Newbie Question : Stag Vs Bone

[KCkc]

Hi,
I am new to slipjoints.
But I recently got a Case 9-dot amber jigged bone medium stockman stainless steel blades. I love the simplicity of the knife.

My question is :
Is stag a better material than jigged bone in terms of durability, shrinkage, etc ?

Do they make color jigged bones for the older 1970s and prior Case knives ?

Are there books focusing only on Case knives ?

Thanks.

 

[JD Mandrell]

My question is :
Is stag a better material than jigged bone in terms of durability, shrinkage, etc ?

Tough call, if cared for properly, both will last a LONG time.

Do they make color jigged bones for the older 1970s and prior Case knives ?

Yes, colored bone has been around well before then.

Are there books focusing only on Case knives ?
Thanks.

Some, but one of hte best books for older Case knives is "The American Premium Guide to Knives and Razors" by Jim Sargent.

It cover Queen and a few others as well, but really covers Case!

 

[cdf]

What care and feeding do stag and bone require ? If I had to guess , I would speculate that it would be baby oil .

Chris

 

[Gary G]

I agree that Sargent's book is very good for Case knives. KCkc, you might note that Jim Sargent's book has fairly accurate values for the knives. Many books are out-of-date already, and their listed values are below reality. The new books are ahead of the prices, and have unreasonable values listed.

I find Jim's listed values just a bit LOWER (maybe 5-10% lower) than prices paid on Ebay these days. On-line autions have really inflated prices in recent years. Many of the books are widely variant from reality, but Jim's provide a pretty good estimate of what the knife will bring.

I have met with him at knife shows and in Florence, AL where he lives. I once asked if he owns all of the knives in his books. He said he DID own most of them at one time, but has traded and sold them over the years. He's also a fair trader and a nice person to visit.

 

[Bastid]

Generally the care of stag and bone is about the same. On the ones I carry and use other than occasional cleaning and oiling of the pivots they are care free and with time take on a nice "luster" just from use.

If the bone and stag is properly cured before the knife is put together it is pretty stable as long as the environment is stable. A baby or mineral oil soak every once in a while (maybe a couple of times a year) should be all that is needed to give things an "extra chance" to stay nice, but I would be wary of doing that to an expensive factory antique (might darken the bone color.) I usually just use wax on the few old ones I have. The original color often is a clue, along with other subtleties, to experts on the general dating of non-dotted Case knives.

I do not know Jim Sargent very well, but have met him on several occasions and very much agree with Gary. He has much knowledge and shares it easily. I have very much enjoyed every conversation with him.

On earlier knives there was color (usually green, red, brown and black), but not in the many colors that are offered today.