I got my first and, so far, only Case a few years back, when my Pa'sPa died. It's an old folding pocket knife; I'm not sure which model nor exactly how old. It's probably a lot older than I am. This was just some beater knife from his workshop, and it was rusted, with a lot of gunk in the folding mechanism, and with a cracked handle. The blade was worn way back, from so many years of resharpening. I kept it to remember him by, and soon started using it as my own beater knife--the knife I'd reach for when I was going to do unreasonable uses, and didn't want to use one of my nice knives.
Over the last few years, I've been using it as a striker for a ferrocerium rod. I've been using it for light prying and digging, and as a fire poker. When it gets covered in tree sap, I've often cleaned it by scorching the sap off with a blow torch. I resharpen it with rocks, or with with a belt sander.
I've been pretty rough on it, and it has withstood my unkind treatment much better than I expected. Better than my Spydercos, SAKs, Cold Steels, and CRKTs have handled such use by a longshot. It has earned my respect. I now not only reach for it because I don't want to use my nicer knives, but also because I've come to like it.
--Mike
