Case knives

Frost Cutlery is an authorized Case dealer and stocks them in their showroom in Ooltewah, Tennessee and sells them on their website. If you're ever in the area, I recommend setting aside an hour or so just to go in and look. Their selection is amazing.
 
Case are great knives. Pick a style that has the CV blades, they are easy to sharpen and they develop a beautiful patina over time with use.
 
I own about 20 of the more recent Case knives (CV and SS) and, of those, only one was less than excellent in fit, finish and all etc. Most people who own multiple Case knives have the same experience. Those who only own one Case knife and were not satisfied with it do not have enough experience with the brand to offer an overall condemnation of the brand. For instance, I've owned only one Honda vehicle in my life, bought it new and it was a piece of crap and a constant problem until I sold it to get rid of it. I don't think Honda makes uniformly bad cars based on the experience of others but I know they can make a dog of a car once in a while.
 
Lee48 said:
I own about 20 of the more recent Case knives (CV and SS) and, of those, only one was less than excellent in fit, finish and all etc. Most people who own multiple Case knives have the same experience. Those who only own one Case knife and were not satisfied with it do not have enough experience with the brand to offer an overall condemnation of the brand. For instance, I've owned only one Honda vehicle in my life, bought it new and it was a piece of crap and a constant problem until I sold it to get rid of it. I don't think Honda makes uniformly bad cars based on the experience of others but I know they can make a dog of a car once in a while.
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That's a good point. I recently bought a Sod buster jr. at Lowes and before I ever pulled out of the parking lot, I returned it. It looked like a 3 year old put it together. BUT that one knife has been the exception. I own numerous Case knives from different price ranges including the Bose collaborations, and they all were excellent, except for that one sod buster. You can't base an opinion on an entire brand based on one example. With any knife, it's always best, if possible to handle it and pick the best of the lot.
 
I've gotten rid of the few Case k Ives that I had and swapped them out for Rough Rider. They were less expensive but I felt had better assembly and overall ff. Even the custom collabs. How many times have you read about a Case/Bose collab being a nail breaker. Or needing a nail nick tool to open it. If I have to carry a tool to get a blade open because the spring is too strong, I would feel that that's a defect.
 
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Case quality is good, but you will find a lot of issues, sometimes. Out of 4 Case knives I bought in the last 4 years, and one I did not, the detent on a John Deere Trapperlock was non-existent, but everything else was great. Case fixed it for free. Then I bought a CV Chestnut Bone Trapperlock that was perfect. After that I bought a yellow handled Trapperlock CV and the blade had enormous play in all directions, but the rest of the knife was nice. Finally, I bought a Mini Copperlock CV and the knife was great except for one thing. The lock would not close all the way. There was zero blade play it was tight as a vault. I finally figured out that (I am slow) that the knife was made to such tight tolerances the lock would not go all the way down. So, I got a small plastic hammer and tapped the back and Viola! it went into lock. So, I did that a few times and problem solved. Now I carry it. The other knife was a Mid-Folding Hunter that Case sent me for free, made up of parts they had in the shop as they had, at that time, stopped making the knife, because if the JD mentioned above. It was perfect. They did not have to send me a free knife but the fellow that ran things knew I liked the MFH just has he did, so he sent me one. So, I still buy them. I have a CV Sowbelly in my cart now.
 
Lee48 said:
I own about 20 of the more recent Case knives (CV and SS) and, of those, only one was less than excellent in fit, finish and all etc. Most people who own multiple Case knives have the same experience. Those who only own one Case knife and were not satisfied with it do not have enough experience with the brand to offer an overall condemnation of the brand. For instance, I've owned only one Honda vehicle in my life, bought it new and it was a piece of crap and a constant problem until I sold it to get rid of it. I don't think Honda makes uniformly bad cars based on the experience of others but I know they can make a dog of a car once in a while.
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Defining quality is a very subjective thing... case in point (pun intended) a 1 in 20 failure is poor quality to me in knives... as a custom maker if 1 in 20 of my knives was flawed or failed I wouldn't be in business long... I don't understand why it is OK in the production world.
 
Yes they are.. Decent.
I no longer buy them because I've had a lot of fit and finish issues with mine.
Warped blades, bladepay, rough spots, gaps etc.
They're not the worst by any means, but I'd buy a different brand, or try to get an old CASE knife.
 
Strong springs aren't a defect. Lots of slip joints are hard to open. I have some that are 60 plus years old and have been used for years and they are still a bear to open.
 
In my experience, when taking jagged edges into account, the failure rate is much higher than 1 out of 20. Jagged edges, weak springs, and blade wobble combined... I'd guess the 'failure' rate is between 20% and 50%. Some patterns seem to be more susceptible to problems than others; I could not find a mini-copperhead with acceptable springs nor a slim trapper with a tight blade, but I rarely see problems with peanuts or medium stockmans.

I still like Case, and I still buy one occasionally, but not without inspecting in person first!

I own about 20 of the more recent Case knives (CV and SS) and, of those, only one was less than excellent in fit, finish and all etc. Most people who own multiple Case knives have the same experience.
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That statement is not supported by my own experience, nor the anecdotes related by many other respected and experienced collectors on this forum.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1116186-Case-Carhartt-and-other-Case-musings
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1017299-Case-quality-still-hit-or-miss
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/725901-Recent-Case-knife-purchases
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/709101-Case-Quality-slipping-recently

What I really need to do is a series of close-up photos every time this topic comes up. Compare the fit and finish of Case knives to other brands in the price range. A typical Case next to a German-made Boker, a China-made AG Russell, and an original Schrade Old Timer. Closeups of the finished blade edge, where the tang meets the backspring, and where the backspring meets the bolster.
 
crom said:
Strong springs aren't a defect. Lots of slip joints are hard to open. I have some that are 60 plus years old and have been used for years and they are still a bear to open.
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I actually prefer strong springs, especially for my larger slipjoints.
 
I've read here a couple of times that Case knives have declined in quality, I hope these statements were either wrong or exaggerated though. I'm sure there were changes made when ZIPPO bought the company in the early 90's.
I wish they still made their knives with the pinned shields and strong springs like they did in the older models. Case is still my favorite traditional knife maker.
 
Right, a strong spring keeps that blade in the open position when you're using the knife. Weak springs get sold off.
 
Obviously some characteristics can be a matter of personal preference. But I've yet to meet any collector that prefers knives with loose wobbly blades. :D
 
Bob W said:
Obviously some characteristics can be a matter of personal preference. But I've yet to meet any collector that prefers knives with loose wobbly blades. :D
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If I were in the market for a better quality, similarly priced, slipjoint, where would I go? That's a serious question, I like good, affordable slipjoints. I'm very into GEC but I can't afford to pay GEC prices, particularly not if I want more than one.
 
RedLynx said:
If I were in the market for a better quality, similarly priced, slipjoint, where would I go? That's a serious question, I like good, affordable slipjoints. I'm very into GEC but I can't afford to pay GEC prices, particularly not if I want more than one.
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The same price as Case, but with a higher and more consistent level of quality, Boker. The German-made traditional pocketknives. I don't think twice about ordering these online based on a stock photo, something I would never do with Case.
There has been some recent controversy regarding the country of origin of current production Boker knives, but with the carbon steel models you're good to go. The Appaloosa, beer barrel, washboard bone, and Evergreen series have all been outstanding. 0% failure rate.
By all accounts the low-price imported traditional pocketknives from AG Russell have very good fit-and-finish as well. I don't have one myself though.

If you don't mind out-of-production pocketknives, original USA-made Schrade Old Timers have a consistency almost on par with Victorinox. Quite frankly, I don't know how they managed it. Failure rate 1-2%, on account of some vertical blade movement on the large lockback models.

I don't know how you feel about their prices, but the quality of my most recent Canal Street Cutlery acquisitions is just as high as Great Eastern.

Great Eastern may not be as expensive as you think either, if you haven't studied pricing lately. Even with ordinary bone handles, some Case patterns are in the $70 range. You can buy some phenomenal Great Eastern knives for that same price, and without the anxiety about what's actually going to show up in the mailbox. Gotta love those Esquires, Ben Hogans, Boys Knives...
 
I find Case knives to have better fit and finish than GEC. Now that could be because I only have 3 GEC knives including the 2014 Forum knife I don't know. I probably have 10 Case stag knives that are nicer than the Forum knife. I have about 100 Case knives and only one that isn't good quality.
 
Thanks Bob for your detailed, helpful response.

I plan to do some research on my own, but as you seem to have researched various brands and models already: can you recommend a good 2-blade traditional (from any of those brands) with blades at least somewhat over 3 inches in length? Are there any knives in these brands with at least 3.5-4" blades that you find appealing? I have a large Case Trapper and I find the blade length (around 3.75-4") to be very useful, and prefer larger knives. Although I have recently been getting into Stockman patterns.

I am a big fan of the full size Sod Buster, any similar recommendations would be welcome.

Bob W said:
The same price as Case, but with a higher and more consistent level of quality, Boker. The German-made traditional pocketknives. I don't think twice about ordering these online based on a stock photo, something I would never do with Case.
There has been some recent controversy regarding the country of origin of current production Boker knives, but with the carbon steel models you're good to go. The Appaloosa, beer barrel, washboard bone, and Evergreen series have all been outstanding. 0% failure rate.
By all accounts the low-price imported traditional pocketknives from AG Russell have very good fit-and-finish as well. I don't have one myself though.

If you don't mind out-of-production pocketknives, original USA-made Schrade Old Timers have a consistency almost on par with Victorinox. Quite frankly, I don't know how they managed it. Failure rate 1-2%, on account of some vertical blade movement on the large lockback models.

I don't know how you feel about their prices, but the quality of my most recent Canal Street Cutlery acquisitions is just as high as Great Eastern.

Great Eastern may not be as expensive as you think either, if you haven't studied pricing lately. Even with ordinary bone handles, some Case patterns are in the $70 range. You can buy some phenomenal Great Eastern knives for that same price, and without the anxiety about what's actually going to show up in the mailbox. Gotta love those Esquires, Ben Hogans, Boys Knives...
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RedLynx said:
Thanks Bob for your detailed, helpful response.

I plan to do some research on my own, but as you seem to have researched various brands and models already: can you recommend a good 2-blade traditional (from any of those brands) with blades at least somewhat over 3 inches in length? Are there any knives in these brands with at least 3.5-4" blades that you find appealing? I have a large Case Trapper and I find the blade length (around 3.75-4") to be very useful, and prefer larger knives. Although I have recently been getting into Stockman patterns.

I am a big fan of the full size Sod Buster, any similar recommendations would be welcome.
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Boker Trapper Appaloosa Bone Link

For Boker knives, pay attention to the steel. The models offered with "Solingen Steel" or C-75 (better edge retention than regular stainless steel) are typically better fit/finish and made in Germany (not china).
 
Definitely not weak Springs, but nail breakers? It's a slip joint isn't that the premise. I'll go with a lockback over nail breaker. I've seen plenty of vetted used GEC's in the price range of many Case's new so it's a toss up. While not a fan of Case I still want a sea horse whittler as much as I want a slim calf roper and a Northwoods Norfolk. I have a bias to slippie in that size! ☺
 
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