CNN Case spot

george tichbourne

george tichbourne

Joined
Apr 19, 1999
Messages
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I saw that little spot on CNN's Lou Dobbs last night about Case knives and their commitment to American production. Pretty good and it makes me feel good that Case will do whatever they can to avoid going off shore. If more companies avoided going to the far east the economy in North America would be better.

OK I am Canadian but our economy and the American economy have been tied together since the second world war so if the economy dips in one country it affects the other.
 
george tichbourne said:
I saw that little spot on CNN's Lou Dobbs last night about Case knives and their commitment to American production. Pretty good and it makes me feel good that Case will do whatever they can to avoid going off shore. If more companies avoided going to the far east the economy in North America would be better.

OK I am Canadian but our economy and the American economy have been tied together since the second world war so if the economy dips in one country it affects the other.
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Actually maybe if Case moved to another country they could produce a better knife.

Some knife companies like Benchmade and Spyderco make fantastic U.S.A. made knives. :) Case though... Their quality and usibilty has been in decline since the late '70s from what I hear around here. Maybe if they employed cheaper labor they could afford better quality materials, and have better QC.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for buying U.S. made stuff, but Case needs to make some changes before I would buy their products.
-Kevin
 
Case though... Their quality and usibilty has been in decline since the late '70s from what I hear around here. Maybe if they employed cheaper labor they could afford better quality materials, and have better QC.
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Have you actually bought or use a Case knife lately? I'm always reading on here how Case's quality is terrible and blah, blah, blah. IMO it's pure crap. Maybe I'm biased because I'm from Bradford, but I have never seen a Case knife that was "terrible quality" or not useable. It's more like one or two people on the 'net got a bad one and then badmouthed them on all the forums giving them a bad reputation.

A bad example can come from any company be it Case, Spyderco, Benchmade, Buck, Schrade or whoever. To say all Case knives are low quality is pure BS.

just my opinion

Jamie
 
jstewart16701 said:
Have you actually bought or use a Case knife lately? I'm always reading on here how Case's quality is terrible and blah, blah, blah. IMO it's pure crap. Maybe I'm biased because I'm from Bradford, but I have never seen a Case knife that was "terrible quality" or not useable. It's more like one or two people on the 'net got a bad one and then badmouthed them on all the forums giving them a bad reputation.

A bad example can come from any company be it Case, Spyderco, Benchmade, Buck, Schrade or whoever. To say all Case knives are low quality is pure BS.

just my opinion

Jamie
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I gotta put in my 2 cents on this one, in the last month I have bought 2 Case Amber Bone series knives, a 6347SS Stockman and a Mini-Copperlock and BOTH knives were just fine. Razor hair popping sharp and fit and finish was perfect.
 
jstewart16701 said:
Have you actually bought or use a Case knife lately?

I'm always reading on here how Case's quality is terrible and blah, blah, blah.

Jamie
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Hey Jamie,
Nope, just like I said I have only heard on this forum. I trust the oppinions on here for the most part though. If you say you haven't had a bad knife from Case, I take you at your word. You have to realize though, that on this forum it is just like you said above. People comment ALOT about Cases declining quality.
-Kevin
 
I will applaud Case for the commitment to saty American made. I do believe, however, that it is also a marketing strategy for them. I am not saying it isn't a noble cause, but at least part of the reason is no doubt business related. How many Case collectors would still buy them if they were made overseas?
 
Speaking of Case's quality.....
The quality started a downward trend after 1970. Case changed ownership more than once until Zippo took over. The quality of contruction has improved. It's still not what it used to be. Case's stainless steel does not hold a very good edge, sorry, but it doesn't. The heat treat sucks.
Fit and finish varies greatly from knife to knife. They can (and have) do better.
Case used to be considered one of the finest in the world. They gained this reputation as a USER'S knife. Sadly that reputation has not carried over to today. They are still considered a "highly collectable" brand. IMHO they are riding the shirt tails of their past reputation for collectability.

Paul
 
PWork said:
Speaking of Case's quality.....
The quality started a downward trend after 1970. Case changed ownership more than once until Zippo took over. The quality of contruction has improved. It's still not what it used to be. Case's stainless steel does not hold a very good edge, sorry, but it doesn't. The heat treat sucks.
Fit and finish varies greatly from knife to knife. They can (and have) do better.
Case used to be considered one of the finest in the world. They gained this reputation as a USER'S knife. Sadly that reputation has not carried over to today. They are still considered a "highly collectable" brand. IMHO they are riding the shirt tails of their past reputation for collectability.

Paul
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I do not know anybody in this thread BUT, I do know something about Case. I was a real Case fan in the 1940s and 1950s until they changed steels in 1956, they also changed trademarks at that time. Case has had many problems and some sad times, Today they have hometown ownership (Zippo) and are really trying to make it back to the top. Badmouthing them while they are trying so hard is like stepping on the fingers of a man hanging on the edge of a cliff.

Case knife is making better knives than they have in years, they are doing it in the face of cheaper and cheaper knives coming in from everywhere in the third world. They get a little praise for staying American made and get this kind of response. Fair is fair, give them a hand up not a put down.

If you want to be helpful, email Tom Arrowsmith and tell him what you want from Case. If he hears from enough people who will pay for better steel he will provide it.

all the best,

A. G.
 
Yes, I have bought some Case knives recently. Quality as far as fit and finish can be a bit spotty, however it has not prevented them from being usable.
 
I don't know if they are still making them but they had a couple of models made in Germany marked CaseXX Solingen Germany. They have 440C blades and the patterns are identical to Boker which leads me to believe that Boker is producing them for Case.
 
I have to say that I am a fan of Case knives, so much so that I have stocked Case knives in my store. Given the price level the quality is good. Fit and finish is impressive again given the price level.

I hate to keep coming back to price level but Case make knives for average people and have done so for 115 years. They must be doing something right.
 
A.G.

Any contact info for Tom Arrowsmith? I'm looking at the contact page on their website and I'm just not seeing it.
 
Good post George. My hat's off to Case for staying American. And the mini copperlock I have is very nice. Even after it got converted to a D/A. :D
 
Hawaiian said:
Good post George. My hat's off to Case for staying American. And the mini copperlock I have is very nice. Even after it got converted to a D/A. :D
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I have a mini-copperlock, who did your conversion????
 
A. G. Russell said:
I do not know anybody in this thread BUT, I do know something about Case. I was a real Case fan in the 1940s and 1950s until they changed steels in 1956, they also changed trademarks at that time. Case has had many problems and some sad times, Today they have hometown ownership (Zippo) and are really trying to make it back to the top. Badmouthing them while they are trying so hard is like stepping on the fingers of a man hanging on the edge of a cliff.

Case knife is making better knives than they have in years, they are doing it in the face of cheaper and cheaper knives coming in from everywhere in the third world. They get a little praise for staying American made and get this kind of response. Fair is fair, give them a hand up not a put down.

If you want to be helpful, email Tom Arrowsmith and tell him what you want from Case. If he hears from enough people who will pay for better steel he will provide it.

all the best,

A. G.
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Well A.G., I call them like I see them.

I agree that today's Case isn't the Case of 20 years ago, but with today's manufacturing techniques they can duplicate the quality of the '40s and '50s.
Nothing would make me happier than to be able to tell my friends to buy a Case knife. I'd love to be able to show some "home state" pride, but I can't do that in good concience. Keep in mind that most people who buy a knife are not collectors. They are people looking for a reliable tool. At this time there are better, and cheaper choices.

Paul
 
I must add my 2 cents here on Case quality.
I used to be big into collecting Case knives and the quality of the older ones pryer to 1970 was the best.The 70s saw a slightly lower quality but were still great knives.The 80s IMO is were the problems started.Many of the Case knives from that time frame were not any better than Old Timer maybe worse.This is when I stopped buying Case knives.From what I have seen of them in recent years though,the quality has improved to at least what it was in the 70s.I got a few for my son over the last 6 years and they are very nice.
 
I mainly collect traditional knives, with a few exceptions, I love older Case Knives, especially prior to 1970. I also carry a vintage Case. I also have bought a few newer Case knives and monitor them closely and have since 1998....I have seen a few that were ok, but on the whole I think they are an insult to what they once were! To understand what Case knives are you have to understand what they once were! Go to a show and look at the older ones, it makes you sick to look at a new one :D
 
This thread has gotten a little off the intended track, what I intended when I started it was to compliment Case for keeping their earnings where their market is. Selling offshore product produced for pennies bleeds the economy of wages ........the result is to cheapen the quality of life for everyone.

They pointed out that one logo was available from an offshore source for 40% of the cost of a domestically produced logo but they chose the domestic logo to keep the money at home. If more companies kept their purchasing in North America the economy would be better.
 
Agreed George. I do try to buy domestically produced items, as long as I find the quality adequate.

Paul
 
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