CV or Stainless steel?

Assuming it's a Case blade...

Look at the pattern# stamp. If it's relatively recent-generation (last 30 years or so, at least), the CV blades will show 'CV' after the pattern#, and the stainless blades will show 'SS' after the pattern#.

And many of Case's older stainless blades might also show 'STAINLESS' on the tang stamp (seen on some of Case's 1965-'69 era blades, for example).

Very old carbon steel (CV) blades from Case will simply show the pattern# (like '2138' for the older non-stainless Sod Buster), or '6265 SAB' (Folding Hunter with 'Sabre' grind - hence the 'SAB'). Case didn't add the 'CV' stamping on their non-stainless blades until at least the late 1980s or later, IIRC.

As mentioned earlier, something acidic, like vinegar, will stain the CV blades grey/black with a pretty short exposure (a few minutes' time). Much faster, if the vinegar is very warm or hot. You can also smell the acid-iron reaction with the steel (very metallic odor - might remind one of the smell of blood as well). Stainless won't discolor at all, from such exposure.
 
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Slice an Peach or Apple or an Raw Fowl, after washing the blade to remove any oils and fingerprints. That will be enough to start a light patina.

If it is a CASE, then as Mr. Sir Misplaced Hillbilly Misplaced Hillbilly stated above, the tang stamp will have "CV" or "SS" in/on it, after the model number ... provided it isn't a Damascus blade. Judging and going by my one example, the Damascus blades have "DAM" after the model number, not "CV" or "SS" in/on the tang stamp.

EDIT:
Young Master Mister Obsessed with Edges Obsessed with Edges types faster than I.
 
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robertj298 said:
So my case is marked SP SSP I assume it's stainless? How about Boker and Quees?
Click to expand...

Yes, the 'SSP' blades from Case were stainless. The 'P' in 'SSP' indicated a 'Polished' edge on a stainless blade. They did a little more buffing on the edge bevels of these blades, up to a near-mirror finish. These were seen on many of Case's 1970s-era blades, BTW. I have at least one of those, I believe.

I think Boker's stainless blades were marked as such, either explicitly as 'stainless' or possibly 'Inox' (means 'stainless' on European-made blades). Some higher-end Boker blades might've also been stamped or etched with a specific steel type, like '440C' (which is stainless, BTW).

Queen branded their stainless blades as 'Queen Steel' in an etch on the blade and also marked it as such on their boxes, if one has them for reference. Depending on vintage, that was either 440C for most of their years after WWII until maybe 1980s or '90s at least, or 420HC in later years, not long before they closed up shop.
 
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