Case Mini Trapper in Chestnut Bone with CV Blades

F

Fanglekai

Joined
Jan 7, 2007
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3,120
My dad has carried a Victorinox tourist model for probably 20 years. A couple weeks ago I showed him my Queen mini trapper. He lit up and asked if it was a Case. I know that Case is the brand he had when he was younger so I wanted to get him one for Father's day.

So, I ordered a Case Mini Trapper in Chestnut Bone with CV Blades for my dad for Father's day. It arrived today. It has some minor gaps on the backsprings and came with some small scratches on the bolsters. The spey blade has a weak spring. The jigging on the mark side is almost entirely smooth already. The big letdown, though, was the color. The dye is uneven. Near both bolsters (especially on the pile side) it looks more reddish pink than chestnut like in the pictures online. Is this common? I wanted to get my dad a Case but I'm not satisfied with this one. The picture on Case's website shows a really nice brown chestnut color, which is one I know he likes. http://www.casexx.com/DisplayDetailPage.asp?ProductCode=7012. That's the color I had in mind.

Did I get a lemon or is this common? How is the dye on the Swayback Jack? I might go for one of those instead if they actually come dyed a nice chestnut color.

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You may have a lemon because most of the case chestnut bone that i have seen looks amazing.
Maybe send it back with a letter of explanation?
 
I just added pictures. I would have overlooked the minor issues because I know my old man wouldn't notice them anyway. I wanted a Case with CV blades and a deep brown chestnut bone. The problem is if I send it back to Case I doubt I'd get a replacement in time for Father's day. I planned on returning it to the dealer and ordering something else from them instead.
 
I also have some case chestnut bone that is just awful, I had it replaced and the new one had terrible slabs as well. I am no longer willing to gamble on some of cases offerings sight unseen.... Maybe im just unlucky though.
 
Its a bit hard to tell from your photo because of the flash but it looks more"pocket worn" than jigged. Definitely lemon scented.The colour looks on par with my SBJ which is chestnut .Anyway at least its a pic to compare with . What do you reckon?
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Bone is a natural material, and has variance in texture. This means that one piece of bone will not react the exact same way to a particular dye that another bone will act. There will always be some difference in shade of bone from knife to knife. Case uses so many tons of bone a year, it may be hard to get a 'standard' reaction with the dye. I notice that the shades that call for lighter color, like amber bone, tend to be more consistent in hue. Personally, I like it when the color fades out at the edges toward the bolster, and you see more of the character of the bone. But then I know my taste tends tobe bit weird. I think it's a good lookin' knife.

Carl.
 
I've noticed the mark side of some of my Case knives are smoother than the pile side cover. Just due to the extra polishing the mark side gets because of the shield I think.

Ed J
 
I am quite satisfied with the chestnut brown trapper I have. True, the spring on the clip blade is weaker than the spey, but not so much I would care.

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I bet you'd encounter the same things if you purchased another of the same knife. My chestnut Peanut is the same way, jigging is more worn and the ridges are less acute on the mark side. Other than the gap you mentioned, it looks like a knife I would be content to keep and use. Question, is your dad a new-knife-every-20-or-25-years kind of guy? If so he's probably gotten real used to worn down scales, scratched/scuffed bolsters, and scraped up blades. I would suspect that he'll love the knife, and it won't stay new for very long.
 
My SBJ was pretty much perfect, the chestnut bone was very dark, with a lot of depth to the colouration. and these have a reputation for more consistent fit and finish than Case's other recent production stuff. Maybe a '70's case would be a good replacement, since these can be had for a reasonable price and they would be more like the old cases that your father remembers.
 
One of the first knives my wife ever picked out and bought for me on her own was a "red" bone Case peanut. The red looks the same shade as lipsticks I have seen in sections of town I try to avoid. But I love the knife dearly as it reminds me of the person who gave it to me.
Your knife looks much better in the dye department than mine. I think your father will love it as is.
 
Fanglekai said:
I just added pictures. I would have overlooked the minor issues because I know my old man wouldn't notice them anyway. I wanted a Case with CV blades and a deep brown chestnut bone. The problem is if I send it back to Case I doubt I'd get a replacement in time for Father's day. I planned on returning it to the dealer and ordering something else from them instead.
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does the dealer have other case knives in stock that you can get one from him that day??
 
I have a Chestnut Bone CV 63032 Stockman that looks similar to yours, jigging-wise. I have a number of Case knives where the jigging is much nicer and deeper on the pile side than it is on the mark side. They may do it that way on purpose when selecting the bone to use for seating the shield.

As to the coloration, that's within the normal range I've seen on my Chestnut bone knives. From the pics you posted, yours is a good looking knife to me.
 
I won't step up to defend or indict Case -- I like Case, but have to admit they've been a bit of a crapshoot for me, personally. FWIW, my navy blue bone mini copperhead had dye so weak on one side that you could see the white of the bone at the bolsters. I 'fixed' it to my satisfaction with a packet of RIT dye and instructions I found here:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/868446-Dyeing-Bone-A-Tutorial

Should you have to do this? No, absolutely not. But if the knife is acceptable mechanically-speaking (sounds like you're not too sure of that spey-blade spring) and you're too jammed up on time to fool around with replacements and shipping, it might get you around your problem.

Best of luck,
--Mark
 
jackknife said:
Bone is a natural material, and has variance in texture. This means that one piece of bone will not react the exact same way to a particular dye that another bone will act. There will always be some difference in shade of bone from knife to knife. Case uses so many tons of bone a year, it may be hard to get a 'standard' reaction with the dye. I notice that the shades that call for lighter color, like amber bone, tend to be more consistent in hue. Personally, I like it when the color fades out at the edges toward the bolster, and you see more of the character of the bone. But then I know my taste tends tobe bit weird. I think it's a good lookin' knife.

Carl.
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Bone and dye sure do vary, but I was hoping for a darker brown like the picture on the Case site. My photos are pretty bad because I took them at night but the color is almost pinkish by the bolsters. It's kind of odd. If it were a faded brownish color I wouldn't complain. My Queen mini trapper is faded by the bolsters that way and I like it. On this one the color is just fine in the middle, maybe a little too red, but on the edges it fades to pinkish instead of brown.

LeatherMan64 said:
I bet you'd encounter the same things if you purchased another of the same knife. My chestnut Peanut is the same way, jigging is more worn and the ridges are less acute on the mark side. Other than the gap you mentioned, it looks like a knife I would be content to keep and use. Question, is your dad a new-knife-every-20-or-25-years kind of guy? If so he's probably gotten real used to worn down scales, scratched/scuffed bolsters, and scraped up blades. I would suspect that he'll love the knife, and it won't stay new for very long.
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My dad is more of the he doesn't buy knives for himself type guy. My great grandma gave him a Victorinox Tourist back in the 80s after her trip to Europe. She bought it at the factory and had it engraved with his name. I remember he had that knife in his pocket continuously and it was used a lot. The coloring of the lettering is gone but the etch in the plastic is there. The main blade is worn down and missing a bit of the tip. It has almost no snap left. I gave him a new one last Christmas so he could retire the old one. The gap on the Case is minor and I doubt he'd even notice it. I suppose the main things I don't like are the weak spring and the color. I could solve the issue by getting a GEC, but I think he'd rather have a Case because that's what he had when he was younger.

richard thurman said:
does the dealer have other case knives in stock that you can get one from him that day??
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I ordered it online. I could buy another and it would get here in time but then I'd be gambling again on whether or not it's better than the one I have now.

I'm being nitpicky because I know he'll carry and use the knife for a long time. The main thing I was after was dark brown jigged bone scales and carbon blades. The mini trapper is one of my favorite patterns because you get a lot of blade length in a small knife. I read that a lot of people like the Case mini trapper and I saw that they made one in CV with chestnut bone so I thought that was the knife I'd get him for Father's day. If the scales were darker like the picture I'd be satisfied with the minor issues. The clip blade has good snap. If only the dye were darker it would have been great.
 
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For those of you who have gotten knives with too light color, have you tried putting mineral oil on them? I haven't had a handle that I thought was too light, but I have put mineral oil on knife handles and it has darkened them.
 
Thought I would post pics of my case smooth chestnut bone to show the color variant... not trying to pick case apart, just sharing.


 
That is the exact way I want my Trapper. start to go redish closer to the bolsters. I hope if I purchase one it comes the way I want. i like the fact that all case knives are original. no to patterns are the same. two chestnut bone trappers have a diffrent appeal, even though it is not intended
 
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