Case Quality Question

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Effnin

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May 4, 2010
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Just purchased a new Case Baby Butterbean in Pocketworn Red and was really excited until I got home. The main blade has a small nick in it and the smaller blade is extremely difficult to open (even after oiling). This is my first Case knife and I was hoping not my last. Is this type of quality typical or did I just get a really bad one?
 
Unfortunately, Case can be hit or miss in my experience. Things like minor blade wobble and somewhat un-matching handle scales don't really bother me tho, cause I use all of my knives. Case is still good, but I don't think they are made quite like they used to be.
 
In my experience Case has had excellent quality control, but better than that is their customer service. Send it in to them with a note explaining you issue, I'm sure they will fix it without complaint.
 
The last 3 Case pocket knives I have bought had bad quality control. One was a medium stockman, and the other two were Sod-Busters. All had wobbly blades and one of the SB's had a blade that would rub the liner really bad. The Medium Stockman's spey blade had such a light spring that it wouldn't close itself.

The only knives I have that have good fit and finish are a 1999 Medium Stockman and a 2008 Sod-Buster. The three case knives that I bought were in 2010 and all sucked. I even sent back the worst of them (one of the Sod-Busters) and it came back just as crappy as it was before. Since then I will not buy anything from Case unless it's Pre 2000.

It's unfortunate, because I really used to like Case.
 
Same here. :grumpy:
Swayback Jack Gent with uncentered blade and funky grinds. No play though.
Small Sodbuster CV with wobble and again very uncentered blade
Small Yellow Trapper with terrible wobble in clip blade and soft spring on the spey.
Peanut SS G10 scales with wobble in clip blade and bad heat treat (can't get the thing sharp again)

Since I live here over in the great Netherlands it will cost me probably an extra Case for shipment and such when I send the knife for warrenty.:grumpy:
Corrected all the play myself with hammer and anvil for this very reason.

The Yella Peanut in CV is the only Case I got which is almost flawless.:thumbup:
Afraid to use it because if I have to replace it or such I might as well get another crappy one.

Just remember I pay almost twice as much for the same knife as all of you on the other side of the big pond:(
 
I have had some trouble, but it has always been remedied by warranty. Still not right, but for the price of postage, they have always fixed the problem.
 
I've had a couple bad experiences in recent years, but then things got better. My worst was a 2008 Mini Trapper both of the blades wiggled and there was no snap on for the spey blade. I sent them back and they were just about perfect, it had slightly mismatched scales, but that doesn't really bother me. I've since then received a 2010 yellow CV trapper thats is perfect, good blade snap and, no play whatsoever. Then I got an '09 standard brand thats is great, so things, I thought, had been looking up.

I have a few knives from '05, they are all the best I've seen, just perfect. When I'm looking at knives I actually look for an '05 of the model I want.
 
My Canoe and a med Stockman, my Stepfather's, are both pretty new, 2008 or newer. The blades are centered, have good springs, the handles are great, no gaps, and nice overall.
The only complaint would be a small burr on the blades. The Canoe stropped out and became on of my sharpest knives. The Stockman was worse, took some crock sticks to all three blades, gave it to my Mother. We shall see if a) it ever gets used, b) if the edges roll out on her.
Send it back in to Case, see what happens.
In general, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Case, although holding the exact knife at a dealer would prevent getting a bad example.
 
I own a Baby Butterbean in stag and the small blade has the same issue. As mollyhatchet stated, you definitely want to handle a Case knife before purchasing. Although I still collect them, Case is the only knife that I will not purchase online to save money. Too risky.
 
I've owned a lot of Case knives over the years. I've encountered a few weak springs,blades being off center and blades that were rounded off at the tip. By and large the quality has been good. Case makes a lot of knives and on any given day in a production environment, there are some bad products that are made and eventually make it out the door. I was a prototype machinist for years and I've seen it happen even in the most stringent quality control environments.
 
I have over 100 case xx knives all with no problems, every company will produce a dud now and then, that's what the warranty is for.
 
You're occasionally gonna get a bad one from any factory. Like Matt said that's what the warranty is for so don't be afraid to use it. If you're collecting then the new stainless Case knives are fine. But the only current Case knives i would buy for actual use are the ones with CV stamped on the blade. This stands for Chrome Vanadium which is Case's proprietary carbon steel which I am told is basically 1095. I own a CV Copperlock with a Wharncliffe blade and its a good servicable knife. As far as price to quality ratio its probably a best buy. And its still Made in America.
 
It's not only Case, I've noticed this with several good American knife companies in the past few years.

It does get frustrating at times. I've had to send three back to the factory in the past month from two major companies. Both companies had mostly great F@F in the past.
 
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