A (slightly) used Case and the stories it could tell

mnblade

mnblade

Joined
Feb 7, 2000
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I was browsing around on a popular online auction site just now and came across this "Case XX Slim Trapper Sungle Blade Folding Knife" for sale:

CaseKnife.jpg


They want $39.99 for but, but I suspect it's not actually mint. :D

In all seriousness, can you imagine the stories (hopefully of use, not abuse) this knife could tell?

Anyone ever know someone - a dad or grandad or uncle, maybe - who carried a knife so long they wore it down this much?
 
Matter of fact I do.

This knife belonged to my Grandfather. He carried it in the Spanish American War and it was in his pocket when he died of a heart attack in 1952. He broke the blade off himself so that he could use it to clean his pipe/pipe bowl with. He was always using that knife. It was made by Hibbard Spencer Bartlett.
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My Dad took the knife off my Grandfather's dresser when he arrived shortly after Grandfather's death and carried it every day until he died in 1999. I took the knife off my Dad's dresser but have never carried it. It lives in my jewelry box -- sometimes in my knife box.

The only thing I did to the knife after I got it was to clean off the tang just enough to see who made it.

Sorry I don't have a better picture of it at this time.
 
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Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to make a comment about the knife you posted.

That knife certainly is interesting and I wouldn't discard it if it were in my collection.

The blade, as it is now, reminds me of a knife that has been sharpend over time on a "circular" stone in a circular motion. Note the belly of the blade. It matches a knife that has been sharpened many times in a circular motion rather than a slicing, across the stone, motion.

When I was a kid growing up in the 1940s and 1950s, many of us were taught to sharpen our knives in a circural motion. I think that the Boy Scout Manual from those days instructed that knives be sharpened in a circular motion. Those circular stones worked especially well on hatchets and axes. You'd cup the circular stone in your hand and do a rolling, circular, motion down the edge of the hatchet or ax in order to sharpen it. Worked much better than a file. Gave it a much keener edge.
 
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I have half a dozen or more knives of my Grandfatther that were sharpened to wisps. He dragged the edges but laid them flat on the stone. Sharp as chit. I also have his arkansas stone and a handled carborundum stone. The latter is pretty dished. He was a pretty good whittler. I have several neat objects he whittled from cypress or cedar. He would sand them real smooth with the edge at a right angle to the work.

My Dad sharpened in circles. Get more abrading done that way and maybe a little easier to hold an angle.
 
Modoc ED said:
Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to make a comment about the knife you posted.

That knife certainly is interesting and I wouldn't discard it if it were in my collection.

The blade, as it is now, reminds me of a knife that has been sharpend over time on a "circular" stone in a circular motion. Note the belly of the blade. It matches a knife that has been sharpened many times in a circular motion rather than a slicing, across the stone, motion.

When I was a kid growing up in the 1940s and 1950s, many of us were taught to sharpen our knives in a circural motion. I think that the Boy Scout Manual from those days instructed that knives be sharpened in a circular motion. Those circular stones worked especially well on hatchets and axes. You'd cup the circular stone in your hand and do a rolling, circular, motion down the edge of the hatchet or ax in order to sharpen it. Worked much better than a file. Gave it a much keener edge.
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You've got that right on.:thumbup:

I'm from that same era, and I can't count the number of old timers knives I've seen sharpened with that same peculiar profile. When you sharpen like that, you have to raise the handle a bit as you get to the tip to avoid getting that recurve shape to the blade.

The big advatage to the round stone and that technique is, you get your knife and hatchet really sharp in a fast time. Quick, easy, and effective as all heck. But you do have to take care. On the other hand, it won't amke any difference in the end, because if you use that knife long enough to get to the point it gets dished in, it's pretty worn out anyways. The owner of that knife in question got his money out of it! I've seen other like that, and it took about 30 years of steady use to get there.
 
mnblade said:
My favorite part was the seller trying to get $39.99 for it. :D
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Ya know, if that knife had some good stories to tell and if you could get some of those stories related to you (you meaning everyone in general) that knife may well be worth $39.99.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about.

A friend of mine's Father bought one of the first Pump Action Remington 760 rifles when they first came out in February 1952. He got it in .30-06 and shot 180gr Remington Cor-Lokt bullets out of it exclusively. He loved that rifle and it became his primary deer and elk rifle. He equipped it with a receiver sight and he was ready for hunting. I don't know how many deer and elk he got with that rifle but he got at least one deer or one elk a year and sometimes both a deer and an elk. Over the years, the rifle became quite worn with the bluing fading badly in certain areas and even cracking slightly in the forend.

Well, the old fellow died in 2006 and a couple weeks later I heard that his son had sold that rifle to one of the gun shops in town. Now that got my back up. Can you imagine a son not having an interest in or respect for one of his Father's greatest treasures? Well, I went down to the gun shop and looked at the rifle. It was well worn as described above and the forend was cracked but there was just something about that rifle and my memories of the guy that had owned it. I asked the gun shop owner what he wanted for it and he said $350.00. I said, it's really not worth more that $250.00 but he said that's what it would take to get it out of his shop. Knowing what I did about the rifle and how much it meant to the fellow that bought it and used it for just at 54-years, I bought it and I use it regularly.

Sorry to get long-winded but sometimes it's the story of what you're buying that has the value, not what you're buying.
 
Modoc ED said:
Sorry to get long-winded but sometimes it's the story of what you're buying that has the value, not what you're buying.
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Agreed. And don't apologize for being long-winded. It was a good point. :thumbup:

Still, if that knife had belonged to my grandad, or to an old friend, I wouldn't take $39.99 for it - or $3,900 for that matter. But it didn't. To me it has no stories. BTW, the auction ended and no one bid on it.
 
mnblade said:
Still, if that knife had belonged to my grandad, or to an old friend, I wouldn't take $39.99 for it - or $3,900 for that matter. But it didn't. To me it has no stories. BTW, the auction ended and no one bid on it.
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This is the saddest thread on the internet. Makes me want to contact the seller and purchase that there knife for $3,999.00.
:(
 
mnblade & Modoc - great stories. I have a couple of knives like that.

One is a Camillus Rigger's knife that my dad gave his dad in the early 60's, after joining the navy. When my grandfather died, dad found the knife in granddad's tackle box, really worn down. It was his favorite by far.

I occasionally find an old slipjoint in the thrift stores around here, and a year ago I found an old Primble Stockman. The spay (or pen?) blade was broken off, and in cleaning up the knife, I used padded pliers to open the broken blade to oil it. lo & behold, the previous owner had carefully ground down the 'broken' blade into a perfect screwdriver shape. It fits doorknob screws, electrical plate screws, cabinet door hinge and handle screws, screws that clamp wires in household outlets . . . you name it, it works very well. I'll never get rid of it.

I'll dig them out & post pics later.

thx - cpr
 
Modoc ED said:
Matter of fact I do.

This knife belonged to my Grandfather. He carried it in the Spanish American War and it was in his pocket when he died of a heart attack in 1952. He broke the blade off himself so that he could use it to clean his pipe/pipe bowl with. He was always using that knife. It was made by Hibbard Spencer Bartlett.

SNIP of picture
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I absolutely love reading things like that. Some of the old timers were just so pragmatic, so practical. They saw knives as useful tools. I think it is great he snapped off the blade to make the knife do what he wanted. I am sure he carried that knife constantly, and it served well. No safe queens for those guys.

I am a weenie about that. If I put some dough in a knife, I don't think of it as a tool. I use them, but I would never snap off a blade on purpose... it just isn't in me. I have my nice knives, and my beaters.

Modoc ED said:
My Dad took the knife off my Grandfather's dresser when he arrived shortly after Grandfather's death and carried it every day until he died in 1999. I took the knife off my Dad's dresser but have never carried it. It lives in my jewelry box -- sometimes in my knife box.

The only thing I did to the knife after I got it was to clean off the tang just enough to see who made it.

Sorry I don't have a better picture of it at this time.
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I think that is an extra special keepsake to have in your family. And indeed, the stories it could tell. I hope you can pass that one on to someone that understands what they are getting. I just read your post about he Remington rifle and almost had to go outside for air. I don't blame you for buying it.

Sadly, I just helped get my Dad into assisted living, and the don't want the inmates to have any kind of pocket knives. He told me that he felt pretty naked in there without one of his knives, so I smuggled a small knife in for him. Nope... he wanted a 4" stockman pattern. He can't get it open easily, but when he does he likes to look at it. He gets enjoyment out of just knowing it is in his pocket. I am the same way with certain knives.

He gave me about 10 knives, some he has had for 60 years or so, but I can't bring myself to carry any of them. They were his knives, and one is even a sheath knife HIS father made for him. He is disappointed that I don't carry any of them, but I laugh it off and tell him I haven't had time to sharpen them yet. Still, I probably won't. I would be horrified if the knife he carried when he was in the army during Korea was damaged.

I might carry a couple of the cheap ones, though. Dad had a habit of buying knives based on patterns, not on steel or reputation.

Robert
 
Great reading all the stories. Here is my grandfathers knife. He is still living as a 90 year old man. He purchased this Case XX just after WWII.

picture7h.jpg
 
midnight flyer said:
I absolutely love reading things like that. Some of the old timers were just so pragmatic, so practical. They saw knives as useful tools. I think it is great he snapped off the blade to make the knife do what he wanted. I am sure he carried that knife constantly, and it served well. No safe queens for those guys.

Robert
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That was the most telling trait about our grandfathers, that pragmatic outlook. They grew up in a world without the convienences and technology of modern day, not to mention the large disposable income young people have now. If there was some spare money left over after paying bills, it was put toward getting a few extra pounds of coffee or bacon or flour.

If they had a servicable pocket knife, they saw no reason to get another one. I know my dad was one of those one knife guys, as well as a one gun guy. Yet they lived a full life and got it all done.
 
Hi,

I have a Camillus #21 peanut that my maternal Grandfather carried. It was the only pocket knife I ever saw him use. The main clip is just about 2/3's gone and the knife is loose as a goose. I watched him use, but not abuse, it every day until the last time I saw him.

So I too tend to prefer a knife that shows some use. There are stories in them that I like to imagine.

dalee
 
First off, I am sorry for the poor quality pictures. This is my grandfathers knife. A few years back, the backspring broke. He had it laying on the coffee table when I went to visit. I told him I could take care of sending it off for repair and have it back in working order. He was happy to hear that. I took these pictures without good light, but these blades are like tooth picks and black as night with a silver shinny edge. The bone was worn smooth I thought it was wood until I looked at it in the sun light.

I gave him an Old Timer 8OT stockman. He looked at it and said "that has good steel". After getting his knife back from Case, I tried to give him another Case just like it but in new condiditon. The two case knives were even made the same year, but he would not take it. He said the Old Timer was doing just fine and his old Case was put up and I would get it one day (I hope it's not any time soon).



 
johnwaynesandw said:
First off, I am sorry for the poor quality pictures. This is my grandfathers knife. A few years back, the backspring broke. He had it laying on the coffee table when I went to visit. I told him I could take care of sending it off for repair and have it back in working order. He was happy to hear that. I took these pictures without good light, but these blades are like tooth picks and black as night with a silver shinny edge. The bone was worn smooth I thought it was wood until I looked at it in the sun light.

I gave him an Old Timer 8OT stockman. He looked at it and said "that has good steel". After getting his knife back from Case, I tried to give him another Case just like it but in new condiditon. The two case knives were even made the same year, but he would not take it. He said the Old Timer was doing just fine and his old Case was put up and I would get it one day (I hope it's not any time soon).
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That's a good story but there's one thing you ought to know about us old codgers -- We know a good thing when we see it and we aren't afraid of change. Your Grandfather took a liking to that Old Timer 80T and knew at once he was going to keep it when you gave it to him.:)

Watch out what you loan him in the future and be particularly wary if he ask to borrow your car to go to the Senior Center for lunch.:eek::D
 
I think I've told this story a million times,but I guess I'll tell a million and one! THis was my grandpa's knife. He bought it when he returned from the Philippines in WW2. He earned a Bronze Star over there and no one even knew it until he died. He also got a Combat Infantry Badge. Never told anyone. This was the only knife that he owned. He had until he died at 85 years old, then my daddy got it and gave it to me, along with his only shotgun. He used this knife everyday as he was a carpenter...
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