CASE....beware!!!!

R

rev_jch

Joined
Jul 29, 2002
Messages
3,228
Well evidently Case quality, what was left of it, is getting worse.

Case in point (no pun intended) I bought three of the 6254 CV trappers in amber bone.

Well the first one came with bad grind lines on the backsprings, really bad!! Bad enough to "almost" file my finger nails.

No. 2 has a pin that has part of it hanging off. The same one has corrosion on the tangs, but not too bad.

The third one is the one that is just plain not acceptable. It has bad rust on the spines of both blades!~!! (no where near the nail clicks). So this one will definitely go back to the internet store!!!! I knew their quality to be going down, but this is bad!!!!!

CV will rust, but is should'nt come rusted to you!!!

Their quality years ago was much better, better before zippo ever got ahold of them. Even when parker owned them it was not this bad.

:(
 
Strange...

I picked up a dated Chestnut trapper from Smoky Mtn, and the thing has some of the best fit and finish I've seen Case do since the late 60s. :confused:

Case has slid a lot over the last 20 years, I'll grant that. It seems like they've forgotten people buy their knives to use (420HC at 55-57? How the hell is that a user?), and focus strictly on collectors. Look through the SMKW catalog, and there's at least 25 different trappers, but precious few CV knives or practical workers. Every pattern they bring back - 62100, 6294, 6143, 6250, etc.- has come out in SS first, usually with a really high price tag and crap steel. :(
 
I can live with the 420 steel. The problem with Case's 420 seem to be in the heat treat. Other companies do much better towards making 420 usable.
As for fit and finish, I won't buy a Case unless I can inspect it first hand.
I carry my Mini Copperlock (SS) more as a "dress" knife, so it's not likely to see any "real" use. My V-nox handles that.

Paul
 
I wish they had more CV steel models with bone scales. The yellow ones are not my bag really. If it was yellow bone maybe, but I don't like synthetics. It seems like no one makes a user slipjoint with bone scales and carbon steel that is worth a damn. I think Shrade could have stepped up and offered the Old Timer line with real bone and it would have caught on.
 
Bobwhite said:
It seems like no one makes a user slipjoint with bone scales and carbon steel that is worth a damn.
Click to expand...

Um... Last I checked, D2 is a carbon steel, and Queen offers it in bone. Try one of those, and I bet you won't be disappointed!
 
Bobwhite said:
It seems like no one makes a user slipjoint with bone scales and carbon steel that is worth a damn.

Try Mooremaker's knives either their bone handled (by Queen) or working series (by Camillus). You'll be well pleased.
Click to expand...
 
Queen's D-2 is excellent. Fit and finish could be better, but the blade quality is great.

Paul
 
I lived between Bradford and Tidoute Pa for many years. I toured the Case plant when Parker had the open house. I use to collect only Case knives, new and old. I now own about four Case knives. Two newer ones, and two very old ones. No question as to which are the better quality but as you all know "they just don't make'em like they use too" :grumpy: Glad to see our Pennsylvanians on this forum. Please keep your eye open for Pa related knives for me if you can. The point I wanted to make here is that you should look at the old knives at the auctions, markets. The steel is better and so is the overall quality. NO one is impressed with a shiny new knife that doesn't work well. :barf: Pull out an old Schatt and Morgan with stag handles in a gunstock pattern and watch the fella's take notice. The knife talk will fly then. I know this from experience. Price wise, a used and still usable old knife verses the new junk, well there is no comparision. But if you find that old Schatt, e-mail me first, HA HA HA HA. ;) Thanks folks, I am so glad that I have found someplace to talk knives and not bore the audience to death. At 47 years young, avid musical axe player, dog show judge and all around knife nut, I find this very refreshing. :)
 
You're right, D2 is a carbon steel. I just always think of the 1095. I have been meaning to get a Queen D2 to check it out, I never used D2 before. I like the 1095 because it is so easy to sharpen. I do a lot of whittling and sharpening ease is big factor for me. A Mooremaker is my dream, but my funds are very low lately, maybe for Christmas. I apologize for my flip comment. I spoke too generally, there are companies making quality slipjoint folders with carbon steel and bone. I just wish there were more.
 
The thing that really surprised me, other then the poor "fit and finish" was that there was so much polishing compound inside the handles that you could not tell it had a backspring with any pressure on the blades!!!! I spent over a half hour with a Q-tip and rag and oil wiping all the compound out of the handles (inside the liners, etc.).

The days of quality :(

You know I have not made any knives in couple months, not much time these days, but when I do, if it is not up to par no one will receive it. I will destroy a poor quality blade before I let it into someone's hands.
 
I love old (1970 and before Case knives), but hate the rest. I EDC an XX 6333, and occasionally a 6327. I love those little stockmans, newer ones don't compare. Here's a 6333 in my collection:
6333.jpg
 
That is exactly why I won't buy over the internet for knives I'm purchasing as an investment. Case is one of my two favorite brands of knives to collect. I think it makes up the bigger part actually. The other fave is Buck.

I have several Case knives I've bought recently at dealers in my area and have been quite happy with. I usually look at several of the same model I'm looking at.

I'll most always start the conversation by asking the person behind the counter how many they have of the model I'm looking at. If they say 10 and it is a knife I really want I just flat ask him to let me see all ten of them. Then I pick the best one. For me doing it this way is part of the fun. I love getting to play with them. Most of the dealers or employees know that you are serious about collecting them so they are more than willing to help you open the boxes to get them out a lot of the time. That is the only way to buy collecting knives for me. It has to be hands on. Not that I haven't bought over e-bay but it is rare. I just like seeing in person what I'm getting.
 
D2 is a tool steel.It has considerable chromium ,12% so it is considered in the knife business to be a semi-stainless steel. In use it won't rust but might discolor a bit. Dozier does the best job with D2......If indeed Case quality is going down , how long will it be before it joins Shrade ??
 
I've read much about how Case quality has gone down. I don't doubt those opinions based on far more experience than I have.

But....in the past year, I've bought 3 Case SJs - a seahorse whittler in Jade, a small texas jack (cv) in amber bone, and most recently, a canoe in Kentucky Bluegrass. Each has been great right out of the box, in terms of fit, finish, etc. Maybe I've just been lucky :) I've whittled a few decent roosters with them, and like them more than the other Spydercos I've carried. I still carry one of each, usually, but the SJ is the one that usually gets used.

They are tougher to sharpen, certainly, on my Sharpmaker and/or Gatco rigs (especially the "Tru-Surgical" steel on the small jack and the canoe). They eventually yield, though...
 
Sorry to hear about that. Ive never encountered rust but I don't own any CV either. I have gotten a couple that were rough around the ricosso. Its kind of disheartening. If it were'nt for CASE , Stan Shaw , and Bill Ruple I wouldn't have any heros. But of course Stan and Bill are in a league all there own.
 
Durwood said:
I love old (1970 and before Case knives), but hate the rest. I EDC an XX 6333, and occasionally a 6327. I love those little stockmans, newer ones don't compare. Here's a 6333 in my collection:
Click to expand...

Durwood, that is a fantastic knife. I love the stockman pattern, but never cared for spey blades. The 6333 is the perfect answer to that. Thanks for posting the pic. What are the dimensions?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top