Am I being too picky? Case CV Peanut & Case CV Texas Jack

U

uchinanchukg

Joined
Mar 30, 2009
Messages
253
Hello everyone.

Good to be back on the porch again.

As I posted on this post:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1373068-Lost-Buck-303-gt-replacement-plus-Buck-309
I bought myself a replacement 303 plus a 309.
Love them both already. Can't wait to start using them.

I also bought a Case CV Peanut (yes the rumour is true Peanuts tends to multiply)
and also a Case CV Texas Jack ( I like the Case 6218 Medium Stockman so I wanted to try this model)

Anyways. The F&F of the 303 & 309 is satisfactory.
Great W&T on the 309.
Okay W&T on the 303. A tad gritty but I'm hoping that cleaning out the gunk in the joints will improve this.

The Case knives, however is a tad less in the F&F department.

I know I am probably being too picky about some of these issues and probably just need to start using them and I will soon just forget about the minor issues.

Issue #1

There is a black spot on the yellow delrin of the CV Peanut.
I've only had 2 yeller delrin. A Case 32087 Pen Knife and a Buck 303 (the one that I lost)
I've never had a black spot on them. Is this common?

This is probably being super picky. I guess I could just see it as a "beauty mark" on the knife.



Issue #2

Both the Clip Point and the Pen Blade on the Texas Jack has a tip that is very rounded off.
On the Clip the tip also has discoloration that almost looks like a burn mark?

This is probably being too picky as well since I can just sharpen the knife and create a proper point to the blades.
I tend to sharpen all of my new knives anyways. I guess it doesn't feel like it's my knife until I put my own edge on it.

Should I be concerned about the discoloration on the tip of the Clip Blade?





Sorry about the terrible photos.
Hope you can see it. Haven't posted pics in about 3 years.

I guess I'm being a bit too critical as I haven't bought a knife in 3 years and was hyped about the purchase.


I'm expecting people to say "Just use the darn thing!"
And you are probably right. Maybe I just need someone to just tell me that.:p

The 309 is the best of the bunch. I'm gonna sharpen it before going to bed and take it to work tomorrow.:)



Thanks for listening to my rant.

KG
 
They look OK to me. GEC's they are not. But then they don't cost what a GEC does, either.

CV is easy to get to a scary sharp edge.

m expecting people to say "Just use the darn thing!"
And you are probably right. Maybe I just need someone to just tell me that.
Click to expand...

Whispers in ear, "Use it!"
 
It's up to you, they're your knives, but I wouldn't let it bother me. The first day or week of carry and use will make them yours.

To me I look at blade wobble, spaces between springs and liners, etc as being a no-go. These things you show here are not worth concern in a knife of this price range imho.
 
If the dot grows larger, it may be concerning. ;) I've never seen delrin from Case with any inclusions. Is it ink from a marker? Does it wipe off with ethanol? Rough Rider's yellow synthetic does have a lot of streaks.

The "burn" is from letting the blade get hot during sharpening. I've seen this on knives from Queen and Canal Street Cutlery... and many of the economy knives. I've never seen it on a knife from GEC but I've never gotten a knife from GEC that had been sharpened much at the factory.

The rounded tips are from tumble polishing the blades. Case's "as ground" blades are not tumble polished and the tips aren't rounded. You can watch a Youtube video of the manufacturing process. In my opinion, anyone posting on a knife forum should watch manufacturing videos so that they have an understanding of what goes into the knives that they spend time and money on. There are also videos of the manufacturing at Victorinox, GEC, Opinel, etc.

I wouldn't have made a post about a dot on a handle but people have different perspectives. I think Case views the yeller handle knives as cutting tools, not jewelry. I would be picky if I was paying a premium for the handle material.... abalone, for example.
 
Too picky? 10 power magnification on a $30 knife? Sounds like a rhetorical question to me.
 
rma100 said:
Too picky? 10 power magnification on a $30 knife? Sounds like a rhetorical question to me.
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Mirrors my thoughts I'm afraid.

I know we all have different criteria, but if the knives had say weak snap, noticeable blade-play, very prod or sunk spring on open (my pet hate..) which make handling it unpleasant, then I'd agree with the OP's concerns. The delrin might be spotted by ink, or you could polish it away, the tips on a carbon knife can be fixed in seconds on a stone or in the Sharpmaker's grooves. D2 would be more challenging.....
 
There are certain Knives to collect and certain Knives that are not for collecting. Ive had G.E.C. knives that had various issues as well. Yellow delrin Case Knives (new ones) are workers. I wouldn't worry about a spot or the heat mark on the blade. Now if my Stag Texas Jack would have came to me with weird areas or heat marks I would have sent it back. Im as Anal as the next guy but realization has to set in at some point.

the blunt end can be fixed in minutes,the spot on the delrin, probably something in the delrin that was mixed in during process.
 
In one year of use there will be so many other dings and scratches you won't even remember this post. And you'll also have used, dulled, and resharpened that point that it will be like a needle, not rounded off.

Good knives!

Zieg
 
I vote "too picky," especially if those are intended to be Users.

The first knife with the spot, I wouldn't consider that problem even on a non-user. A bit of character.

The second, obviously a manufacturing defect from imperfect workmanship. I wouldn't save it in the Collection or give it as a gift, but the hassle of sending it back for repair or store exchange isn't worth it considering the low price. If it's to be a user knife, the defect will perhaps be completely unnoticeable after a couple of sharpenings.

I'd say if the edges aren't jagged and the blades don't wobble, then you've gotten some decent Case knives. :thumbup:
 
Use the knives for a week, cut a peach, cut some cardboard. Now your knife will have twice as many discolorations, scratches, and beauty marks.

We all instinctively wish for top notch quality control, and the kind of fit-and-finish that can now only be attained at a Custom price. Labor is expensive and alas, for a $30 knife, which probably cost the dealer $15.... Perfection is just not attainable. To achieve it would mean that many more people paid to meticulously inspect at different stages of production, and a whole lot more rejects. Thus, these knives aren't completely perfect in every respect, but they are perfect enough in the big structural areas where it matters.
 
supratentorial said:
The "burn" is from letting the blade get hot during sharpening. I've never seen it on a knife from GEC but I've never gotten a knife from GEC that had been sharpened much at the factory.
Click to expand...

Hahahahaha :D

I think that a bit of focused shaping on the tip will remove any screwed up steel and get your tip in great working order. Use them, as others have said.

Connor
 
To quote Lieutenant Mike Lychock, beat on it like it owes you money (both the peanut and Texas jack, I will get behind my crazy brother Ryan and his Order of the Texas Jack on this one).

Peanuts are not prybars, but they will surprise you at just how useful they are. I am a knife nut and carry three to five knives at any given time outside of work, but the peanut is all I really need. (I'm still stuck on the three is two, two is one and one is none rule).

Darth Vanadium, Grand High Muckba of the Cult of the Peanut
 
Delrin sands, buffs and polishes very easily. I'd bet the dark spot on the yellow Delrin could be removed with some light high-grit sanding (600+) with wet/dry paper. Then just polish out the sanding marks with some Flitz or similar polishing paste, or rub with a green Scotch-Brite pad for a more 'satin' finish.

The issues with the tips of the tumbled blades can also be fixed easily w/sharpening and/or some tip-trailing passes of the spine on a stone or hard-backed wet/dry sandpaper. A Fine (600) diamond hone or the Fine side of a Norton Economy stone work well for that, or a sheet of 320-grit wet/dry paper will do well also, over a hard backing of stone or glass. That's how I've restored a pointy-sharp tip on my knives, including my CV Peanut, BTW. Hint: a wine cork pressed onto the edge of the blade provides a place to exert some downward pressure with your finger/thumb, when grinding the spine near the tip.


David
 
knarfeng said:
They look OK to me. GEC's they are not. But then they don't cost what a GEC does, either.

CV is easy to get to a scary sharp edge.



Whispers in ear, "Use it!"
Click to expand...
Thanks for the whisper Knarfeng. I'll sharpen them up and put it in my pocket when I get home from work.

KG
 
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mrknife said:
if you want GEC quality...
Click to expand...
I may have gotten lucky but the Buck 303 and 309 that I got in the same order was much better finished and I guess that highlighted the F&F of the Case.

I was also surprised that even the Rough Rider Peanut that I got last week was much better finished than the Case.

I'll eventually buy a GEC. They seem to make very nice knives. That said they are not immune to the QC issues either. I've seen enough posts on here to show that they aren't necessarily better in QC even though they are pricier.

It would be nice if the QC got better as you pay more. But that's not necessarily the case (no pun intended)[emoji14]

KG
 
The Zieg said:
In one year of use there will be so many other dings and scratches you won't even remember this post. And you'll also have used, dulled, and resharpened that point that it will be like a needle, not rounded off.

Good knives!

Zieg
Click to expand...
I agree with ya.
I don't mind scratches and dings on my knives at all.

I guess I was surprised that of the RR Buck and Case that I bought this month, the most expensive (relatively speaking) had the worst F&F.

I'll put a nice edge on it tonight. CV does sharpen up very easily thankfully.

KG
 
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