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

scrteened porch said:
I'm old enough to know better, and/but I prefer stainless. I also find that stainless rusts a bit too. Maybe I'm exceptionally caustic.
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"Caustic" is alkaline, which does not cause rust.

"Acidic" is the word you are looking for, but then that would be me.
 
bluemetalchurch said:
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.
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that was my first case as well darn good knife. Another vote for cv. On thing I think was missed is the fact the carbon blades tend to leave a funny taste on food he might not like.
 
supratentorial said:
Just got this one today. No faults at all. The one from 2001 is still on the way.
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Hey, that is a nice knife! Glad to see it!

Within the past year, I've seen a new Med. Stockman with blade wobble, as well as a STJ with a proud backspring that would have caused an ugly blister. Glad to hear that others are seeing more consistent quality.
 
Woodrow F Call said:
Wow! Nice Sowbelly.
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Thank you, sir. It's my first with "natural bone" and I wasn't sure how I'd like the undyed bone covers but I ended up liking it a lot. It's sort of like poor man's ivory. ;) The shield is flush and they did an exceptional job fitting it to the covers. I'm totin' this knife today.
 
supratentorial said:
Thank you, sir. It's my first with "natural bone" and I wasn't sure how I'd like the undyed bone covers but I ended up liking it a lot. It's sort of like poor man's ivory. ;) The shield is flush and they did an exceptional job fitting it to the covers. I'm totin' this knife today.
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Jake, does that sowbelly have a saber grind on the spey blade? Is that common with Case sowbellies?

- GT
 
GT, What you're seeing on the spey is a big swedge, not a saber grind. The sowbelly is a very old pattern (at least 100 years) but Case's pattern was designed by Tony Bose. I'd love to own one of Tony's 3-blade sowbelly knives but he is semi retired and not taking new orders. Here's one of his 5-blades showing the big swedge on the spey blade.

Edit: actually, this one of Reese's knives (Tony's son)

KnifeHead said:
Here's something you don't see every day, a 5-blade sowbelly, let alone one covered in ivory, for pete's sake! :eek: I recon this one has gone to some happy owner in Atlanta by now.

rbose-334ivory5bladesowbelly-1.jpg


rbose-334ivory5bladesowbelly-2.jpg


rbose-334ivory5bladesowbelly-3.jpg


rbose-334ivory5bladesowbelly-4.jpg


rbose-334ivory5bladesowbelly-5.jpg


rbose-334ivory5bladesowbelly-6.jpg
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Thanks for the information, Jake! :thumbup:
I feel a little silly for my question :o, but on the other hand, that's a pretty honkin' huge swedge! :eek::D:D

- GT
 
5K Qs said:
Thanks for the information, Jake! :thumbup:
I feel a little silly for my question :o, but on the other hand, that's a pretty honkin' huge swedge! :eek::D:D

- GT
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The swedge can help remove material from the tip of the spey so that it's not overly thick. Otherwise it might be very thick since it is closer to the spine than the rest of the edge.

Unfortunately, some of Queen's Schatt & Morgan knives don't have a proper swedge or good primary grinds and they will sometimes have points that are much thicker than the rest of the edge. Sometimes swedges are just cosmetic.

supratentorial said:
...The problem is that it gets thicker toward the point.

They did put a swedge on the blade but it appears to be just cosmetic. A swedge is supposed to thin the steel at the point. But the swedge is deepest where it doesn't matter and it's almost non existent near the point. It's also uneven on the front and back but that doesn't affect function....


Moore Maker on the left, Schatt & Morgan on the right
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In comparison, I think the swedge on this Case sowbelly is actually functional.

supratentorial said:

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It can also help reduce blade rub on close fitting multi-blades... or make it easier to access the blades.

supratentorial said:
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supratentorial said:
GT, What you're seeing on the spey is a big swedge, not a saber grind. The sowbelly is a very old pattern (at least 100 years) but Case's pattern was designed by Tony Bose. I'd love to own one of Tony's 3-blade sowbelly knives but he is semi retired and not taking new orders. Here's one of his 5-blades showing the big swedge on the spey blade.
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I really like that Sowbelly. As far as the steel is concerned, Stainless requires less maintenance but Chromium/Vanadium steel has a certain panache, as it were. If you feel that the boy is capable of the responsibility and will recall what's needed to keep the knife in decent shape, go for the CV.
 
supratentorial said:
The swedge can help remove material from the tip of the spey so that it's not overly thick. Otherwise it might be very thick since it is closer to the spine than the rest of the edge.

Unfortunately, some of Queen's Schatt & Morgan knives don't have a proper swedge or good primary grinds and they will sometimes have points that are much thicker than the rest of the edge. Sometimes swedges are just cosmetic.



In comparison, I think the swedge on this Case sowbelly is actually functional.



It can also help reduce blade rub on close fitting multi-blades... or make it easier to access the blades.
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Thanks for the additional swedge info, Jake. I've always meant to start a thread (or search for an existing thread) that discussed all things swedge-related: purpose, history, drawn versus whatever is the other way for making swedges, etc. Just keep forgetting to do so when swedge questions are on my mind.

- GT
 
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