question about Case/Buck/Schrade

J

jpvjr71

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Feb 3, 2025
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Does anyone know the difference in work quality between the 3?
Case looks nice, I use a Buck 303, & just got 2 NOS 34OT's.
Were the Schrade considered work knives in their day?
Or something you gave a kid as his 1st knife?
 
Back in the day,
Case was the Cadillac.
Schrade made some very good knives. Their Old Timer and Uncle Henry lines were more considered work knives.
Buck has always delivered a solid knife. But usually considered workers, even though they had some with upgraded handle materials.

Nowadays
Buck 303 is still a good solid knife.
Case currently makes a good knife, but not a Cadillac. Case knives made in the late 80's and 90's are not as well thought of due to fit and finish.
Schrade went backrupt in 2004 and the knives are now made by a division of Smith &Wesson in China. They make a fair product, but not collector grade.
GEC is the current Traditional style cadillac knife.
 
knarfeng said:
Back in the day,
Case was the Cadillac.
Schrade made some very good knives. Their Old Timer and Uncle Henry lines were more considered work knives.
Buck has always delivered a solid knife. But usually considered workers, even though they had some with upgraded handle materials.

Nowadays
Buck 303 is still a good solid knife.
Case currently makes a good knife, but not a Cadillac. Case knives made in the late 80's and 90's are not as well thought of due to fit and finish.
Schrade went backrupt in 2004 and the knives are now made by a division of Smith &Wesson in China. They make a fair product, but not collector grade.
GEC is the current Traditional style cadillac knife.
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...and that's the thread, folks. Thanks for coming out!
 
Case still makes "Cadillac" knives, but the cost reflects the improved quality control and material choice.
 
I’m big so I don’t care if yall throw stuff at me. Last few GEC I’ve bought have been pretty dang rough. Especially above the nail nicks. I use my knives so it doesn’t bother me but I constantly read how bad everyone else is and how great they are and for the money in my small sample size it’s about even. The jigging on this past years forum knife was not great as well. The opening and closing, blade centering, designs….. fantastic. So there’s that.
 
I remember back in the early 2000's, one of the "oldheads" that I worked with, gave me a blister pack with a schrade knife in it.

He said "last of the American made schrade knives." I still have that knife, in the blister pack somewhere.
 
I used to drool over the stag-handled Case folders in the hardware store display when I was a kid, back in the Dark Ages before color TV. Bought a few, long lost, alas. Wouldn't buy one today though. Missed out on the Buck 110 revolution when they first came out in the 1960s but picked up on those a couple decades later. My hunting buddy had a double blade Schrade folder, carbon steel. Nice knife, a workhorse, nothing fancy. Buck's 110 continued to evolve while continuing to keep the traditional look and design, albeit with dozens of variations. Hard to beat what comes out of Buck's Custom Shop these days.
 
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In their day, yep. Today, Buck and Case do have solid workers in their respective lineups. They also have cheap junk that they'll put their names on - you get what you pay for. The last Shrade I bought is not only cheap junk, but literally hazardous.
 
edgelion said:
In their day, yep. Today, Buck and Case do have solid workers in their respective lineups. They also have cheap junk that they'll put their names on - you get what you pay for. The last Shrade I bought is not only cheap junk, but literally hazardous.
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The early Asian Schrade traditionals (circa 2005) were pretty rough, for sure.
I bought one about a dozen years ago, and felt they were producing an OK job at that point.
I bought a couple more recently to see if they had improved since the last time I had tried them. IMO, they had.

I tend to test stockman pattern knives. A 3-blade knife is a test of manufacturing precision, because the manufacturer has more pieces that all need to fit just right. An outfit that can produce a 3-blade knife with springs which are flush when each blade is in both the open and closed position, the nail nicks are all positioned correctly, and the spring strength is reasonable for each blade, is doing a pretty fair job. MUCH harder than producing single blade knives. All of my Asian Schrades are pretty good in those terms.
 
Dagoth_Blur said:
Any idea what happened causing that? Perhaps my memory is hazy but iirc they were still very popular with pretty much anyone who used knives regularly.
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Number of issues that I'd heard of, but can't confirm.
Union issues.
Didn't keep up with the market and other mismanagement. Kept making the same products the same way with not enough acknowledgement that tastes were changing.
Rumors of all kinds of other issues.
 
jpvjr71 said:
Does anyone know the difference in work quality between the 3?
Case looks nice, I use a Buck 303, & just got 2 NOS 34OT's.
Were the Schrade considered work knives in their day?
Or something you gave a kid as his 1st knife?
Click to expand...

Subjective of course:

1. Something you gave a kid as his first knife might have been a USA made Imperial or Colonial knife. (I have few of these knives from the 1970s-80s)
2. Case knives were great from 1920s - 1970s. Below average 1980s - 1990s. Uptick in quality in the mid - 2000s and now perhaps another grouping of low quality runs. However most collectors can find very nice examples in every decade. (I have a sampling of 50 knives from these different decades). If you want to buy new, might want to look at the knife in person before buying.
4. USA made Schrade - super solid knife in the 1970s & 80s. Uncle Henry and Old Timer were two of their nicer offerings. Quality was hit or miss in the few years prior to their bankruptcy. Schrade-Walden - very nice knife. (Have a few of the USA made Schrade-Walden & Schrade).
5. Buck - Very solid working knives. 301/303/110. Can’t go wrong with those.

Opinions and experiences vary over these three brands….just my .02 cents.
 
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