Case quality

I find the quality very hit/miss ...:( I wont buy sight unseen.. John
 
I have two I ordered coming in this weekend; a peanut and a mini trapper.
I bought them sight unseen from the big internet store. I'll let you all know how they look.
 
JohnDF said:
I have two I ordered coming in this weekend; a peanut and a mini trapper.
I bought them sight unseen from the big internet store. I'll let you all know how they look.
Click to expand...

Okay, the Case peanut showed up today
I bought this sight-unseen from a big online retailer
Mom says, "always start with the positive". So...

I like the size of the knife and the old timey yellow handles
The knife has a light pull and good snap on both blades, and it came sharp
The main blade has some wobble but the secondary is nice and tight
The transitions from delrin to bolsters are smooth and have no gaps


Now the bad...
The fit and finish is not that great, certainly not a Queen and not even close to a GEC
In fact, I would say the Rough Riders that I own exceed the quality of this particular knife
As you can see in this photo, there is a nice little gap between the liner and backspring


And both blades rub the liners as they are way far off-center


Now I'm not bashing the knife, I hope I didn't offend and Case fans
Both blades are sharp and will cut a lot of things in my future
I just wanted to do a random quality check and post my findings in this thread
I'm hoping the mini trapper that's supposed to be here tomorrow will have better fit and finish
I'll keep you posted...
 
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JohnDF said:
Okay, the Case peanut showed up today
I bought this sight-unseen from a big online retailer
Mom says, "always start with the positive". So...

I like the size of the knife and the old timey yellow handles
The knife has a light pull and good snap on both blades, and it came sharp
The main blade has some wobble but the secondary is nice and tight
The transitions from delrin to bolsters are smooth and have no gaps


Now the bad...
The fit and finish is not that great, certainly not a Queen and not even close to a GEC
In fact, I would say the Rough Riders that I own exceed the quality of this particular knife
As you can see in this photo, there is a nice little gap between the liner and backspring


And both blades rub the liners as they are way far off-center


Now I'm not bashing the knife, I hope I didn't offend and Case fans
Both blades are sharp and will cut a lot of things in my future
I just wanted to do a random quality check and post my findings in this thread
I'm hoping the mini trapper that's supposed to be here tomorrow will have better fit and finish
I'll keep you posted...
Click to expand...


Hopefully your mini trapper is a little better.
I’ve had similar experiences with Case but I still like and recommend the knives.

The mini trapper is a cool pattern, I just recently got a single blade wharncliff and it is a great size.

I have never used it but from all I gather Case has an excellent warranty service also.
So if things are real bad it can be taken care of.
 
willc said:
I have never used it but from all I gather Case has an excellent warranty service also.
So if things are real bad it can be taken care of.
Click to expand...
Give me a minute, I'll get there.
FWIW, lately my experience with Case hasn't been as positive as some here. Usually, I buy new knives in a store.
Recently I decided to get a Seahorse whittler. Looked around the 'net and bought it from a place that seemed reputable and it was on sale!
It arrived with a blade that was only partially ground including no point! But, there were no gaps and I sure liked the rest of it.
So, I figured bad ones are sure to get through every once in a while, I need to practice on the blade shape anyway and I decided not to send it back.
Figured, well now I know why they were on sale.
Saw one on a different site with different bone (not on sale) and bought it. BLADE PROBS AGAIN!!
This time the blade was ground all the way but again, NO POINT! Thought this is unbelievable, what has happened to Case?
Now, here comes my goofy knife guy stuff.
I decide to send it back in the morning but that evening I'm killing time on the 'net and guess what? You're right.
I see another one with bone that is scarce and I decide I gotta have it.
Throwing caution and somewhat regrettable recent experience to the wind, I order it.
It comes. It's PRISTINE! Beautiful! Like put it back in the box and put it away for the grandkids nice. In an earlier day, the word would have been bitchin'.
So, what's up? Two strikes and then it goes out of the park!
So I look at the box ends, and the two with probs were made on 10/17 and 8/17. The beauty was made in 1/16.
NOW FINALLY, to get back to it:
Coincidence? Maybe,but I see this as evidence of a disturbing downward turn in decreasing Quality Control (QC) by Case.
willc said that "warranty will take care of any probs". Very true. But to me, that in itself is what is disturbing.
There is a well known knife company who advertises that their products are MADE on a BENCH, in other words their knives are bench made.
It is well discussed that overall, this company's QC is now almost non existent because their method of doing business seems to be ship out anything and if the consumer keeps it, GREAT - if the consumer sends it back for warranty, it's cheaper for us in the long run than slowing production to address quality issues during production.
Sound like anything I've related about my recent experience with Case?
By the way, this is what us grandpas are talking about and why we look kinda sad when we say "Things are aren't made like they used to be".
PRIDE in workmanship has become less and less of a guideline. Everybody needs to make a buck, but we see the loss of values as a pretty steep price.
 
Okay, I just received the mini trapper...
I'm happy to report this knife is far better than the peanut I received yesterday. There is still a small gap in the liner of the trapper, but it's much tighter than the peanut. That is really the only fault I can find on this knife. The transitions are good, the pull is nicer (firmer) with solid snap, and best of all... THE BLADES ARE CENTERED! I would say that this knife is a solid value and gives me hope for the company.







 
Case blades without sharp, pointed tips have been a problem for as long as I can remember. I assume it's because they tumble them. I visit my local knife shop once every week, sometimes twice, and I always inspect the new arrivals. No exaggeration, at least 50% of the knives will have
rounded tips and mediocre springs. Being a brick and mortar store where you get to handle the knife before buying, I'm surprised that they sell as many as they do. I've seen a lot of customers that weren't "knife folks" and they were buying as a gift for someone else or were first time knife buyers. When every Case you inspect is at the same level of (lesser)quality, you start to think that's just how they all are and don't know any better. I'm sure those knives serve their needs just fine, but I couldn't sell most of them with a straight face. He got two of the Case Bose Premium Stockman knives in the brown bone this past week. You could fit a sheet of paper through the spring/liner gaps on each one and the edge grinds were rough to say the least. Very disappointing for what should be finest knife they'll offer all year at a retail price over $500...with Tony's endorsement on it.
 
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Ive recently bought two TB Wilfred lockbacks, one is decent, one was really bad.. sent the really bad one in for repair and now its just ok. but they were only like $350 each so whats a guy expect
 
^ ^
Sure makes you wonder what Tony Bose might say to Case if he was aware of the two indicidents above.
I mean here Case is, using the TB name to increase sales and repaying TB by marketing sub par products.
Also makes me wonder how serious the situation really is.
If a few guys who happen to partake in this tread are affected, how many more are really out there?
 
Ordered a Seahorse whittler on line. Returned it because of a large gap and a lot of blade play. I have purchase five sodbusters. Only one had blade play. The replacement was fine. None of the five had any gaps.
 
I’ve ordered two Case knives, a trapper and a stockman, and even though I haven’t used the stockman I would say the build for both of them surpasses what I paid. I just ordered a peanut and that is one knife I aim to keep, so if there are lemons to be had I hope I am dealt something more favorable like a pear or an avocado. I believe an avocado counts as a fruit :confused:
 
Well, got a cv Chestnut Bone Swayack Gent on the way. Nothing is as cheap as it was just 5 years ago...but let's see how the QC is with this one, I'll keep you informed.
 
Case quality seems to be improving a lot lately. About the only glaring issue I've had with my latest purchases have been "proud" or "sunken" springs, either in the open or closed positions (not both). The Swayback I bought is close to perfect though.
 
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