arizonaranchman
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2012
- Messages
- 4,417
I sit here with a piping hot cup of coffee steaming on my desk and stare in wonder at a fantastic and wonderful gift... old Case 6232 that I received yesterday from our very own Paul Hilborn. No small portion of the amazement lies in the fact that it's nearly 50 years old yet looks virtually new - some of my EDC's of the past year or so look far worse for the wear!
About a month ago I was at my Father's 75th birthday party. We had a great BBQ with family and it was a nice visit. A box of old family photos ended up coming out for viewing. We enjoyed passing them around and enjoyed looking at them. As we all sat talking and having a great time I overheard my Dad saying something then I heard "pocket knife". My ears immediately perked up and I flew off the couch and ran over to where he was, just in time to see him drop an old pocket knife into the box along with all the photos. I asked "What's this about a pocket knife??" and he fished out an old, battered Case XX 6232 (the grand-daddy of the Texas Jack) and showed it to me, saying it had been his Father's knife. I was stunned! Somehow I'd never seen this before??? I examined it with amazement and fascination. My Grandfather passed away in July 1987 and apparently this knife had been in a box of his things since then! Seeing my obvious interest my Dad said "I've got some others of his too" and at that point we headed to another room and he showed me a few more (I'll share those in another thread soon).
The old 6232 in particular really had my eye as I dearly love old pocket knives (especially Case!) and it was in that Red Bone that I admire so much. The blades were a deep, dark grey, pitted and about half worn away from years of sharpening. Of course the jigged bone scales were plenty worn and a small chunk of the mark side scale was missing in the area under the shield. This old knife had seen YEARS AND YEARS of carry and use. WOW! I was so shocked and amazed to have this knife in my hand - 27 years after Grandpa had died. I remember him well. He smoked Muriel cigars and sipped bourbon on the rocks. He loved fishing and always had a story to tell it seems. He lived in NW Indiana nearly all his life (Rensselaer, Hammond and Whiting) and worked in a soap factory that had been there for decades. I remember his Fedora hats and his old Buick that was about 40 feet long from bow to stern.
Dad happily gave me the four pocket knives he had that were his fathers, knowing they were in good hands (I'm sort of the family historian). In the following days I admired that old knife and pondered carrying it, but also had the fears of losing it. It came to mind that perhaps I could find one just like it or similar and carry that one in his honor instead - preserving the original as a keepsake. With this thought in mind I added a "Wanted:" in my signature line, hoping someone might have one and be willing to sell it. After a few weeks I suddenly got a message out of the blue from our beloved Paul Hilborn. He had one just like it and asked for my address. He refused to accept any payment and insisted on sending one my way. I was humbled and delighted at the idea of finding one of these! A couple days later I was nothing short of stunned when I opened the package and found THIS...
OMG!!! I was in awe... This knife is 95% Like NEW and simply gorgeous! I hadn't envisioned anything this pristine - not even close to this that I held in my hand. The blades are 100% and the walk/talk and snap are as good as any of my GEC's that I have today. The F&F of this knife is outstanding. I'd heard that in earlier years Case had some up and down periods in quality control, but some eras in particular had outstanding fit and finish to them. This was obviously one of them!
It's from the 1965-1969 period...
And here is is beside my Grandfather's old 6232 (1940-64 era)... How much closer could they get???
You can see they're practically identical twins... The tang stamp is different, jigging slightly different, but otherwise they're practically a father and son match!
Paul I cannot express how tickled and humbled I am at your amazing kindness. I'm nothing short of stunned by this incredibly thoughtful gesture. To have this nearly 50 yr old classic Case knife "Just like Grandpa's" is just a thrill. I will carry it with great pride and give it the best of care. It already opened yesterday's mail and a package and later did an assist with dinner in opening seasoning packets.
Grandpa Elmer would be 102 years old now. I have many memories and can still hear his scratchy voice talking to me. This old Case pocket knife and the old ring I never remember seeing him without. I've seen pics of him wearing it at least back into the 1950's.
Paul THANK YOU my friend!
About a month ago I was at my Father's 75th birthday party. We had a great BBQ with family and it was a nice visit. A box of old family photos ended up coming out for viewing. We enjoyed passing them around and enjoyed looking at them. As we all sat talking and having a great time I overheard my Dad saying something then I heard "pocket knife". My ears immediately perked up and I flew off the couch and ran over to where he was, just in time to see him drop an old pocket knife into the box along with all the photos. I asked "What's this about a pocket knife??" and he fished out an old, battered Case XX 6232 (the grand-daddy of the Texas Jack) and showed it to me, saying it had been his Father's knife. I was stunned! Somehow I'd never seen this before??? I examined it with amazement and fascination. My Grandfather passed away in July 1987 and apparently this knife had been in a box of his things since then! Seeing my obvious interest my Dad said "I've got some others of his too" and at that point we headed to another room and he showed me a few more (I'll share those in another thread soon).
The old 6232 in particular really had my eye as I dearly love old pocket knives (especially Case!) and it was in that Red Bone that I admire so much. The blades were a deep, dark grey, pitted and about half worn away from years of sharpening. Of course the jigged bone scales were plenty worn and a small chunk of the mark side scale was missing in the area under the shield. This old knife had seen YEARS AND YEARS of carry and use. WOW! I was so shocked and amazed to have this knife in my hand - 27 years after Grandpa had died. I remember him well. He smoked Muriel cigars and sipped bourbon on the rocks. He loved fishing and always had a story to tell it seems. He lived in NW Indiana nearly all his life (Rensselaer, Hammond and Whiting) and worked in a soap factory that had been there for decades. I remember his Fedora hats and his old Buick that was about 40 feet long from bow to stern.
Dad happily gave me the four pocket knives he had that were his fathers, knowing they were in good hands (I'm sort of the family historian). In the following days I admired that old knife and pondered carrying it, but also had the fears of losing it. It came to mind that perhaps I could find one just like it or similar and carry that one in his honor instead - preserving the original as a keepsake. With this thought in mind I added a "Wanted:" in my signature line, hoping someone might have one and be willing to sell it. After a few weeks I suddenly got a message out of the blue from our beloved Paul Hilborn. He had one just like it and asked for my address. He refused to accept any payment and insisted on sending one my way. I was humbled and delighted at the idea of finding one of these! A couple days later I was nothing short of stunned when I opened the package and found THIS...
OMG!!! I was in awe... This knife is 95% Like NEW and simply gorgeous! I hadn't envisioned anything this pristine - not even close to this that I held in my hand. The blades are 100% and the walk/talk and snap are as good as any of my GEC's that I have today. The F&F of this knife is outstanding. I'd heard that in earlier years Case had some up and down periods in quality control, but some eras in particular had outstanding fit and finish to them. This was obviously one of them!
It's from the 1965-1969 period...
And here is is beside my Grandfather's old 6232 (1940-64 era)... How much closer could they get???
You can see they're practically identical twins... The tang stamp is different, jigging slightly different, but otherwise they're practically a father and son match!
Paul I cannot express how tickled and humbled I am at your amazing kindness. I'm nothing short of stunned by this incredibly thoughtful gesture. To have this nearly 50 yr old classic Case knife "Just like Grandpa's" is just a thrill. I will carry it with great pride and give it the best of care. It already opened yesterday's mail and a package and later did an assist with dinner in opening seasoning packets.
Grandpa Elmer would be 102 years old now. I have many memories and can still hear his scratchy voice talking to me. This old Case pocket knife and the old ring I never remember seeing him without. I've seen pics of him wearing it at least back into the 1950's.
Paul THANK YOU my friend!
