Does Case have any competition??

S

ShawDAMAN

Joined
Jun 9, 2011
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112
Is there any good American knife makers? That make nice, basic, affordable pocket knives?

Most of Bucks pocket knives with just a few exceptions are made in China. Ditto with much of Schrade, Gerber, Ka-bar and other historically reputable American knife makers. it's kind of sad.

I don't want to come across as some kind of hard nosed nationalist here as there are perfectly good knives coming out of China and if anyone has any recommendations of other (non-chinese/taiwanese/etc) affordable knife makers feel free to mention them too. (opinel and victorinox of course come to mind.) It can just be frustrating to go through reams of knife selections from parent companies that are American, German, and so forth and see 'made in china' over and over again.

Sorry to ramble but maybe you see where I'm going with this.
 
If you want American made, it will cost a bit more. American labor is expensive. If you want a good American made slipjoint, Queen is still making them in Titusville, PA under thier name, Queen City, and Schatt & Morgan. They also build for other makers on contract. Great Eastern Cutlery has a bunch of nice patterns, and arguably the finest quality in their market segment. And there are still a lot of Schrade USA and Camillus knives around even though the companies are gone.
 
Many of Buck's knives are made here, with some exceptions. Kabar just released a slip-joint line, made in the USA.
Utica still makes American pocket knives. Boker and Puma (their upper line) is still made in Germany/Argentina. So, there are plenty of good quality knives out there, you just need to look.
 
If you want a decently made, American manufactured, yet inexpensive traditional pocket knife, Case is the best bet. Bear and Sons is at the same price point, but of lower reputation of quality. There's other American made knives like Queen, GEC, and Canal Street, but these can cost as much as double or more than a Case.

Outside the USA, Boker is the best for quality at a lower cost.
 
You might want to check out some of the Working Knife line from Moore Maker - many of them are made in the US by some of the aforementioned companies and are pretty reasonably priced.
 
I have to agree with above.

In the sub $60 market segment, Case has no American Made competition. In the sub $100 market there are at least three American companies that make a 'better' product, though not by all that much.

Case, Queen, GEC, and Canal Street are all worth what you pay for them - though you must account for diminishing returns. A $100 GEC will indeed be better than a $50 Case, but probably not twice over. Case makes a decent knife.
 
Judicious shopping can land a lot of Solingen, Germany-made Boker Tree Brand line of classic slipjoints delivered for the same price as Case knives - or less, in many cases. My four new Case knives cannot compare with the Boker Tree Brand units for QC and delivered sharpness. That is sad!

Stainz
 
Hmm that's interesting opinion, because I wouldn't say that the quality of my Boker Red Bone Copperhead is better than my Case Texas Jack or Trapper. My Case knives have better finish (polished bolsters and back of the handle) and grinds (clip point blade in the Copperhead was terribly blunt). Springs in Boker are pretty weak, too.
 
point of clarification in regards to buck,
Most of Bucks pocket knives with just a few exceptions are made in China....
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they actually offer quite a few...
these are some of them...
301 stockman
303 Cadet
305 Lancer
Companion
Duet
110, 110 EcoLite
ranger
knight
gent
vantage
the alpha line
i got tired of looking at knives i cant buy, but there are more :D
gene
 
i apologize to side track this thread a bit, and no offense to any old timers and super fans of case, but what's the deal with their steel? aren't they the "tru-sharp" and the "chrome vandium" brand, rather than just saying it's 420 stainless and it's ?carbon something or other? whatever the chrome vandium stuff is? they may not have a whole lot of competititon in what they do style wise and such and i assume do well, but i have stayed away just due to i have no idea what they use for steel...i highly detest/dislike this hide and seek steel type routine, with any brand....
 
I'll admit to one attribute of Case - they are polished to a fault, whatever the steel is - I have three SS and one 'C-V', or CS. They have stout springs - too much so. The four I've bought new, all from different vendors, since last fall all came pretty enough, just too tight to use. My thumbnails are growing back after doing some significant damage to them trying to open them. Flooding with aerosol RemOil flushed crud out - leaving the blades partially out for several days - at max spring flexure - seemed to help, too. I was not impressed with the sharpness. No complaints on any of the Boker Tree Brands - all (12) came sharp and functional - all in CS - right out of the box. Some earlier Puma slippies, also German made and all stag handled, came almost as sharp - the stag is a little thick.

I feel that Case is basically for collectors these days - with little care for function. Even a modicum of quality control should have caught my stiff blades. They sure make them for every occasion. After 21+ yr, my Buck 301 - once a common EDC - is scarred - but still tight enough and quite useable, as are my old Buck 110's and Vic SAKs. I love American made knives... but I'm not as impressed with Case as I probably should be.

Now, I like 'Made in Alabama'... but Bear MGC knives are a coin toss at best, QC-wise - according to some. They are made right up the road - in Jacksonville, AL - as are their Damascus blanks, which also can be found in other makers knives, my Kershaw 1660DAM Damascus Leek being a particularly pretty and functional example. Their knives are a bit 'clunky', for lack of a better term. I've been able to peruse some leftover stock at a local store's closeout - and picked functional units. I've also ordered several mail-order - and they were fine. The 505 Danmascus, a little bigger than a Buck 110, but in stag and with a Damascus blade, arrived fine - centered, sharp, functional - just thick - and clunky! Still, 'won' for <$50 shipped, it was pretty nice. Clunky!

Stainz
 
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There is also Bulldog and German Eye Brand. I believe that Kissing Crane's Brown Mule sodbusters are made in Italy as well. There are a lot of good options already mentioned, it just depends on what you consider affordable.

jbmonkey said:
i apologize to side track this thread a bit, and no offense to any old timers and super fans of case, but what's the deal with their steel? aren't they the "tru-sharp" and the "chrome vandium" brand, rather than just saying it's 420 stainless and it's ?carbon something or other? whatever the chrome vandium stuff is? they may not have a whole lot of competititon in what they do style wise and such and i assume do well, but i have stayed away just due to i have no idea what they use for steel...i highly detest/dislike this hide and seek steel type routine, with any brand....
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I get where you are coming from about not being upfront with the steel that they use. I think it's just a tradition that started back when everyone didn't care what the exact steel was. People just wanted a knife that cut and were only concerned with whether it was carbon or stainless. I believe that the only Case knives listed with the steel used are those made with ATS-34 or 154CM. Of course, for the cost they darn well ought to be.:D

AFAIK most of the other US made traditional knives are upfront with the steel used. Some of the other European knife makers aren't specific about it though.
 
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ShawDAMAN, are you referring to specifically traditional folders? Because it sounds like you are, and everyone seems to be responding assuming that that's what you meant. If so, it's my understanding that Case (by itself, not the Bose collaborations) is considered one of the lower end American knives compared to brands like Queen and GEC. But there is a traditional subforum here if you want to go more in depth. If you meant knives in general, most of the good knives out there are American-made. Look at the offerings from Kershaw, Benchmade, and Spyderco. There are plenty of popular lower-priced American knives out there, like the Kershaw Leek, Shallot, or RAM, Spyderco UKPK FRN, Buck 110, and BK&T series. Of course, there are many more offerings at the higher price levels.
 
as to the misconception that Case is strictly for collectors my CV Jumbo stockman thats been my EDC every day for 2+ years begs to differ:D got the sharpening marks and the weird patina to prove it, i have case knives that are every bit as good as my 2010 BFC moose (queen) with one exception, the Case arent nail breakers, the Queen is so stout i dont bother with it, which is a shame, means the Case get carried and used.
I dont really care what Buck or Case do to cater to collectors as long as they stay in business and keep making a few i like... Keep making the god awful bubba gum pink knives, etc., sell them like beanie babies, just keep offering the ones i carry:D
Just nice to see cutlery companies staying afloat given the sorry state of things.
Camillus was the giant of the cutlery biz and they died in 2007, Schrade in 2004
lets all hope Case, Buck, Ontario, GEC, Canal Street and even Bear can stick around.
regards
gene
 
dannyp said:
I get where you are coming from about not being upfront with the steel that they use. I think it's just a tradition that started back when everyone didn't care what the exact steel was. People just wanted a knife that cut and were only concerned with whether it was carbon or stainless. I believe that the only Case knives listed with the steel used are those made with ATS-34 or 154CM. Of course, for the cost they darn well ought to be.:D

AFAIK most of the other US made traditional knives are upfront with the steel used. Some of the other European knife makers aren't specific about it though.
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good info. thank you for passing on this information to me, Sir. greatly appreciated.
 
Case certainly is not one of the "lower end American knives" brand. How about they're one of the LAST American knife brands, and they put out a pretty consistent product at a competetive price. All of my recent Case purchases have arrived with good F/F and are SHARP. I can't tell you how many times i've read Queens coming with butter knife edges, GEC brands too at sometimes twice the price. The notion that Case are collector knives may be true to some extent but all I want are the hard-working bullet-proof slippies in CV that will no doubt outlive me. CV steel should be incorporated into more knives at Case.
 
While they aren't the all end all American made slip joint I still feel that they manufacter some of the best sub-75$ (which is a very nice niche to have in the maket) slipjoints along with Buck of course.
 
Case certainly is not one of the "lower end American knives" brand. How about they're one of the LAST American knife brands, and they put out a pretty consistent product at a competetive price. All of my recent Case purchases have arrived with good F/F and are SHARP.
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I've purchased 4 case knives in the past 10 years. All but one of them had very dull edges by comparison to the cheaper knives I have bought from Boker magnum, mora, buck, ka-bar, victorinox and so forth. That is one area Case really should do better with. In fairness though, other than that, the fit and finish on all the knives was above reproach.

ShawDAMAN, are you referring to specifically traditional folders? Because it sounds like you are, and everyone seems to be responding assuming that that's what you meant. If so, it's my understanding that Case (by itself, not the Bose collaborations) is considered one of the lower end American knives compared to brands like Queen and GEC. But there is a traditional subforum here if you want to go more in depth. If you meant knives in general, most of the good knives out there are American-made. Look at the offerings from Kershaw, Benchmade, and Spyderco. There are plenty of popular lower-priced American knives out there, like the Kershaw Leek, Shallot, or RAM, Spyderco UKPK FRN, Buck 110, and BK&T series. Of course, there are many more offerings at the higher price levels.
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I should have been more clear, but you're right, i'm thinking of more traditional folders. I'm sort of a traditionalist, I don't like bright colors and plastic-ish handles and pseudo-tactical stuff much. I'm familiar with all the knives you mention, I own the spyderco centofante 3 and bug, and a kershaw too, they're very nice indeed.
 
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