Case Medium Yellow Stockman CV

S

stevekt

Joined
Dec 10, 2003
Messages
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I finally got my own Yellow Handle Medium Stockman with CV Blades. (First place I tried was sold out.) Very nice little knife. My only other traditional pattern knives are a Queen Large Toothpick and a Queen Whittler. This knife has them both beat.

The blades were decently sharp out of the box. A few minutes on the Sharpmaker and I was easily slicing Post-Its and shaving arm hair. This is much better than my D2 Queen Whitler. Those blades came dull and took a lot of effort to reprofile and sharpen. Also the Queen Whittler's main blade was difficult to open with an oddly placed nail nick. The Case Stockman is easy to open but has enough spring resistance to assure confidence.

However I am already seeing some staining on the CV blades. I put a light coat of 3 in 1 oil on the blades and joints. I might try the apple patina mentioned in the other thread. I think I'll also pick up another Case Stockman in SS. I have read good and bad on the Case SS but I really like the physical dimentions of this knife and would'nt mind having both CV and SS versions. Besides, the SS knives come in a wider range of unique handle scales.

Speaking of handles, the handle on this knife is a more robust than I thought it would be based on internet photos. It certainly is more hand-filling than my Queen Whittler. It is almost as thick as my 2 layer Vic Spartan.

Does anyone know why the wharncliff blade sits so high when closed? The tip of the blade actually sits above the handle. It seems they could tuck it into the handle a bit more and still have enough blade to grab and open easily. Another thing is that I wish the nail nick were on the other side of the wharncliff blade. However, with this blade sitting so high there is enough blade that I can simply pinch it with my thumb and index finger without even using the nail nick.

Overall it is a great little knife. :thumbup: I am looking forward to giving it some pocket time.
 
<<Does anyone know why the wharncliff blade sits so high when closed? The tip of the blade actually sits above the handle. It seems they could tuck it into the handle a bit more and still have enough blade to grab and open easily.>>

I hope this doesn't offend anyone, but it's probably because Case didn't take the time to make it properly. I can't imagine a folding knife design where the tip of a blade is exposed when the knife is closed. I'm glad you're happy with your knife, but the last few Cases I bought were absolute garbage. They've thinned down the brass liners (you can really tell this if you have an older Case to compare it with), and lessened the overall build quality of their knives. The very first knife I ever bought with my own money was a Case Sod Buster Jr. Comparing it with a newer one I bought, the brass liners are about half as thick, and consequently less strong (although they sure haven't come down on the price) The last one I bought was a two bladed sowbelly in Cranberry bone. The secondary blade was so off-center, the mirror-finished blade rubbed the liner, scratching it horribly (I know I should've checked that before buying it), and after a week, the blades had an incredible amount of slop in them, side-to-side. I sent the knife back to Case, explaining what the problems were. 9 weeks later, they sent me back the same knife, albeit with tightened blades. It still rubbed the liner. I swore right then and there I'd never own another Case. I wound up giving it to my son for his first knife. Modern Cases are apparently made strictly to be looked at, because in practice, the box it came in would probably serve you better. Again, I hope this doesn't offend anyone...it's just my experience with the new Case knives.
 
warden41272 said:
probably because Case didn't take the time to make it properly.
Click to expand...

That may be the case. I see some file marks on the kick of the main blade but the kick of the wharncliff is untouched. I think I can fix this with a metal file but I see your point, I shouldn't have to fix anything on a new knife. This is only my first experience with Case and overall I am pleased with the knife.
 
Well, the sheepsfoot point is covered by the other two blades. I have found this to be common in stockmen other than Case. Lower it and the nail nick is obscured by the other blades.

I don't think Case quality is any worse than say Queen, but they sell a lot more of them, so it seems to be the "case" that people notice the defects more often.
 
MarkPinTx said:
Well, the sheepsfoot point is covered by the other two blades.
Click to expand...

That's what I noticed so it really didn't bother me all that much.

WIL TERRY said:
Are you sure it's not a sheepfoot blade ??
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Sorry. My terminology is all messed up. What's the difference between a wharncliff and a sheepsfoot?
 
Down to the point.
The warnecliffe has the top edge of the blade making a long sweeping turn down to the point.
Truth be told they both do about the same type of work but the warnecliffe sure is sleeker looking.
 
stevekt said:
However I am already seeing some staining on the CV blades. I put a light coat of 3 in 1 oil on the blades and joints. I might try the apple patina mentioned in the other thread. I think I'll also pick up another Case Stockman in SS. I have read good and bad on the Case SS but I really like the physical dimentions of this knife and would'nt mind having both CV and SS versions. Besides, the SS knives come in a wider range of unique handle scales.

Does anyone know why the wharncliff blade sits so high when closed? The tip of the blade actually sits above the handle. It seems they could tuck it into the handle a bit more and still have enough blade to grab and open easily. Another thing is that I wish the nail nick were on the other side of the wharncliff blade. However, with this blade sitting so high there is enough blade that I can simply pinch it with my thumb and index finger without even using the nail nick.

Overall it is a great little knife. :thumbup: I am looking forward to giving it some pocket time.
Click to expand...

Regarding the CV steel, I definitely recommend putting a heavy patina on it if you are going to be getting it wet. I use heated apple cider vinegar myself, microwaved for about 30 seconds. You'll get a much heavier patina much more quickly than using a granny smith apple. Regarding Case SS, it's 420 HC and nothing special in my opinion. Since you seem like a discerning fellow, you might be dissappointed with the performance of the Case "Tru-Sharp" stainless, especially compared to the CV, which is excellent.

My favorite EDC is a case medium stockman in CV with chestnut bone handles. Same as your knife except for the handles I think. Square bolsters and a pen blade instead of a spey, right? In any case, the sheep foot does sit up higher than usual, but I like that. You can only tell it sits that high if you open both of the other blades at once. One of the things I like about it is the ergonomic effect when you have the pen blade open. With the serpentine shape of the handle and that SH Blade sitting up high, it fills the hand very nicely when using the pen blade, IMO. However, if you really want it to sit lower, all you need to do is grind down the front edge of the tang a little, since that's what stops the blade against the backspring. Just be careful you don't bury the nail nick behind the pen blade.

Anyway, that's a great little knife. It's my favorite hands down, and I have at least a dozen stockmans mostly in carbon steel and in various sizes, as well as other Case CV slipjoints. I think the Case medium stockman in CV is the perfect slipjoint.
 
I suspect that I caused some of the staining when I washed it with an old toothbrush, dish soap, and hot water. There was a lot of grit in the joints. I probably didn't dry it completely or oil it quickly enough. I wash my SAK's all the time like with no problems but this but this is my first experience with carbon steel. :o :o Modern stainless steels have spoiled me. :p
 
stevekt said:
That may be the case. I see some file marks on the kick of the main blade but the kick of the wharncliff is untouched. I think I can fix this with a metal file but I see your point, I shouldn't have to fix anything on a new knife. This is only my first experience with Case and overall I am pleased with the knife.
Click to expand...


I have a Case mini copperhead that also didn't close properly - the point stuck up ever so slightly, but enough to catch your finger if you ran it along the closed knife.
I read someone else's suggestion about using a file on the back of the blade (tang?) where it contacts the handle when closed.
I didn't have a file, but I used a gray stone from my sharpmaker on it for about a minute and that took care of the problem.
It was a quick and easy fix, and took MUCH less time then getting a cutting edge on the Queen SS barlow I bought....... so it didn't bother me to take that minute.
 
As noted, if you file the kick down, be very careful, you may render the sheespfoot near-useless if you drop the nick below the other blades.
 
Once you get the hang of it, kick adjustment is pretty easy. I just wanted to mention that it's also a good idea to fold some masking tape over the edge of the blade to give yourself a little "oops" room. Open up the other blades on the knife and take a good look at the distance between the edge and the spring on the blade you want to adjust. Keep in mind that if you go too far a burr will be kicked up on the edge each time you close the blade. I found that practice on a cheap chinese stockman I got in trade helped me to figure out my adjustment technique without running the risk of damaging a good knife. Like MarkPinTx states, be very careful, take it slow
 
Since we're talking about Case knives, anybody pick up a complete blue-bone collection from Lowe's before they stopped carrying them? I almost bought a Cheetah but I don't really want any folders, so the $30 tag (half price!) was a little steep for something I didn't need.

I wonder why they started carrying orange ones, was Depot trying to get into the whole deal?
 
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