Does Case Use Stop Pins?

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Apr 20, 2018
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Hi Again Folks,

My new Case is supposedly out for delivery but I got to wondering, do they use stop pins for the blades or do I need to be particularly careful when closing?

As always, thanks in advance.
 
As far as I know, they typically do not use stop pins. They rely on the kick (bottom of tang) to stop the blade from contacting the spring.

I've only had a handful of case knives and haven't had a problem with the blades contacting the spring.
 
I've never seen a stop pin in a Case traditional folder. As mentioned, the kick should take care of that.

I have a few dozen Case folders (mostly 1990s - 2014 or so), and don't recall seeing any significant issues with blade edge contacting the backspring on closing. That said, if one is in the habit of letting the blades snap shut from full-open or nearly so, no edge is safe. Snapping shut HARD allows the backspring to swing past it's normal design limits when the kick impacts it HARD, which then allows the blade edge to sink lower into the well than is normal. I have one or two $400+ custom folders that aren't even safe from such treatment.

If you deliberately squeeze a blade into the handle after it's fully closed, you can see how the kick will force the backspring to deflect further outward than it ordinarily should and, in your grip, you might feel the grinding of the blade's edge on the backspring when you do it. That shows how the damage can be done, even on a well-designed knife, if the closing force is excessive. I sometimes allow a blade to snap shut from near-closed, maybe the last 15° of travel; all my Case folders can handle that without issue.

It's inevitable that a few bad ones will come out, from any maker of Traditional knives. But at least with the Case folders I have, it's not often enough to make me worry about it. And if it does, Case's warranty repair will take care of it anyway, if you send it back to them. I've never had to send one back yet.
 
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I Always let the blades on my case knives snap closed hard. Out of the hundred plus case knives I’ve owned, only three have ever had the blade contact the spring upon closing. For those all that was required was slightly reshaping the blade to provide enough clearance.
 
None of my case knives have stop pins and none of them bottom out. In my mind, if you can't snap a slipjoint closed on the side of your leg, it's either defective design or defective execution.

On Case's website they have an anatomy of a case knife page that shows you their basic construction of a slipjoint.
 
None of my case knives have stop pins and none of them bottom out. In my mind, if you can't snap a slipjoint closed on the side of your leg, it's either defective design or defective execution.

On Case's website they have an anatomy of a case knife page that shows you their basic construction of a slipjoint.

Yeah, I was just being a nervous Nelly. Knucklehead probably fits too. :)
 
Yeah, I was just being a nervous Nelly. Knucklehead probably fits too. :)

Oh I don't think so. It's a common feeling as you wait for delivery ;) I asked for an expensive knife for my b-day that I'd never seen in person. I was almost hoping I wouldn't get it because I might not like it enough...boy was I wrong, I love it! :)
 
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