years earlier. He says he remembers clearly the last time he was on that section of roof, and it was shortly after the roof was replaced in 2012. He also says he remembers using the knife to scrape some "mung" off of a section of flashing and figures he must've set it down after that.

So since 2012; a minor hurricane, a couple of tropical storms, countless hours of max UV exposure, sun, rain, heat, earth, wind, and fire! Umm - sorry, there wasn't any fire, I just got carried away. There certainly wasn't any snow either. I don't even recall any frost. Lots of hail, though. All that.

Dad brought it in, ran it under the tap, squirted it with WD-40 , wiped it off, and it's been in his change tray since. In the interim, I had given him a Buck 375 which he, frustratingly, now refuses to trade up from.

Here's the pile side. The knife was laying on this side so it got some protection from the elements:

And the mark side. This side was face up and took the brunt of the weathering. Unsurprisingly, the shield is long gone.

That's it - I'll mention that the knife has excellent walk and talk (better than some current-production ones I've received) with no blade play, and no gaps. Besides the wear to the covers, it is fully functional in all regards. Good job, Case!

 

[BDubbs]

Man good thing it was SS, wonder if CV would have made it? I’m assuming not.

 

[birdsbeaks]

Man good thing it was SS, wonder if CV would have made it? I’m assuming not.

Yeah, I had no idea that the old stainless was THAT stainless!

If it were CV, in this environment, I think only the liners, covers, bolsters, and pins would remain.

 

[El Jay]

Great story and awesome pattern. It should be brought back into the line permanently.

 

[birdsbeaks]

Great story and awesome pattern. It should be brought back into the line permanently.

Yes! Completely agree!

 

[afishhunter]

Man good thing it was SS, wonder if CV would have made it? I’m assuming not.

Yeah, I had no idea that the old stainless was THAT stainless!
If it were CV, in this environment, I think only the liners, covers, bolsters, and pins would remain.

I think that would depend on if the blades had an established patina, or had recently been oiled.
After all, the world's oldest known folding knife (dating to 800 to 600BC/BCE) that was found in a field, and that Romen era "Swiss Army" type knife that was also found buried in a field somewhere still retain at least more han the blade tangs.

 

[Old Hunter]

Looks like Delrin handles, some Ballistol and hard rubbing with a rough rag might clean the handles up pretty good. OH

 

[birdsbeaks]

I think that would depend on if the blades had an established patina, or had recently been oiled.
After all, the world's oldest known folding knife (dating to 800 to 600BC/BCE) that was found in a field, and that Romen era "Swiss Army" type knife that was also found buried in a field somewhere still retain at least more han the blade tangs.

This is in deep South Florida. 100°F days are the norm in summer, with thunderstorms nearly every afternoon for months straight. The average person will receive a sunburn in just 11 minutes of exposure when the sun is shining. Mineral oil takes on a watery viscosity and won't stay put. Uncoated steel rusts while you're looking at it. Any remaining classic cars are either stored in climate-controlled garages or else are in some state of uncontrolled decay.

I think, depending on many factors including the composition of the earth it's buried in, that being buried may, at some point, assist in preserving the item. This may have been in play with the Roman example. With as thin as the steel stock is on these, I can't imagine much carbon steel would have survived, patina or not. My machete, a carbon-steel Tramontina, with years of use and a hard-won deep black patina will still rust if left outdoors for more than a few hours during the hottest and wettest time of year (now).

Looks like Delrin handles, some Ballistol and hard rubbing with a rough rag might clean the handles up pretty good. OH

In person it's easier to distinguish that the covers are bone and that once upon a time that bone was red. Looking at my post, I see I neglected to mention that. My apologies.

Edited my original post to include that important detail.

 

[afishhunter]

This is in deep South Florida. 100°F days are the norm in summer, with thunderstorms nearly every afternoon for months straight.

Tell me about it. I used to live in the Keys and the Homestead/Florida City/Miami area.
My CS knives and machetes didn't rust away.

 

[Badger28]

Man that was a great read, thank you for sharing!

 

[birdsbeaks]

Tell me about it. I used to live in the Keys and the Homestead/Florida City/Miami area.
My CS knives and machetes didn't rust away.

That's certainly an interesting experience, although somewhat dissimilar to mine. Maybe you just got lucky!

In my experience, the following impromptu picture illustrates what happens to untreated carbon steel in Miami. It rusts. Quickly and badly. It took all of ten seconds, in the dark, to put this motley crew together. The tree saw is over 40 years old, formerly property of Southern Bell - it has rusted and been oiled so many times that it now has a fairly durable controlled-rust finish (plus, I was just using it and I think that took most of the red rust off) but it's quite literally been coated in tree sap, cleaned, and driven around town on top of a truck thousands of times. How many pocket knives get subjected to that? And of course, it will rust again if left unaddressed.

I don't believe any patina that has ever been would have provided any protection at all to the knife up on the roof.

 

[birdsbeaks]

Man that was a great read, thank you for sharing!

Thanks for saying so, my friend! Glad you enjoyed it!

 

[sbh06]

Such a wild story, Will, thanks for sharing. I also loved the pictures!

 

[birdsbeaks]

Such a wild story, Will, thanks for sharing. I also loved the pictures!

Thanks, Jeremy! Glad you enjoyed it. I knew I had to share the tale here, but waited until I could get some photos. In this modern era, you've gotta have pics to corroborate!