Case Medium cigar Stockman: Two interesting touches

[Dadpool]

I'm new to collecting traditional knives, so maybe these two little flourishes are only new to me, but I thought they were nifty and wanted to share.

I always "explore" a new knife after it arrives, and in exploring this one I found Case's treatment of the "notch" for easy access to the spey blade fascinating. It's almost invisible side-on:

So much so, in fact, that when looking at different versions of this knife before settling on mine, I couldn't spot the notch on some of them! But edge-on, looking at the closed blades, you can see that there's a deep, inward-sloping cutout:

It's perfectly formed to allow the end of your thumb to slide in there and catch the nail nick, yet has almost no impact on the cover from a grip perspective (unlike, say, an easy-open notch might). Neat!

The other flourish is also visible in the second photo above -- take a look at the tangs of all three blades. See the little dark areas? None of my other knives have anything like that in that spot, and to me they look like little canyons.

Given that the jigging on this knife is Case's "deep canyon" variety, could these little curved marks be intentional, echoing the canyons in the bone covers? I don't know, but I'd like to think so.

 

[jrtodd46]

Nice knife, I've had a few with tangs like that. I think its from heat treat, but don't quote me on that.

 

[jc57]

Many (but not all) of my Case, Queen, and GEC knives have tangs that look like that, more or less. It's just how the blades are made and finished. This question seems to come up often. It's not a flaw or defect.

 

[Dadpool]

Well, shoot -- that mystery wasn't much of a mystery at all, just a greenhorn showing his colors! :foot:

 

[jc57]

I was wondering if you were going to like the deep canyon bone. You'll notice it makes the handles rather fat, kind of like many stag handled knives. I was going to mention something about that in one of your threads but you'd already ordered it by then. Makes it kind of a big lump in your pocket.

 

[knarfeng]

Good eye! Nice thing about Case. They've been making a lot of their patterns for so long that many of their knives have added details that those of other makers don't have.

 

[Dadpool]

I was wondering if you were going to like the deep canyon bone. You'll notice it makes the handles rather fat, kind of like many stag handled knives. I was going to mention something about that in one of your threads but you'd already ordered it by then. Makes it kind of a big lump in your pocket.

I do! It's not that pronounced a difference, and it gives the knife some "body" in my hand. It's comfy.

Good eye! Nice thing about Case. They've been making a lot of their patterns for so long that many of their knives have added details that those of other makers don't have.

The notch is definitely a good touch, and I like the attention to detail.

 

[black mamba]

Those grooves in the tangs are from stamp cutting the blades. The cutters were probably near the end of their cycle and needed resharpening, so left the tangs a little rougher than usual. Pretty normal.

 

[Railsplitter]

Nice looking knife there, Dadpool. I have a Humpback Stockman 63046 that has a notch very similar to yours. Mine is a little tighter against the blade with less room to get my thumb in there. It works but it took a little practice to master the maneuver. Fortunately, it's on the Spey blade which I don't use as often as the other blades. I'll have to check the notch on my 63090 when I get home. I don't recall even noticing it but it's a knife that I haven't used yet.

How do you like your Medium Stockman? It looks to be well made.

 

[mnblade]

... take a look at the tangs of all three blades. See the little dark areas? None of my other knives have anything like that in that spot, and to me they look like little canyons.

Given that the jigging on this knife is Case's "deep canyon" variety, could these little curved marks be intentional, echoing the canyons in the bone covers? I don't know, but I'd like to think so.

Nope, not intentional. And, frankly, that lack of finish is one of the things I dislike about contemporary Case knives. Wish they'd take the time to buff those flat like on GEC knives. YMMV.

-- Mark

 

[jc57]

Nope, not intentional. And, frankly, that lack of finish is one of the things I dislike about contemporary Case knives. Wish they'd take the time to buff those flat like on GEC knives. YMMV.

-- Mark

Just pulled out my GEC #12 Powderhorn Jack - has the exact same if not worse canyons on the tang in that area. Same on the first GEC #15 I took out of the tube just now, as well as a Queen stockman. Most of my knives seem to have that, no matter who made them. Exceptions: Victorinox and Buck.

 

[coolio]

And, frankly, that lack of finish is one of the things I dislike about contemporary Case knives. Wish they'd take the time to buff those flat like on GEC knives.-- Mark

Lack of finish on modern Case - agree.
Some of my GEC knives have the same "squiggle" on the back square of the tang.

 

[Dadpool]

How do you like your Medium Stockman? It looks to be well made.

I like it. It feels well made to me. There's no wobble, no blade rub, and all three blades have smooth action; weak snap is the only niggle, but some of my other small knives have weak snap as well.

The canyons make it fun to fiddle with.

 

[Dadpool]

Those grooves in the tangs are from stamp cutting the blades. The cutters were probably near the end of their cycle and needed resharpening, so left the tangs a little rougher than usual. Pretty normal.

Interesting! That makes sense.

Looking more closely at some of my other knives, I see some faint marks in that spot on a couple of them, but nothing this pronounced.

I don't mind it, and it doesn't seem to impact the knife's performance at all.