Case best quality years?

"True believer" ?? We're not allowed to talk about politics so I can't really respond to that comment but the politics is enough for me for me not to own any Rough Riders. And I won't buy any Taylor Schrades.

I would definitely need to cherry pick to find a decent Rough Rider. I've gotten rid of any that I've bought.

Price has a big influence on opinion. I've seen photos of Rough Riders where I could easily pick out flaws but they are described as perfect. If you point out the flaws, you probably won't be thanked. At best any flaws often get dismissed as okay "for the price". The rising prices on some of these imports might change some opinions.

I bet that if we all worked for Case for one week, GEC for one week, and Rough Rider for one week, etc... then a lot of opinions on what quality means for a knife would change very dramatically. And no I'm not speaking about work conditions at all. I'm just talking about the meaning of quality in respect to knives. All that glitters is not gold.
 
I just pick up and try different brands from time to time because I'm interested. I would read all about how good (for the money of course) RR's are and not own a single example to consider. The Taylor Schrades are the same. We're speaking of Chinese made slip joints. I have yet to purchase a foreign made Schrade knife, but I feel sure that will change. I gave Frost (Chattanooga Frost) a chance and came to the conclusion that the slip joints are just sub standard. Sometimes cherry picking doesn't help. I looked at a lot of them at their factory store where they are basically just stacked up in piles by pattern. It is probably time to give Case another whirl.

I might add that you shouldn't judge a company based on one knife.
 
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black mamba said:
Jake, I agree totally. The poor recent red dye jobs not withstanding, Case's bone is very underated. Their jigging is vastly superior to anything from RR, and even their dye jobs are mostly quite good. Plus they have all kinds of synthetics, including carbon fiber. I find the hafting to be the major difference between Case and RR, clearly in Case's favor.
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I especially like the variety of color we see with case. I bought up all the purple haze bone I could find. I'm really pining to see the sawcut clover bone they've got on the way too.
 
Why is there always someone who insists on bringing up and talking about RR?
This thread was framed with a question specifically about Case.
 
Ramrodmb said:
Why is there always someone who insists on bringing up and talking about RR?
This thread was framed with a question specifically about Case.
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Good question. Get it back on topic, please.
 
These are just a few of the Case knives that I either have or have passed through my hands. Some are older than I am (born in 1943) and some are quite new - right up to 2016. Some have been better than others but none have been terrible. These pictured are only a few of the many Case knives that I have.









If you think pinned shields make a quality knife, then don't buy a Case knife made after 1976 (maybe 1977) as that is when Case stopped pinning their shields. Along those lines, just because GEC pins their shields doesn't make them better than the next knife from another brand. As for a working knife, Case knives are hard to beat.
 
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I've gotten quite a few Case knives over the past couple years and I've picked up quite a few patterns. They've been pretty good for the most part, but there have been some that slipped through the cracks. I don't really think that if a knife is a user (which all mine are), certain defects don't matter. I've sent some back that I thought were borderline unacceptable and they all came back great. I keep that in mind when I buy Case knives now. I almost have the expectation that it'll be going back to Bradford. It doesn't really bother me anymore because I know they'll do their best to make the knife as close to perfect as possible....
 
All,

Thanks for the replies. I had to leave without my computer the morning after posting my question, and regret not being able to participate when the discussion was going on.

This has been a very educational thread for me. I am looking to buy a nice vintage red bone whittler, and this has helped me focus on the time period to look for.

Regards,

Jeremy
 
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