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

Shaggy said:
I really wish Case would slow down, stop making a billion color variations annually for collectors, and start making higher quality knives again. And yes, I'd happily pay more for GEC level quality.
Click to expand...

BINGO!!! A lot of their new knives look riduculous. Too much adornment and writing on bone scales. :thumbdn: I'm sure there are good ones too, but too many items on the menu.
 
thawk said:
BINGO!!! A lot of their new knives look riduculous. Too much adornment and writing on bone scales. :thumbdn: I'm sure there are good ones too, but too many items on the menu.
Click to expand...
They have a particular target market segment in mind for their knives. I guess as long as there are people to whom they appeal and who will buy them, they will keep making them.

There are only a handful of US knife makers surviving. They all have their target niches that they focus on, and if no one is covering your niche, you go empty handed or you go custom.
 
I agree, Case is kind of like Rolex or any other iconic brand. If they would just get back to the basics, I think then they would see what drives the market. Not all this heavy adornment and embellishments. Case, you make a great knife, which the newer Sowbellies are a testament to this fact, so just keep doing this in other patterns please. I know some people are buying these overdone blade etches and over the top thematic or seasonal knives but not me.
Perry
 
Case is hit or miss for me. I tend to be disappointed in stuff I order on my own but very happy with stuff that I win in giveaways or stuff that I'm get from others. Go figure. I'm usually disappointed when a color doesn't meet my mental image of what the hue should be.
 
I have about a half dozen Case knives, a mixture of Chrome Vanadium and True Sharp Blade alloys. Each bought sight-unseen from on-line dealers. A couple have minor issues of springs not sitting exactly flat in both open and closed positions. But none of them have been severe enough that I wanted to return them. None have cost me more than $40. Any one of them has better fit and finish than the knives I grew up using. And that goes back over 50 years.
Edited to add, "OOPS. Forgot my Sowbelly was 49. OK. One was under $50. The others less. I still feel I got my money's worth."

I'm sorry folks, I don't look for perfection in a $40 multi-bladed knife. Especially one made in the US. But I grew up with user-knives and at heart am just a knife user, as opposed to a collector.
 
Last edited:
It has seemed to me for some time that CASE (certainly without doubt my favorite brand for decades) has gone from being a knife maker to a product manufacturer of goods. Did it have to do with being purchased by ZIPPO?

Dunno. Both make a lot of collector stuff, seemingly to me items that aren't necessarily made to be used.

I don't know how CASE could keep up in any way with QC with the amount of knives they make. Knives that commemorate work clothes, motorcycles, car racing, hunting season, farming gear, collaboration knives, duck hunting, Boy Scouts, and on an on...

And if you believe the folks that sell knives here (they have no reason to lie...) they are doing all of this on ancient equipment, some of it from the turn of the century... you know, the last one.

No doubt CASE can still turn out a fine knife, but as has been mentioned many times on many different threads on this subject, hold the knife in your hand first to make sure you are pleased with what you are buying. That way you get what you want with no heartburn instead of a "pig in a poke".

Robert
 
With all this talk of cost of production one must ask, How does Victorianox do it perfectly every time.

Regards

Robin
 
Per "It has seemed to me for some time that CASE (certainly without doubt my favorite brand for decades) has gone from being a knife maker to a product manufacturer of goods."

Not true. Case makes the leading edge, best line of slipjoints in the world...Case/Bose collaborations. In addition, their Bose patterns in the regular line-up are new and trend setting. Ever think that the popularity of their Case Vanadium lines led to GEC's 1095 series???

Per Victoronix, that old horse has been beat to death on this forum. If you like machine made, machine finished, totally plastic, steel and brass knives, then that's the knife for you. A true traditional lover would not carry one, only because it was untouched by humans. :)
 
And when "Tony Bose asks them to," they sell for $350, not $35 like the regular production knives. Do you think that if you asked Bret or Ken or TAD to finish one of their customs in 30 minutes it would look as good they normally do? Yes, maybe the same cutlers make the production knives, but they have a time table to finish them in. The Bose collaborations are a whole different ballgame.
 
I just looked around my desk and there are 8 Case knives that are in my view at the moment. I was totally happy with everyone of them. I've got more, many more, stored away close by. Never more then a minor cosmetic problem with any of them. Also, very few of them were bought from a brick and mortar, where I could inspect them before purchase.

Are you going to get a lemon now and then? Yep. Have I been lucky? Yep.

I've never had to send a Case knife back. From what I've heard and read on this forum, they will take care of the problem.
 
brownshoe said:
Per Victoronix, that old horse has been beat to death on this forum. If you like machine made, machine finished, totally plastic, steel and brass knives, then that's the knife for you. A true traditional lover would not carry one, only because it was untouched by humans. :)
Click to expand...

That's a bad argument or an informal fallacy of the 'No true Scotsman' kind: Because you don't like SAK's and you are a traditional lover, other 'real' traditional lovers should not like SAK's.

Also it implies that any man-made knife is less well-made than a machine-made knife, I beg to differ.

We were talking about lack in quality control, this means that the Case knives are handled by too few humans.
 
Last edited:
black mamba said:
And when "Tony Bose asks them to," they sell for $350, not $35 like the regular production knives. Do you think that if you asked Bret or Ken or TAD to finish one of their customs in 30 minutes it would look as good they normally do? Yes, maybe the same cutlers make the production knives, but they have a time table to finish them in. The Bose collaborations are a whole different ballgame.
Click to expand...

I paid $44.95 for my swayback gent. I believe it is a Bose collaboration.
 
The swayback gent is a Bose design, but not a Bose collaboration. Maybe because it is a newer pattern, they usually have a little better QC, but are still a regular production knife. And yes, sometimes the regulars can be up to $50 or thereabouts, but still a long way from a collaboration knife, which is done as well as they can do them.
 
I stopped in a local hardware store and looked at their $20 black handled Sodbuster. The fit was perfect. Centered blade and flush spring. If it had a CV blade I would have bought it to replace the chestnut bone Sodbuster that I paid over $40 for.

This proves my point that the poor consistency is purely an issue of motivation.
 
Pipeman said:
With all this talk of cost of production one must ask, How does Victorianox do it perfectly every time.

Regards

Robin
Click to expand...

Their focus and process is different.... plus they aren't working in bone. The few Alox knives I have aren't exactly perfect.... they are perfectly fine for as cheap as they are though.


brownshoe said:
Per Victoronix, that old horse has been beat to death on this forum. If you like machine made, machine finished, totally plastic, steel and brass knives, then that's the knife for you. A true traditional lover would not carry one, only because it was untouched by humans. :)
Click to expand...

Booooooo!!!! Victorinox makes very traditional knives. :)
 
I got away from Case for many years short of a Sodbuster Jr that I picked up from Lowe's on a whim about 5 years back (no idea where I left it:confused:). Actually, my only traditionals were a couple of European knives, a plethora of SAKs, and a Queen mini toothpick my dad bought me that I never carried all that much.

When I got bitten by the bug again after someone over on the HI board posted a picture of a gorgeous antler slipjoint, I figured that Case would be the best way to dip my toe into the water without going to the GEC price-point. My wife picked me up a lovely little chestnut bone medium stockman. I love it, but it did have blade rub marks out of the box and the edge was a bit of a toothy unpolished mess. No big deal. I don't think I will every purchase a knife that is a dedicated safe queen. One of you fine gentlemen find the kindness in your heart to send me an actual GEC, and I love it. I won't use it scrape mud off my boots, but I have had it in my pocket every day since. I use it, but I don't think i will USE it.

The Stockman my wife got me has already been put through the wringer. It was a sub $40 knife bought for me knowing that I was going to carry, use, and purposely try to get that old worn pantina look. It does have some flaws, but I can overlook them for what she paid for it. Even though I have seen what kind of knife I can get for sub-$20 from RR and what kind of gorgeous perfection I can get for $100-$200 from GEC, I still think that when I get the itch to buy a new knife just for buying sake it will probably be a $30-$50 Case. My experience is that they are work-grade traditionals with plenty of usable life to them.

Sure, I have a feeling I am going to treat myself to a few more GEC or Queens in the future if I come across them, but for what I pay for them Case isn't all that bad.
 
black mamba said:
The swayback gent is a Bose design, but not a Bose collaboration. Maybe because it is a newer pattern, they usually have a little better QC, but are still a regular production knife. And yes, sometimes the regulars can be up to $50 or thereabouts, but still a long way from a collaboration knife, which is done as well as they can do them.
Click to expand...

I bought a Swayback Gent for about € 90,- here, which is the going price in Europe, if you can find it.
It's a lovely design by Bose and started showing significant blade play by Case within three days of carrying.

It was a great disappointment to me and I waited some time to buy another. The trapper I bought later on is pretty good.

On average you can buy a Case knife between € 60,- and € 110,- in Europe (Starting at $ 75,-).
To put this in context, a Rough Rider is between € 12,- and € 25,- here.
(GEC goes for between € 140 and € 250.)
So I have a drawer full of Taylor brand knives and I really like about 50% of them and the rest are at least usable.

There's more to price than quality, collectability and even patriotism is a good reason to buy a knife (why not choose to support local manufacturers?).

But from my point of view: Case knives are not five times as good or collectable as Rough Riders.
 
donkengine said:
I stopped in a local hardware store and looked at their $20 black handled Sodbuster. The fit was perfect. Centered blade and flush spring. If it had a CV blade I would have bought it to replace the chestnut bone Sodbuster that I paid over $40 for.

This proves my point that the poor consistency is purely an issue of motivation.
Click to expand...

I don't believe one knife out of 10,000 made proves anything one way or the other.
 
rma100 said:
I don't believe one knife out of 10,000 made proves anything one way or the other.
Click to expand...
Well, actually it does.
If a brand promises to provide a certain quality (let's say XX tested), then several customers complaining about fit and finish will point to poor quality control.

The other way is true, if your knife is good, this does not mean all are good.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top