Case pocket knife quality vs others

[IVANKERLEY]

man i must be lucky with my case knives as ive never had an issue bad enough to worry about, are they flawless? Actually a couple of mine have F&F on par with my GEC and S&M... Ideally i would like to handle a knife before i commit, obviously thats not always possible. Major flaws aside alot of F&F is subjective
Even the GEC i have has minor issues, nothing that would keep me from them in the future though.
Not all the vintage knives were flawless, ive got a few mid range brands from 20's-50's and theyre all over, some perfect to me and others are just ugh!
regards
gene

 

[jackknifeh]

jackknifeh, I am no expert and I really don't respond much on these forums because of it but I have carried case, Chinese buck, USA buck, camillus, spyderco and the list goes on.
Every blade steel sharpens differently but always seemed to do the job required of it. Some folks here will argue about this steel or that steel is better for edge retention or for driving through the hood or door of a car.The truth be told most of us here just need something to cut simple things with.If you touch up your blade regularly you really don't need to worry about all the fancy steels.
As for me ive reverted back to a simple case yellow trapper and peanut that my children got me for fathers day years ago.
Fit and finish on all my case knives have been fine and no complaints.If you do have a problem send it back and you will get it returned in timely manner and you will be pleased.
You know beauty is in the eye of the beholder and remember everybody has an opinion about what is best and what is not so if it is case you want just buy an inexpensive yellow cv trapper or stockman or even a peanut drop it in your pocket use the fire out of and form your own opinion.
I carry case because you get your monies worth and most important to me they are USA MADE. There are other quality US makers but the prices keep me away. If you look around at flea markets or antique stores you can usually find older US made knives inexpensive pick up a few you may be surprized.
Sorry about the rambling of an old guy
God Bless
Tracy

No problem with rambling. Been accused of it a time or two myself. I got my first Case in years a couple of weeks ago. I was a small Texas jack knife with amber bone scales. I like the knife a lot and am looking forward to using it. However I noticed a dull spot in the center of the longest blade. I sharpened it and not doing much with it except playing with it I noticed the same spot the next day. When the blade closes the edge hits the back bar right where the center rivit is. The back bar is thicker right there leaving less room for the blade than the rest of the handle. The spot right at the tang that is supposed to hit the back bar is too short I think. That allows the blade to close too far. Anyway I sent it back to the site where I ordered it. They said they will replace it. Case also said to send it to them to evaluate. I'm sure they would have replaced it also but it would have taken much longer. I'm concerned about is that may be a flaw that occurred to several knives during the same run on the assy line or something. I'll find out when I get the replacement knife.

I'm in the same boat as far as not really needing an edge to stay sharp for a long time due to use. I don't work any more therefore don't use a knife as much as I used to. I normally would have a dull knife in just a few days (or less). I always wanted a better knife that would stay sharp longer but never looked into it for fear of the prices. My fears were confirmed a few years ago when I did start buying better knives. Now I have a small set of knives that I plan to own the rest of my live with really good blades and are comfortable to use and attractive also. Now I got an itch for the type of knife I used most of my life since about 10 years old. I really hope Case lives up to the opinion I have always had in them. Problem is I have learned a lot about knives and I may be too picky. Not so much about perfect appearance but performance I'll be very picky about. I still want good edge retention even though I don't need it. I hate blade play. A tiny bit is allowable but not much more. I can adjust my pivot now but the Case knives you can't. They told me I could send one to the repair dept. for pivot tightening but that's just a pain. I may have to live with a little bit of blade play. Believe it or not I've had worse problems.

That's enough. Told you I could get long winded too.

Jack

 

[lamech]

I know what you mean about worse.
I've found a few taps with a rubber mallet can help pivet wobble, just don't beat it to death some folks will even use a vise lightly with the bolsters protected.
Sorry about the high center point I'm sure the company will make it right.
i've never had any problems with any Case knives, but then again I'm a knife user not a collector so I don't worry about the small stuff and really it is all small stuff .
Good luck and God Bless
Tracy

 

[knarfeng]

Lots of good advice here. I got one case knife and had to send it back to get it replaced. Don't have the new one yet. A lot of my opinion will depend on the condition of my replacement.

Another question I've wondered about. How much difference is there in the Case SS and CV steel. Edge retention is a big deal for me and actually the only reason I decided to buy more expensive knives. Can anyone compare the Case steels they use with anything like AUS-8, VG-10 or CPM-S30V? According to Case the CV has better edge retention and is easier to sharpen. Any opinions from the guys who have used both?

Thanks,
Jack

When I ran a side-by-side comparison slicing manila rope between Tru-sharp and CV, CV held an edge a bit better than Tru-Sharp. AUS8 at a hardness of 59HRC outperformed both.

I find no difference between sharpening Tru-Sharp and sharpening CV.

If edge retention is your thing, you'll have to go beyond Case or Buck. Queen and their D2 blades will be the thing for you. Be prepared to spend a while sharpening the new knife, though. Queen is pretty infamous for Out Of the Box edges that rival a butter knife for sharpness. However, once sharpened they hold an edge quite well. Their quality can be a little spotty these days. GEC took some of Queen's best workers. But they can and do make some very nice traditionals. Another alternative for you would be Queen's Schatt and Morgan File and Wire series. These have ATS-34 blades. Never tried one, but they ought to float your boat for sharpness.

If you are looking for PM steel performance, you'll have to buy a custom.

 

[jackknifeh]

When I ran a side-by-side comparison slicing manila rope between Tru-sharp and CV, CV held an edge a bit better than Tru-Sharp. AUS8 at a hardness of 59HRC outperformed both.

I find no difference between sharpening Tru-Sharp and sharpening CV.

If edge retention is your thing, you'll have to go beyond Case or Buck. Queen and their D2 blades will be the thing for you. Be prepared to spend a while sharpening the new knife, though. Queen is pretty infamous for Out Of the Box edges that rival a butter knife for sharpness. However, once sharpened they hold an edge quite well. Their quality can be a little spotty these days. GEC took some of Queen's best workers. But they can and do make some very nice traditionals. Another alternative for you would be Queen's Schatt and Morgan File and Wire series. These have ATS-34 blades. Never tried one, but they ought to float your boat for sharpness.

If you are looking for PM steel performance, you'll have to buy a custom.

That's a little (just a little) disappointing about the edge retention. Not really a big deal because I haven't planned on Case knives being my primary EDC knives. I remember even as a kid thinking my knives would get dull kind of fast. I had a lot of Case knives because that's what Dad had. Back then though maybe they did have as good a steel that was readily available. Don't know. That became a single complaint I've always had about knives. I bought a Buck knife when I was about 23 years old and thought I had the edge retention covered. Within a week I realized it wasn't much better than what I was used to. Thinking Buck was one of the best I just figured it didn't get much better and quit looking into it. My mistake. A few years ago I started getting better knives with the blade steel being the primary focus. Given that, there is no chance of me buying more than two case knives, maybe not even the second one. If I like carrying this type of pocket knife with no pocket clip or one-hand opening I'll look into the Queen knives. Even though edge retention is very important to me I don't really need it any more like I did when working and using a knife every day. I really envy the younger folks who are going to the trouble of learning about better quality knives at a younger age.

Jack