Help me Pick a Case knife for my Son. CV vs SS

J

JohnMcD348

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Jul 19, 2015
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I want to buy my son a Case Folder since he's become interested in more utility and hobby uses for a pocket knife. He's come to me a few times recently wanting to "whittle" pieces wood and sticks found around the house. He's 11 and had a Swiss Army Tinker for about 3 years now. It's not exactly the best knife for that kind of work.

I've been a fan of the Rancher styles since that was what my father bought me when I was 7. I've still got my Old Timer 80T that he gave me on my 7th Birthday(1977) and the Uncle Henry 885(~83) that I bought a few years later. I used these knives when I was growing up, sitting around with my Great-Grandfather and Great Uncles. I've pretty much been a Carbon Steel fan for most of my life. I think the majority of big and small knives I've blades I own are 1095 style stuff. I have a couple of knives that have things like S30v, AUS8, and I carry my Swiss Army Champ pretty much as my EDC and leave the Old Timer and Uncle Henry at home.

Anyway, I decided on the Case Rancher style but I'm not really sure which blade metal I should get. I'm also buying him his own set of stones so he can learn to sharpen and REALLY take care of the knifes he owns.

So, which metal would be the better "learner" for him. Easier to sharpen, maintain and care for.

Thanks

JTMcD.
 
CV is (a little) easier to sharpen. SS is easier to maintain and care for since it's rust-resistant. Both of Case's steels perform similarly in daily usage.
 
On the other hand, I find them equally easy to sharpen, but I find that CV holds an edge a bit better.

Which probably means that the differences between them aren't all that big.
 
Although I'm not a big fan of carbon steel myself, I was going to recommend CV until I read your last sentence. In my opinion, Case's Tru-Sharp and CV are both equally easy to sharpen so that leaves maintenance and care. The Tru-Sharp would be my recommendation under those circumstances.
 
I agree with john, that there isn't much of a discernible difference to the average user between the two in terms of everyday use. I prefer CV, but am currently carrying and enjoying a stainless peanut. It comes down to whether or not you think he'll be able and willing to keep up with the maintenance aspect of carbon steel. I know when I was 11 that I wasn't the most responsible with my things.
 
I think CV would be a great choice! As it develops character over time through aging; which corresponds with your son, and the knife itself.

After all, every "patina" has a story to tell. ;)

Plus it should be easy to sharpen, and maintain.
 
I know you've already decided on a Case, but are you familiar with Boker knives? The carbon steel models are made in Germany and are much better made (higher quality and better consistency) than Case for the same price. The steel is better too.

They have a whittler pattern that's outstanding.

 
Welcome to the forum JTMcD

Im not going to recommend anything these guys havent already posted when it comes to the knife. However, have you considered taking your son with you and then teaching him what each is and what each would need? He may actually prefer one over the other. Plus, it would be an opportunity for a great memory of how you and he got it together.
 
Toddwalla said:
I agree with john, that there isn't much of a discernible difference to the average user between the two in terms of everyday use. I prefer CV, but am currently carrying and enjoying a stainless peanut. It comes down to whether or not you think he'll be able and willing to keep up with the maintenance aspect of carbon steel. I know when I was 11 that I wasn't the most responsible with my things.
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I think that's the difference. There's a certain 'awareness' for the discipline of such things, that comes with age. A stainless knife will be (almost) immune to things that happen in an 11-year-old's daily existence, such as 'forgetting' to wipe down and/or clean the blades every day, or misplacing the knife for a while, or sticking the blades into things that might be better done with some other tool. Whether one is somewhat easier to sharpen than the other, I think is essentially moot (they're both pretty easy anyway, as knife-sharpening goes). The greater 'lesson' will come in learning responsible ownership and proper use & care of the knife, and the stainless knife might have a better shot at surviving while all that's being learned. ;)

And, if he does learn how to properly sharpen the stainless blades (& learning how to deal with stainless' burrs), he should be in for a pleasant surprise when he does eventually try his hand at one of the CV versions, which should respond beautifully to an already-experienced hand at sharpening.


David
 
A vote for stainless, Case ones I've had work well, while CV has benefits, but I haven't seen many that would sway me to buy another one ;) If he never used it to for food, probably ok and as long as he keeps it oiled and clean, probably ok, but that's where the stainless wins me over.

I recently picked up this Case Medium Stockman with some pretty cool engraved bone scales, maybe too flashy for some, but the engraving is deep enough it provides some good gripping on the sides.

Case_medium_stockman.jpg~original


G2

Edited to add, Welcome to the forum!
 
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The Schrade 8OT is a "stockman" pattern. I also had an 8OT as a youngster and I'm still a fan of the stockman pattern. My favorite stockman from Case is the TB6339 "sowbelly". It's a stockman with a big curve on the handle and it's very comfortable in the hand. It also has a very large sheepfoot blade which would be useful for whittling. It has two very stout springs whereas Case now uses 3 thin springs on some of their other stockman knives to simplify manufacturing. The pattern has been around since the early 1900s but the design for Case's sowbelly was made by Tony Bose (a custom knife maker).











KBA said:
Welcome to the forum JTMcD

Im not going to recommend anything these guys havent already posted when it comes to the knife. However, have you considered taking your son with you and then teaching him what each is and what each would need? He may actually prefer one over the other. Plus, it would be an opportunity for a great memory of how you and he got it together.
Click to expand...


^^sounds like a good idea to me
 
On the other hand: rust doesn't destroy the knife (for a while) and allows your son to LEARN to take care of the knife. Rust can be a signal that he should have cared for it better but can also be cleaned off to try again. I strongly recommend CV if the knife is meant to teach him maintaince.
 
One thing about Case knives that is different than most others is that the springs are SS even when the blades are CV.

As far as the steel for the blades...I think SS vs CV is a matter of personal choice or intended use. I have some of both.
 
I'd advise stainless for the learning curve aspect, at first.

Appearance of rust can be discouraging but after this knife give him a carbon one to compare it to, the earlier suggestion of Böker Germany knives is a really good idea too, fine inexpensive knives with character.
 
Macchina said:
On the other hand: rust doesn't destroy the knife (for a while) and allows your son to LEARN to take care of the knife. Rust can be a signal that he should have cared for it better but can also be cleaned off to try again. I strongly recommend CV if the knife is meant to teach him maintaince.
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+1 :thumbup:

I couldn't have said it better myself!

It goes hand-in-hand with..... washing your hands, feeding the dog, taking out the trash, and etc. There's a regimen of responsibility and safety that comes along with owning a knife. CV will teach him to care for the item, or face the consequence of irresponsibility. In a good way of course ;). Seeing as this little endeavor will prepare him for the bigger picture. A little something called "life" :).
 
Here's another vote for CV. Can't go wrong with it; my first Case was a CV yellow handled Sod Buster Jr. Nothing wrong with learning with CV.
 
Thanks for all the input. I really appreciate it. Please keep it coming.

I would love to take him to buy his knife but, there's really not any places around here that really sell "The Good Ones.." [big box stores], are about the only places around my area. There's a Non-Corporate Hardware store that sells some Schrade knives but, since being sold, I really haven't heard many good things about them.

Here's mine.



I'm not much in the know about the current lines and manufacturers of knives. I've never really paid much attention to them until a few years back. Even then, my choices were pretty much for much larger knives or multi-tools. It wasn't until a few weeks ago, when Johnny asked me about pointing a stick and shaving down a piece of wood that I started thinking about my original knives. I really haven't carried them for a few years since I carry a Swiss Champ for the extra tools they provide. I find that I use them more than the blades nowadays.
 
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Those original Schrade-USA Old Timers are common on the secondary markets. Most have 1095 carbon steel, and there were about a hundred different models and variations made over the years. The 8OT you posted is one of the most common, and therefore quite affordable. The 34OT might be better suited to a kid-size hand and pants pocket. The smaller stockman models (108OT, for example) are perfectly fine users as well, and would excel at finer whittling tasks.
The build quality of those Old Timers was also good and very consistent, and the 1095 steel is excellent for taking a razor edge.

I wouldn't buy a Case without inspecting it first, but I wouldn't think twice about online ordering an original Old Timer or one of the carbon steel Boker knives I mentioned earlier.
 
Here are a few stockman and one cattle knife with the sheepfoot blades open. It should give you an idea of some of the different sizes. This is an old photo that I already had. Unfortunately my 8OT isn't in it. But your 8OT is similar in size to the Buck.



L to R: GEC 66, Moore Maker sowbelly, Case Sowbelly, Buck 301, GEC 81, GEC 53, GEC 82, Moore Maker jumbo stockman
 
I can also recommend the Case sowbelly pattern. My 2001 version in cranberry bone has the silver script shield, which I love! Many older models can still be found on the auction sites, with many different handle options.

TB6339SS_zpsjztnypti.jpg~original
 
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