Case 2023 vault release (small congress)

Heathenhymnal said:
Was excited for this until I saw the blades... dunno why the main sheepsfoot and spear blade look so goofy and wonky. Same thing they did to the mini gunstock pattern, went from a beautiful spearpoint to some weird sort-of spear point.
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I agree. Wonder if it’s just because the small size? I really enjoy a Congress knife had to have one either way.
 
I'll probably end up getting the half congress in carbon, but I have no interest in the 4 blade because of the size. I like the congress pattern but the 4 tiny blades just doesn't do it for me.
 
OldSoul said:
I agree. Wonder if it’s just because the small size? I really enjoy a Congress knife had to have one either way.
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Yeah I'd be real curious to know why they made the change.

Like on the gunstock they went from this:
8uc95un.jpg


And turned it into this:

CA-10728.jpg


Been scratching my head over some of their current blade shapes for a while now.

Totally understand though, even though I'm rather put off by the blades, I'm still at least 40% considering grabbing one anyway just because I've wanted a Case Congress for some time.
 
Heathenhymnal said:
Yeah I'd be real curious to know why they made the change.

Like on the gunstock they went from this:
8uc95un.jpg


And turned it into this:

CA-10728.jpg


Been scratching my head over some of their current blade shapes for a while now.

Totally understand though, even though I'm rather put off by the blades, I'm still at least 40% considering grabbing one anyway just because I've wanted a Case Congress for some time.
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That first gunstock is stunning. What year is that?
 
I just picked up one of these and thought I would do a compare/contrast with my only other congress - which is a Schrade Walden 974. The frames on these 2 are almost exactly the same size but the Case is slightly thicker, which doesn't bother me on a knife this small. In general, I prefer the blade layout of the Case with the main blade on the front side at the top of the knife. The Schrade seems almost backwards to me. This plus is offset by the fact that the blades are set much deeper on the Case which makes it difficult for me to access the nail nick. I prefer bone covers to delrin so that's a plus for the Case, but the covers on my example aren't very well matched. The Case has half stops and the Schrade doesn't (I like half stops) so that's a plus for the Case for me. Both the main blades and the secondaries are quite a bit bigger on the Schrade which makes it a lot more useful for me. The fit and finish on the Case knife is pretty good. The fitment of the shield on the Case knife could be better - the well for it is slightly too big which leaves a gap - but it's not easily seen by the naked eye. There aren't any spring gaps and the grinds on the blades are good, even if they have weird shapes.

Overall, between the 2, I would reach for the Schrade every time because the blades are bigger and easier to open. The only real quality issues with the Case are the shield and the mismatched covers, but it still loses out to the Schrade because of those blades.


20230227_091912.jpg20230227_091946.jpg20230227_091924.jpg20230227_092002.jpg
 
Dan1892 Dan1892 Thanks for writing that review, it's very helpful. :thumbsup:

I think I'm going to wait until the end of year to see if any SFOs in carbon pop up, but I'll for sure pick up at least one since it's a vault pattern.
 
Dan1892 said:
I just picked up one of these and thought I would do a compare/contrast with my only other congress - which is a Schrade Walden 974. The frames on these 2 are almost exactly the same size but the Case is slightly thicker, which doesn't bother me on a knife this small. In general, I prefer the blade layout of the Case with the main blade on the front side at the top of the knife. The Schrade seems almost backwards to me. This plus is offset by the fact that the blades are set much deeper on the Case which makes it difficult for me to access the nail nick. I prefer bone covers to delrin so that's a plus for the Case, but the covers on my example aren't very well matched. The Case has half stops and the Schrade doesn't (I like half stops) so that's a plus for the Case for me. Both the main blades and the secondaries are quite a bit bigger on the Schrade which makes it a lot more useful for me. The fit and finish on the Case knife is pretty good. The fitment of the shield on the Case knife could be better - the well for it is slightly too big which leaves a gap - but it's not easily seen by the naked eye. There aren't any spring gaps and the grinds on the blades are good, even if they have weird shapes.

Overall, between the 2, I would reach for the Schrade every time because the blades are bigger and easier to open. The only real quality issues with the Case are the shield and the mismatched covers, but it still loses out to the Schrade because of those blades.
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Thanks for that. The covers on mine are fine. There really isn't anything "wrong" with the knife. It has a very slight blade wobble with a bit of effort. I think the size/shape of the blades was just underwhelming to me. I have the 2 blade version. The tang on mine shows a 2023, but I am pretty sure the box date was 7/22. Not sure I've seen the date/year be that far apart before, but that may be perfectly normal. I might pick up a couple more for the collection, but I've been disappointed with the small knives the last two Vault releases.
 
I pre-ordered a navy blue jigged bone from a large Case distributor which was supposedly for "March Delivery" now on their website it is showing on backorder. :confused: I emailed them for a status update a week ago but haven't recieved ans answer yet
 
I haven't seen many of these here. For those of you who have one, how does it compare to other common small knives, like the peanut or a Buck 303? It looks like it has the handle size of a Buck Cadet, but the blades appear quite a bit smaller.
 
If I could get one not sharpened by the factory, I might keep it.
 
I've been knife lusting over these for a while. Drove all over trying to find one in person with no luck. Finally ordered one and here it is.

20231006_142125~2.jpg20231006_142134~2.jpg20231006_142346~2.jpg

That crimson bone is gorgeous. The jigging is well done. The colors are unreal.

The congress pattern has become my favorite. This case is small (I knew that going in). I've found different sizes listed for these all over the internet so here is the actual sizing.
20231006_145219~2.jpg

The next photo shows that this is the first case knife I've had that doesn't have blade rub! They cheated though.... They made the blades thin and added spacers in the liners. Odd. Boker could fit 6 heavy blades in that large opening! Sorry .. just sarcasm...
20231006_142148~2.jpg

Speaking of liners, they are pretty good. One nice gap but that's because it is a close up photo. You really don't see it like this in hand
20231006_142219~2.jpg

They gave me an angle grinder finish on the bolsters
20231006_142251~2.jpg

Bone is hanging over the liners here. You can see it in the photo above and this next one.
20231006_145348~2.jpg

It has half stops with a lighter pull. It is snappy in relation to the pull. The spring is mostly flush closed and open. At half stop the spring looks like this. Interesting but obviously intentional
20231006_142335~2.jpg

Overall it was an underwhelming example of something that is supposed to be their special offering this year. Oh... And the main blade has a good bit of side to side play. Not even close. Should have mentioned that earlier because it is a big one. Sloppy main blade.

It is pretty, I'll give it that. I don't know. Common case.
 
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