Peanut question

[The Fort]

I have a 1979 Case Peanut (6220) that is just an incredible little knife as far as fit and finish and walk and talk are concerned. I actually have two questions concerning it. Is there an easy way to tell if it is jigged bone or jigged synthetic? The color is a deep dark brown. I don't have the box for it. Also if the blade tang is not stamped "ss" or "cv", how can I be certain which it is? Thanks in advance for any information that you may be able to share.

 

[lutejones]

If it doesn't have SS marked on the blade then it's most likely is cv steel, you should be aware that at that time case run the steel a little bit softer 55-57 RC more or less
One way to tell if it's bone or Delrin although it's not every time correct is to look at the shield if the elliptical shield says case and is surrounded by line is bone if there is no line it only says case then is most likely to be Delrin
If you look at in direct light you can see the pores on the bone. Delrin is more uniform in colour and has no pores nor "waters"

 

[Railsplitter]

Find a smooth section of the covers and look closely. Bone will have some grain structure but synthetic won't.

I believe if the steel was stainless it would be marked as such but I'm not 100% sure about that.

 

[lutejones]

This one is a Delrin 1977 side by side with a 64-69 bone minitrapper

Hope it helps

 

[irona]

So a way that I've been able to always tell if a case is SS or CV is by looking at the letter S in Case on the tang stamp. If the S is shaped like a lightning bolt, with straight lines, it means that it's stainless. If the S is normal, CV.


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[r redden]

If your knife has a pattern number and the firist digit is a 6 then it is bone. here is a link you might find interesting
http://www.wrcase.com/case_college/handles/handlematerials.php

 

[matt]

The 6 is for bone,synthetic or laminate wood.

 

[jacktrades_nbk]

A bone is very different from delrin, pores will show up, and can be seen easily, or with a magnifying glass.









middle one is delrin

 

[lutejones]

So a way that I've been able to always tell if a case is SS or CV is by looking at the letter S in Case on the tang stamp. If the S is shaped like a lightning bolt, with straight lines, it means that it's stainless. If the S is normal, CV.


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Hey irona, the lightning bolt S is a feature of the 80's and IRC have nothing to do with the steel itself

If your knife has a pattern number and the firist digit is a 6 then it is bone. here is a link you might find interesting
http://www.wrcase.com/case_college/handles/handlematerials.php

Actually 6 I think it means jigged material being it bone Delrin or wood

 

[irona]

Hey irona, the lightning bolt S is a feature of the 80's and IRC have nothing to do with the steel itself



Actually 6 I think it means jigged material being it bone Delrin or wood

Really? I read that the S indicates steel somewhere and after that I've checked that fact with every case knife I've seen - old and new, and so far it's held true.


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[lutejones]

The doble s, SS is stainless but I'm talking of the case xx USA logo with the lightning bolt s


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[Railsplitter]

So a way that I've been able to always tell if a case is SS or CV is by looking at the letter S in Case on the tang stamp. If the S is shaped like a lightning bolt, with straight lines, it means that it's stainless. If the S is normal, CV.


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I was also going to dispute this but after checking several of my Case knives in both CV and SS you appear to be correct. I don't have time right now to look through them all but it's a mission I'll take on at a later time. Very interesting.

 

[5K Qs]

So a way that I've been able to always tell if a case is SS or CV is by looking at the letter S in Case on the tang stamp. If the S is shaped like a lightning bolt, with straight lines, it means that it's stainless. If the S is normal, CV.
...

I had never heard of the method irona describes, but was surprised to find it in the "Recent Q&A" section at the "Case College" website: http://www.wrcase.com/case_college/

Recent Q&A

Is there a simple way for me to know the type of steel that was used in my Case knife?

There are two ways to identify the type of steel used on Case knives. Today, each steel type has a unique abbreviation that can be found after the pattern stamp on the knife tang. If the knife has stainless steel blades, the letters “SS” will follow the pattern number. In the same fashion, “CV” denotes chrome vanadium, “ATS-34” stands for ATS-34 steel, “154-CM” is 154-CM, and “BG42” is BG42 steel. There is a second way to identify the steel type. This can be observed by looking at the logo stamp on the reverse side of the tang. Refer to “S” in the Case logo. When the logo contains a lightning “S”, the blade is either made of Tru-SharpTM surgical steel or ATS-34. When the logo contains a regular “S” that matches the other letters, the blade is made of Chrome Vanadium. Case SlimLocks are the only knives currently made with BG42 steel. This line of knives carries a special logo stamp. Note: This answer specifically addresses Tru-SharpTM surgical steel (SS), Chrome Vanadium (CV), BG42, ATS-34 and 154-CM steel.

I learn something new here almost every day! Thanks, irona! :thumbup::thumbup:

- GT

 

[lutejones]

I apologize then irona, I I was talking about old knives. Seems that with modern knives you're right

 

[Railsplitter]

Yes, thank you for sharing this with us, irona. I've been gradually collecting Case knives since 2007 and I had no idea. Good call!:thumbup:

I found only one exception when going through my Case knives. Both of my Case/Bose knives, a 2009 Norfolk and a 2015 Cattle Knife are made with 154CM stainless. The letters in the word Case are written in cursive writing and the S is curved which matches the other letters in the word. I suppose these are another exception to the rule since they are a specialty line of knives.

 

[irona]

I was also going to dispute this but after checking several of my Case knives in both CV and SS you appear to be correct. I don't have time right now to look through them all but it's a mission I'll take on at a later time. Very interesting.

Neat little trick, isn't it? It's been a struggle to find many case knives in CV for me, but this tang stamp thing has helped me out considerably since I started using it. So far it hasn't failed me once.


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[paulhilborn]

I apologize then irona, I I was talking about old knives. Seems that with modern knives you're right

You are correct I believe Mateo with 1979 and earlier, they were marked "Stainless" or were carbon steel. Not sure when they switched from the word "stainless" over to "ss"? Another way to determine delrin vs bone was the CASE logo was encircled whereas the delrin CASE logo was not. This last statement was not 100% but I believe the over all % was that way.

As of the late the "lightning" S versus "round" S helped in determining blade steel. Again I'm uncertain when exactly that change took place

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

So a way that I've been able to always tell if a case is SS or CV is by looking at the letter S in Case on the tang stamp. If the S is shaped like a lightning bolt, with straight lines, it means that it's stainless. If the S is normal, CV.


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That's not how Case has marked their stainless blades. Instead, they've used either or both of 'SS' or 'STAINLESS' stamped on the blade tangs. The 'SS' will always follow the pattern number stamps, but sometimes it's also seen by itself on secondary blades of stainless folders.

The 'lightning bolt S' is only indicative of the time frame when the knife was made. For the most part, it's synonymous with Case knives made during the 1980s, as has been mentioned; it may also turn up on certain special-edition knives with unique stampings (and later models as also mentioned). It means nothing as to the steel type, as both stainless and CV knives of that time frame featured it.

At some point in the 1990s, Case started stamping 'CV' on their non-stainless blades, which left no doubt as to their steel type. Older knives (1980s & earlier) in the CV steel weren't stamped as such, but instead only showed the pattern number without an 'SS' or 'STAINLESS' supplementary stamp.


David

 

[irona]

Yes, thank you for sharing this with us, irona. I've been gradually collecting Case knives since 2007 and I had no idea. Good call!:thumbup:

I found only one exception when going through my Case knives. Both of my Case/Bose knives, a 2009 Norfolk and a 2015 Cattle Knife are made with 154CM stainless. The letters in the word Case are written in cursive writing and the S is curved which matches the other letters in the word. I suppose these are another exception to the rule since they are a specialty line of knives.

I think the lightning bolt S only applies to Tru-Sharp, luckily 154CM is usually indicated by either price, listing, or if the knife is a Bose collab - as from what I've seen (and please correct me if I'm wrong on this) Tony Bose tends to use a lot of 154CM in his collabs with case.


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[irona]

That's not how Case has marked their stainless blades. Instead, they've used either or both of 'SS' or 'STAINLESS' stamped on the blade tangs. The 'SS' will always follow the pattern number stamps, but sometimes it's also seen by itself on secondary blades of stainless folders.

The 'lightning bolt S' is only indicative of the time frame when the knife was made. For the most part, it's synonymous with Case knives made during the 1980s, as has been mentioned; it may also turn up on certain special-edition knives with unique stampings (and later models as also mentioned). It means nothing as to the steel type, as both stainless and CV knives of that time frame featured it.

At some point in the 1990s, Case started stamping 'CV' on their non-stainless blades, which left no doubt as to their steel type. Older knives (1980s & earlier) in the CV steel weren't stamped as such, but instead only showed the pattern number without an 'SS' or 'STAINLESS' supplementary stamp.


David

http://www.wrcase.com/case_college/

While that is true for older models, Case began using the lightning bolt S to indicate steel, and the trick I mentioned can be applied to modern case knives. I'm not sure when the change took place, but it seems to work with most knives being sold as new.


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