New member Case & GEC Questions.

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Samon

Joined
Nov 12, 2012
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I have a question, are the modern case knives well made? I understand the old ones are solid but I heard the new ones are made abroad and aren't what they were like..

HeinnieHaynes, the biggest UK knife shop told me on the blower that there is no point in buying a case trapper as the rough riders are almost identical in quality and quality control! rough riders costing £15 ($25) and case costing £60+ ($95) it seems like a broad statement to make, but not one I haven't heard several times already. :confused:

I took part in a knife passarounda few weeks back and it was a GEC tidioute four blade and at £80 ($130) it was a very smart traditonal pocket knife, but the quality was very very high!

Does anyone have an Elephants toenail by GEC? I was considering parting with some dosh to get one but haven't heard anything about this particualr model from them.
 
I think the toenail is a good knife but it is very large. Many members here prefer smaller knives to edc
 
Can't speak for all the newer Case knives but the serveral I have bought have been very well made. Good fit and finish, blades centered and quite sharp out of the box. Only one GEC at the present but very well made knife.
 
Hi, and welcome to BF :)
You will get a variety of answers about how Case knives are made. Many people seem to think the average quality and F&F of Case knives from the past to be better than today's, but that can vary. I own one new Case knife and it's very well made.
I've also noticed that, for some reason, some patterns tend to have less lemons, while others get more. Case knives are still made in the US by the way, and anyway I suggest that you don't take that road about where a knife is made (as you can read in the guidelines).
GEC, while at a higher price, seems to deliver (on average) a "better" knife, although obviously they have their lemons too, and alot depends on the pattern you choose.
If it's better to spend 20 usd on a RR rather than 60 on a Case or 100 on a GEC, it's a very personal opinion. If you stay a bit on this forum, you will see that someone has mainly Case or GEC knives, some have mainly customs or vintage knives, others range from RR to Case/Bose collabs. The world of traditional cutlery offers great variety, so you're welcome to step in, look around, make your choices and learn what works best for you.

Fausto
:cool:
 
Case knifes are made in the USA! All the Case knives I have bought recently have been very good quality!
 
there is an excellent review of the GEC elephant toenail or whaler from stefan schmalhaus on youtube.
 
I really like Case knives made over the past five years or so. But when you get north of $60 or so (U.S. prices, I mean), I'd probably opt for GEC instead. It's a different class of knife.

Welcome to the coolest subforum on the coolest knife forum on the web.

-- Mark
 
I have Case knives, a couple of GECs and have had many Rough Riders. GEC imo makes the best semi production slip joints on earth . The 1/2 dozen Case knives I own are all good knives. The thing about rough riders is you can get a very well made knife for next to nothing so you can get a bunch to try different patterns and blade shapes. RR knive are always razor sharp out of the box, hold a good edge and are easy to sharpen and the fit and finish is usually as good as Case knives. You'll get lots of good info on this forum. Check out the rough rider thread for many pictures and opinions on that line of knives.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/582468-Rough-Rider-amp-Related-Slipjoints



Good luck in your search

Best regards

Robin
 
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thank you for all the information, a moderator kindly moved my question to this seperate thread as not to clutter another.

I didn't know the case were still made in the us, I must have been misinformed :rolleyes:

I did buy an elelphants toenail by roughrider but sent it back as the jigged bone scale was very loose but the shop owner said they were all like that.. so I bought a sunfish by rough rider.. and the jigged bone sclaes was also loose! haha, I kept this one though and for a very cheap knife it certainly makes good value for money. The reason I aksed is because I like the traditional styled folders, particularly the two bladed trapper, sunfish and toenail but didn't want to shell out a large portion of money on something that could be had at a fraction fo the price.
 
I own several Case knives that have been made within the last few years. Fit and finish on mine have truly been excellent, given their price point. I have yet to find any fault with any of them whatsoever. I think they are a great value.
 
I own over a dozen Case knives and I like them very much. I had one Rough Rider and the quality was poor. That was enough for me regardless of how inexpensive they are.
 
I've found that my Case knives range from excellent to a total mess. For example, my Texas Jack is just about flawless, while a Humpback Stockman I had for a while had large gaps and lots of blade play, especially on the sheepsfoot. Of the Rough Riders that I own, I really don't have any complaints in the F&F department. Perhaps I've just been lucky so far with that....
 
Samon said:
I have a question, are the modern case knives well made? I understand the old ones are solid but I heard the new ones are made abroad and aren't what they were like..

HeinnieHaynes, the biggest UK knife shop told me on the blower that there is no point in buying a case trapper as the rough riders are almost identical in quality and quality control! rough riders costing £15 ($25) and case costing £60+ ($95) it seems like a broad statement to make, but not one I haven't heard several times already. :confused:

I took part in a knife passarounda few weeks back and it was a GEC tidioute four blade and at £80 ($130) it was a very smart traditonal pocket knife, but the quality was very very high!

Does anyone have an Elephants toenail by GEC? I was considering parting with some dosh to get one but haven't heard anything about this particualr model from them.
Click to expand...

I have one of the all steel models (meaning the liners and the bolsters are mild steel). I love it!

Nearly always in my pocket.

IMAG0655.jpg


IMAG0578.jpg


IMAG0103.jpg


The steel toe has a single spring, so it is thinner than you would expect. The main blade is pinchable, so you don't even need to use your nails to open it (at least with mine I don't).

When using the main blade, the secondary is very unobtrusive. The little spear secondary is a real slicer too! I really enjoy mine.
 
Samon.....

I think where the confusion lies is Case does have another brand separate from the Case line and marketed under another name "tecx" that is produced overseas and sold thru the Walmarts and such......
 
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Boggs said:
Samon.....

I think where the confusion lies is Case does have another brand separate from the Case line and marketed under another name "tecx" that is produced overseas and sold thru the Walmarts and such......
Click to expand...

Expanding on that, Case's so-called 'Tec X' line are modern/tactical-style knives, which are imported, and bear no resemblance to any of Case's classic patterns. In fact, I don't think those knives actually bear the CASE name in any fashion. The Tec X brand is completely segregated. Absolutely ALL of Case's traditional knives are made in the U.S., and will always be marked as such.


David
 
I am of the firm opinion that Case could improve it's quality on it's regular line, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that their quality is comparable to Rough Rider. I would look for some used Case knives in the Exchange, I believe there is an international for sale section, might be easier on shipping charges from the US. If you are comfortable with your store, you might have to bite the bullet and go with them. What models are you looking at that are $95 bucks? That just seems excessive, even factoring in the costs of shipping them across the pond.

I'm guessing that GEC knives will be even more costly. I mainly use my Great Eastern knives (all Tidioute and Northfield). I do have some Case knives, but most of those are the Bose annual knives. I do have two regular Case left, a swayback jack and peanut. If you do get a Case, I would recommend CV steel. It will rust if you look at it sideways, but I just feel that the fit and finish are better on CV models. Probably just me, but that is the conclusion I have come to. Case knives usually have good snap and walk and talk. Older Great Easterns were real bear traps, the newer ones seem to be a lot more conducive to actually using every day.
 
Recent Case knife quality has been hit-or-miss recently, based upon several purchases and handling dozens of specimens at dealers. Our prices for Case knives, being here in the States, are undoubtedly more favorable than overseas prices, which makes minor flaws and imperfections more tolerable than if their knives were priced at Great Eastern levels. For example, a beautiful Case medium stockman in bone runs $45-$50 retail here in the States. At that price, especially if the knife is going to be sharpened and used, most buyers don't care that the blade edge might be jagged and "toothy" from the factory.

Based on my limited experience with Great Eastern I'd say their quality and consistency is significantly superior to Case. Of course they cost twice as much too. ;)
 
Most of my case knives are from 2000 and are pretty good for $30-$45 knives. My knife guy told me the same thing ie. "The RR knives are nearly as good as case". Perhaps that's true with the F&F, but I'm just not sure about the steel on the RR knives.

Take a look in the for sale section, you may be able to get a deal.
 
And also great eastern will hold a edge better. Case cv blades hold a good edge,but Rough Rider steel rolls over easy and dont hold well. If you like RR knives go out and use one then you will see they are junk.
 
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