Case quality

[Alnamvet68]

I don't know about the other patterns, but I just took a peanut from the '80's and one I bought last year and put them side to side. With the exception of the nail nick and the stamp, there isn't much to tell between them. The more recent one is slightly over-polished by the bolsters and has a less pointy tip on the clip blade, so...

I think that it is best based on an individual basis. They are mass produced, but they are hand finished, which does make a difference, so if you have particular expectations you need to handle the exact knife you want before you buy.

As are every other production knife; which begs the question, do any custom knife producers actually hand forge their blades, their bolsters, their liners, hand jig their bone, etc?

 

[knifeswapper]

I never really noticed a general problem with Case knives in the 90's myself. Matter of fact, that was when I got pretty "hard core" about my canoe collection and sent very few back to dealers (and I was more picky than I will ever admit). The only real problems I faced was examining what was "not" said on eBay auctions.

If you are wanting a knife here or there and don't mind the pricing in return for being able to go thru the lot, buying them in person is the way to go. At the time I just tried to talk dealers into sending me 5 and I would send 4 back (at premium of course; still never seemed to work). But eventually I figured out that it was more economical to lose $10 per transaction buying them online and having to send them back in the event I didn't like them; than buying them at the show or the few full retail stores that I could find carrying them. Not to mention that instead of a canoe collection of 100+, I would have about 10 of those if I only bought them in-hand.

But, again, if I were buying the current Case release every once in a while; I would definitely go find a brick / mortar and leave my thumb print on every one of them.

 

[Bob W]

Look at the edge on the Case, between the tip and belly. You won't see anything so jagged on a $50 Boker or even a $10 Opinel.
I've mentioned it before, and the Mike Latham article said the same thing, it looks like the final edge was put on with a coarse grinding wheel.

 

[Bob W]

I'll try to make an effort today to take some better comparison pictures. While it's not fair or relevant to compare standard issue Case knives to Great Eastern or other brands that cost twice as much, I think some close-up detailed photos between Case, Boker, and other same-price-range products would be insightful.

 

[whetrock]

I've given up on factory edges all together, I just don't expect any mass produced knife to come screaming sharp, with a nice edge. GEC, or Queen, or CSC isn't that great either, but the sorts of steel most old school knife companies use, aren't hard to improve (Queen's D2 maybe, or CSC's 14-4MOV are pretty hard) . A soft Arkansas, will do. A lansky will reprofile v grinds quite well. IMHO Case, is still doing quite well, fit and finish, on my recent purchases have all been satisfactory. They put out a lot of knives, and I don't care how good QC is, they're bound to put out lemons. I think the legit, German, Tree Brand Bokers (not the black box ones, or Boker-plus), are real sleepers (on the forums). Nice stuff. Some people prefer coarse edges, I'm not one of them, but some do.

 

[midnight flyer]

If you are wanting a knife here or there and don't mind the pricing in return for being able to go thru the lot, buying them in person is the way to go.

And to me, much more satisfying. I am happy to pay a bit of a premium to get a good specimen of a knife I want, which is usually the case when you buy from a brick and mortar store.

I don't want a knife that has blades that rub the liners, grinds when it opens, has gaps I can watch TV through, has bad blade grinds, poor fit, badly mismatched scales, blade wobble, etc. that I purchased as a brand new knife. I will gladly tackle those issues with an old warrior I find at a pawn shop or yard sale, but won't do it for a brand spanking new, factory fresh knife.

I don't want a new knife that is a fixer upper or a project, that in the end I have to say, "well, after all this is a user, so poor quality suits me fine" to justify keeping the knife.

Sadly, I am old enough to remember that when you bought a CASE knife in the 60s and 70s, the ONLY think you had to worry about was getting the color of scales you wanted. Quality was never an issue. It was an absurd question to ask as after all, it was a CASE knife. That was why you paid a premium over the other USA made knives at the time.

But, again, if I were buying the current Case release every once in a while; I would definitely go find a brick / mortar and leave my thumb print on every one of them.

Couldn't agree with that more. CASE can still build a great knife as it witnessed by so many here that claim flawless or near flawless specimens. Some of them are sure pretty, and I like the designs. Most patterns seem reasonably priced, too. None of that means anything to me if I get a poor quality specimen that I have to make into the knife I thought I was buying when I laid down my hard earned cash.

But after getting stung a couple of times a few years ago, no more online purchases of their product. Frank discussions with dealers at the gun shows I frequent (for the knives!) reveal they feel the same about CASE; you pay your money and you take your chances. One of them has moved back to carrying more Boker (Solingen) product to meet the price point that CASE maintains.

I am glad to be in a position that some have found themselves in here. I don't need any more knives. I get more pleasure out of carry around my '69 model CASE workman jack and my '76 model large copperhead than I would ever get out of just about any new knife. I have to say though, that if they were built now the way they were then, I would have to find myself a clone of that Appaloosa bone Barlow I have seen here that pops up now and again. Who knows... maybe at a guns show or Bass Pro Shop one day...

Robert

 

[Lee48]

I've bought over a dozen Case knives within the last year--tang stamped dates 2012-2014. I think the most I paid was just over $60, the rest were around $35-50. Not really very expensive for good US cutlery these days but certainly not import cheap either. Some had small gaps, a couple had bent blade tips, all the multi-blades had some degree of blade rub but none of these imperfections were severe. I'm a clutz and even I could correct the inconsistencies that mattered to me. All of the knives are good users. All of them came sharp and were easy to sharpen. Some I like better than others, some are downright near perfect. I'm pretty fond of run-of-the-mill Case knives in general. Every one of them is worth the price paid.

 

[Rox]

I started my collection with Case in the mid-2000s and eventually walked away due to disappointing quality such as misaligned blades, mismatched bone scales, scratched bolsters, etc. I upgraded to GEC and have been very pleased with the quality, although they are not perfect. I recently took a chance on the new Case Sodbuster Jr. CV in Chestnut Bone. I was amazed at the overall quality and fit and finish, particularly at the price point. I may start collecting Case again after this positive experience.

 

[grelcar]

I just received my Chestnut Bone Sodbuster Jr. I am really pleased with the fit and finish on mine. No faults that I could find. Thinner than the delrin handled one. The delrin measured just over 1/2", the Chestnut bone right at 3/8". Feels good in hand Should carry well. I think this knife will be a keeper.

Greg