Retail value of current Case knives...

C

cosine

Joined
Dec 13, 2005
Messages
706
...such as a Stockman, mini Trapper, Trapper, Copperlock.

About what do those knives go for now new, street-value wise?

Any good places online for Case pocketknives?
 
cosine said:
...such as a Stockman, mini Trapper, Trapper, Copperlock.

About what do those knives go for now new, street-value wise?

Any good places online for Case pocketknives?
Click to expand...

Too many variations of each to throw out a price.

The best place on earth to determine street value is ebay. Five minutes on ebay and you can see what things are really worth. Many collectors have knives they believe are worth $500 that can only manage to pull about $150 on ebay. Those kind of collectors always have crap for sale but never actually sell anything.

As for online places to buy Case knives a google search will reveal about 9,975,764 places that sell case knives. Use caution when ordering production slipjoints online. Quality can vary greatly from knife to knife. You are just as likely to get a "turd" as you are "a winner" in the sub $100 range. I won't order production slipjoints online anymore because the quality in ALL brands is very hit and miss. Nearly every hardware store in the USA sells Case knives as well as most sporting goods stores. I would advise buying from those places so you can actually check out the knife and check for blade wobble, uncentered blades, poorly matched scales, and so on.
 
hwp said:
I would advise buying from those places so you can actually check out the knife and check for blade wobble, uncentered blades, poorly matched scales, and so on.
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What else? Could you provide a basic rundown of what to look for when purchasing a knife like that? My tastes have always run towards SAKs and other folders (i.e. Spyderco and Benchmade) and have no idea what I should be looking for or avoiding in production slipjoints such as from Case.
 
ACE hardware stores usually carries at least one display of Case sometimes two. At ACE, they run from about 25 to about $65 depending upon pattern and scale material.
 
On the other hand, I don't know where some of these other folks live, but around here there aren't any hardware stores, knife shops, or sporting goods stores that carry quality knives of any type. All I've seen are the cheapo Chinese tactical knockoffs, and one place that sells a few things like CRKT and Taylor-made Schrade. Including the (one) "traditional" hardware store we've got with wood plank floors and Norton stones.

I've bought some 35 knives online in the last year, mostly slips, and haven't had to return a single one. One or two were questionable, but the defects weren't extreme, and it wasn't even worth the return shipping to take a chance on another one. Brands have varied, but include Case, Queen, S&M, Boker, Eye Brand, and Bulldog.

There are several online vendors that have decent places. KnivesPlus seems to have generally good prices on Case. You do have to be careful with some places that'll advertise a great price on something they don't have in stock. Ask before ordering.

And contrary to the above, I don't find eBay to be that great an indicator of "real" pricing. The auctions are just that: Whatever a buyer is willing to pay. Oh, if you monitor sales for 3 months you might get an idea of "averages", but who wants to go to that trouble to save $10? And the "Buy it Now"/eBay Stores places often have higher prices than you'll find at an online retailer.

Finally, keep shipping prices in mind. I've seen knives marked down to below other vendors prices, only to see a $12 shipping charge, when it really only costs them $2-4 to ship. (Cross country USPS Priority package rate is $4.05 for a single knife.)

-- Sam
 
Around 40 bucks for the CV steel ones with premium handle materials new in box is a good price in brick and mortar stores. IMHO.
 
A couple of weeks ago, I stopped by my local ACE Hardware store and was happy to see that they offered a few Case knives. They only had maybe five or six models for sale, and the prices were a little bit more than what you'd find online, but I'll probably buy a knife or two there at some point.

I've bought from www.knivesplus.com a couple of times and gotten good service from them. They have a huge number of Case models for sale on their site, but I can't imagine that they're all in stock, so you might want to check with them before you order. www.vintageknives.com is another place I've bought from that has a good collection of new Case knives. They list the quantity that they have remaining in stock and they also have great pictures. You can sometimes find good deals on new Case knives in eBay auctions, but that's always hit and miss.

As far as what to look for in a slip-joint, I think backspring strength is a main concern. You want the blades to snap open and closed with authority. Weak springs are a major disappointment and can be dangerous if the blades aren't staying open. Side-to-side blade play seems to be relatively common with slip-joints and is something to check for right away. I'd also make sure that the backsprings sit flush with the top of the handle when the blades are both open and closed. There are a lot of other fit and finish details to look for, but those are a few primary issues.
 
I'd agree with the on-line kniife stores. You can find a couple that you can ask to check out the knife before shipping (www. newgraham.com is good). The points that cerulean noted about what to watch for are the same for me.

Slipjoints can be so hit or miss in quality, it is necessary to check them out. Unfortunately, there aren't many brick and mortar stores where you can do that and still get a good price.

Another avenue you may want to explore, if you are patient, is to check out some knife shows. Case knives, especially, seem to show up at knife shows. The last one I was at had a phenomenal selection of recent production of each model to check out.

The last option I can think of is to do a pilgramage to Smokey Mountain Knife Works in Tennessee. For current production knives, you can't find a better in-person selection. The only additional cost is getting there. Oh, also the ridiculously high Tennessee state sales tax of 9.75% :(

Dean
 
I wouldn't worry too much about Knives Plus not having something they say they do. I have shopped his brick and mortar store, and he has a huge selection in the showcases. At a rough guess, I would say upward of a thousand models on display, from Opinel through Benchmade in price range. And he usually has great prices, too. All in all, it's probably a good thing his store is 176 miles from my house, or I'd really be broke all the time.
 
ParaGlock said:
On the other hand, I don't know where some of these other folks live, but around here there aren't any hardware stores, knife shops, or sporting goods stores that carry quality knives of any type. All I've seen are the cheapo Chinese tactical knockoffs, and one place that sells a few things like CRKT and Taylor-made Schrade. Including the (one) "traditional" hardware store we've got with wood plank floors and Norton stones.

I've bought some 35 knives online in the last year, mostly slips, and haven't had to return a single one. One or two were questionable, but the defects weren't extreme, and it wasn't even worth the return shipping to take a chance on another one. Brands have varied, but include Case, Queen, S&M, Boker, Eye Brand, and Bulldog.

There are several online vendors that have decent places. KnivesPlus seems to have generally good prices on Case. You do have to be careful with some places that'll advertise a great price on something they don't have in stock. Ask before ordering.

And contrary to the above, I don't find eBay to be that great an indicator of "real" pricing. The auctions are just that: Whatever a buyer is willing to pay. Oh, if you monitor sales for 3 months you might get an idea of "averages", but who wants to go to that trouble to save $10? And the "Buy it Now"/eBay Stores places often have higher prices than you'll find at an online retailer.

Finally, keep shipping prices in mind. I've seen knives marked down to below other vendors prices, only to see a $12 shipping charge, when it really only costs them $2-4 to ship. (Cross country USPS Priority package rate is $4.05 for a single knife.)

-- Sam
Click to expand...

I have a CaseXX Bulldog model 5172 with "Made in USA" etched on the blade instead of the tang. would you know date on manufacture or other history?
 
I live in the EU so I'm forced to rely on the net or e-bay for American knives(lot cheaper this way too) Recently bought a CASE saddlehorn with stag scales, excellent finish, no wobble and vicious snap. I've heard others complain that quality is variable but my example is stunning.Also got a little Camillus Yello Jacket as I hear the firm may be disappearing, again quality and finish very good indeed.(won't be if it's transfered to a hellish sweat-shop in China though...) An on line seller of Case I have found 100% trustworthy is CLASSIC CUTLERY Hancock NJ they are on e-bay. I can also recommend Chestnut Ridge Knife Shop www.ridgeknifeshop.com (although despite my instant payment he gave me no positive feedback on e-bay,maybe he forgot?)

IDEA could a thread be started to name and shame poor knife dealers on e-bay? Or would this incur legal wrath?
 
250crew said:
I have a CaseXX Bulldog model 5172 with "Made in USA" etched on the blade instead of the tang. would you know date on manufacture or other history?
Click to expand...
Welcome to BladeForums!

First off, you'd be better off opening a new topic about this.
Secondly, I'm afraid I'm not the one to ask. There are many here much better at this sort of thing than I, and I believe there's a whole sub-forum dedicated to such things here.

Good luck!

-- Sam
 
I went to a local hardware store tonight and looked at a few Case trappers. One question: Are the blades supposed to open into a position 180 degrees in line with the handle or not? The couple models I looked at didn't do so. The blades stopped just short of opening all the way directly in line with the handle.
 
I can't say for certain, but my old Case Rogers bone Damascus Trapper stops about 5 degrees short of straight on both blades. Since it is the only Case Trapper I have, that's all I can tell you :o
 
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