My Thoughts on Case XX

JM2

JM2

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Mar 11, 2013
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I’ve been carrying a Case XX knife for about 5 years. Before this I had a Case here and there but I was always a Schrade man.

I remember growing up there was an attitude of there is Case and then everything else. It’s like Case was the top, premium brand that all others aspired too. At least that was the way it seemed.

After having jumped in and started carrying and using a Case, well I’m hooked. I’m a Case man. They have a mystic about them, an air of quality, of community. Something about them draws me, and I find myself more and more looking at the Case catalog.

I don’t care for their stainless much, but that’s most of what the few Case knives I have are made from. It is manageable.

I don’t collect, I’m a user. I buy an occasional Case knife but I mostly use the ones I have. So it isn’t Case’s play for the collector that has got me hooked. I think perhaps it’s the history.

I’ve gotten some bad Case’s too. So it in’t their perfect quality, rather it’s that feeling when you get a good one. Like you have a real prize, something to treasure. Case knives are treasures.
 
Same here. I grew up carrying Old Timers. I came to Case late, not chasing some collector mystique, just looking for a good traditional user slipjoint, made in the US and going for a fair price. For me, Case fits the bill. :thumbsup:

-- Mark
 
Let's see those treasures!

One of my favorite things about Case knives is that, with few exceptions, you can just buy the one you want without having to endure a bunch of nonsense. Case knives aren't about how fast you are to check out your cart, it's about the knives -- and that's what I'm in it for.

If they offered more options in carbon steel I'd probably own more of them, but I'm not sure why. Even though they are the most collected traditional American pocket knives in existence, I don't think of any of mine as "collector pieces" -- just real American knives that are ready to go to work without a bunch of fiddling and finagling.

IMO, when it comes to Case, I don't spend any time looking for gaps, bolster fit, blade centering, etc - I just start cutting and go from there. If it does the job and feels good in my hand, I call that a win.

Things seem to start out as an interest, progress to a hobby, become a vocation, and wind up as a racket. With so much of the traditional pocket knife world seemingly having devolved to the racket stage, I'm glad that Case still continues the tradition of producing hardworking knives for everyday people. Everything else is just fluff.

Three of my favorites:
https://imgur.com/a/yDuPVBD
 
Last edited:
birdsbeaks said:
One of my favorite things about Case knives is that, with few exceptions, you can just buy the one you want without having to endure a bunch of nonsense. Case knives aren't about how fast you are to check out your cart, it's about the knives -- and that's what I'm in it for.
Click to expand...
well said, I cannot tell you how often I am turned off by this trend and no longer consider buying brands who push that type of sale.
 
JM2 said:
I’ve been carrying a Case XX knife for about 5 years. Before this I had a Case here and there but I was always a Schrade man.

I remember growing up there was an attitude of there is Case and then everything else. It’s like Case was the top, premium brand that all others aspired too. At least that was the way it seemed.

After having jumped in and started carrying and using a Case, well I’m hooked. I’m a Case man. They have a mystic about them, an air of quality, of community. Something about them draws me, and I find myself more and more looking at the Case catalog.

I don’t care for their stainless much, but that’s most of what the few Case knives I have are made from. It is manageable.

I don’t collect, I’m a user. I buy an occasional Case knife but I mostly use the ones I have. So it isn’t Case’s play for the collector that has got me hooked. I think perhaps it’s the history.

I’ve gotten some bad Case’s too. So it in’t their perfect quality, rather it’s that feeling when you get a good one. Like you have a real prize, something to treasure. Case knives are treasures.
Click to expand...
Amen! 😎👍IMG_0088.jpeg
 
I like mine. Good users, plenty of patterns, they look nice, and the price points were reasonable. I am particularly fond of the full hollow grind they use on most of their blades, which I prefer over the thicker but sturdier partial hollow grinds on Buck (301, 303), or the full flat grinds typical of GEC.

No complaints from me about the steels they use. I like the CV and Tru-Sharp SS about equally. I keep an Arkansas stone out on a kitchen counter top for quick touch-ups and I kind of like sharpening anyway, so it's easy to keep them sharp.
 
I find myself regularly carrying a CASE knife these days, certainly carry them far more often than my GEC collection out of choice - not out of trying to cosset the more valuable GECs, CASE just suit me better, carry better and work right. I agree with jc57 jc57 I like their steels equally . They're not too expensive, you get choice and they have a first rate guarantee, it has been more tricky to obtain them in the EU due to some deranged ban about not exporting CASE knives overseas, but there are ways round it ;)

AkvEBFg.jpg
 
Case makes a very good knife. In their day, before closing their U.S.A. operations, Schrade and Camillus made very good knives too. One aspect of Case that I like is that they'll fix, repair, adjust, even the most minor of issues with a knife to please their customer base. Does Case put out a dud sometimes - sure but if they do they'll fix it no questions asked. Someone above asked for pictures - here's a couple three.

Copperlock with a Tribal Lock
Large Case Lockback Knives 1 .jpg

Sowbelly
Z Sowbelly Group 1 .jpg

Sod Buster
Sod Buster Group 4 .jpg

Large Stockman

Z Case 6375 SS Stockman - Case 6375 CV Stockman - Case 3375 CV Stockman .jpg
 
Case is disappointimg of late. I've sent two new knives back due to defects. I don't like sending new knives to be repaired. Reminds me of cars in the 70s .That said I carry my medium yeller stockman daily.
 
I'm quite a fan of Case knives! My first knife ever was a Case Peanut my grandfather bought with me in a store located in TN. He bought my little brother one too. And I still remember to this day him telling me more or less, "Now you hold onto this. Case makes the nicest pocket knives in the world and you never know, it might be worth money someday!" I still have that knife to this day with all of the original packaging, price sticker included, and my grandpa's words left an impression on me. My brother unfortunately lost his... but I blame him being traumatized because later that same day he cut his thumb so bad closing it he had to get stitches 😅

This is a recycled picture, but one that seems fitting. I haven't acquired any new case knives, save for a newer sodbuster jr. So, it's still a fairly complete picture of my Case collection. You'll notice that peanut my grandfather got me is in the picture too 😁

Sd9062a.jpg
 
My first knife was a Case XX. My great grandpa carried one and when he went into the Ace Hardware store back in 1967 to get a new one, I inherited the old one on the spot. It was a medium stockman and I carried it for many years. Sadly at some point in my teens I lost it when I started carrying a Buck 110...
 
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