Reading the Tang Stamp on a Case XX Russlock 61953L

[jfitzpa22]

Hey All,
Today I picked up a Case XX 61953L Russlock with a Bass Pro Shops shield. I found a 2002 example here with an almost identical tang stamp, and as you can see BPS still sells the knife (with a different stamp) but I've got someone telling me the blade was made in 1994 based on the "dot/X" pattern exhibited on the tang stamp. I've heard that Case will occassionally use leftover blades from previous production runs in later ones and even use inconsistent stamps with custom production runs, but I don't think that's what's going on here. Does anyone know anything about this knife or the tang stamp?
Thanks,
jfitzpa22

 

[Hickory n steel]

They had dots some time in the 90's but it was just dots.
Starting in 2000 they had the 5 dot's & x's then they introduced the 5 dot's & x's for a 2nd time with a new tang stamp in 2010 first removing a dot each year then started removing x's for each year.
I believe this knife is a 2011.

 

[jfitzpa22]

Thanks for your reply. I thought I was losing my mind for a moment.

 

[5K Qs]

Thanks for your reply. I thought I was losing my mind for a moment.

Here's a link to a Case tang stamp chart so you can use the tang stamp of a particular Case knife you're checking to find out when it was made.
https://www.casecollectorsclub.com/college/tang-stamps/

On your knife, I'd first check what type of "font" is used to stamp the word "Case" on the tang. It has a "boldface" C with a long, curvy tail running under the other letters, and there is no "USA" under that tail, so it's from 2010-2019, rather than 1993-1999.

If you then click on the "+See All" link for the 2010-2019 tang stamp in the chart, you'll see examples of the pattern of dots and x's for each of the years in that decade. Basically, for each missing dot or x, you add a year to 2010 to get the date. Since your knife is missing ONE dot, it was made in 2010 + 1 = 2011.

(FWIW, the "2002 example" you linked to has the same font for "Case" as your knife, but is missing TWO dots, so it's actually a 2012 example (2010+2). The link to the Bass Pro Russlock looks like it's the same font with NO missing symbols, so a 2010 model (2010+0).)

- GT

 

[jfitzpa22]

Here's a link to a Case tang stamp chart so you can use the tang stamp of a particular Case knife you're checking to find out when it was made.
https://www.casecollectorsclub.com/college/tang-stamps/

Thanks for sending this; it's much more thorough than the chart I was using!