Help with knife ID

mikey517

mikey517

Joined
Jan 7, 2017
Messages
5
Hello, I'm Mike from NJ. Been lurking and reading for a while, but now it's time for a first post.

While looking through an old dry sink that's been in my wife's family for some time. AT the very back of the drawer, O found a Case knife, 2 blades. Not exactly sure what style it is. It probably belonged to my father in law, and seems like it's been well used. It is stamped "Case XX, USA"

What style is it, and what would be the best way to clean up some of the grime and staining on the blade.

Thanks in advance for your help.
Regards / Mike

dateposted-public
dateposted-public

https://www.flickr.com/photos/121247047@N08/27142632679/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/121247047@N08/27142628289/in/dateposted-public/
 
This would be a serpentine pen knife, im pretty sure case no longer makes this pattern and someone here will be able to give you an approximate age.

It's well used, but still has some good life left in it.
 
With two blades about the same size, it is not a pen knife (other than in the most general sense of "pen knife")

It's an odd looking knife. Could have a replaced blade?

It certainly is "serpentine" based on its S shape.

The Traditional Folders and Fixed Blades or the Bernard Levine's Knife Collecting and Identification subforums here might be the place to ask.
 
Can you take a better, closer, and more well lit picture of what is on the tang? The "Case XX, USA" stuff?

Also are then any other numbers on any of the tangs?
 
I'll try to clean it up some and get better pictures. There are no numbers on the tangs, tho there may be dots.
 
lieferung said:
I would also say Case Hawbaker Muskrat, however a lot of the examples seem to have Wharncliffe/sheepsfoot type blades. Here is one that has more of a rounded end though
Click to expand...

The blades in the OPs Hawbaker have clearly been ground down (a lot!) and the sheepsfoot got rounded off also.
 
mikey517 said:
I'll try to clean it up some and get better pictures. There are no numbers on the tangs, tho there may be dots.
Click to expand...

If you clean it up, just use some mineral oil ( found at the pharmacy for around $3 ) and some fine steel wool to remove any rust.
 
Hawbaker muskrat was my thought as well. Just shy of 4" closed (3 7/8")?

lieferung said:
I would also say Case Hawbaker Muskrat, however a lot of the examples seem to have Wharncliffe/sheepsfoot type blades. Here is one that has more of a rounded end though
vintage-case-xx-hawbakers-muskrat_1_70497d7d770921085442ced9273823b9.jpg
Click to expand...

That's a Hawbaker. The straight blade has simply been ground down. By use/sharpening (I kinda doubt it), or the tip broke or the original owner purposely took the straightness out of the tip (that'd be a shame). A regular muskrat will have 2 identical or very similar clip blades.

Many Hawbakers will be alternatively or simultaneously called "Improved Muskrats", however some with the "improved" designation have the classic double clip blades and are not Hawbakers. We discussed this some in the Traditional forum and came to the assumption that "improved" can mean any muskrat that differs from the original design in some way (2 springs instead of one, Hawbaker configuration, or both), basing this on examples rather than any literature or nomenclature.
 
Planterz said:
Hawbaker muskrat was my thought as well. Just shy of 4" closed (3 7/8")?



That's a Hawbaker. The straight blade has simply been ground down. By use/sharpening (I kinda doubt it), or the tip broke or the original owner purposely took the straightness out of the tip (that'd be a shame). A regular muskrat will have 2 identical or very similar clip blades.

Many Hawbakers will be alternatively or simultaneously called "Improved Muskrats", however some with the "improved" designation have the classic double clip blades and are not Hawbakers. We discussed this some in the Traditional forum and came to the assumption that "improved" can mean any muskrat that differs from the original design in some way (2 springs instead of one, Hawbaker configuration, or both), basing this on examples rather than any literature or nomenclature.
Click to expand...
Ah. I had considered that but wasn't sure, traditionals can have really odd designs IMO and I figured that was just another odd blade shape.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Now that I look at it more, I guess it is a muskrat but the picture was throwing me off and I've only ever seen them with the dual California clip blades.
Click to expand...
Understandable if you're unfamiliar with the Hawbaker variant. The muskrat is a skinning/dressing knife, and the dual clip blades were so a trapper could carry one knife and when one blade went dull he had another one just like it to keep skinning muskrats (or whatever). I've seen muskrats with 4 blades, both with pairs side-by-side (Case called this a "Texas muskrat") and ones where it's basically mirrored at the backspring, and even 8 blade muskrats (although these were exhibition/presentation pieces).

Stanley Hawbaker was a trapper, but he liked having a straight edge as well, hence the Hawbaker muskrat. I think I have 5 Hawbaker muskrats now, and have owned a few others.
 
Regarding the "dots," here is an image of page 3 of the latest Case catalog.. This explains how to read the date codes stamped on the tang. I'm thinking that the Case muskrats don't have pattern numbers on the tang, just the word "Muskrat."

27157597269_6ce0eaaa52_o.png
 
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