My daughter found this Case knife while digging in backyard?

D

dmattaponi

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Sep 1, 2012
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My daughter was helping plant a shrub in the backyard today when she found this Case knife. The blade is missing, and it is in rough shape, but you can still clearly see the Case emblem in the scale. Looking online, the closest pattern we could find to this is the "Whittler". Am I correct in thinking this knife is a Whittler pattern, and is there anyway to get an approximate age on the knife with the blade being missing? We were excited to dig this up, and we both would be very excited to hear what era this knife might date to (if possible from what's left of it). Thanks very much for any feedback.
 
Lucky. I’ve never found any knife anywhere. Hard to tell exact age without a tang stamp. My advice is to soak in a dish of wd-40. How many blades?
 
dmattaponi said:
My daughter was helping plant a shrub in the backyard today when she found this Case knife. The blade is missing, and it is in rough shape, but you can still clearly see the Case emblem in the scale. Looking online, the closest pattern we could find to this is the "Whittler". Am I correct in thinking this knife is a Whittler pattern, and is there anyway to get an approximate age on the knife with the blade being missing? We were excited to dig this up, and we both would be very excited to hear what era this knife might date to (if possible from what's left of it). Thanks very much for any feedback.
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The shield has an "open C" and a "tall S". The covers look like rough black. Off the top of my head, I'd guess XX era. I'd need to look it up since I'm not really a Case collector. What is the length of the knife? Are both bolsters round? How many tangs and springs?


Edit:
Looks like it could be XX or tested era. Here's some text from Steve's book. Maybe he'll see your topic and reply.

Ehq4OV5.jpg
 
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If it’s a whittler it would originally have had three blades, so my guess is another pattern. Like the post above, I recommend a soak in oil and then you might be able to get some of the junk off and get some more information!
 
Very cool, like finding a geo-cache. Shame that it is deteriorated, but still a cool find!
 
Handle shape does look like a 'swell center' whittler pattern. If there are 2 backsprings, maybe a 6308 pattern with 3 blades.

Case also had a 6208 'half whittler' with a single backspring and 2 blades, each at opposite ends of the spring. Below is an example pic from the web, of what it may've looked like in better shape, in the 'rough black' handles used in the XX-era:

case-xx-1940-64-6208-half-whittler_1_b44225ec0fc4ce8bc0aa4bfd72bdac66.jpg


Another pic or two of the backspring view could be helpful in determining if it's a whittler pattern. The 3-blade 6308 pattern has a 'split spring' configuration that's unique and easily distinguished from other patterns, if the seams between the springs can still be seen at all.

Both of the '08 whittler patterns would be about ~ 3-1/4" closed. The 'rough black' description for the handles might be accurate too, being a jigged synthetic material used in XX-era knives from Case (1940 - 1964).

Hopefully, if there's anything left of the blades, or at least the tang ends of them, it may at some point be possible to look for a tang stamp and/or pattern stamp (if 1950 or later). Maybe soaking in WD-40 for several days might loosen it up enough to work the blades open to see it.

Neat find. :thumbsup:
 
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I'd go with warm water,dish soap and a toothbrush to start with and then a good soak in mineral oil. No abrasives/sand paper. May need to try some 0000 steel wool. A fun find. --KV
 
All good info on cleaning up that gem posted here.. GO SLOW!! And stay away from any/all power tools!! Have fun and keep us posted of the progress!! Good Luck!!! :thumbsup: John
 
Looks more like a 6383, or 6283 ('83). Note the handle seems to swell on both sides on this knife as on '83s.
'08s only swell on one side.
 
Based on the frame shape, shield, and handle material, I think it is an 83 pattern from the late Case Tested era/early Case XX era.

The handle material looks like "Rough Black" aka "Gum Fuddy" aka "Plastag". First used during WWII and phased out after the war.

I copied this from the Case website some time ago and can't find it on their recently redesigned site:

"The story behind Case's Rough Black pocket knives begins in the 1940's with the advent of World War II, when many raw materials used to produce consumer goods were diverted to support the war effort. Materials traditionally used to make pocket knife handles were no exception. A race to market knives with new, never-before-seen materials ensued between competing knife manufacturers.

In that search, Case product developers came upon a hard black synthetic material which demonstrated high durability, strength and overall appeal. A special jigging pattern was applied to the material surface to create the unique "Rough Black" knife handle slabs. The knives that resulted became known as "Gum Fuddy" knives at Case, a nickname quickly adopted by the consumer market as sales of Rough Black knives grew.

Case phased out production of "Gum Fuddy" knives after the war, as traditional handle materials made their way back to market. The knives have since become highly sought after collection pieces.
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Would love to see updated pics after a WD-40 bath. Thanks for sharing!
 
waynorth said:
Looks more like a 6383, or 6283 ('83). Note the handle seems to swell on both sides on this knife as on '83s.
'08s only swell on one side.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:

I wondered about that. The swell on both sides would seem to confirm the '83. The collecting guide I refer to calls the 6383 pattern a 'Balloon Whittler'. It doesn't list a 2-blade version ('6283'), so I don't know if there was one. A little bigger at 3-1/2" closed.
 
Thanks so much everyone for the very helpful comments, and cleaning recommendations. We will take some time and try to clean this up more. My daughter would be thrilled if the knife was a "Gum Fuddy". She has a strong interest in the era of the 1940's and likes to read about WWII. Thanks again everyone.
 
dmattaponi said:
My daughter was helping plant a shrub in the backyard today when she found this Case knife. The blade is missing, and it is in rough shape, but you can still clearly see the Case emblem in the scale. Looking online, the closest pattern we could find to this is the "Whittler". Am I correct in thinking this knife is a Whittler pattern, and is there anyway to get an approximate age on the knife with the blade being missing? We were excited to dig this up, and we both would be very excited to hear what era this knife might date to (if possible from what's left of it). Thanks very much for any feedback.
Click to expand...
have you cleaned it up yet?
 
Cool Lawrence of Arabia story!! Wonder where that knife is now??
 
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