Case best quality years?

Quality remained high for a couple years after the transfer of ownership to American brands (1972) before falling. That goes for actual case knives, not the many fakes

Case was pretty well destroyed when Zippo got it. They saved them imho.
 
EArly 70's seem to be the best bang for your buck. 80's and 90's are terrible in my experience handling about 30-40 from those time periods.


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Definitely bad now . I bought one recently and returned it. Edge was horrible and finish had dull spots I was very disappointed.
 
I certainly agree with Jake :thumbup:

I've had a couple of CASE knives that were below par, but nothing tragic. Usually non flush springs on open which I dislike. W&T has always been good, had some weak snap from Queen and Buck knives though. Their steels are easy to resharpen to your satisfaction too. CASE is a massive producer and yes they should be more vigilant but many of my recent knives have been worthy and satisfying quality. A Mini Copperhead and Chestnut Swayback are just two examples, tight back springs, no blade play good W&T and at a reasonable price too.

As for the vintage years I can't really say as I've not been lucky enough to ever own one but from pictures I've seen, Redbone knives from say 1940s-60s look superb and have a lot of presence about them. They might be the ones and the era.
 
I love case , i used to collect them, sold many at a loss. ( bad ones)

I am collecting case knives again.

I know they are trying and have improved lately.

The problem i see with case is the amount of knives they put out.

Quantity is increase but quality is diminished


no one cant deny when case gets it right they are sweet.




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Well I guess I have to give up getting a birth and graduation year Case... Mid 70's and 90's doesn't sound like the right era for something like that. Maybe Queen?
 
I find that the Case Knives are about the same from 1976 to 1982 for good, solid knives. They certainly take a serious dip in quality from the mid-1980's to the mid-1990's. Evidently they got it under control by the late 1990's - I've got some awful good knives from that era and forward. It helps to pick your knives in person if you can - other than that it is a crapshoot - much like any other brand. OH
Ps I have some pretty decent early 90's knives, but I had to handpick them.
 
I've bought a few over the years and i only sent back a folding hunter that was hitting the back spring pretty terribly. It was constantly resting in the back spring too. Case took care of it. Everything I purchased is from 2011 on up. 2 trappers that were perfect as far as I can tell. A slimline trapper in CV with yellow handles. A sodbuster Jr that i no longer have, it had good f&f. Most recently a full size sodbuster but the blade isn't centered. It's a working knife so I'm not too worried about it. Picked it up from a sporting goods store on clearance.
 
I recently purchased a new Case pen knife with yellow delrin handles. When the large blade is opened, the back spring does not fit flush. When closing the the small blade, it rubs on the large blade. QC is horrible on this particular knife. Wondering if it's worth my time and money to send it back to Case?
 
I don't have any older case knives, but the recent production ones that I have are all excellent examples.
 
jerok8 said:
I'm wondering what post-WWII years would have had the best quality for Case?
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In my opinion, the years immediately following the war and up to the late 1960's had the best quality from Case. 1940-1969
You may be able to stretch that into the mid 1970's on some.
 
jerok8 said:
I'm wondering what post-WWII years would have had the best quality for Case?
Click to expand...

If the only question is quality, you have to go with those made recently. Although you have to be selective with patterns, as some are better than others. But the knives that were cherished by aficionados 20 years ago are no longer even accepted today. The best knives made in the 1970's would have a 25% return rate to dealers these days with daylight in the springs, light scratches on the blades, mis-spun pins, non dead center blades, inconsistent spring strength, etc. We all remember the USA and 1970 era knives with fondness, but they were not made to today's customer standards; they were still tools back then.
 
frankster said:
I recently purchased a new Case pen knife with yellow delrin handles. When the large blade is opened, the back spring does not fit flush. When closing the the small blade, it rubs on the large blade. QC is horrible on this particular knife. Wondering if it's worth my time and money to send it back to Case?
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I'm sure they would take care of you. Better to return it and see, otherwise you're just stuck with a knife you don't like/use.

I've had pretty good luck with Case, but almost always buy in person. The last one I ordered was a 2010 humpback stockman and the grinds on it were a little weird.

I think Case makes a good knife and I have a bunch that I really love. They just need more variety for the long term collector. Unless you collect trappers. Case has you covered there, haha.
 
The Best ones I handled was from the pre 1980 back to WW 2. I never seen a bad Case in person but I see dozens on the forum's. The 1940's till 1970's are da bomb.
 
I pretty much only buy Case knives in person from a retail store so I can handle them. Fit and finish seems good these days. Many that I pick up these days have weak snaps and I won't buy them. I would rather be satisfied with my purchase than grumbling about it later.

Historically, I don't know other than to say that back in the 60's quality seemed pretty consistent overall. The snap is what set them apart.
 
knifeswapper said:
If the only question is quality, you have to go with those made recently. Although you have to be selective with patterns, as some are better than others. But the knives that were cherished by aficionados 20 years ago are no longer even accepted today. The best knives made in the 1970's would have a 25% return rate to dealers these days with daylight in the springs, light scratches on the blades, mis-spun pins, non dead center blades, inconsistent spring strength, etc. We all remember the USA and 1970 era knives with fondness, but they were not made to today's customer standards; they were still tools back then.
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Well said Mr. Latham. I've found that I don't seem to be as particular as some others in this regard. That doesn't make me right or wrong, just different. I've always considered a production knife to be a tool. A work of art is something else entirely. Will some production knives turn out to be works of art, sure they will but certainly not all of them will. Some production knives too will turn out to be substandard and should be returned, thus ensuring accountability and hopefully quality. I understand wanting to buy the best knife possible, we all do, but when I see some people grouse about extremely minor imperfections consistent with a production knife, I can't help but wonder what they're thinking...

It's gotta be darn tough being in today's knife business and having to deal with the wide range of expectations, realistic or otherwise, of what a production knife should be.

With that said, I like Case knives. I own 75-100. Not all are perfect but many are. I've never sent one back. My only "issue" with Case is their dye jobs. I don't like the fading or lighter colors that seems to occur near the bolsters. I try and ensure that what I buy has consistent color out to each end.
 
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