Similar quality to CV swayback?

freq18hz

freq18hz

Joined
Mar 4, 2010
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Thanks to Steelsnob for recommending I get the Case CV Swayback.

The knife feels incredibly well, built, very snappy open and closing, and the halfstops seem very stout compared to other new knives I've held recently.

Can anyone who has handled one of these swaybacks recommend something else with a slightly larger blade that would have similar or greater quality? It sounds like the rest of case's chestnut CV series don't have the same build quality? What about other manufacturers? Thanks!


-Freq
 
That particular knife at that price range (around 50 to 60) is the highest quality I have seen from a factory in about 20 or thirty years not including the collaboration knives. I think you would have to spend almost twice as much to match the quality and I have my doubts if you are going to find better half-stops on a regular production model.

Some other thoughts.
Schatt & Morgan Wire tested (will start around 70 to 80 depending upon pattern). Steel will be ATS-34. Here is an example.
GEC about the same (starting at 70 to 80).
 
Like Bastid suggested, the GEC #25 series Barlow and Barlow Jacks are not bigger, but a bit heavier duty. They have the Wharnncliff blade too.

Queen just came out with a straight jack pattern @ 3 3/8" closed in D2 blades that might fit your bill. I don`t have a pic, but a googly-oogly search should bring one up for you.
 
You could look for an older Case 6217, the original Case swayback and the larger brother to the new TB swayback. Larger and heavier, discontinued in 1978.
 
Schatt&Morgan offer a swayback in the File&Wire series. I believe it is 4 1/4" long closed. A.G. has what he calls a wharncliffe teardrop lockback that is a bit smaller at 3 3/4" closed with a 3 1/4" blade. Both should be good quality, although I have not actually handled either one.

edit: I forgot there was already a thread going on the S&M:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=754004
 
GECs are right up there at the top of the regular production slipjoint heap if you appreciate their tendency toward, shall we say, more 'robust' patterns. They show up with an occasional QC hiccup, but more often than not, they're strong, reliable, well finished, tight and consistent.

Case USAs and dotted knives from the '70s are great; IMO, easily up there with the currant swayback in terms of F&F.

The Queen-made black-box 1095 Winchesters from the '80s and early '90s are very good; better than the current Queens I've handled. They can still be found on the shelves of a few on-line dealers and eBay for reasonable prices.

No production knife in my experience can touch many of the Case/Bose collaboration slippies for overall build quality. I'd rather have one of those than half-a-dozen currant regular production Case knives.
 
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I totally agree with Bastid. I just got a swayback in cv and couldn't agree more. The blades were all flush in every position. I was quite impressed with that little knife enough for it to move to the head of my edc rotation
 
Freq, a bigger single blade knife might suit you more?
GEC has been mentioned, take a look at their No.73 pattern. Comes as slipjoint, liner lock or lockback. Many,many handle choices(bone,wood,stag,acrylic)mainly carbon, some stainless slipjoints. The 23 is its very much bigger brother,but it's too much of a pocketfull for me.
 
Yes this is exactly where I am at. The knife feels so stout, it's kicked all my other knives (even non traditional) out of my pocket.

I don't mind spending twice as much, if the knife is a bit larger. What about the other Case/Bose collaborations? Is this swayback CV technically a bose collab knife? How come the other knives in the same chestnut CV series don't feel the same? I take it the other color CV Swayback also isn't as good? Can someone explain how this would be that a particular model/color would be so much better?

-Freq
 
The Swayback and other patterns are regular production knives designed by Tony and I would bet Tony has worked with the the folks at case that work on the knives.

The Collaborations are done 1 pattern a year in higher grade steel (ATS-34 and 154-CM)

I will put up a pic of a bunch of the annual collaborations in a few min.
 
Bastid said:
The Swayback and other patterns are regular production knives designed by Tony and I would bet Tony has worked with the the folks at case that work on the knives.

The Collaborations are done 1 pattern a year in higher grade steel (ATS-34 and 154-CM)

I will put up a pic of a bunch of the annual collaborations in a few min.
Click to expand...


Bastid:

But if I am not mistaken this Swayback CV is a bose/case collab yes? I'm a bit confused why the Stag Swayback CV, and the other chestnut CV knives would be of different quality than the SBJ CV?

-Freq
 
The collaboration knives are in another ballpark as opposed to the production knives.
Here is a shot of all except the muskrat and Yukon skinner.

CaseBose.jpg
 
The sway back is a production knife designed by Tony. Yes it is a collaboration between Tony and Case but it is not the annual collaboration knife. I have only handled/own the Chestnut bone in CV. Did not know they had any other sway backs in CV. I would bet the quality on all the sway backs is about the same.

As you look at the collaboration knives above, you will not see those patterns in the regular case line-up like you would the sway back saddlehorn or sowbelly which are some of the regular production patterns that Tony has worked with Case on. These patterns have spanned several years now.

The "Case/Bose" collaboration knives are an annual pattern (changes every year). They are about as close as you can get to custom quality. They are made for a few months in limited numbers and very limited handle materials and higher end stainless steels as mentioned. Two different types of knives. The collaboration knives can run from 200 to 300 at issue. (Older ones are selling for more than that on popular auction sites.)
 
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Bastid, that Wharncliffe trapper, third from the top in your photo-- any chance of still getting one of those?
What year did it come out, and what is the overall length?
 
The pattern is a slimline trapper. The knife is 4 and 1/8".
It was the first annual collaboration knife they did in 1999.

They are still available on the secondary market, but we are talking around 400.00 or so give or take. They show up now and then on auction sites and the occasional dealer such as the one The Government found.
 
Thanks, Bastid and Gov. That sure looks like the one. Now I just need to stuff the piggy bank for a while!
 
I just noticed I left one out that I have. A cotton sampler.
 
Freq,

I read this post earlier and I can't believe I didn't think of this, but I just recently got a Case Texas Jack, 62032 CV in Amber Bone. It is 3 5/8" closed with a main Clip and Pen secondary. I really like it and might be exactly what you are looking for.
The fit and finish on mine is pretty darn close to the Swayback, and it should run you about $20-$30 less also. This model doesn't have half stops, but you don't miss them on this frame. If the smaller blade were a Wharncliffe, it would be about perfect.

Here is mine (on the left) next to one of the Case/Bose collaboration from last year, the Norfolk. That one is on par with allot of custom knives, but will set you back at least $200-$250 (but that is still less than half what a 2 blade, 2 bolster custom runs from most makers)

4743893875_f028bcaf3f_b.jpg
 
freq18hz said:
It sounds like the rest of case's chestnut CV series don't have the same build quality?
Click to expand...

freq18hz said:
How come the other knives in the same chestnut CV series don't feel the same? I take it the other color CV Swayback also isn't as good?
Click to expand...

I keep reading things like "People say the cv swayback is head-and-shoulders above the other Chestnut cv Case knives." But can anyone here offer a first-hand, eye-witness account of whether or not this is so? Has anyone here handled multiple specimens from Case's Chestnut cv line?

Or has the "difference" in quality between the swayback and the other patterns from that series just become accepted (but unsubstantiated) "conventional wisdom?"

I guess you could say that, as a recovered steel snob who's re-learned the joys of "lowly" Case and Victorinox and Buck knives, etc., I'm a bit of a skeptic when it comes to conventional wisdom about knives.
 
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