I really love and appreciate the posts here. Makes me happy to see other knife enthusiasts also tend to have a nice lighter or two lying around! I hope everyone is having a good morning. This is going to be a longer post and probably one of my better contributions to this forum to date. I hope you enjoy!
I want to save the best for last. So, let's start with the lighter! This Zippo is my oldest and likely dates between 1951 and 1952. This predates the dating system introduced by Zippo sometime in 1958. The case and insert are steel construction as opposed to brass because the conflict in South Korea required brass for munitions. I keep this zippo case and insert oiled to prevent rusting.
You'll notice right away the old ZIPPO logo on the case which was used between 1933 and 1954. The case has flat top 3's on the patent number, the zippo logo is considered "wide" as opposed to "skinny", and the O in Zippo is above the D&E. This dates the case between 1951 and 1952.
The insert is an "open" chimney. Some from this era were "closed" right above the flint wheel. It also has a square as opposed to round cam. It is 16 hole with flat top 3's. The flint wheel has diagonal lines. The Z in Zippo is above the 2&6 and the O above the E in made. It is considered a thin stamping as opposed to thick. This dates the insert between 1951 and 1953. So, it appears to be an original and authentic insert! It is also not scratched all to hell from being inserted and removed from the case. Great condition! It did not have the felt pad unfortunately when I purchased it. So, I used a new one directly from zippo. They sent it for free under their lifetime warranty. Great customer service!!
Now... onto the good stuff. The knife!! This is one I recently acquired and one I'm hoping some here might be able to better educate me on! I was actually waiting to receive this knife before making this post.
I believe this Case knife dates between 1940 and 1949. It has the CASE over XX stamping. So, 1940-1964. But, it does not include a pattern number. I understand that all case knives had a pattern number stamped starting in 1949. It also has a closed 'C' shield, which I understand is often associated with the Tested era of case knives. So, this lends credence to the fact that this was likely a very early production in the XX era.
This is also my first time seeing, in person, what may be a true green bone knife from case. If it is green bone, this again confirms to me that this was a very early XX era production knife. I'm curious if the experts here believe it is green bone or not! I tried my best to capture the color in sunlight, but it is a little snowy today. So, it was tough.
The knife is 3 3/8" in length when closed. It has a clip and pen blade both with half stops. For these reasons, I believe this pattern to be the 6235 1/2. And, the construction on this knife is outstanding. It is hands down the best fit and finish on any case knife I own. Pinned shield with all pins, shield, and bolsters flush. All backsprings flush in the open, closed, and halfstop positions. Nice spring termination on both ends. Snappy, but not too heavy on the pull. Probably a 7.5 or 8 on both blades. Virtually no gaps in backsprings at all. Not 100% perfect centering, but close to it on both blades. Absolutely no rub in the blade well against the liners. And, the bone is just gorgeous. No chips or cracks that I can see with the naked eye. Aside from some peppering on the blades, this thing is in excellent condition given its age. At least in my opinion!
Lastly, a group pic! It wouldn't be right to make a post here without the knife and lighter side by side
I wanted to post these together as it is possible they were made around the same time, in the same city. Just a cool knife and lighter pair to post!
And what a gorgeous buck! I'm not sure I've ever seen a blade like that before. And the grain in that wood!! 
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Cool story and picture!! Thanks for sharing!
It is certainly the oldest case knife I own and it not even having a pattern number stamped on it intrigues me 
