First few Case knives...not impressed. Is it just me?

willgoy said:
I'm just about to buy a Swayback in Damascus with that Creme brulee bone. So let's see....

It's quite costly, the more so for me now the Euro has taken a nosedive against the Dollar....:grumpy:

Sending stuff back across the ocean is never easy :eek: But those handles and that blade steel is like a Siren :D

Fingers crossed and all that!
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I just ordered one of those, should be here in a day or 2.
I asked the dealer to pick out one with darker handles for me.


Case is definitely hit & miss on QC, but they do get a few perfect ones out with the rest.
They have excellent customer service IMO and repaired one of my knives expertly, I was impressed.

GEC didn't impress me at all with theirs.
 
chuckgp said:
I just ordered one of those, should be here in a day or 2.
I asked the dealer to pick out one with darker handles for me.


Case is definitely hit & miss on QC, but they do get a few perfect ones out with the rest.
They have excellent customer service IMO and repaired one of my knives expertly, I was impressed.

GEC didn't impress me at all with theirs.
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I've had a couple of GECs sent back and they have always had wonderful customer service. What happened in your case?
 
Woodrow F Call said:
I've had a couple of GECs sent back and they have always had wonderful customer service. What happened in your case?
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I got a #61 Northfield Deluxe Congress in snakewood, SN 22, beautiful knife.
I noticed the blades were scratched, plus it wasn't sharp.

My first GEC was a tomato acrylic magnum - flawless. So I was surprised that this knife had a problem.

I emailed them and sent the knife, got it back in a few weeks.

Blades still scratched, I have no idea if the rub was corrected.
Blades not sharpened at all.
It now has a '22' on the front bolster, it was already on the small blade's tang.
It did have a nice, thick coating of oil applied.

Thanks, I guess???
I really don't get it
Case's service was nothing but expert and professional.
 
chuckgp said:
I got a #61 Northfield Deluxe Congress in snakewood, SN 22, beautiful knife.
I noticed the blades were scratched, plus it wasn't sharp.

My first GEC was a tomato acrylic magnum - flawless. So I was surprised that this knife had a problem.

I emailed them and sent the knife, got it back in a few weeks.

Blades still scratched, I have no idea if the rub was corrected.
Blades not sharpened at all.
It now has a '22' on the front bolster, it was already on the small blade's tang.
It did have a nice, thick coating of oil applied.

Thanks, I guess???
I really don't get it
Case's service was nothing but expert and professional.
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No stone???:D
 
Case XX knives are just as good today as they were 25 years ago,(flame thrower suit on) but,like mentioned,its best to be able to handpick them. I have been buying Case knives for 35 + years and they are still just as awesome today. My peeve with Case is the blade centering.

I have Case knives that the F&F is on par with knives twice their price point.

yea,i said it.:D
 
Unless you get one of their collaboration models, it's hit and miss with Case.

I worked in a fab shop for many years, screw ups were polished or ground to hide them when possible. Their tumbled and polished blades look like hidden shoddy workmanship to me. I'm not impressed.

I quit buying Case unless I'm going to use one for scraping battery terminals and general dirty work to keep my better knives in good condition.
 
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Cory Hess said:
... if you're looking for more consistent quality control you're probably better off looking at GEC or Queen. Keep in mind though, that consistency comes with a higher price point.
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This makes a lot of sense. :thumbup:

-- Mark
 
chuckgp said:
I got a #61 Northfield Deluxe Congress in snakewood, SN 22, beautiful knife.
I noticed the blades were scratched, plus it wasn't sharp.

My first GEC was a tomato acrylic magnum - flawless. So I was surprised that this knife had a problem.

I emailed them and sent the knife, got it back in a few weeks.

Blades still scratched, I have no idea if the rub was corrected.
Blades not sharpened at all.
It now has a '22' on the front bolster, it was already on the small blade's tang.
It did have a nice, thick coating of oil applied.

Thanks, I guess???
I really don't get it
Case's service was nothing but expert and professional.
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Honestly, it sounds like someone got started, but forgot to work on it. It can happen, but shouldn't. I would have contacted Christine and spoke to her about it. GEC generally does a good job taking care of it's customers..... I think it might have just slipped through the crack.
 
chuckgp said:
Case's service was nothing but expert and professional.
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Funny because I had the exact opposite experience. Case took almost 3 months to return a stockman that had blade rub so bad you couldn't even open the spey blade. Then after all that time waiting all they did is send a new knife but they didn't even send the correct knife. They sent back a stainless instead of CV version....

Another brand I've had great luck with is Canal Street that I don't think anybody else mentioned yet. GEC is my favorite and the most recent Schatt & Morgans I've received have been great as well.
 
black mamba said:
I must be charmed, but most all of my recent Cases have been quite good, especially for the $$. I have an '09 #46 pattern humpback whittler, a '12 #07 Wharncliffe mini trapper, a '14 teardrop and a '14 damascus #47 stockman. Nothing major wrong with any of them. Tiny slivers of light between a couple of the liners, some minor over-buffing of the covers, but no blade rubs, even grinds and great snap and action on all the blades. I think they are a bargain for the small $$ they cost. I just think that if you are picky enough (and you have every right to be so), then you should probably not be buying $50 production knives.
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I would be happy with any of those for sure. My swayback gent is mechanically flawless but it was one out of 3. The die job is sorely lacking.

As to your last point I disagree. $50 is still a lot of money and if I can buy a $25 knife that's hand made by a 12 year old Chinese kid and the fit is perfect why the heck can't Case do the same for twice the money?

Case offers a lot of excuses such as hand made, natural materials etc etc.. I would wager that they are hand assembled and finished but the parts are mass produced using some sort of computer control or CNC. Blades should be centered, springs should be flush and the dye should be more uniform. The only variance should be the slight hafting differences and slight liner gaps. If they can do this when Tony Bose asks them to, it should be the norm.

A Sodbuster pattern should look perfect for $40+.
 
donkengine said:
I would be happy with any of those for sure. My swayback gent is mechanically flawless but it was one out of 3. The die job is sorely lacking.

As to your last point I disagree. $50 is still a lot of money and if I can buy a $25 knife that's hand made by a 12 year old Chinese kid and the fit is perfect why the heck can't Case do the same for twice the money?

Case offers a lot of excuses such as hand made, natural materials etc etc.. I would wager that they are hand assembled and finished but the parts are mass produced using some sort of computer control or CNC. Blades should be centered, springs should be flush and the dye should be more uniform. The only variance should be the slight hafting differences and slight liner gaps. If they can do this when Tony Bose asks them to, it should be the norm.

A Sodbuster pattern should look perfect for $40+.
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I agree that Case should be executing better. As I mentioned above, I only buy them when I can get a good bargain. I have not recently spent over $40 on anything from Case, and usually the number is under $30.

That's why in my first post in this thread I suggested you choose another brand. They clearly aren't delivering the value you want. Vote with your wallet. GEC, Canal Street, Queen may fit your needs better. You could also look at Boker. Rough Rider or Colt if you are wanting low prices.
 
I guess I've been another lucky one when it comes to buying Case knives. I've had 3 show up in the last 2 days and all three were just fine. 2 peanuts and 1 teardrop jack.
Over the last few years I've bought countless peanuts. I have quite a collection of them now. I've also snagged a few of the following medium stockman, mini trapper, mini copperhead, pen knife, coke bottle jack, and medium jacks. IN CV for SS, they've all been totally functional. No, not all the peanuts have dead straight blades, but none of any blade rub and it's a pretty thin blade. Maybe I'm just not as picky. I have two more that should show up this week. Hopefully my luck holds out. (Orange peanut and small gunstock) Yep, I like small slipjoints.
 
Woodrow F Call said:
Honestly, it sounds like someone got started, but forgot to work on it. It can happen, but shouldn't. I would have contacted Christine and spoke to her about it. GEC generally does a good job taking care of it's customers..... I think it might have just slipped through the crack.
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I think I'm probably still in shock from my knife going into the Twilight Zone. I almost heard Rod Serling narrating when I opened the knife after the....'repair'

I also have sharpened it myself so a few scratches and its not new anymore so the warranty could be
void.

I still really love the pattern & knife, and the wharncliffe blade is needle sharp like no other I own.
 
donkengine said:
$50 is still a lot of money and if I can buy a $25 knife that's hand made by a 12 year old Chinese kid and the fit is perfect why the heck can't Case do the same for twice the money? A Sodbuster pattern should look perfect for $40+.
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The problem is the American workers at Case probably make around $15-20 an hour, while the Chinese worker makes way, way less than that, maybe one-tenth or less. So they can take 2-3 times as long to get it really close to right, while the American worker doesn't have that luxury. Labor cost is the biggest driver of price with traditional knives because they do require a lot of hand fitting. GEC uses virtually the same materials that Case does, and their QC is about 30-40% better, but they cost 2½ times as much. Queen was the value priced option in American traditional knives up until a few years ago, priced between Case and GEC but using more expensive D2 steel. They first went to a 20-25% price increase, then sold the business. The new owners have raised prices a good bit since the takeover. There's no mystery to it, quality fit and finish cost a lot.
 
jkulysses said:
Funny because I had the exact opposite experience. Case took almost 3 months to return a stockman that had blade rub so bad you couldn't even open the spey blade. Then after all that time waiting all they did is send a new knife but they didn't even send the correct knife. They sent back a stainless instead of CV version....

Another brand I've had great luck with is Canal Street that I don't think anybody else mentioned yet. GEC is my favorite and the most recent Schatt & Morgans I've received have been great as well.
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I worked with steel & chrome vanadium for a while (the pocketwrench II),
and how these reject or 'second' knives ever make it out the door really makes me wonder.
How do you mess up so many knives in the modern factory anyway?

Is there no inspection? Do they look at 1 in 10? 100?

Spin the wheel and maybe get a 'good one'! No? Hope for a 'good repair' then!

Buying knives should not be gambling. Plus I think craps has better odds than this. I understand those odds anyway, then don't change.

My history with blades is more modern and tactical, there are not all these problems and rejects among those in my experience. My Benchmade Elishewizt Mini Darkstar's ancient BT2-coated blade weeps with pity for these traditionals.
 
I've not had any problems with any of my Case knives. They come sharp and cut what ever is thrown at them. I've found that the yellow handled Case knives are very consistent. Buy one you won't be sorry.

I have purchased other knives mentioned in this thread that were U.S. made and didn't have such luck with them, they came dull, rough finished liners didn't meet the bolsters and the scales were high (won't mention names, don't believe in name bashing).

You get good and bad in any product whether it be cars, guns, bows, knives etc.
 
chuckgp said:
...My history with blades is more modern and tactical, there are not all these problems and rejects among those in my experience. My Benchmade Elishewizt Mini Darkstar's ancient BT2-coated blade weeps with pity for these traditionals.
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The darkstar is not a $50 knife. A modern tactical is easier to make, screws together, has a dull finish, no natural materials and is always >100$. I have bought a Case about every year for at least ten years and never returned any. I can recall two that needed a burr taken off the edge, but if you can not fix that in 30seconds, you should not own a knife :)
 
What others have said is true. It is hit and miss with most brands, not just Case. I have owned Schatt & Morgans/Queens that also had issues with blade rub and no blade centering as well. Honestly though blade centering has only come into more focus recently, due to all the interest in Customs, driving this point. Nothing wrong with being picky but have your pickiness reasoned by the price point you're contemplating. That being said, I bought a Case Soddy Jr. last year at Lowes for less than $25.00 and it is a terrific knife indeed!
Perry
 
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