So just in case this doesn't get moved,
I
Ironlily
, each box should have a label on the end or the bottom. It will have text something like this:
Item No 05365
33 6333 SS
Stockman BN RG
BUR GRN 2 08/19/08
So breaking that down:
The Item No is Case's own SKU for that particular knife. I don't know of a resource showing every single Case Item Number, but if you search for them you can often find it on the Internet.
33 - the base pattern number. 33 is a small serpentine stockman with squared bolsters. See more here:
http://www.wrcase.com/case_college/patterns/knifepatterns.php
6333 SS- the full pattern number. 6 = type of handle material, 3 = number of blades, 33 = the base pattern number, above. This particular knife is Stainless Steel, hence the SS. The other option is CV, which is Chrome Vanadium steel.
See more here:
http://www.wrcase.com/case_college/patterns/patternstamps.php
Here is the list of handle materials and the numbers/characters assigned to them:
http://www.wrcase.com/case_college/handles/handlematerials.php
Stockman - that is the actual name of this pattern.
BN RG - Handle material and jigging pattern. Bone, Rogers jigged. This may also include a size or other designation. D = Delrin, ST = Stag
List of jigging patterns used:
http://www.wrcase.com/case_college/handles/jiggingpatterns.php
BUR GRN - The color. This particular knife is Bermuda Green. Case has the "BUR GRN" typo for that color.
The number 2 out there alone - I have no idea. Maybe the shift that day?
08/19/08 - The day the knife was made, which also shows the year.
Now, having that decoded, you can match it up with your knives. Each knife should have "tang stamps" on one or more of the blades. The tang is the flat part of the blade where it is attached to the handle. Case stamps the pattern number (in this case, 6333 SS) so that gets you most of the way there, unless he has ten knives of the same pattern.
The next thing you can decipher from the tang stamp is the year of manufacture. Case puts their logo on the tang, with either a series of dots, or dots and Xs, and changes the number of dots/stars each year. Luckily, they have a decoder page here:
http://www.wrcase.com/case_college/tang_stamps/ It shows (roughly) every logo pattern for 10-year increments. If you click on an individual image, most of them expand to show you what each individual year in the 10-year grouping looks like.
Example:
2010 - 2019
When clicked on, expands to this, showing the removal of one dot or one X per year
The 2000-2009 scheme is the same, but the base logo is a little different.
So from that, you can now determine the year it was made. That, along with the date stamp on your box, can narrow it down further. Then you just need to match up the colors. Sometimes that can be hard to do depending on the color name they used at the time. But you can look at their current colors on their web site to get an idea of what "Kentucky Bluegrass" or "Harvest Orange" looks like, and match that up with the abbreviations.
I would bet that you can figure out 80% or more of your knives or more just by matching up tang stamps to box labels. The rest, you would need to show pics to someone who knows what they are looking at.
