Is a Med Stockman 53226 a good first Case? Other recommendations for under $100?

SharpieB

SharpieB

Joined
Oct 31, 2017
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Hey all,

Looking to get my first Case and the Medium Stockman (Autumn jigged bone, fileworked nickel silver bolsters and bowtie script shield) seems like a good choice. I love the look and the blade configuration but would possibly consider a bigger Case with only 2 blades. Pic below of the Med Stockman...

I also considered the Case Limited Edition 9200 Muskrat 24-Karat Corelon, but this will be carried and used a lot. The Muskrat I am looking at is too pretty.

Any other recommendations for under a hundred bucks?

Thanks!

495A6E34-629B-45E5-89A5-7FA66CC332D0.jpeg
 
I can’t speak for all, but my experience with the case medium stockman was a poor one. The liners had huge gaps and the blades had significant blade rub. Even when I had tried to avoid it, the secondary pen blade would get caught on the nail nick of the sheeps foot. Others would need to chime in to decipher whether this is common or I simply got a bad knife.

Edit: I should specify that this was the model 63032 in cv

-John
 
Under $100 opens up a lot of the Case catalog. :) The medium serpentine Stockman is a great place to start! :thumbsup:

In the Stockman pattern, personally I'm partial to the 63090, which is an equal end (cigar) with the same three blades as the more popular serpentine Stockman. The joints are nearly fully sunk, and all three blades ride nice and low so that they don't get in the way while you're using any single blade.

For a no-nonsense work knife, the Sodbuster Jr. is well worth a look (as is the larger Sodbuster, but I've never owned one of those). I also like the full-size Trapper in that role. Both blades are full-length, so the spey makes a great peanut butter spreader/general food knife, and the versatile clip point can be reserved for more general tasks.

The humble Peanut also shouldn't be underestimated. :D Comes in a number of attractive cover options, but I'm partial to plain ol' yeller Delrin. Makes a perfect watch pocket knife.

B1qTN3p.jpg
 
Also like looking at the full size 65010 Trapper in black Buffalo horn as it is a bit bigger than the Medium Stockman....
 
SharpieB said:
Hey all,

Looking to get my first Case and the Medium Stockman (Autumn jigged bone, fileworked nickel silver bolsters and bowtie script shield) seems like a good choice. I love the look and the blade configuration but would possibly consider a bigger Case with only 2 blades. Pic below of the Med Stockman...

I also considered the Case Limited Edition 9200 Muskrat 24-Karat Corelon, but this will be carried and used a lot. The Muskrat I am looking at is too pretty.

Any other recommendations for under a hundred bucks?

Thanks!

View attachment 898238
Click to expand...

I am partial to synthetics. In fact, I carry a case corelon trapper. Corelon looks really nice. I say if you buy the muskrat, use it.
 
The 90 patterns are great little ones, the other 2 stockmen patterns that I have had good luck with as far as fit and finish in their current catalog are the 47 patterns and sowbellies. They are both larger at 3-7/8” closed but great knives that fit in the watch pocket of most Levi’s or wranglers.
The 47 has three backsprings but are still very slim, no krinking of the blades so blade rub is usually not an issue, usually.
The sowbelly pattern is probably Cases best executed stockman pattern.

The 47 pattern in pocket worn red bone.
7DC2ABA9-AD8F-4DE1-9D34-1637DF1DF3A4.jpeg

I don’t seem to have a picture of any of my sowbellies........
 
I agree with the others about the 63090 model, very well made, compact and extremely pocket friendly. Other CASE Stockman, particularly the the model you cite, have very high riding Sheepfoot blades that I find get in the way of an effortless grip.

The 63032 cv pattern that another poster had poor experience of has delighted me with nice quality and uses a modified Pen blade instead of Spey, a nicer option in my view.

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Railsplitter said:
I like the 63090's too. I don't know if I've just gotten lucky but I've owned 5 or 6 of them and they have all been of remarkable quality.

I think I may have gotten the Red one from you, Dadpool.

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You may well have! My memory is . . . not amazing. :D It's the right cover material, though. What a great little knife! Mine or not, I hope it's serving you well. :thumbsup:

SharpieB said:
Also like looking at the full size 65010 Trapper in black Buffalo horn as it is a bit bigger than the Medium Stockman....
Click to expand...

The Trapper feels a LOT bigger than Case's medium Stockman knives. Which is good -- if you want a pretty big knife. That's what makes it so capable in the peanut butter department. ;)
 
Love the case med stockman it's a good size. One issue that may matter to you is the possibility of blade rub not really an issue to me. They're good knives the one you're looking at is very attractive image.jpg
 
Hard to go wrong with any Stockman pattern pocketknife; my favorite is the Case 18 pattern Medium Stockman (dead center of this picture wearing stag handles). Case makes plenty of choices and this isn't all of them. OH

IMG_7241_-_Case_stockman_pattern.JPG
 
I would say this about stockman blade rub; a stockman with absolutely no rub is a bonus rather than expectancy. Even the best stockmans commonly have a tiny bit of rub.
 
The 18 and 47 pattern stockmans are classics and are great you can’t go wrong. However, if I had to pick one case it would be the sowbelly (5339/6339) it just fits the hand like a glove and is the perfect size.
 
SharpieB, have I got a knife, or knives actually for you. From their current Vintage Stag series:
IMG_20180502_204531285_2.jpg
There are also Mini- Copperlock and Copperhead, a Peanut and a pen knife. All in Sambar stag, all around $100.

Your OP didn't say new vs vintage. A pattern not getting much love of late from Case is the Barlow. Two older ones here flanking a 6235 1/2.
IMG_20180502_205518847_2.jpg
The middle knife is a bit under-exposed in order to not wash out the two Appaloosas: it is in fact dark red sawn bone. These are some of my favorite Case knives.
 
New Cases can be a crapshoot when it comes to F&F. Go back a few decades. Preferably early '70's. For under $100 you can find good used (sometimes new) examples
 
Old Hunter said:
Hard to go wrong with any Stockman pattern pocketknife; my favorite is the Case 18 pattern Medium Stockman (dead center of this picture wearing stag handles). Case makes plenty of choices and this isn't all of them. OH

IMG_7241_-_Case_stockman_pattern.JPG
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply, OH.

I think I have decided on a Trapper but now want to add a smaller Case. Yeah, I have a problem. :rolleyes:

What would be a good smaller Case to complement the larger Trapper? I love my Buck 55 but don’t want to go much smaller. I have enough keychain sized knives. :)

Thanks for all,of the suggestions, folks. Looking forward to getting my first couple of Case knives!
 
What do you plan to do with it? Just EDC? Whittling or carving? Lots of cutting? Cardboard, rope? Skinning?

If you're going to be doing LOTS of woodwork, like whittling, then you might want to focus on a CV (carbon steel) rather than an SS (stainless steel) blade because you can sharpen the CV more easily. The Stockman is a very good general purpose pattern that can also be used for whittling. But, if whittling is your main focus, you should consider either the Seahorse or the Half Whittler. I'm starting to collect folders, but with the purpose of whittling. I have a Buck medium Stockman, but I'm purchasing a Case Yellow CV Large Stockman because the Buck medium is a bit too small for me. I've also got my eye on a Seahorse. Case made a CV Seahorse for a while, but it's not available right now, so you have to find them used or new old stock.
 
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