Case quality still hit-or-miss

B

Bob W

Joined
Dec 31, 2000
Messages
17,079
Cruising down the interstate today took me past the largest Case dealer Needing some stocking stuffers, and a prize for myself, I stopped in.

First, just to announce I have a new favorite Case handle material, Smooth Chestnut Bone. Already have a medium stockman in this material, but added a Trapper today.

Second knife I selected is a small pattern I hadn't seen or noticed before, the Mini Copperhead in deep canyon chestnut bone. It's a bit larger than a peanut, but is still a very shapely and slender pattern. Even more interesting, the main blade is a wharncliffe.

Third knife is a peanut with smooth orange bone handles and slanted bolsters. A real eye-catcher!

Overall, it seems Case quality has improved over the past couple of years. There is no blade wobble on any of these three knives, and the fit is pretty nice throughout. The level of snap is perfect, and the smoothness of each is OK - not the smoothest knives but pretty good especially considering the price.

It's not all roses at the Case factory though, and I'm sure glad I picked these in person. For instance there was a very nice-looking stag doctors pattern in the closeout case. But the blade wobble was unacceptable, and the spatula blade didn't seat as low as I thought it should when closed. Another knife, can't remember which, also had a bit of wobble. So two wobbly knives out of six that I tried. Better odds than previous visits, but still room for improvement.

Something else, a problem that I thought had been addressed. Of the three knives I purchased, the trapper again has a very jagged and coarse edge. The peanut seems to have a burr, and has jagged 'serrations' you can feel but not see. The mini copperhead is pretty good - a few strokes on a fine sharpener would make it perfect.

Something that helps take the emotional edge off of the poor knife edges, Case has a $5 per-knife rebate from now until the end of December. :)

I'm on the road so can't take pictures for a few days.
 
Ill be in East TN for the holidays and I plan on spending a couple of days in SMKN and see if I cant scare up a couple of nice Case knives to take home. Good to know about the rebate!
 
Hi,

I picked up a Trapper in the smooth chestnut bone about 3 weeks ago. I was looking for my first Case Peanut, but the fit and finish of the Trapper coupled with that bone, just blew me away. That bone is going to wear so beautifully. Mine came nicely sharpened with smooth even edges. So it's disappointing to hear about yours.

How was your Stockman? I like medium Stockman, do I need to add one? :D

Dale
 
dalee100 said:
How was your Stockman? I like medium Stockman, do I need to add one? :D
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I'm on the road and don't have the smooth bone stockman with me. It doesn't have any wobble or fit problems, but I'm uncertain about the edge. It's OK from what I recall.

Yes, you need one. :D
 
I should preface this with the statement that I love Case knives. With that said, the only way I will ever buy another is if I can examine it in person before purchase. Just been burned too many times in the last few years. Even with a stand-up dealer, it's still a major hassle to return/exchange knives that should have never left Bradford to begin with. Slight variations and imperfections because of the human factor during production is part of the charm for me, but I've gotten quite a few that were just a mess.
 
OP - Im glad you were able to pick out some nice ones. Nomade - I never had the opportunity to handle the case knives i bought, and i have TERRIBLE "luck" with case knives. On one hand i love them because of how far in history they go back and because theyre made in the USA, but on the other hand ive never gotten one that was perfect out of the box.

That smooth chesnut bone you speak of is very nice, id like to pick up a swayback jack in CV but im scared of getting a bad one :(
 
Bob, I had wondered how the smooth Chestnut bone looked in person. I saw a stock photo of one, some time back, and it looked very nice.
I wouldn't mind having a Mini Trapper with those scales
 
pefect schmerfect.


intentional stir. this is not a perfect world.
sorry in advance.
 
Now you've done it. That mini copperhead is going to put the bite on you (figuratively, hopefully not literally). I have three of them now. :D

knives110304-001.jpg


I want one of those orange bone slanted bolster peanuts to go with my same style trapper. Should make a nice complimentary pair to travel with.

Ed J
 
I don't actually like wharncliffe blades. But that blade, matched to that pattern... It was too much to resist. :o

I am weak...

pefect schmerfect.

intentional stir. this is not a perfect world.
sorry in advance.
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I bet a very particular and experienced knife person could find a flaw with every single knife ever made. But I'm not talking about that level of particularity. And as always when discussing F&F, it's important to keep a sense of perspective and compare whatever product to other products of the same style and price range.
For example Boker knives cost about the same as Case. And yet I have never received a Boker knife with a jagged blade edge or wobbly blade.

OT: One of these days we've got to meet for a pint at a pub near Mt. Keira. My last trip was Mudgee only; no jobs in the Bulli. Next trip is January.
 
shrapne1 said:
OP - Im glad you were able to pick out some nice ones. Nomade - I never had the opportunity to handle the case knives i bought, and i have TERRIBLE "luck" with case knives. On one hand i love them because of how far in history they go back and because theyre made in the USA, but on the other hand ive never gotten one that was perfect out of the box.

That smooth chesnut bone you speak of is very nice, id like to pick up a swayback jack in CV but im scared of getting a bad one :(
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I hate that you have had such bad luck with case. I've gotten a couple of knives that weren't up to snuff and edges are sometimes good, sometimes not. I have three swayback models including the CV jack, a chestnut deep canyon bone with SS, and a PW red bone gent. All of them are good with the gent having a couple of minor cosmetic issues, but nothing that upset me enough to return it and, in fact, it gets more carry than the two jacks because it is slimmer and slightly more pocket friendly. You really owe it to yourself to find one of those CV jacks and give it a try. They are lovely little knives.

Edit: One other thing, that mini copperhead I show in my post above is my all time favorite EDC. It has more flaws than the three swaybacks put together and I still love it. Warts and all. I have two others that are better made, but it is still my favorite of the group.

Ed J
 
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I must not be as fussy as everyone else. I have never seen a Case knife in a store but I have bought dozens of them online. Of all the ones I have the only ones I have ever had with fit and finish issues were a yellow trapper in CV and a yellow peanut in CV. I recently got a large saddlehorn from the big auction site and I wouldn't have been disappointed if the price had been 2 times what I paid. I bought a CV backpocket this summer that is as high quality as any knife that I have seen. I have never seen a Boker that was as good a quality as the Case knives that I have.
 
I was at a local Fin Feather Fur Outfitters today and looked at 5 different Case knives. I looked at 3 Trappers and 2 Canoes. 3 of the 5 had crazy amount of blade play side to side.

I will not buy Case knives unless I can choose them in person. I think that kinda sucks.
 
David Lowry said:
I was at a local Fin Feather Fur Outfitters today and looked at 5 different Case knives. I looked at 3 Trappers and 2 Canoes. 3 of the 5 had crazy amount of blade play side to side.

I will not buy Case knives unless I can choose them in person. I think that kinda sucks.
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That's pretty bad odds all right. I've only gotten one Case (a 6347 stockman) with significant blade play. I've seen other issues like gaps and blade rub much more often. I am not trying to say that it is anywhere near the percentage that you have experienced. I still buy Case knives sight unseen and haven't been badly bitten by poor quality. That stockman I mention above is still sitting here waiting for me to return it to Case for repair/replacement. Actually, it might be a candidate for the single blade treatment. Hmmm.... I wonder....

Did you buy any of the Case knives you looked at?

Ed J
 
TLARbb said:
That's pretty bad odds all right. I've only gotten one Case (a 6347 stockman) with significant blade play. I've seen other issues like gaps and blade rub much more often. I am not trying to say that it is anywhere near the percentage that you have experienced. I still buy Case knives sight unseen and haven't been badly bitten by poor quality. That stockman I mention above is still sitting here waiting for me to return it to Case for repair/replacement. Actually, it might be a candidate for the single blade treatment. Hmmm.... I wonder....

Did you buy any of the Case knives you looked at?

Ed J
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Hey Ed,

No, I didn't like the colors and handle materials of the ones that were good. I have a 1999 Case medium stockman in SS that is perfect. It's a great old knife. I just really feel like they need to step up their game. I know for the most part they are not that expensive but they used to be spot on and now they are hit or miss.
 
TLARbb said:
I hate that you have had such bad luck with case. I've gotten a couple of knives that weren't up to snuff and edges are sometimes good, sometimes not. I have three swayback models including the CV jack, a chestnut deep canyon bone with SS, and a PW red bone gent. All of them are good with the gent having a couple of minor cosmetic issues, but nothing that upset me enough to return it and, in fact, it gets more carry than the two jacks because it is slimmer and slightly more pocket friendly. You really owe it to yourself to find one of those CV jacks and give it a try. They are lovely little knives.

Edit: One other thing, that mini copperhead I show in my post above is my all time favorite EDC. It has more flaws than the three swaybacks put together and I still love it. Warts and all. I have two others that are better made, but it is still my favorite of the group.

Ed J
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Thanks for being sincere about it, everyone i tell thinks i exaggerate or am too picky, until i show them the knife. I can live with rough edges because to be honest, i enjoy smoothing them down, or regrinding a blade etc...but there are things that you just cant do successfully. I guess the moral question is, should you have to modify a brand new knife in order to get it up to par...? its silly to me, its like a dealer telling you the car is brand new, but you have to change the oil, adjust the timing, replace spark plugs, change tires, and do some body work lol.

But hey, i respect the people on this site, this Christmas, im going to get a case sway back jack chesnut cv. This is your fault TLARbb :D
 
shrapne1 said:
...but on the other hand ive never gotten one that was perfect out of the box.
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shrapne1 said:
I guess the moral question is, should you have to modify a brand new knife in order to get it up to par...?
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"par" is a relative term and varies with the individual.

When I was a young man I carried several knives which had blade wobble and gaps in the springs. Since they performed cutting tasks quite satisfactorily, and since I carried a knife only to perform cutting tasks, I never gave these "lapses in quality" a second thought. Read the thread on defining a "real trapper". Note the comments about people who make their living using knives and carry knives which on this forum would be junk. But they use them because those knives are quite adequate to perform the tasks they need to perform.

That being said, they are your knives, and you should carry what pleases you. But, just because they don't please folks here does not necessarily mean that some other fella might find them quite acceptable.
 
For me, what it boils down to is this: I'm fine with cosmetic issues, or even a little blade play, but I want them to be there because of the use I've put the knife through, not because my knife was assembled at 4:45 on a Friday.
 
knarfeng said:
"par" is a relative term and varies with the individual.

When I was a young man I carried several knives which had blade wobble and gaps in the springs. Since they performed cutting tasks quite satisfactorily, and since I carried a knife only to perform cutting tasks, I never gave these "lapses in quality" a second thought. Read the thread on defining a "real trapper". Note the comments about people who make their living using knives and carry knives which on this forum would be junk. But they use them because those knives are quite adequate to perform the tasks they need to perform.

That being said, they are your knives, and you should carry what pleases you. But, just because they don't please folks here does not necessarily mean that some other fella might find them quite acceptable.
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You are my elder, and i respect your opinion, and on many levels you are right, but i think you are leaving out a crucial aspect to all of this. There's the cost, and there's the collectibility aspect. The trapper is a rugged knife, clip and spey, and i own several and i love them. Ill leave prices out because everyone knows the value, but how can justify paying two or more times the cost for a smaller knife (smaller blades, smaller backsprings, smaller handle material etc...) and have it be worse quality (trapper vs peanut in this case)?

Anyway, i noticed you liked picking on me, and i'm not a baby i can accept it, but if you like buying wobbly knives with gaps (as per your post) then that sir is your prerogative, but i on the other hand think its false advertising showing a pristine example on the website, and then receiving something else. A knife to me is more than just a cutting instrument, its a companion that sometimes holds its life in my hands and i need to know it will perform. Ive had several fail on me, which is why i justify paying more.

One more thing, i wasnt attacking anyone on here, or telling them not to buy knives, ive mentioned my affinity for case, i was merely agreeing with previous posts and expressing my opinion.
 
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