Quick question on Case toothpick blades

rschuch

rschuch

Joined
Apr 18, 2014
Messages
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Just getting into Case collecting and I recently got two toothpicks: one from 1992 and another more recent one. The blade on the 1992 is MUCH thicker and sculpted and very sturdy (can't bend it) while the newer one is completely flat, much thinner and you can bend the blade. I much prefer the sturdier blade and am wondering when did Case switch manufacturing specs so I can tailor my collection to cut off at a certain year?

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You might post pictures. I have a suspicion that you may be comparing a Case Classic Toothpick (not made by WR Case) to a more recent WR Case product.
 
The older one you've got there is what's called a "sabre grind," which refers to how the primary bevel only goes halfway up the blade, and the top half is full thickness. This obviously adds strength and rigidity, but takes away from the easy-slicing blade geometry.
 
If they're the same style of toothpick, when did they switch from one style of blade to the other?
 
Typically, Case added a SAB suffix to models having a saber grind.

That one with the saber grind has an odd looking stamp. Could be, as knifeswapper said, a Case Classic manufactured by Queen. But it looks older than that with the warping scales. And that blade pattern doesn't look like anything manufactured by anyone recently.

Edit: looked around and yes, that is a Case Classic manufactured by Queen in the late 80s-early 90s. At least there are similar examples in the wild. Mr. Latham nailed it.

As cool as it looks, I bet the standard Case is a better cutter.
 
... and you'd win that bet. Tried the saber blade on a large apple the other day and ended up with some apple sauce to go with it. Used the standard today on a hard pear and it went through like butter.

Wouldn't give either away, though. ;)
 
IIRC, Case put the large toothpick pattern in the "vault" (i.e. stopped production) for a few years. The top toothpick looks those made when they took it out of the "vault" for more recent production. I have a similar one with barnyard bone scales and an engraved bolster.
 
Yeah, they only make the small toothpicks now. I bought it NIB, but there was no year indicated and there's no year stamped on the blade like there is on the saber blade. I have no idea why they would stop making them, but I like them and larger blades better in general anyway (like the Daddy Barlows and trapper locks), and if stopping production makes them more valuable and sought after, hey, maybe my little collection will be worth something someday.
 
If the '92 has a year on it, it probably doesn't simply say "Case XX" on the tang - probably "Case Brothers" or "Case & Sons" or some such. I don't know if you have read what has been said regarding the maker. But Case does still periodically make a medium and large toothpick. And if we are correct about yours, in that it is a Case Classic - Case never has and never will make one exactly like that.

Case knives are dated by the actual layout of the tang and the dots ( or x / o nowadays). Although they did date them for a couple years in the early 1990's, I don't recall a saber large toothpick ever coming out in the dated years.
 
The model # is 71098 and it says "WR Case & Sons - Bedford, PA USA" on the other side. I didn't see a Case only discussion group in the forum (I'm a newbie here obviously). I don't know what's been said about the maker, other than the above statement about it being made by Queen, which I'm to understand is also a quality knife maker. Is there something else I should be aware of? I knew it was an older model when I got it. I was happy to get one of the sparkly Corelon handles that the small toothpicks have that makes them a little unique on a big blade.
 
I don't know. I do see the edges are raised just a hair above the bolsters (not even a 1/64"), but the rest of the handle is fine. Is this something I should be wary of on large knives?
 
It's a Case Classic. The handles are Celluloid, not Corelon.
 
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