My review of the Case CV pen knife!

Ernie1980

Ernie1980

Joined
Apr 19, 2012
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I have been on a pen knife kick lately, but had avoided the current Case version because I have had issues with the fit and finish on a couple of their other knives. However, I picked up a nice vintage Case Pen knife recently and really liked the overall size and feel of the knife. Because of this, I decided to give the current production model a chance and decided on the CV version with the yellow handles. The knife was $37 shipped, so I figured I didn't have much to lose!

My knife arrived today, and I was immediately impressed! This particular one is part of a special run with the extra red "Case" on the cover and a serial number, but it is otherwise identical to the regular yellow CV pen knife. The scales are tight and everything fits together pretty well. The finish on the blades and bolsters is even and bright, and the spring is gap free.


The main clip blade came razor sharp! I re-ground the tip only because I don't care for the upswept style of clip blades. The pull is a nice smooth 5. The pen blade came fairly sharp, but I had to sharpen it anyways because I turned it into a semi-sheepsfoot and added a sharpening notch. The pull of this blade is a perfect 4-5:thumbup:


The blades nest well with no rub, and even before I messed with them they were correctly seated so that the tips were below the liner yet the nicks were accessible. Proud blade tips are a huge pet peeve of mine and I am seeing it too frequently on newer knives lately!!

Overall, I am extremely impressed. It isn't perfect, but this knife stacks up well against any knife I own. When you factor in the price it really stands out as a terrific value!
It is good to go just as it comes from Case, but it is fun to tinker if you are so inclined knowing that you are not losing much if you make a mistake:)
I carried it today, and I have a feeling it will be filtering towards the top of my slipjoint carry rotation. If you like pen knives, I would highly recommend giving this version a shot.
 
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Great review. I love a little pen knife that doesn't have blade rub. It's a feat of technology that borders on a miracle in my mind. Thanks for sharing.
 
Thank you for a very interesting review.

Their Penknife is one of my favourite CASE knives, I've always much preferred it to a Peanut which I personally find too stubby and thick, well I have to also reveal bias... in that single-spring knives are my choice over Jack configurations. A Blade at each end and two springs is also my preference..

Anyway, the CASE Pen offers good master blade length, is thin and lightweight and exudes a kind of honesty in a knife! Certainly, getting them right with the krinking is no mean feat, but I have many single-spring 2 blade knives and most avoid blade rub. My CASE cv Pen does show some, but patina masks it, the stainless version has none and offers smart snap even on the secondary blade. I keep this one in my office as a standby for those horrible ocassional days when I forget to pocket a knife in my haste in the morning...It works fine even on larger apples & pears plus other office tasks etc.

I like the Yellow Delrin and the Serp pattern as it offers decent size and is not too dwarfish, but I moan for years that CASE fails to offer any other scale versions. It would be handsome in Goldenrod Bone, Amber, Chestnut, Deep Canyon or why not Ebony or some Burlwoods? I'm certain it would be popular as something different and giving Gents/Office knife potential. For some eason, CASE never seems to include this pattern in special runs, a Cinderella!

Thanks, Will
 
Nice review. 👍🏻 i have one like it minus the red logo, great little pocket knife that is a joy to carry and use. One of my favorite apple peelers.

Jim
 
I, too, have the garden-variety penknife with the yellow delrin and CV blade. I'd happily buy more if they did the CV in different scales. Almost completely unobtrusive in the pocket yet long enough to give my small hand a decent grip.
 
That Case Pen knife in CV is kind of a torment to me. I'm always tempted to get that Case Pen knife because it comes in CV. At the same time I get annoyed that Case does not offer the Medium Jack (my favorite) in CV steel. All they would have to do is use the Pen knife's CV blades in the Jack configuration. Will stop by the Case booth this year at BLADE and point this out again. :D

Enough of my rambling, nice knife, and to me that size of knife is perfect.
 
I agree that this knife needs to be offered in some other scale materials! I was thinking the same thing as I wrote this:)
 
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