Case/Bose 2011 Collaboration

My first one should arrive today or tomorrow (chestnut bone). After seeing Cisco's, I am hoping for a better example. Stay tuned.
 
A chestnut bone version was waiting when I got home. Both blades dead center when closed, no burrs and very well sharpened and ground, no blade wobble open or at half stop and the tip of the master is ground out very nicely. I am happy with this puppy from all aspects. Have not decided which version I will end up toting since I will be picking up a couple more, if things work out.

Will try to get some shots up later this week.
 
I was thinking about that, but I have every one except the muskrat (still working on it) and they all have been done well. I have only had one minor problem with all of them, the first one the slimline trapper had burrs on both blades. That was solved with a ceramic rod in just a few swipes.
 
Gus, I was worried. Now I'm as happy as a drunk goat! Can't wait to get mine. It will probably arrive while I am at my cousin's wedding though. Might have to get there late...

Just kidding.
 
I've bought 4 different Case Bose, no complaints on any of them. One wasn't perfectly centered, but I don't consider that a flaw as long as there is plenty of clearance. I think people expect too much from a product made by human beings. If you can't really afford to spend the money...don't, it will help out your blood pressure :)

Every one of my Case Bose had an edge that was almost flawless. Better than the grinds on all of the similarly-priced customs for sale on these forums. That alone is worth the money. Every one of them had a flawless fit between bolster, liner and scale. Walk and talk was perfect, from the small Norfolk to the large Yukon Jack. For what it's worth, they are the "sebenzas" of the slipjoint world, but better because you get a new pattern every year :)
 
Brownshoe, unless you hand picked them, you should consider yourself lucky. The 3 collabs i have fit your description. I got lucky. Unfortunately some people didn't get lucky and they received a sub par knife. I think most here feel that for the price there should be no sub par ones. With the low production numbers everyone could be hand inspected (as Phil Gibbs does for AGR) and the knives with "issues" sent back to the cutlers for 'tune-up' as needed.
roland
 
brownshoe said:
I've bought 4 different Case Bose, no complaints on any of them. One wasn't perfectly centered, but I don't consider that a flaw as long as there is plenty of clearance. I think people expect too much from a product made by human beings. If you can't really afford to spend the money...don't, it will help out your blood pressure :)
Click to expand...

As a machinist if I went in to work making product out of tolerance I would be fired...paying that much for a production knife I have pretty high expectations, I was pretty keen on this one but not so much after seeing those pics. Can only hope as production goes along things are tuned up a bit better.
 
Several points come to mind but I'll mention a few...

#1 If you're picky about your pocket knives, I'd suggest making friends with your friendly Case dealer. Explain your kinks and ask them to cherry pick a winner from their stock. This is quite normal and I know several people that get exactly what they want by doing this very thing. That's the only way you're going to get a "perfect" knife, plus you'll have someone to bit...er....complain to if you get a dud.

#2 It's a pocket knife and one of thousands that Case puts together by hand every day. I've only seen images or heard about a few in this thread and you would swear by the tone of some that there are serious problems in production at Case. Case has an EXCELLENT customer service reputation, if you send the knife to them with an explanation of the problem(s) you have with it, it will be corrected to your satisfaction. I have never heard of anything other than that about Case. You will also help them get better.

#3 There's a Rough Rider thread on this here forum thingy somewhere and those guys say they are perfect and cost much less. ;)
 
So I got 4 that are great and rproctor got 3 that are great. Sorry, I disagree, I don't call that lucky, I call that quality.
 
I have one that disappointed me- it's the swing guard- the blade has side to side play when closed. When open, it locks up tight. Case said that was not a defect. The other ones I have are exceptional.
 
By and large I've had favorable experiences with the six Case/Bose collaborations I've had at one time or another.

All have had excellent jigged bone scales in the fit, the jig and the overall look.

The Slimline Trapper (the first edition) was probably the weakest offering in my view. Fit and finish was "okay", a bit of side to side play as I recall and the edges were nothing to write home about.
The shield was not pinned on that model. Knife had significant burrs on the two blades as I recall.

The Millennium Trapper that I had was a very well made knife and I can't remember any issues with it at all. A more consistent finish or polish on the blades would have been nicer than the ground finish on my example but I thought it an excellent knife overall. Edges were okay.

The Lockback Whittler was a great knife except for soft half stops and weak snap in the two small accessory blades.

The Muskrat was near perfect in every way and was probably the best example of any of the collaboration knives that went through my hands.

The Dogleg Jack is a great knife and I love the look and feel of it but I spent a good amount of time on both burr removal and reprofiling the relatively blunt edges.

The Tribal Spear is another great looking knife but mine came with a somewhat rounded off tip and needed a lot of work on the edge beyond the initial heavy burr removal.

Overall, I'm a big fan of these knives and I never returned any of them to Case or the dealers I purchased from. I've kept the dogleg and the "zulu" and traded the others.
I've tuned the ones I kept to my personal preferences.

I do believe that at the price they should be near flawless and I will say that the examples I have owned and examined (barring the first edition) were generally comparable to or even better than some custom knife offerings in terms of their overall action, fit and finish though I'd prefer not to have to work on a "new" knife, especially a production knife at that price point.
 
I expect to get the coffin jack on Monday. I own an ebony Tribal Spear and owned a Yukon. Both were in pretty good shape when I got them.

As someone who just dropped a pretty penny on an expensive knife, I expect it to be at the upper echelon of production knife quality. After seeing Gus' post, I am confident I will be happy with my chestnut bone model.
 
KnifeHead said:
#2 It's a pocket knife and one of thousands that Case puts together by hand every day. I've only seen images or heard about a few in this thread and you would swear by the tone of some that there are serious problems in production at Case. Case has an EXCELLENT customer service reputation, if you send the knife to them with an explanation of the problem(s) you have with it, it will be corrected to your satisfaction. I have never heard of anything other than that about Case. You will also help them get better.
Click to expand...

A lemon is a lemon and a cherry is a cherry. For the collab knives, and the price they sell for, I contend the lemons should be scarce, and not get out of quality control. I know the guys here are more picky than the normal pocket knife buyer, and great that Case has excellent support, but it is extremely disappointing to see a new $300.00 knife with a dull tip when you open the mail, and think you have to send it back and get ground on some more to make it right. More times than not, a fellow might decide to live with it and stick it in his pocket, convince himself "it's not so bad", and may not end up quite as happy with the knife as they should be.

I'm still thinking about an antique bone version, and love this pattern but do not have a Case knife dealer within striking distance that I could have the privilege of a cherry pick. I contacted one seller, and they doubted if they could even provide a picture.
 
Per "lemons" in the Case Bose line, if the judgement of the knife market means anything, they sell out pretty quick, thus the "lemons" must be scarce. Also, remember that the markup on these knives is large, so Case doesn't see even close to the MSRP. A large markup though, means the quality can sustain the price. Right now many sites are sold out of last year's production and have been for awhile. The market says the quality/price ratio is OK.
 
brownshoe said:
Per "lemons" in the Case Bose line, if the judgement of the knife market means anything, they sell out pretty quick, thus the "lemons" must be scarce. Also, remember that the markup on these knives is large, so Case doesn't see even close to the MSRP. A large markup though, means the quality can sustain the price. Right now many sites are sold out of last year's production and have been for awhile. The market says the quality/price ratio is OK.
Click to expand...

This kind of makes me think of "boutique" English or Italian automobiles of old like Ferrari, Maserati, Jaguar, Rolls Royce etc.. All of these brands were all but total garbage as reliable transportation just a few decades ago. They sure looked good, and they sold every one they could make, but they just weren't very good cars. The market said they were just fine, and so they were, but that didn't make them any better, just desirable.

I said "kind of" because these knives are sort of the reverse situation. Oddly enough these remain rather desirable when Case regularly misses the very thing that they should deliver for the extra money, the F&F. I would never consider a less than razor sharp blade an "issue" on a $30-$50 dollar production slipjoint, or be terribly concerned with a blade that has a detectable amount of play when opened, or springs that aren't exactly flush. But on a $300+ dollar limited production Case/T.Bose collaboration? Please.

If the springs are supposed to be flush, and the blades are supposed to be centered, evenly ground and sharp with no burrs, then every one that leaves the factory should be exactly that way. Period.

IMHO, YMMV
 
I think there are a limited number of Collab knives released, about 300 per scale maybe? That's hardly a massive amount, or churning them out in bulk especially spread around the world. All the more reason for uncompromising inspection and quality control. Moreover, because of limited numbers it means it could be difficult to get them replaced or fixed after they've sold out-the pattern no longer being in production. A faulty knife at this price should not be fixed anyway, it should be totally replaced.
 
I don't think it necessary to make excuses to support Case. Case can and should support themselves.
I think thawk and FLymon both stated the case quite well.
AGR manages to get knives made to very exacting tolerances with no lemons getting out there. Case could too. If they wanted to.
roland
 
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