Quality of modern Case knives

Quiet said:
I will say that modern Cases in fine working order with good snap, walk'n talk, and fit and finish DO exist. The problem is that you have to:

A. Work with an online dealer who has no problems taking the time to inspect their stock of model XYZ in order to make sure the one you get is one of the aforementioned gems.
B. Better, go somewhere that sells Case knives in person so you can inspect them and find one to your satisfaction.

I have bought a couple Cases recently, and they're very nice examples. I worked with Blade Supporting dealer @New River Knife Works who took care of me. I'll have to get picture up later.
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I agree with you on that . When I was in Tennessee in June , I was able to go to the really big knife shop , and the guy behind the counter worked with me to be able to sort through the models I wanted buy . I kind of blew him away first by showing him the GEC Lambfoot first .
It certainly is nice to be able to sort out Good From Bad because there are some bad ones out there . One of them I got was a Peanut and it appeared that the Overall Quality was a little better on them .

Harry
 
I've had a dozen or so Case knives and the biggest flaw that I've experienced was a shield that was proud on one side. Otherwise, I get a nice knife that I can afford.
K.Coper said:
Also, how is the 'tru sharp' steel compared to Victorinox
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By my unscientific eyeball analysis, I'd say the two steels are pretty similar. You will probably need to sharpen your Case knife when you get it. I guess they think that anyone who carries a Case is the kind of person who can sharpen their own knife.
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I say pends on what you're going to do with the knife which kind of steel to get. CV is better in my opinion all the way around as a user steel. But if you’re prone to sweating and carrying your knife through summer, the stainless is a nice compromise. Carbon is better for whittling. Won’t make much difference though if mail and apples is all you will cut.
 
The tribal lock I purchased 6 months ago in tru sharp was the best I have bought from Case. Not perfect, but I was impressed with the fact that there were no grind marks on the polished tang anywhere. It’s back spring is flush open and closed and locks up perfectly. It has a centered blade and no gaps anywhere. The flaw is in the dying of the vintage USA flag bone. The shield side is fading faster than the pile side. It’s a user anyway and it just looks more antique/vintage that way. It has my vote for my best of the year traditional for 2022.
 
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I like em if they don’t have a shield. I can’t get my head around a knife without a pinned shield. That said I have a sodbuster in yellow I like a lot. I really like the old ones tho.
 
Will Power said:
You say you're in Europe, which country?
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Netherlands but the border region only about 15 minutes from the Belgian or German border. But even dealers in large cities such as Antwerp or Cologne do not stock Case knives. So ordering online is my only option.
 
I've had pretty good luck with Case, although it seems they do some patterns a little better than others. For example every Peanut I've owned has been spot on . The last Case I purchased was a Jumbo Stockman with fit and finish all good but the action was really poor . The main blade didn't snap closed on it's own . Cleaned all the grit out and gave it a good dose of Ballistol with an air compressor and now it's right as rain.
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K.Coper said:
Netherlands but the border region only about 15 minutes from the Belgian or German border. But even dealers in large cities such as Antwerp or Cologne do not stock Case knives. So ordering online is my only option.
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There are a few knife shops in Brussels that I think sell Case knives. You can always email them before visiting to make sure
 
K.Coper said:
What is the general quality of modern Case knives?
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Pretty bad, I would say. Gaps, uneven thickness of scales (even the synthetic ones!), blade play, poor sharpening.
K.Coper said:
... how sharp do they come out of the box?
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They don't, lol. Joking aside, pretty bad either.

K.Coper said:
Do they need a lot of work to get really sharp?
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They do. Not really a lot, because have you seen the width of their blades? What's more annoying is trying to sharpen them good without grinding off too much so they won't look like years of use or something.
 
If you don’t mind slightly blunt tips, you can edge one in 5 minutes if you hand sharpen. But to get the tip sharp takes considerably more time. You can though, just let it wear in from sharpening. Eventually the tip comes up if you sharpen a while.
 
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I'm seeing a lot of "Case Issues" getting blown way out of proportion.
Case isn't perfect, but they are way better than some would have you believe.
I've had similar issues with GEC and Boker too, still mostly non-issues unless you desire perfection.
 
I've had no issues at all and I buy a lot of Case knives. No one hand picks them for me. Maybe I'm just lucky.

I used to carry a Case my great grandfather gave me, but I don't carry Case knives anymore. Maybe that's why I don't see any issues?
 
Case knives run from $30-450. Not even GEC gives perfection for $30. Quality varies with price as one would expect.

I've bought Case knives on-line for over 20 years, never got one that needed to be returned.

Their Bose collaborations are the best factory traditional knives in the world. Only recently equaled by Old School Knifworks collaboration with Moki and Ruple.
 
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