Delrin or Bone?

[JB in SC]

Steve Pfeiffer's (@cilohaefink above) book is an excellent resource for a Case collector.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

So has anyone with or without any gravitas decided to weigh in on the circle (means bone) debate?

What's not up for debate is that it's an oval, but that seems like nitpicking.

Already covered. The author of the quoted post below (from earlier in this thread) is also an author of a well-known and authoritative book on collecting Case knives, if that counts toward 'gravitas'.

Using the shield to identify bone vs delrin (as posted by Railsplitter) only works for Case pocket knives produced from about mid 1974 through 1986.

After 1986 Case went to different style shields on all standard product knives, eventually going back to the shield with the oval on delrin handled knives (see the delrin handled "working knives" series in the current Case catalog).

I've preferred to completely ignore whether there's an oval in the shield or not, as it hasn't always meant the same thing and can mislead, depending on the era from which the knife was produced. It's better to familiarize oneself on the visual differences seen in close, well-lit inspection of the handles. Look for the pores, grain, glassy depth & translucence in bone, but NOT seen in delrin, which always looks 'plastic' (too smooth, too uniform, no pores or depth of grain at all) under real close inspection, for example. Some delrin will have 'simulated' grain at the surface; but it's only on the surface, and won't extend to any depth, like the grain seen in bone.

My usual 'first impression', when closely examining Case's brown delrin (& that from Schrade's Old Timer knives, as well) has always left me thinking I was looking into a mug of creamed, dark coffee or hot cocoa/chocolate milk. That's become an almost automatic indicator I'm looking at delrin, in those knives. More easily seen in looking at the unjigged areas, nearest the bolsters.

Sometimes the oval in the shield won't even narrow the possibilities to either one, of bone or delrin, at all. Older patterns in Case's 'Staminawood' (laminated, stabilized jigged wood) will also sometimes have the oval in the shield. I have two of the Folding Hunter '6265 SAB' pattern with the shield as such, from 1965 and 1970.


David

 

[DirtDawg]

Old thread? Yes.
Solid information? Yes.
Thanks guys.

Oh, and if there is a more up-to-date thread on this subject, please let me know.