New Case Yellow Large CV Stockman Issues

G

Gabriel Velasco

Joined
May 2, 2018
Messages
70
I received my new Case Yellow Large CV Stockman today! Yay! It has an issue. Boo.

It's a three blade knife using two springs. The clip point is on one spring. The sheepsfoot and spey are on the other. The sheepsfoot sits between the spey and the clip point, so it's a bit tweaked in.

The fit and finish are great. The walk and talk is great. The transition from the smooth yellow Delrin to the bolster and cap is almost unnoticeable if you close your eyes. The blades are sharp and beautiful.

BUT, when I try to open the spey, it catches on the nail nick of the sheepsfoot. :-( If I open the sheepsfoot first - no problem. If I try to open the spey first, it catches on the nail nick of the sheepsfoot.

It seems like all "three blade on two springs" knives might be susceptible to this problem. Thoughts? Fixes? Is this common? Is this knife a dud?
 
A little bit of blade rubbing is not uncommon on stockman pattern knives. All of my production ones have some to some degree, some worse than others. My customs do not, but a higher level of fit is expected for the cost.

That said, if it is something you prefer not to live with, if it can’t be returned, case will make it right. Might take a couple of months but they can fix it. Otherwise, it may be best to buy in person where you can inspect each individual knife and select one that meets your expectations.
 
Experiencing some blade rub on a stockman is quite common and something I learned not worrying about. Your case seems to be worse though, since it involves the action of the knife. I've heard some members here have the same problem with a Case stockman of theirs. I would try to return it or, if that's not possible, ask Case to fix it. Supposedly they have a very good customer service for such matters.
 
My old Case stockmans (1970's and a '65-69) don't have this problem.

My pen blade on my 1973 6318HE (the HE models substitute the spey with a pen) does hit the nick of the sheepsfoot if I push it too hard, but I have to try. My 1980 6318HE does not. This is significant because the older 6318s were constructed differently. They're a hair shorter and noticeably thicker. My 1980 is more like the modern construction of the 6318.

My 6332s do not have this problem. However, in the brief time I owned a 63032 (same pattern, but updated), it did have this problem.

The obvious issue is the placement of the nail nick. However, quality of construction can make a difference too. An extremely small difference in how much the blades are crinked (the off-center bend to allow multiple blades to fit) can mean the blades can hit or not hit.

When it comes to a Case, it's simply just a possibility we have to accept and deal with.
 
Wow. Thanks for the input. I don't mind sending it in to Case to fix, but is there something I can try to do, or will I just end up snapping a blade or creating wiggle?
 
Forgive me if this sounds presumptuous, but have you tried opening the blade differently? By necessity, you're pushing in to the blade when opening it. If you lift with your nail more than pushing in, you might be able to get it open without snagging the nick of the other blade. In other words, just don't push in as hard, and focus more on lifting the blade out.
 
Planterz said:
Forgive me if this sounds presumptuous, but have you tried opening the blade differently? By necessity, you're pushing in to the blade when opening it.
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Not presumptuous at all. I am fairly new to this and it's a very fair question. I have tried opening it in different ways with limited success. The issue is that the pull on the blade is on the medium to heavy side, which I like, but there is no room for me to pinch the blade and the cover prevents me from getting a very good upward angle with my short fingernail. I am going to keep working it for now. Maybe the pull will get a bit lighter. I'm also going to try to whittle with the spey in a direction that might bend it away from the sheepsfoot. The tolerances are really VERY close. It might take just a bit of working it. A fairly simple workaround for now is that I open the sheepsfoot first, then the spey, then close the sheepsfoot. People have had to deal with worse in the grand scheme of things. :-)
 
Gabriel Velasco said:
Not presumptuous at all. I am fairly new to this and it's a very fair question. I have tried opening it in different ways with limited success. The issue is that the pull on the blade is on the medium to heavy side, which I like, but there is no room for me to pinch the blade and the cover prevents me from getting a very good upward angle with my short fingernail. I am going to keep working it for now. Maybe the pull will get a bit lighter. I'm also going to try to whittle with the spey in a direction that might bend it away from the sheepsfoot. The tolerances are really VERY close. It might take just a bit of working it. A fairly simple workaround for now is that I open the sheepsfoot first, then the spey, then close the sheepsfoot. People have had to deal with worse in the grand scheme of things. :)
Click to expand...

This doesn't surprise me. I remember the same on the 63032 that I returned. It was very difficult to do what we're talking about. I could do it, but again, I had to concentrate on it and probably fail an attempt or 3. It was easier to just open the sheepsfoot then the pen, but that's a workaround we shouldn't have to do.
 
I think I would try to exchange it with the dealer or send it to Case.

You might try filing the top of the sheepsfoot nail nick to smooth it out a little and give it less "meat" for the spey to catch on. It wouldn't eliminate the rub but it might minimize the catching. I don't know if that would help but it seems like it might.
 
I have a medium stockman that does this with the pen and sheeps I just try to pull straight up the best I can I not push it into the nail nick works sometimes
 
Gabriel Velasco said:
I received my new Case Yellow Large CV Stockman today! Yay! It has an issue. Boo.

It's a three blade knife using two springs. The clip point is on one spring. The sheepsfoot and spey are on the other. The sheepsfoot sits between the spey and the clip point, so it's a bit tweaked in.

The fit and finish are great. The walk and talk is great. The transition from the smooth yellow Delrin to the bolster and cap is almost unnoticeable if you close your eyes. The blades are sharp and beautiful.

BUT, when I try to open the spey, it catches on the nail nick of the sheepsfoot. :-( If I open the sheepsfoot first - no problem. If I try to open the spey first, it catches on the nail nick of the sheepsfoot.

It seems like all "three blade on two springs" knives might be susceptible to this problem. Thoughts? Fixes? Is this common? Is this knife a dud?
Click to expand...

I assume you are talking about the 4 1/4" 3375 Stockman

Gently lift the spey blade and look where it catches on the nail nick of the sheepfoot blade. I think you'll notice that the inside edge of the Spey blade has already be ground by Case in that area. Take a fine tooth file and file the area of the Spey blade that engages the nail nick. Easy does it!! Just take a little bit of metal off at a time.

In the future, don't push in on the spey blade as you open it. Instead try to lift it straight up.

I've had to do this on a 6375 in the past and it's an easy fix and no big deal.
 
I agree with Ed. I would also advise you not to try to bend the blade, the likely result will be one of three outcomes 1) the blade will break off, 2) you will create blade wobble, 3) if you manage to not do 1 or 2, you will bend it too far and it will bind against the liner.
 
Planterz said:
My old Case stockmans (1970's and a '65-69) don't have this problem.

My pen blade on my 1973 6318HE (the HE models substitute the spey with a pen) does hit the nick of the sheepsfoot if I push it too hard, but I have to try. My 1980 6318HE does not. This is significant because the older 6318s were constructed differently. They're a hair shorter and noticeably thicker. My 1980 is more like the modern construction of the 6318.

My 6332s do not have this problem. However, in the brief time I owned a 63032 (same pattern, but updated), it did have this problem.

The obvious issue is the placement of the nail nick. However, quality of construction can make a difference too. An extremely small difference in how much the blades are crinked (the off-center bend to allow multiple blades to fit) can mean the blades can hit or not hit.

When it comes to a Case, it's simply just a possibility we have to accept and deal with.
Click to expand...

FYI: Sometime around 1980, Case discontinued their 18 pattern 3 1/2" knife. Shortly thereafter they reintroduced their 18 pattern knife as a 3 5/8" knife. This was a significant change to the 18 frame and they do feel a bit beefier in the hand than do the old ones.
 
Modoc ED said:
FYI: Sometime around 1980, Case discontinued their 18 pattern 3 1/2" knife. Shortly thereafter they reintroduced their 18 pattern knife as a 3 5/8" knife. This was a significant change to the 18 frame and they do feel a bit beefier in the hand than do the old ones.
Click to expand...

I had a 1978 6318HE that was the newer, larger construction, same as my 1980. I never pinpointed which year the change was made, but I can confirm that it was before 1978.
 
If a bit more room would help you to engage your fingernail, some companies and people will put in a small ez-open notch, on just the one side. This is usually just a very small crescent, the absolute minimum needed to provide the assistance needed in opening the blade.
Thanks, Neal
 
Just remembered I have one of their newest models the deep canyon bone and it has 3 springs should give it a shot
 
I've got two Case 6375 Large Stockman knives and never noticed this before. Because of your post, I got them both out and tried. I find that if I open the spey slowly and pay attention closely, it does slightly catch on the sheepsfoot nail nick, and then slides on past and opens fine. But I sort of have to try to make it happen. When I just open the blade like I normally do, in one motion, I don't notice it.

I don't really think about how I open a pocket knife, just like I don't think in great detail about how I tie shoes or drink a glass of water. But in observing myself, I seem to put my left thumbnail in the nick, with my left index finger behind the blade in a pinching manner, even if I can't pinch it open, then I tend to lever my thumb downward so that the nail is pushing upwards at maybe a 45 to 60 degree angle, UP on nick, not inward, and that as soon as there is some room for the index finger, it becomes a pinch grip between index finger and thumbnail, and I then tend to rotate the handle open with my right hand while the left hand holding the blade doesn't move quite as much.

That is for a knife where the hinge is "up" when held in my right hand with the nick facing me prior to opening, which is true of the clip and spey on the 6375. When the hinge is down, like the 6375 sheepfoot blade, the process is a little different and usually done in two steps, but that's not germane to the issue with your spey.

Seems like an overly complex way to describe an automatic process that my hands just do on their own in about 1/2 to 1 second, but maybe a different technique is required to make it work well for you.
 
I never had this issue with a Case or any Old Timer Stockmans. But I have heard of it with some Queen knifes.
 
Modoc ED said:
I assume you are talking about the 4 1/4" 3375 Stockman
Click to expand...
Yes
Gently lift the spey blade and look where it catches on the nail nick of the sheepfoot blade. I think you'll notice that the inside edge of the Spey blade has already be ground by Case in that area.
Click to expand...
If they did it was hard to tell.
Take a fine tooth file and file the area of the Spey blade that engages the nail nick. Easy does it!! Just take a little bit of metal off at a time.
Click to expand...
Done! It worked beautifully. I didn't have to remove much material, but it is definitely noticeable if you look closely. The edge of the spine there is now flat instead of rounded. Now it opens smooth like "buttuh".
...I've had to do this on a 6375 in the past and it's an easy fix and no big deal.
Click to expand...
Thank you! This was my first ever traditional knife mod.
 
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