- Joined
- Mar 5, 2007
- Messages
- 638
I've owned my Northwoods Norfolk for a while now and really appreciate the pattern. Its just so darn useful and easy to carry I began to look for the Case/Bose version. Last week I picked one up in the exchange and I thought you guys might like a little comparison.
First off the Case version is a little bigger - which I do like. It is just enough bigger to allow more confidence when using it but not so much bigger that it takes up your whole pocket. The Northwoods version would be more suitable to dress slacks though, and IMO looks like a classier piece in ivory with the pinched lined bolsters.
The Case has the blade tangs sunk. This is a huge plus to me. There is enough of the tangs exposed on the Northwoods to make it uncomfortable depending on how your holding it and will be rougher on the pockets. There is not one single rough or sharp edge on the Case version. It's finish is exceptional.
Despite the Northwoods being the smaller knife it actually has more cutting edge on the main blade. I didn't even realize this until I laid them down side by side for the picure. Both blades are ground well and nice and thin. The Northwoods has a symmetrical swedge while the Case does not. One side has a small swedge while the other is ground down to allow clearance for the secondary blade.
The Case has half stops for both blades and I'd say a 6 on the pull scale. Northwoods has cam tangs on both blades and I'd say 4 pull main blade and 3 pull on the secondary blade.
While I like both versions main blade about equal I really favor the secondary clip blade on the Case over the pen of the Northwoods. It has better walk and talk and is pointier. It is just a better blade for my cutting purposes. Both are small enough to open anywhere without worry about scaring knife shy people.
I didn't take my micrometers to them but it looks like the Case is slightly thicker. There is plenty of clearance on the the Case's blades with zero blade rub. The milled liners also keep the tang area looking good. The Northwoods Blades do rub quite a bit and the tang area on my blades is already scratched badly. On a user knife like mine it does not bother me at all. The scales of the Northwoods are slightly better at being "rounded towards the liners". I'm not sure if this is because of the different handle materials or just the way they are finished.
Both are single backspring. And both are finished well. The Northwoods is fit better. The backspring, liners, and covers on the Northwoods are fit and finished perfectly. Zero gaps and everything exactly as it should be. The Case is not bad but there is a slight gap that looks exaggerated in the picture. A bright light can be just seen through it. Other than that everything is as it should be.
Overall I do think that the Case is the better designed knife. Sunk joints, no blade rub, better secondary blade, and better walk and talk. The Ivory covers of the Northwoods are much nicer to my eye than the ebony of the Case though. There is nothing wrong with the ebony - it's great ebony, it just doesn't have that look that the Northwoods Ivory has. It is a great handle material.
Ohh and just for the record the price difference between these two knives is about $75 going by what I paid with the Case being the more expensive of the two. Well that's it. Sorry for the longish post. Just wanted to share my thoughts.
Greg
First off the Case version is a little bigger - which I do like. It is just enough bigger to allow more confidence when using it but not so much bigger that it takes up your whole pocket. The Northwoods version would be more suitable to dress slacks though, and IMO looks like a classier piece in ivory with the pinched lined bolsters.
The Case has the blade tangs sunk. This is a huge plus to me. There is enough of the tangs exposed on the Northwoods to make it uncomfortable depending on how your holding it and will be rougher on the pockets. There is not one single rough or sharp edge on the Case version. It's finish is exceptional.
Despite the Northwoods being the smaller knife it actually has more cutting edge on the main blade. I didn't even realize this until I laid them down side by side for the picure. Both blades are ground well and nice and thin. The Northwoods has a symmetrical swedge while the Case does not. One side has a small swedge while the other is ground down to allow clearance for the secondary blade.
The Case has half stops for both blades and I'd say a 6 on the pull scale. Northwoods has cam tangs on both blades and I'd say 4 pull main blade and 3 pull on the secondary blade.
While I like both versions main blade about equal I really favor the secondary clip blade on the Case over the pen of the Northwoods. It has better walk and talk and is pointier. It is just a better blade for my cutting purposes. Both are small enough to open anywhere without worry about scaring knife shy people.
I didn't take my micrometers to them but it looks like the Case is slightly thicker. There is plenty of clearance on the the Case's blades with zero blade rub. The milled liners also keep the tang area looking good. The Northwoods Blades do rub quite a bit and the tang area on my blades is already scratched badly. On a user knife like mine it does not bother me at all. The scales of the Northwoods are slightly better at being "rounded towards the liners". I'm not sure if this is because of the different handle materials or just the way they are finished.
Both are single backspring. And both are finished well. The Northwoods is fit better. The backspring, liners, and covers on the Northwoods are fit and finished perfectly. Zero gaps and everything exactly as it should be. The Case is not bad but there is a slight gap that looks exaggerated in the picture. A bright light can be just seen through it. Other than that everything is as it should be.
Overall I do think that the Case is the better designed knife. Sunk joints, no blade rub, better secondary blade, and better walk and talk. The Ivory covers of the Northwoods are much nicer to my eye than the ebony of the Case though. There is nothing wrong with the ebony - it's great ebony, it just doesn't have that look that the Northwoods Ivory has. It is a great handle material.
Ohh and just for the record the price difference between these two knives is about $75 going by what I paid with the Case being the more expensive of the two. Well that's it. Sorry for the longish post. Just wanted to share my thoughts.
Greg
I'm still upset. lol
