Help me evaluate these Case knives

J

jeffright

Joined
Jul 13, 2015
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68
I have this Humpback Whittler with stag scales that I really like, but one of the scales has a large gap to the liner, and gaps to the bolsters. I received it new like this, but kept it for a couple years as an EDC item. I am going to send it to Case to fix this issue. In the mean time, I acquired some other Case knives to replace it for EDC. All of the new items are CV. I have a couple small concerns about them, but I'm hoping to keep one and use it regularly.

This is the gapped scale on my Whittler. You can see the gap to the liner, and also the bolsters on both ends. The scale on the other side matches the liner and bolsters nicely.





Here it is with a couple of Folding Hunters and a Canoe I bought to replace it while I send it in to Case.



I like the Canoe best, but I'm concerned about the jigging that hit three of the four bolsters.





I like the Hunters, but the jigging hit a bolster on the red bone scaled knife as well. I wanted a knife with more power than my Whittler, but at their size, I think I may prefer a fixed blade like my Mora. I don't care for the hollow ground clip points. I like the flat-ground skinning blade on the red one, but the folded clip point interferes with the grip.





The blade alignment on all of them is acceptable. The blades are tight on my Whittler and the red Hunter, but on the Canoe and sawcut bone Hunter the blades wiggle laterally in the open position. What do you think of the jigged bolsters? Should I ignore that or send these back? I bought them on Amazon.

 
Personally, I would not be bothered by the jigging running into the bolsters. That gap on the Humpback and the blade wiggle that you mentioned on the other knives would concern me though. I recommend sending them all back to either Amazon or Case. Unfortunately, they all seem to have defects worthy of repair.
 
That deal where the jigging marks match up with the bolsters is done by Case on purpose to provide a smooth transition. Otherwise there would be a little sharp edge there. I always considered it an indication of attention to detail and hand finishing, and was quite impressed with it on the knives that have it. It is actually an extra step that they do.

It's not a flaw.

If the blades wiggle when you are using them, then I would send them back. If they are generally stable unless you hold the blade firmly and try to wiggle them back and forth, then I would suggest you don't do that.
 
I agree with John. The marks on the bolsters are not a flaw.

That gap in the stag whittler is pretty bad. Natural handle materials can shift or warp.

The blade wiggle is something that can't be seen in a photo. If it bothers you, you might fix it yourself or send it in. It's a common problem even on slipjoint knives that cost a lot more.
 
Nickle Silver buffs away much faster than bone, so when they are buffing the knife the NS will purposefully ( as mentioned ) be transitioned to the bone. Many prefer jigging all the way to the bolster and this is a side effect of that. The bone is jigged well before applied to the frame.
 
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