Case Gunboat Question

B

berzerker

Joined
Jan 27, 2002
Messages
801
I've noticed a new "canoe" pattern from Case; the "gunboat:" 4 inches closed with three blades.

Does anyone have any experience with this one, as compared to their large stockman and trapper models? If so, is it robust like these two, or more like the smaller "standard" canoe.

Best regards.
 
I've been a canoe pattern user/collector for a bit now, and since the "Gunboat" is a variant of the canoe, so to speak, I have, along the way, added a few to my collection. Here's my take.....the Gunboat is a large pattern with three blades, usually a main spear, and either a spey, pen, or sheepsfoot in some combination. Typically they are over 4" and they have some width and girth to them. (a smaller traditional 3 blade canoe pattern is often referred to as a "canoe whittler"....a "normal" canoe has only two blades).

The gunboat is big and chunky......but I certainly have carried one in my pocket without any issues....I find one can easily adjust to the "extra" size and weight.
Not a whole lot of slip makers have made and do make the Gunboat pattern. Case immediately comes to mind ( someone will hopefully jump in here soon and perhaps provide us with a "rundown' of its history and developement...sunburst, are you there ? ). I own several currently produced Case Gunboats: they are very well manufactured with impressive fit and finish and the springs snap with "authority". The blade steel is serviceable 420HC. Two I own are both stag handled.......one is from the collector Encyclopedia series and does not get used, the other gets carried occasionally. My third Gunboat is also a Case, a burnt white bone from the early 1990's Classic series.....with mirror polished carbon blades and is as nice a "build" as any custom I have ever seen. I think it's stunning.
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That's my story..and I'm stickin' to it.

Cheers
 
Gramps, while they are all nice looking, I have to agree. That third one looks to be a real sweetheart of a knife. The pic alone is beautiful. I can only imagine what it looks like in hand.
 
berzerker said:
I've noticed a new "canoe" pattern from Case; the "gunboat:" 4 inches closed with three blades.

Does anyone have any experience with this one, as compared to their large stockman and trapper models? If so, is it robust like these two, or more like the smaller "standard" canoe.

Best regards.
Click to expand...
I'm not really up on the newer Case knives. Maybe the gunboat was recently re-introduced I don't know. It's definitely not a new pattern, I've seen them pre-1920
Gary
 
Thanks for the info. I used the term "new" but I should have used ""new to me." I'll have to get a pair (one for EDC, one for spare).

Best regards.
 
I sold an old Case gunboat earlier this year, but in looking up information about it I found lots of inconsistency in the use of the name. Jim Sargent's book apparently uses the name gunboat as a synonym of canoe, as does Levine. Some older books call them all canoes. Just marketing, but the direction seems to be toward considering them all under the umbrella title canoes, with the larger ones and those with more blades being called gunboats.
 
Well, I guess the gunboat is pretty much just an over-grown canoe. But it is important to note that they are two separate and distinct patterns. The smaller of the two is a 131 pattern while the bigger gunboat is a 94X pattern.
Take Care
Gary
 
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