Case Sway Back

R

RKH

Joined
Oct 29, 2005
Messages
799
I got a new Case Sway back Jack from an online dealer and would like a little advice. The knife is very nice and the fit and finish seem excellent and the blades are very sharp without any signs of a burr but the stag handles are not matched very well. I don't want to send it back as I like the knife and don't want appear to be a little on the picky side(which I am) about a manufacture short coming that will not keep the knife from being a good user. I do think the knife is a bit pricey not to have better matched handles. Any advice?
RKH
 
Even on custom slipjoints,that cost way more,chances are,with stag,the match will be,well,what it is
If it were me,I'd carry & use it,ocassionally lemon oil it,that will darken it some,it'll get it's own character that will help blend it & call it a day
Don't sweat the small stuff :D,it's a pocketknife
-Vince
 
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I have one custom made slip joint where the stag is clearly not matched. It bothered me at first but I got over it. It's still a great knife in every other way and I don't regret not making a fuss over it.
 
You can also look at it,like the same knife,has 2 "looks" to it
 
One of my two recent Rusty Preston stock knives has mismatched dyed stag scales (but both sides are attractive). I love the knife and wouldn't think to give it up.

Another, a forged 52100 P.J. Tomes double blade Scagel has mismatched elk stag/antler scales but again I'd not give it up as the knife is great in all other respects and has a lot of personal meaning behind it.

I can see it being a larger issue (for me) in an "art" knife, but in a knife where everything else about it is top notch, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

That said, the only thing that matters is how you feel about the knife. In my situation I knew about the mismatched scales on both knives and went ahead with the acquisition anyway. (YMMV and all that.)
 
Thanks for your comments. I am going to keep the knife because I love this pattern. The Wharncliffe is my favorite blade style. I really like this Sway Back Jack and am glad Case has made it. I have been a collector of traditional knives from the seventies and eighties but then was lured away by tactical in 1990 by Spyderco but have always loved the looks of the ole slippies. Now I am retired and after reading on this forum I am coming back to my first love. The tacticals seemed thick in the blade and just not effective in how I use a knife. Plus, they keep intoducing these super steels when the carbon and simple stainless work and well Although the one handed opener is so convenient. Any more comments are welcome and I really enjoy this forum. Some times it reminds of my youth when my Granfather bought me my frist pocketknife in a hardware store in the fifties. I was five when I got my first pocketknife if that tells you how long I have loved and carried knives.
RKH
 
RKH said:
Now I am retired and after reading on this forum I am coming back to my first love...Any more comments are welcome and I really enjoy this forum. Some times it reminds of my youth when my Granfather bought me my frist pocketknife in a hardware store in the fifties. I was five when I got my first pocketknife if that tells you how long I have loved and carried knives.
RKH
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Welcome to the fold. You have lots of brethren here of similar age, with similar stories of how they got started with traditional knives. (Me for example. ;))


:cool:
 
Glad to have you with us and I hope you enjoy this place at least as much as Blues, the rest of the gang and I do.

Welcome, we should not be too bad of an influence on you. :)
 
Good advice guys! That's why I like this place. :thumbup::D

OH yea....Welcome to BF RKH!
 
Folks, I gotta tell you I like this Knife more and more as I use it. The mismatched handles don't seem to be as bad as I thought orginally. The blades were sharp but I touched them up and stropped them. Hair popping sharp now. Fine little whittling knife but I wish it was a bit larger. I feel the overall quality is excellent and if it comes out in CV I will but another one.
 
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