Case stockman stag vs bone?

Planterz

Planterz

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I'm debating between bone or stag handles on a Case medium stockman (the John Deere models). There's about a $40-50 price disparity between the bone handled one (CA5872) and the stag one (CA15712), depending on which vendors you're looking at; this price difference seems across the board, regardless of pattern.

My question: is there any difference between the knives other than the handle material? Is there a finer F&F on the stag models because it's a "premium" material? Or is the price disparity entirely because of the cost of stag? They look to be the same knives, at least to my untrained, uninformed eyes.

Also, regarding the stag on this particular Case, some of Case's knives are described as having "Indian sanbar stag", and others that are just "stag". I'm guessing the one I'm looking at (CA15712) is regular stag; is this correct?

Finally, is there any reason other than price or aesthetics stag or bone would be preferred over the other?

Thanks.
 
I love stag. I like bone. That said, I will generally leave my more expensive stag knives at home rather than carry them and will carry the bone instead. The price difference can easily pay for another user. I do carry some of my shell and stag knives on occasion, but they don't get very much carry time relative to my bone and synthetic handles knives.

Like me, you probably have several knives. If you want a knice stag knife, go ahead and treat yourself. Maybe you will be able to get past my tendency to not carry them.

Ed
 
Stag is never a bad choice.:thumbup:Quality of the build should be equally good on both.They should all be India imported stag as far as i know.
 
In my view, stag is one of the nicest handle materials in the long run. It ages really superbly-bone does too-taking on a richer colour with time. It's also preety tough stuff, less prone to cracking.It's great in the hand too.

However, there's stag and stag. Lower grade stag is inferior to bone in apperance and texture. Good grade stag is scarce and often it's difficult to get good matches on both sides of the knife, particularly in relation to the thickness of it-nothing worse than a thin slab one side and some gross bulbous thing on the other! My experience of CASE stag is that it's prepared and worked in a way that I don't really go for, rather disappointing to be frank, so I'd opt for bone for this knife.Does depend if you can hand pick the knife beforehand, then if you find a stag handle you are pleased with-no contest. My experience of GEC stag is very positive indeed, they seem to have access to a very good textured supply and I like the way they work them on the knife. Sambar, is a species of Indian deer and they are regarded as producing the top of the range antler. Much favoured in the old days, they are i believe, a protected species now hence the cost and availability issues.

Others may disagree.
 
Case stag is a mixed bag. If you can choose it in person then I say go for it. I agree with willgoy in that Case does their stag in a fashion where it looks kind of "washed out". That is the way I describe it. It looses a lot of the character. Also the last few Case stags I have seen in person had matching or pin issues. Right now GEC and some Obertz brands have the best stag going in production slipjoints. On the other hand if you like MOP, abalone etc. Case has some of the best.

I was always curious as to why Queen seems to stay away from the material in general.
 
Good points, all. And as always, honesty is the best policy.

Personally, I love stag. But the examples of the finished stag handles I see on any knife (not just CASE) vary so much that some doesn't even look like stag to me anymore.

On the other hand, bone is worked so much to get it to a certain color and appearance I think it is much more consistent. And some of the bone made to look like stag these days resembles the older knives that had the premium cut handles on them. And bone these days can look so nice in the right hand, I rarely think of paying a premium anymore just for scales. (I am thinking of my last couple of Queen knives, here.)

I think if I wanted a stag handled knife and could hold my future purchase in my hand for personal inspection, I would buy the stag if I liked the scales on it.. Stag is a gorgeous classic when done properly, an instant heritage knife. If I was looking for a really pretty set of handles for a knife I wanted in my pocket all the time, I would go bone. The $50 I saved would immediately go into the knife fund towards my next purpose. :thumbup:

Robert
 
willgoy has it covered well. all things = the stag is more for esthetics than function. if the bone is quality as well as the stag their lifetime if knife is cared for may outlive you.if you can afford it & desire so i always will opt for stag .stag easily adds 40$ to knife price. that said some bone is so fantastic it ca'nt be passed up. exotic woods are great also but i.m.o. all materials outside of bone & stag are relegated to another division. one exception is pearl & abalone --these materials are totally in a class by themselves.
dennis
 
I'll add to the chorus - IF you can hand pick your Case stag handled knife from a good selection or can find someone selling a particularly nice specimen, then definitely go give them a look-see. If not, get bone. Do not pull the trigger on a Case stag handled knife without seeing a belly or back (spring side) image of it to judge the shape, thickness and dimensional matching of both scales.

Good quality stag is tougher than good quality bone - more impact resistant, less prone to chipping or cracking if dropped on something hard. The difference in toughness is not huge, but it's there - give both a little mineral oil or pure lemon oil from time to time and they'll both easily outlast you if they're not abused.
 
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My most-EDC'd knife is a Case stag TB5339SS sowbelly, pictured below. I bought it because the seller posted some excellent pics (on the 'bay), so I could get a good look at both scales, AND also because I could even get a good look at the edge bevels on the blades. I've been very happy with it.
 
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Well, there's stag and then there's bone and then there's

Yellow Delrin

casecvyellowdelrinstock.jpg


casecvyellowdelrinstock.jpg


All three (stag, bone, delrin) are great but delrin makes a good, worry free, EDC.

Just a suggestion. Who knows. Maybe all three scaled knives are in your future. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the three.

That stag handled stockman pictured by "Obsessed with Edges" is a beauty!!
 
Just adding to the chorus here but I would also recommend hand picking a Case knife in stag or you risk being dissapointed when it arrives. Some of it is good and some of it is meh. If you're unable to do so I'd save the $40 and go with bone. In my experience fit and finish should be the same regardless of the two handle materials.

Nathan
 
Modoc ED said:
All three (stag, bone, delrin) are great but delrin makes a good, worry free, EDC.

Just a suggestion. Who knows. Maybe all three scaled knives are in your future. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the three.

That stag handled stockman pictured by "Obsessed with Edges" is a beauty!!
Click to expand...

Thanks. I think you can see why I jumped on that one.

Stag, bone, delrin, G-10. Even some limited editions in things like Abalone, Mica Pearl and mammoth tooth. I have one or more of each, and I like 'em all! They each have their own appeal to me.

Like others have pointed out, the fit & finish shouldn't differ between the bone and the stag models.
 
I like stag if its reasonably well matched. Buying online, its hard to know what you will get though.

The few Case stag knives I have owned, I was never really impressed with, but I'm overly picky about things. The exception would be a few older Case sheath knives from the 60's in Stag. They have nice stag and have aged really nicely.

Case offered a 6.5 series Bone Stag, which IIRC, is bone that is done to look like stag.
I've seen lots of pictures, but never owned one.

IMHO, if I was going to buy a new slip joint in Stag, I would check out the GEC's.
The pics that others have posted here, look really nice
 
Good point Mike, the Bonestag 6.5 now unfortunately discontinued, is very nice stuff and superior to mediocre stag. I've 3 CASE knives in it and like it a lot, very grippy and deep cut. You can still find it out there if you look and it goes really well on their Med Stockman in cv or ss.
 
The reason I'm wanting a Case in the first place is to get one of the John Deere ones. So I'm pretty much stuck with bone or stag. I'm really all not that partial to stag, but it's a lot more subdued than the bright green or yellow. I'd rather go with the yellow than the green, since yellow is a pretty classic color for Cases, even if it's bone and not delrin.

I have noticed, from my poking around, that the stag and yellow models are in fact a different pattern, although they're close. The yellow bone medium stockman (CA5872) is pattern 63032SS while the stag (CA15712) is pattern 5344SS. The stag seems to have more of a symmetrical bend, whereas the yellow bone is more a true serpentine. The blade shapes seem a bit different too.

I think I'll probably go with the yellow bone handles. Even though I prefer the blades a bit more on the stag model (pointier sheepsfoot), I'm just not seeing the extra value in spending $40 more. I'm also looking at the yellow mini copperhead. I'll have to find some examples at a shop to see what fits my hand the best.

Thanks for the help, guys.
 
There's a significant size difference too, between the 63032SS (3-5/8") and the 5344SS (3-1/4"). Purely on numbers, may not seem that big of a difference (3/8"). Much more noticable when held in the hand. I bought a 5344SS (w/red shield) a while back, and it turned out to be quite a bit smaller than I'd expected. In fact, at the time, both Case and several dealers had it listed at a larger size; that's what really threw me.
 
Yeah, exact size seems to vary depending on vendor. :confused:
 
My only Stag Case knife is a Large Trapper here are some pics. I love the feel of this knife. It is my large carry knife for more dressy occasions. Its amazing how many people don't realize I am using it as a dinner knife until I am cleaning it off and putting it back in my pocket. That large spey blade makes an incredible steak knife. As for an EDC or working knife I leave the pretty one at home and chose either my newly acquired Large Stockman or yellow rose furtaker trapper. Both great users and tough as nails. Here is a pic of the trapper to get an idea of the stag, both sides and a top shot. One side it thinner than the other but not too much for my liking. EDIT: ok just looked at the pic and it is not a very good top shot the scales are not as thin on the one side as they look it is just a bad angle.

IMG_3631-1.jpg
 
HAKnPocket said:
My only Stag Case knife is a Large Trapper here are some pics.
IMG_3631-1.jpg
Click to expand...

To me, that is a wonderful set of classic scales.

If I thought I could get a CASE with scales like that via the internet (no great knife shops within 200 miles from me) I would probably bite in a stockman.

Nice knife!

Robert
 
I have found Case stag, in general, to be quite thick around the mid-point of the handle. As someone stated, be sure to get a top view. If ordering on-line or buying at an auction site try to get a picture of the actual knife you are buying. Many sellers use the same photo over and over.
 
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