Case pen knife

matt1987

matt1987

Joined
Nov 2, 2009
Messages
1,460
Im lookin to get a new smaller case knife and the pen pattern looks pretty good, but i got a few questions......Do these knives have 1 or 2 backsprings? And do they have half stops? It's a toss up between a peanut and the pen knife. Which do you prefer to use? Thanks!
 
I like the pen knife myself. Just prefer the slightly larger (but still quite slim) size.

The blade sizes are very functional for most tasks.

Single backspring. No half stops.

I don't think you'll be disappointed whichever way you go.

EDITED TO ADD:

The yellow CV version weighs in at a whopping 1 1/4 ounces. :thumbup::cool:
 
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I'm a fan of the Peanut.
I've owned both, and while the Pen is a little longer, I like the boxier frame on the Peanut. Gives a more secure grip. The blades, however, are very comparable in size, except for the fact that the Pen has a thinner pen knife then the Peanut.
I like the half stops, at least on a smaller knife. On a larger knife it doesn't really matter to me, but on a small one, I appreciate the safety feature.
I Always saw the Case Pen knife as more of a two blade Stockman. An incomplete knife. Maybe it's the shape, not sure.
Now, a Case Eisenhower? I'd be ALL OVER that. LOL.
 
I prefer the Pen over the Peanut.

The Pen is a fantastic pocket carry yet the main blade is well up to a range of tasks. Fruit cutting is better with a Pen than a Peanut. Then, I like single spring knives, it's a demanding thing to get 2 blades to close&snap properly on the one spring. I have two CASE Pens, one cv the other ss and I can certainly recommend them. I just wish CASE would offer some different scales on the Pen, nothing rong with yellow mind, but Red Bone,Chestnut,Antique, would all look well on the knife:thumbup:

Böker do Pen knives but they are smaller than the CASE and not so useful in my experience. Other single springs you might like to consider for the future: Queen Muskrat, Norfolk pattern,certain Canoes,Half Whittlers and Half Congress,plus others. Good luck.
 
I own around 25 peanuts and 0 pen knives so I am going to say...... peanut.if you get a stag version the handles are much wider and more useful than the bone or comp models.for me the main blade on the pen knife is a little too thin,and i think the peanut has better lines and is more comfortable to use and carry.let us know what you get and how it works out.
 
I don't know if I should even comment in this thread, as I am too prejudiced in my view. I love the peanut. There I said it.

BUT...

If no personal feelings are involved, I have to admit the pen knife is maybe a better knife for the average joe. The peanut gets a lot of complaints of being too short a grip, and the pen does indeed give a longer grip by a tad. The blade is a wee bit longer, but not enough to make a differnce on most cutting mediums in day to life, exept on food items. This has always been the achilies heel of the peanut. Plus the peanut is available in sooo many scale choices, one could do a collection of just 'nuts with different scale material. And I find the boxy shaped frame of the peanut to be a good grip when I choke up on it and butt the end of the handle in my palm.

And the 'nut is available in stag! Not only looks good, but more handle to hang onto as said.

Matt, anyone who has about 25 peanuts has my total respect. I bow down to your peanutyness. :thumbup:

If the pen was available in any other handle choices, it could be a different story.

Carl.
 
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carl,I thank you,most of my peanuts are nib,or knife roll.i carry a black g-10 and second cut antique bone every day,they are my main users,I have a bid in on a pocket worn peanut right now,i hope to make it 26.
 
i don't have any pens by case but, i'm sure they are great. i do have a case cv yellow peanut and i like it so far. it's definitely not overkill and my hip doesn't feel like dislocating while carrying one.
 
Thanks for the help guys. I don't really mind small knives, as long as their on the thick side. The pen knife would be great if it had 2 springs. But ah well I'll give the peanut a roll. Thanks again!
 
You can't lose either way but I must say it's strange to hear a complaint about two blades sharing a single backspring (around these parts). :eek::p

The "pen" is slim but not to the point of having nothing to grab on to...maybe sometime you'll have a chance to hold one and see.

Either way, both options are fine knives. :thumbup:
 
You can get the pen with two backsprings, it's called the Texas Jack. Both are the same pattern- #087. I think I like the Texas Jack variant better, it's sort of a beefed up Peanut. My problem with Case's current pen pattern is that it "cheats". It has a single backspring, but it accomplishes this by adding a second, cut out liner to the mark side, crinking the master blade, and by adding a spacer to keep the pen blade thin. Proper single-spring, double ended knives should have full thickness blades on both sides, that are ground away so that they nest properly- like on the Norfolk, the Tuxedo, or some of Case's older pen patterns. I think this is why you only see the pen pattern in delrin nowadays. Case cuts a lot of corners with that pattern and configuration.
 
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Andy, I think you'll find that there is more than one way to skin a cat and that even the older classic traditionals often employed a variety of techniques to accomplish their goal.
(This even applies to customs as well from my experience.)

Catch-bits, spacers, cut liners, crinking are all part of the equation and I'd be hesitant to say what the "true" right way is though we are all certainly entitled to preference.
I just don't think it's totally cut and dry is what I'm saying with way too many words. ;)
 
Elliott, you're right. I'm not trying to be dogmatic, I should have said that I prefer single spring knives to be made without spacers or crinking. There are, indeed, many ways to skin cats. That's what makes traditionals so interesting!

Also, I made an error when I said the double-spring 087 pattern is called a "Texas Jack"- it is called a "Medium Jack". The 32 pattern is called a "Texas Jack" in the 2 bladed configuration.
 
A baby copperhead, half stockman, or an Eisenhower might be a good alternative if you like a single spring and the peanut is a bit small.
 
I really like Pen knives. My favoriyes are the vintage British and German ones, not sure how many i have, maybe 100 (or so). I agree with Andy,the workmanship on the vintage Pens is outstanding, with perfectly ground swages and tight but smooth tolerances. The Pen knife was a very popular pocket knife years ago for good reason. Except for outside type work, a Pen knife is all you need.
I'm away from my knives for the next 6 days, but i'll see if i can assemble a few for a group photo shoot.

Edit to add: The Bose/Case Norfolk from 2009 is a sort of a large Pen knife (but no Pen blade so not a Pen knife) as it is a single spring and at 3 5/8" is an excellent, compact, all round EDC.

roland
 
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Pen knife construction traditionally used a single spring with no double liner and no catch bit, with the blades asymmetrically ground. However, this construction limits the length of the master blade. The use of a "catch bit" at the small blade end enables a longer master blade for the same pattern (especially for clip master blades), and this construction was quite common beginning in the 1920's or earlier.

The use of a double liner on one side of a two blade penknife is relatively recent (Case never did this before about 1982) and is done so that less precision is required in fitting the blades for proper blade fall.
 
Good info, Steve! I hadn't thought about that reason for the catch bit. I always thought it was just about avoiding having to grind so much of the pen blade away. But looking at my little collection of old pens here, all of the ones without catch bits have short master blades. My Case M279 is a 3 1/8" pattern, but the master blade is less than 1 7/8" long. The current Case 087 Pen isn't much bigger, but the master blade is a full 1/2" longer. Thanks to the catch bit. Interesting! :thumbup:

I LOVE your book on Case, by the way!
 
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