Case Slimline Trapper problem, Yes or No? Opinions welcome.

C

Chris Meyer

Joined
Aug 15, 2005
Messages
1,297
Greetings everyone,

I don’t have a lot of experience with traditional folders, so I have a question for those of you who do. I just purchased a new Case Slimline Trapper, model 61048 SS. As soon as I opened the box, I noticed a few obvious problems with the knife. My question to you guys is; are the problems I noticed acceptable in a non-custom knife? If not, what would you do about them? (Problems identified below.)

The most notable problem to me, is the big gouge in the back square area of the tang. Also, the blade isn’t centered when closed, the end of the spring is not square, and blade and spring aren’t flush when the blade is fully opened.

[FONT=&amp]Not to offend anyone, but while I like several Case knife patterns, I don’t usually buy their knives because I have never found Case’s fit and finish to be particularly good. However, I really like the Purple Haze bone, so I broke down and bought this one.







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Other than those issues, it's a pretty good looking knife.





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Yes, Case messed up on that one. Send it back to the dealer for replacement or to Case. As Mark mentioned, the other problems are minor, but that tang is a deal breaker.
 
I have to agree, send it back. That large burr on the tang is causing the back spring to stick up above the spine when the knife is open.
 
Thanks for the prompt response guys. I wonder how they even made that gouge? I'll contact the Dealer and Case to see about returning it.
 
I respectfully disagree with the other posters, practically every slip joint I own has something like that 'gouge' in it, it has come up before in some other thread, pretty sure it is just an artiact of the manufacture process. Otherwise, fit and finish issues are cosmetic, but fairly standard for case, I don't think it is grounds to send it back.
 
Is the problem with the tang just aesthetic? I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I have several knives where that area of the tang is not finished nicely, and I never considered it a problem. They don't look quite like this Case, so I'm now wondering since you see that as a major issue whether should I be worried about the knives that I have. Or maybe what I'm seeing on my knives is a completely different thing. Here's a picture of one of my knives:

20140821_114710_Android.jpg


Not a great picture, but you can see that both tangs have an area that's not finished nicely. Is this just aesthetic or is there a problem of some sort that will cause usage issues? Thanks for your expertise, and sorry if this is a hijack. I just have never seen a tang issue like that brought up before and any answer to my question might also answer the OP's question about it being a problem on his knife as well.
 
Cory Hess said:
Is the problem with the tang just aesthetic? I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I have several knives where that area of the tang is not finished nicely, and I never considered it a problem. They don't look quite like this Case, so I'm now wondering since you see that as a major issue whether should I be worried about the knives that I have. Or maybe what I'm seeing on my knives is a completely different thing. Here's a picture of one of my knives:

20140821_114710_Android.jpg


Not a great picture, but you can see that both tangs have an area that's not finished nicely. Is this just aesthetic or is there a problem of some sort that will cause usage issues? Thanks for your expertise, and sorry if this is a hijack. I just have never seen a tang issue like that brought up before and any answer to my question might also answer the OP's question about it being a problem on his knife as well.
Click to expand...



That is kind of a value judgement, Cory. If the knife were a GEC or even a Queen or Case, I would not be happy. But that is just me.
 
just pulled my 82 dixie stockman out of my pocket and all three blade tangs have that bur. went and looked at my other GECs and Queens and they all have it to some extent. I think i remember a dealer mention one time that its from stamping the blades out or something of that nature. Could be wrong but i do remember them saying it was normal.
 
I just got my Case Slimline Trapper out and it looks a lot like yours, even down to the "gouge". I have never looked at it that closely before. It's just an artifact left over from when the blade blank was stamped out, and it just didn't get polished flat during finishing.

I've got a Case stockman with me today and all three of the blades on it have similar marks. It's just the way they make the blades.

The backspring on mine is mostly flush when open, though. Of the issues you mentioned, a proud backspring is the only one that would bother me, but only if it were significant. I have other knives with slightly proud backsprings (worst is a Queen) but I still carry and use them.

I carry my Slimline Trapper with me daily and use it often, it's one of my favorite knives. If you don't like yours, that's cool, different people have different levels of satisfaction with products.

Yours sure looks good with those barehead slabs of purple bone. I would not normally be into that color but seeing yours in the flesh makes me want to reconsider.

If I had received that knife that you have in the picture, I personally would be happy with it. The issues you are noticing are well within my personal levels of tolerance for an inexpensive, mass-produced knife.
 
Chris - you said about Case:

I don’t usually buy their knives because I have never found Case’s fit and finish to be particularly good.
Click to expand...

It seems you have now experienced first-hand your belief quoted above. Personally, I don't see any issues with the knife you have pictured. It's a nice looking knife and should perform well for you. However, if you aren't going to be happy with it, send it back.

The lesson learned for you is to follow your initial instincts and don't buy Case again.
 
My Slimline trapper has similar flaws. The spring could be stronger and spring is raised when blade is fully open. Me not like.
 
That tang looks weird, it may be the pic but it also looks warped and it looks like the backspring is narrower than the tang. Is it a gouge or a ridge? The way the backspring is sticking up it looks like a ridge. I just pulled out a one dot slim trapper the tangs are perfect and the spring is flush open and closed. Maybe I've been lucky but I just looked at 10 gec tangs All are cleanly cut, no rough ones. I'd send it back in a NY second.

Best regards

Robin
 
For it's price range it's a great knife. As said thats a part of the forging or whatever process goes into making the blade.

The blade not centered? Minor and common in this price range. Back spring not flush? I can't tell from the pic hiw proud it is, but if it's minimal I don't freak out about it. Again the price range you're working in here.

I've been plenty satisfied with the 5 Case folders that I have. None are perfect, but none are bad either. They're plenty well made for what you pay for them. If you want to pay more you can demand more precision and detail.

It's your knife. If it's just gonna drive you insane then send it back for another and see if you like that one better.

This knife? Unless the blade is wobbly I'd drop it in my pocket and enjoy the heck out of it :)
 
We all have our pet-hates. Centred blades are a plus on a prod knife but as long as it's not touching the liner then OK with me.

Those machine markings on the tang are pretty common on many brands of Trad knife, they should not interfere with action.

However, what I loathe on ANY knife is a raised or sunk spring on open. This is really sloppy and careless, it not only looks poor it makes handling the knife unpleasant, the word is shoddy. Price level seems to be no guarantee, I've had knives costing well over 100 USD without flush springs on open/close, I find that abysmal, it's just very poor construction. Maybe others don't mind it though? I do. There are a lot of inexpensive knives that don't have this fault, so it's a case of poor workmanship.

Generally, I've been very pleased with my CASE knives, and being in Europe means I am not so strongly placed to return things. I can recommend them and I can speak very positively of my one dealing with their customer service, which is certainly superior to their rivals. I think the OP must ask the dealer to send him a replacement, 'perfect' is a stupid and overrated elusive concept, but being irked by an unpleasant fault is guaranteed to put you off the knife, and more dangerously for the manufacturer, off them as well.
 
Cory Hess said:
Is the problem with the tang just aesthetic? I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I have several knives where that area of the tang is not finished nicely, and I never considered it a problem. They don't look quite like this Case, so I'm now wondering since you see that as a major issue whether should I be worried about the knives that I have. Or maybe what I'm seeing on my knives is a completely different thing. Here's a picture of one of my knives:

20140821_114710_Android.jpg


Not a great picture, but you can see that both tangs have an area that's not finished nicely. Is this just aesthetic or is there a problem of some sort that will cause usage issues? Thanks for your expertise, and sorry if this is a hijack. I just have never seen a tang issue like that brought up before and any answer to my question might also answer the OP's question about it being a problem on his knife as well.
Click to expand...

^^This. It's as common as traditional pocketknives themselves, and has no impact on function. I've seen it in scores of knives for years, across many brands; the 'defect' area is always recessed below the plane of the polished areas. In the OP's example (pic below), I'm not seeing it raising the spring above the liners either; the pivot looks more 'underbladed' to me, with the spring (appearing to be) flush to the liners and the blade spine below that plane. Nothing to do with the rough finish on the tang, in other words, but with the pivot's location relative to the blade spine.

(5th pic from OP's posted examples):
Case-Purple-Haze-Slim-Trapper-10_zpsf1d508a6.jpg
Click to expand...

It's OK to not like the look of it, and Case (or the dealer) might be willing to swap it for a cleaner-looking knife. But functionally, it has no real impact at all.


David
 
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Actually mine is underbladed as well. I believe that is how the knife is designed, but I only have my one sample to go by. Not all knives are designed to have the spring and spine flush.

I'm with Modoc ED on this. I think the OP has expectations that aren't going to be met by Case knives. There are other manufacturers a bit higher up the price line that may better fit his preferences.
 
Thank you, David. Not having much experience, I take what I get and assume that it's "normal". Then I see a thread like this where the first two responses say it's no good and I kind of start thinking that maybe I'm somehow getting gypped. This knife overall has a rugged old west pioneery vibe for me, so I prefer the rough look. I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't going to cause problems.

For the OP, I'd say that if you aren't happy with it when it's new you're not going to suddenly become happy with it a year from now. I'd return it and try again. Maybe explain to the dealer what you're looking for and they can try to pick a knife that meets your standards. If it's a larger corporation where that's not possible they usually don't mind several returns, so just keep sending it back until you get one that works for you. Nothing you've shown would bother me, but it's not my knife. I don't really buy into the idea that you should lower your standards for a lower price point. If I get cold fries at McDonald's it ticks me off just as much as getting a cold steak at a 5 star restaurant. I expect a difference in quality of materials, but not in the execution of producing a product that you can stand behind.
 
If you're not happy with it , send it back to Case.
I sent a Cheetah back because of sloppy jigging and I got a new one in about 2 weeks.
They were very interested in seeing the knife and even more interested in having a satisfied customer.
 
The Yellow delrin one I have has a flush spring on open, so does the brown delrin one, the Bermuda Green one I gave away was also OK. The Black G-10 version which is a very attractive looking knife and more expensive.....has a very raised spring on open. Poor in my book. But this is a very nice pattern (when it doesn't sport my pet-hate :mad: )

Thanks, Will
 
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