Old Case

D

deerslayer213

Joined
Sep 21, 2025
Messages
3
Hello all. New to the forum. I am gaining an interest in knives and eventually want to work towards making my own for personal use someday. But for now I need some help gathering information on this hunting knife in particular. I found it this weekend in a drawer at my grandma's house. She says my late grandfather got it when he was 6 years old which would be early 1940's. Can anyone please help me in identifying its age and maybe the materials used at the time. I just would like to know the history on it if possible. The blade was terribly rusted/ corroded so I spend 3 hours of running sandpaper over it 40-600 grit. I also ordered some cheap buffing wheels/ compound to hopefully shine it up a bit. As a sportsman I look forward to putting this knife to work. The blade dimensions are 4 7/8" long from the tang, 1" most of the way for the width, and 8 7/8" overall. I appreciate any help and will be looking on the sheath forum for a suitable sheath for this knife.https://photos.app.goo.gl/m7tic8Z8acxcU45Y7
 
Arathol said:
Case 523-5. Don't buff it. Get rid of the active rust and keep the blade oiled.
Click to expand...

Arathol said:
Case 523-5. Don't buff it. Get rid of the active rust and keep the blade oiled.
Click to expand...
Great! Thanks for the i.d.. Curious as to why you say not to buff it. There were a few spots that had a mirror finish on it before I started sanding. Just thought I would try to get it there again. Will I damage the blade in doing so?
 
deerslayer213 said:
Great! Thanks for the i.d.. Curious as to why you say not to buff it. There were a few spots that had a mirror finish on it before I started sanding. Just thought I would try to get it there again. Will I damage the blade in doing so?
Click to expand...
It continually amazes me that so many people have the need for a mirror finish on an old knife. They were "shiny" when clean and new, but never had a mirror finish to begin with. Usually they were polished on a hard wheel charged with iron crocus or something similar. A soft polishing wheel will kill the blade lines and soften all the nicely ground edges or corners. Lots of knives buffed on a soft wheel don't even have a sharp point. Look at the knives made by Case in recent years.....
If you are going to use it its not going to stay shiny for long. so buffing to a mirror finish is kind of a waste of time. Just keep it oiled and let it develop a protective patina on its own.
 
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