How much of Case' Bowie knife is still USA made?

PocketKnifeJimmy

PocketKnifeJimmy

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So, while perusing Case' website, I noticed the following wording concerning their large XX Presentation Bowie...

"Made in Bradford, PA, USA from domestic and imported materials."

Now, I know that many US knife makers, such as KaBar, uses outside the country makers to get their sheaths from. But, the wording is usually something like, "knife made in USA, sheath imported".
The wording for the Case Bowie leaves a lot of questions as to what is USA made on their current Bowie. If it is just the sheath that is imported, that has been the norm on such things for quite some time now... But, if the knife itself has foreign components, this may be a new direction that they have taken on this product.
 
Wouldn't surprise me if some of the materials for the handle were imported, like brass hardware (pins/rivets/guard) and maybe the synthetic handle material itself.

They still identify the blade steel as 'Tru-Sharp Stainless'. Case has previously defined 'Tru-Sharp' as 420HC, which is an AISI ('American Iron and Steel Institute') spec. AISI largely exists to advocate for iron & steel production in the USA. So, in defining a steel according to AISI specs, this suggests to me the blade steel is still domestically produced.

By US trade law, the 'Made in USA' stamping or marking must comply with the following requirements as spelled out by the FTC ( https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/bus...made-products-what-businesses-need-know-about ):
'...According to the Federal Trade Commission, "Made in USA" means that "all or virtually all" the product has been made in America. That is, all significant parts, processing and labor that go into the product must be of U.S. origin. Products should not contain any — or only negligible — foreign content."
Click to expand...
 
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Thanks for your input, guys. It seems that if indeed the only imported thing in the package was the sheath, they would make sure to tout the knife itself as being a true American made item. The wording as it now stands, does put much doubt about the knife itself really being USA made anymore. Too bad, since that knife model has been pretty much in the "American as Apple Pie" category :(
 
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Imported knife components (if any) are likely the brass/German Silver, and natural handle materials.

Some of the exotic woods used for knife handles are not grown commercially in the USA, and a few, like Ebony, are not found or known to be growing in the USA.

Bovine Bone used for covers/scales, for example (and the leather upholstery in your car/pickup/van) comes from Brazil and Argentina.

When I drove expedited box truck I picked up a boat load of loads in Brownsville, and Laredo, Texas that had leather upholstery from Brazil and Argentina going to Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Land Rover, Subaru, Fiat, Hyundi, Honda, Ford, Chrysler/Dodge, GM, and all the other "imports" that are made in USA now.

There might have been one load of upholstery out of every 80 that the leather originated in Mexico.
Mexico supplied wiring harnesses, automotive computers and electrical components assembled from Chinese parts, plus engines, transmissions/transaxles, and some suspension components. :)

I never got a load of bovine bone knive covers/scales, but some of the semi trucks in the company did.

I don't have a guess why USA grown bovine leather and bovine bone is "sub-standard" and not used, or where the sintered or not brass and German Silver originate.
 
I understand getting "materials" from outside the country when domestic sources are sub-par or unavailable altogether. I would hope that the materials available stateside would be first choice when/if possible.
Then I get to wondering, for instance, is the brass guard on the Case not only made of foreign sourced brass, but was it cast outside the country as well. Then it takes away from the just "raw material" arena, and actual foreign production of the final product is involved. I don't know, just wondering what they have slipped away from the Case bowie into foreign manufacture.
 
Another let's bash Case thread. I suppose a custom Tony Bose knife with Sambar Stag or Ebony covers could not be considered a made in the USA knife to your way of thinking as the covers were sourced off shore.
 
I wonder, if the change in Case's current language regarding origin of manufacture, is just Case's way of making sure they accurately meet the 'MADE IN USA' guidelines set by the FTC, and doesn't necessarily indicate any significant NEW change in how they're doing things these days. It's been known for years, perhaps even a decade or more, and Case has described it so on their own website, of their bone handle material being sourced from South America. And anymore, it seems difficult to find any high-volume, low-cost mfr of things like fasteners (screws, rivets, etc) that isn't already sourced from overseas somewhere.
 
afishhunter said:
I don't have a guess why USA grown bovine leather and bovine bone is "sub-standard" and not used
Click to expand...
At least in terms of leather, the USA makes some of the finest leathers around... but it's expensive.
Just like everything else these days, it's cheaper to source materials from other countries that don't have as high a standard of living.
 
I'm pretty sure it's just the handle materials.
If they do all the jigging and dying of the scales in house , it probably doesn't really matter where the pieces of cow bone originally came from.
 
Why care? judge the knife by it's look, feel, edge, usefulness... If you care about origin, it's still made in US.
 
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