Let's see your Traditional Case knives, old to new.

Just got this in from the auction site. Im on the hunt for some pretty red bone but on a knife I wouldnt be afraid to use. This doesnt look like red bone to me, it was dark brown when I opened the package it came in, and what you see is after quite a bit of degreasing, scrubbing and some polishing to try and hide the pivot pin a bit better in the bolsters. I think the ad said it was a 70's frame with some 90's (93 I think it said) blades? I dunno.





Its ridin in the front pocket today to see how useful I find it. Might keep the search going as I really dig some of the deep red beauties found in this thread!

Matt
 
Looks like Delrin to me too. If so, the frame is early 70's. As I understand it, Case started using a shield without the circle on the Delrin knives in 1975. They also began gluing shields on in the late 70's. Your shield looks pinned.
 
Yep, minute I opened it up I got to wondering if it was even bone. Im no expert on these knives and this is my first Case but it FEELS like plastic in my hands as well! Super solid knife but I was super bummed when I opened the package and this is what I got. Luckily I didnt spend much for it but I will likely be returning it unless I fall deeply in love with it :rolleyes:

lol

Thanks for the heads up guys...I WILL find a gorgeous red boned knife that will not only tackle any cutting needs I happen to encounter along the way, but also distract me whenever I pull it from my pocket and need something to stare at for a minute!

Matt
 
Last edited:
Matt, I know you wanted Red Bone and I understand your frustration. Nothing wrong with Delrin though and that is some great looking Delrin.
 
I appreciate it Rick! I paid retail for it and it appeared to be used, tho lightly so Im gonna sort it out simply because of the bummer it was to expect Red bone and open a package to see brown plastic. If I was after brown delrin tho, this knife wouldnt be such a bummer, it cleaned up nicely and performs very very well...its just not quite what I was sold.

Matt
 
I agree, it's a good knife. I've got a Slimline Trapper in Delrin that I'm very fond of, decent knife.:thumbup:

I know that it must've been annoying to get something other than what you expected....not unknown in Traditional knives..:eek:

Finding a cheap everyday knife in their proper Redbone (not the current washed out rubbish! :barf:) may not be easy though. I'd love an old CASE Redbone but getting that here in Europe seems either vastly expensive or impossible :grumpy:
 
Seller is swearing up and down its bone as it looks nothing like the delrin knives he has but I have no delrin versions to compare personally. Also, if you look at it in the right light (especially after a deep clean) it appears to have some grain to it similar to some of the pics of bone handles available. I dunno, its a solid knife so it is what it is. Outside of getting my hands on a delrin version, not sure what I can do to check it but either way it is what it is! Anyone on here have a delrin specimen you can post pics of?

Matt
 
3b5cb08ba5d8580ab24067d46c58af6f.jpg


Picked this up today at a local swap meet. It has its original edge. Walk and talk is amazing. Super snappy. Some linseed oil on the covers and some oil in the pivot and spring like a brand new knife. So excited about this one.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
 
Great pick up tmd 87! Many beautiful cases shown here, I particularly like the deep colored chestnut bone.
 
66sprint6 said:
Seller is swearing up and down its bone as it looks nothing like the delrin knives he has but I have no delrin versions to compare personally. Also, if you look at it in the right light (especially after a deep clean) it appears to have some grain to it similar to some of the pics of bone handles available. I dunno, its a solid knife so it is what it is. Outside of getting my hands on a delrin version, not sure what I can do to check it but either way it is what it is! Anyone on here have a delrin specimen you can post pics of?

Matt
Click to expand...

Here are a couple photos of a Delrin Case that I bought on The Exchange.

If your blades had not been replaced I would say it's Delrin for sure. Those blades have the "as ground" finish and Case used those on most of their Delrin handled knives. Under normal circumstances the as ground blades are a dead giveaway that the handles are Delrin. That's a moot point though since your blades have been replaced.

In the photos below, look at the smooth sections of the Delrin slabs. They look a lot like the smooth sections on your knife.

Maybe try to get some magnification on it and see what you can see.



 
Last edited:
I would like to add to what railsplitter said in that case used (and still do I think?) a different shield for delrin knives, notice it has no border.
 
Railsplitter,

THANKS for the pics, I looked high and low on how to not only tell if this is Delrin or Bone but also got into the dying bone threads last night. I noticed the color difference the handles had after cleaning and scrubbing and degreasing it initially so I put some dawn in a small pot of simmering water and dropped the knife in to see what happened. The water turned a pinkish red color pretty quick and the color got thicker and thicker as it went. When I finished up it looked like I was pouring Kool aid down the drain!!! The color is much lighter now, you can see some definite grain and...some cracks (first pic shows them clearly). I polished the bolsters a bit more and shot these pics in the wonderful sunshine were enjoying so I could continue the saga.







Im really sorry if Im muddying up this thread and will stop if yall feel so, but I do appreciate the collective knowledge and willingness to help figure this oddball out!!! I might take a crack at dying the handles some to get that rich red that I was after...which might be what this strange knife needs to come full circle and be everything I was after all along lol

Matt
 
Wow, great job Matt! I just about would have sworn that was Delrin but it's obviously bone. Excellent work!
 
It looked like all the brown delrin pics on the internet, FELT like plastic to my hand but the seller was adamant about it being bone so I said Ide look further tho I wasnt entirely convinced it wasnt delrin. Im not sure what was up with it, maybe it was dyed as well by someone down the way but it feels entirely different now and looks much different. Im gonna keep playing with it now and have no intention on sending it back.

Matt
 
tmd_87 said:
3b5cb08ba5d8580ab24067d46c58af6f.jpg


Picked this up today at a local swap meet. It has its original edge. Walk and talk is amazing. Super snappy. Some linseed oil on the covers and some oil in the pivot and spring like a brand new knife. So excited about this one.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

What a find! It's so different than the Cases I'm used to seeing.

66sprint6 said:
Railsplitter,

THANKS for the pics, I looked high and low on how to not only tell if this is Delrin or Bone but also got into the dying bone threads last night. I noticed the color difference the handles had after cleaning and scrubbing and degreasing it initially so I put some dawn in a small pot of simmering water and dropped the knife in to see what happened. The water turned a pinkish red color pretty quick and the color got thicker and thicker as it went. When I finished up it looked like I was pouring Kool aid down the drain!!! The color is much lighter now, you can see some definite grain and...some cracks (first pic shows them clearly). I polished the bolsters a bit more and shot these pics in the wonderful sunshine were enjoying so I could continue the saga.





Click to expand...

That's like night and day Matt. I wouldn't touch it, really nice looking now!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top