Case Disappointment!

F

Fishstalker

Joined
Jun 1, 2008
Messages
342
I ordered a Case Humpback Whittler from SMKW a few days ago, along with a Buck 301, and Cold Steel Trail Boss. They arrived tonight and the Buck totally blows away the quality of the Case. That's a shame considering the Case cost approximately 40% more than the Buck.

The Buck has a nicer finish on the blades and the handle, not to mention it's easier to open as well. To say I'm disappointed in Case is an understatement. :mad:
 
That's unfortunate, sorry about that. The only case I have is a sod buster junior I got from Lowe's and to be honest, the fit and finish was horrible; really deep machining marks, a lot of side to side play and very sloppy edge grind.

I'm giving them another chance however and getting a large navy blue jigged bone stockman, hopefully it will be better! I'm sure it was just a fluke however.
 
Wow don't hear them leaving anyone unsatisfied very often! I have 2 case knives and love both of them as I find that they can perform any task I need and look classy doing it! I've never seen any case that i didn't feel was up to par but I'm sure they have quality control goof ups every now and again too! Sorry for the dissappintment but I do hope you give them another try in the future!
 
Yes I sent an email to Case, and we'll see what they have to say. Like Heiheit, my only other Case is a Sod Buster Jr. The fit and finish on it leave a lot to be desired, but it was a $20 purchase, so I wasn't expecting much.

My gripes with this knife are:

1. The blades are not polished or buffed like in the pictures on their website. In fact they are not finished any nicer than my Sod Buster. :mad:

2. All the bolsters on the knife all have horizontal looking stress marks next to the G-10. :(

3. The G-10 has two small chips out of it on the bottom on one side. :mad:

4. The blades are extremely hard to open. :mad:

My view of Case after receiving this knife is :thumbdn::thumbdn:
 
What exactly was wrong with it?

If it was a black G-10 then it will have "as finished" blades with the grind marks on them. It was meant to be that way. Some even prefer it.

Bucks are known to be easy to open. That is one of the attractions for some. For others it is a turn off and seen as a negative compared to stouter springs. Again that is preference
 
I'm sorry to hear that you're dissatisfied with your Case.

A couple things worth noting-

1) The black G10 series has an "as ground" blade finish- the blades are not tumbled and finished like other Cases. So you will see the grind marks, and the corners are sharp. This is not a defect.

2) Case's humpback pattern has tough backsprings. That is characteristic of that particular pattern. The Buck 301 has notoriously light backsprings. It goes without saying that the humpback will be more difficult to open than the 301. This is not a defect. Different patterns from different companies have different pull tensions. There are plenty of guys out there who believe a hard pull on a slipjoint knife is an indication of good quality.

I'm not sure what you mean about "horizontal stress marks" on the bolsters. Pics might help.

Noting that the G10 is chipped is a valid complaint. If it is on the outer edge of the scale material, it can be simply sanded smooth. If it is next to the liner, not so much. The black G10 Cases are workman knives. They are not brought to a super-high level of finish, and are priced accordingly, though they are very well-made. I own three knives from the series, including the humpback, and they are all quite nice.

Edit: Scratch that, I own four of the black G10 series. Humpback, slimline trapper, peanut, and pruner. :)
 
Brennanscott said:
Then don't buy Case anymore.
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I'll see how Case handles this. If I'm not satisfied, I wont buy them anymore.

I had great expectations for the quality of this knife, and it was a BIG let down. Maybe I got a bad one. Who knows. I was expecting something better than this. Since I bought it over the net, I didn't have a chance to check it out first. If a local dealer had one, and the quality was the same as what I received, I would have purchased something else.
 
moonwilson said:
I'm sorry to hear that you're dissatisfied with your Case.

A couple things worth noting-

1) The black G10 series has an "as ground" blade finish- the blades are not tumbled and finished like other Cases. So you will see the grind marks, and the corners are sharp. This is not a defect.

2) Case's humpback pattern has tough backsprings. That is characteristic of that particular pattern. The Buck 301 has notoriously light backsprings. It goes without saying that the humpback will be more difficult to open than the 301. This is not a defect. Different patterns from different companies have different pull tensions. There are plenty of guys out there who believe a hard pull on a slipjoint knife is an indication of good quality.

I'm not sure what you mean about "horizontal stress marks" on the bolsters. Pics might help.

Noting that the G10 is chipped is a valid complaint. If it is on the outer edge of the scale material, it can be simply sanded smooth. If it is next to the liner, not so much. The black G10 Cases are workman knives. They are not brought to a super-high level of finish, and are priced accordingly, though they are very well-made. I own three knives from the series, including the humpback, and they are all quite nice.
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Thank you for the insight. With regard to the backspring, it makes the smallest blade almost impossible to open. Aside from the backspring tension, it feels like it's grinding in the handle.

As for the G-10 it is chipped next to the liner. I'll try to post some pictures so you can see.
 
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Here's some pictures. Sorry there not that great.

The chips are next to the liner on the top.
IMG_1872.JPG


I hope you can see the horizontal lines on the bolsters.
IMG_1873.JPG

IMG_1874.JPG

IMG_1875.JPG
 
Don't even get me started. It breaks my heart, because I like Case knives. But at this point, I won't buy one sight unseen.
 
Fishstalker said:
Here's some pictures. Sorry there not that great.
Click to expand...

The G-10 next to the liner is a flaw and I would exchange it or send it to Case.

The small indentations on the bolsters is normal in a lot of mid-level production slipjoints and is a by product of the hafting and polishing. You will see this more in bone handled knives. This is preferable to some, then gaps or steps between handle material and the bolsters.

The Buck has heat molded Valox handles and won't have these buffing marks as noticeable. If you get a nice magnifying glass and take a close gander at the handle/bolster junction you may see small ones though

In the end if you don't like it, return it to SMKW or Case. Better to not keep a knife you have bad feelings about
 
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I like 1970's series Case knives for the fit and finish. However, if it is a Bose collab, such as the Swayback jack, I will buy it sight unseen, in fact, I need another one. I gave mine away, and now wish I had not. It was a favorite for while, but I had worked it hard.
 
Go on over to the "traditional" subforum on this site and look around. Experience with CASE is a real mixed bag these days. The good news is that if you send them the knife they seem to make folks happy in the end.

I still remember when CASE was the gold standard for me in the 60s and 70s. Things started to change somewhere in the 80s.

I won't buy one sight unseen anymore, where I used to "mail order" (remember mail order???) with complete confidence I would get a perfect knife every time.

I am not a cheer leader of anyone's knife brand anymore. After recently receiving traditional knives from three different USA manufacturers that clearly had someone asleep in QC, I won't do it.

BUT, there is a strong opinion from the CASE guys (including some of the collectors) on the sub forum seems to be that things are slowly changing for the better over at CASE. If you like the knife, why not send it to them and see what they say?

Robert
 
That just looks like a little character like you would get from having it in a pocket for a few months :)

If the tolerances are off, it's loose or has things rubbing that shouldn't be, I would not be happy with it. I wouldn't worry about a small ding or two or some machining lines though, unless it's a rather expensive knife.
 
I've been thinking about buying my first traditional since I was a boy, a yellow toothpick with bone handle.

pete
 
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