Case quality

xtonesterx

xtonesterx

Joined
May 26, 2009
Messages
867
Was wondering what's everyone's experience has been with the quality of Case knives? I recently just bought a large trapper with yellow delrin covers. Love the knife, however I noticed some gaps between the brass liners and springs. Is this pretty common with Case? I've only ever owned a couple of Case knives and don't recall them having gaps.

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Ive only got one case knife, its a peanut. No gaps, main blade slightly off center, but it doesnt rub. Pretty good fit and finish. Not gec quality, but i feel i got my moneys worth. And i wouldnt hesitate to buy another case.

Id say send it back and get a replacement if it bothers you. No point in keeping a knife you dont enjoy.
 
I have a beer trap, there is a gap on the caplifter inside spacer. I thought for a near 50 dollar knife it should be better, but I like the knife none the less.
 
My sodbuster Jr ( currently my only case knife ) had a tiny but of blade play so I put a small piece of pine on each side and slowly compressed it in my vice until the blade play was gone.
 
Four of my five Case knives have no issues. I bought my yellow sodbuster over the counter; on the first example they pulled out, the blade was way off center. I looked through another five they had in stock. One of those was off-center too, so I took a different one.

The blade on my sodbuster jr. Was a little off, too, but not bad enough to send it back.
 
I have quite a few Case knives and some have been better than others. I've sent a couple back, mainly due to centering issues, and others I've gotten have been near perfect. I really don't care if I can see light between the liner and spring. I've seen people trying 50 different angles looking for the tiniest point of light and that's just not important to me. However, I do like decent centering. It's true, you get what you pay for and there's a reason GEC's are more expensive than Case knives. Every Case I get I use, if even for a short time, so I can overlook minor flaws since it's going to get banged up anyway.
 
I have a lot of Case knives and it seems the older ones have much better fit and finish. That said it seems they are getting much better again these days. I agree that they really went through a hit and miss period for a long time. I was at a large knife store a few weeks ago and was talking to the Case sales person and he also told me Case was really trying to step up their game from what he has saw and he sees a lot of Case knives.
I have gotten critical of most manufacturers lately if not fit and finish it's availability of patterns with some companies that lack of availability drive the secondary market to crazy high prices in my opinion. But if you want certain patterns form certain manufacturers you have to cough up the big bucks. With the fit and finish and availability of several brands that are being manufactured over seas I sometimes feel we that are collectors that want USA are knives are getting the shaft in most of our purchases. Maybe Jack Black or some of our other European members could chime in on the state of knives being made in Europe.
 
I have knives from GEC that also have light through the liners. But GEC does pay the most attention to gaps and other trivial details that collectors obsess over. Everything is a matter of degree. A big gap wouldn't be cool but a small gap can be pretty insignificant. I'm not sure how or why light through the springs became such a large focus among knife collectors.
 
supratentorial said:
I have knives from GEC that also have light through the liners. But GEC does pay the most attention to gaps and other trivial details that collectors obsess over. Everything is a matter of degree. A big gap wouldn't be cool but a small gap can be pretty insignificant. I'm not sure how or why light through the springs became such a large focus among knife collectors.
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right, and ive recently gotten my hands on a few case knives, with a few more on the way. a tiny gap is not the end of the world. but if rough rider knives dont have gaps and they are a fraction of a case knife... idk :confused:
 
my biggest complaint is the tumble polished blades with rounded tips. :(
 
I have Rough Rider knives with gaps as well. I don't think Case and RR are equals at all. But I prefer to avoid getting involved with discussion of RR knives since that usually doesn't end well. I appreciate the RR knives for what they are. Not saying they're bad.

In general, I would say the most worry free knife company to buy from is Victorinox (though you may see light through the liners). GEC is close second. And Case follows not too far behind... but a significantly lower cost.

I've never had to worry about anything that affects actual performance from those three companies.
 
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I mentioned earlier that I've sent a couple back to Case, and when I've gotten them back they've been fantastic. The edges were redone even though it had nothing to do with my issue. So, although none of us ever want to have to send something back to a company, if you do it will be worth it. I don't own any GEC knives and I don't know if I ever will. I believe all the great things I hear about them, but the price and availability is crazy to me. All the patterns I like are never available, and I don't want to spend that much anyway for a carbon blade.
 
supratentorial said:
I have Rough Rider knives with gaps as well. I don't think Case and RR are equals at all. But I prefer to avoid getting involved with discussion of RR knives since that usually doesn't end well. I appreciate the RR knives for what they are. Not saying they're bad.

In general, I would say the most worry free knife company to buy from is Victorinox (though you may see light through the liners). GEC is close second. And Case follows not too far behind... but a significantly lower cost.

I've never had to worry about anything that affects actual performance from those three companies.
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right i didnt mean to cause a fuss, i mean to say ive received RR knives that have been fine no gaps. i appreciate them as well and have had some. im quite sure in the production runs some one has received something with a gap.
 
Every single production slipjoint I've owned had gaps that showed light through the liners. The only slipjoints that don't are my customs.
 
JD Bear said:
I don't own any GEC knives and I don't know if I ever will. I believe all the great things I hear about them, but the price and availability is crazy to me. All the patterns I like are never available, and I don't want to spend that much anyway for a carbon blade.
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+1 in this. ^^^
 
Minor backspring gaps are not uncommon with Case knives and are not really a problem unless you decide they are.
 
jc57 said:
Minor backspring gaps are not uncommon with Case knives and are not really a problem unless you decide they are.
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Agreed, I've only owned one Case with a big enough gap to complain about. That said, I own no customs, but I do own several Schrades (30OT, 72OT, 96OT and two 194OTs) made and purchased by me in the late 90's F&F including no gaps is absolutely perfect! Not bad for knives that cost me (new) less than $30 each !
 
jc57 said:
Minor backspring gaps are not uncommon with Case knives and are not really a problem unless you decide they are.
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Exactly. Most of the time they're not even noticeable until you make a point to look for them...
 
If you're not happy contact Case, they're CS is pretty good.
Just send a picture of what you feel is an issue and they'll get back too you. If they think it's within spec they'll tell you.

I bought a Cheetah with jigged buffalo scales and the jigging was pretty awful on one side, they apologized and sent me a new one that was perfect.
 
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