Thanks, and I'm glad you enjoyed it! When known, the history behind old, much-loved knives adds a lot to their appeal for me! I also have the "Circle C" Case Whittler that my Dad's father gave him around 1929-30. This has a tapered brass spacer between the back springs IIRC, which always impressed me as a rather neat bit of craftsmanship.
As a kid's knife, it led a hard life, and one of the small blades is gone. The other small blade was sharpened a good bit, and the very tip is missing, leaving an impromptu "Coping" blade -- which is still very sharp after all these years. The clip master blade also has been
well-sharpened throughout its' working life, and has a very nice, natural patina.
In High School c. 1976, I really wanted a Case knife to use, and couldn't find a dealer in town. So, I "appropriated" this one and carried it daily for about 3 months before I finally came to my senses and re-retired it. It was a lot of fun, though, to get a daily "hands-on" experience of the old Circle C's blade steel and performance! It would take a shaving edge incredibly easily, and the little "coping" blade's thin, squared-off tip was just perfect for cutting out clippings, articles, etc. Of course, back then all I had to sharpen it with was an array of Arkansas stones and some red "Buck" honing oil -- "old school."
I was doing something with it in class one day, and some unpleasant soul made a snarky, snotty comment about my Dad's "little" knife, basically insinuating it was "worthless" due to its' size. (Master blade might be 2.5" long or so?). I didn't say a word -- just looked him in the eye, and shaved off about a 2" wide stripe of hair clean like a straight razor from my elbow to wrist on my left arm in 1 stroke.
The small mountain of hair and clean shave were actually not unimpressive, if I do say so myself. I said nothing, and just left it to his imagination as to what I might be thinking when I did this...
Back then, almost nobody our age knew how to sharpen a knife, so I think this little demo might have gotten his attention. He immediately shut up, and I never heard any further comments about it. Coincidentally, his unprovoked rudeness towards me ceased that very day, for some reason.
This little knife started life with green bone handles, but one was broken and missing a
large chunk when I discovered it. A few years later, I sacrificed a worn-out XX for the scales, and carefully but primitively fitted them to this knife, so it would at least have 2 handles. I left the XX's pins in place as "dummies," in that they don't go into the frame of the knife. (That would have been WAY beyond my meager skills and non-existent tools.)
The scales are held on with epoxy, and the shield is still present. Not ideal, but it was a young person's project.... and so, we learn. The scales are actually fairly decently fitted, all things considered, and their wear is appropriate to the knife's age and condition.
I'll include it in the photo. I wish I could do them justice like Kiro, but that's way beyond my skills and equipment, photography-wise!
Thanks for your interest, and I'll dig them out for a photo session before long.
All the best,
John
Hopefully next month!!!
