SOLVED -A minor mystery regarding a new to me mini copperhead...

TLARbb

TLARbb

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Jan 24, 2010
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Last week I saw a listing for a Case mini copperhead. The listing indicated it had imitation pearl covers. The expanded description indicated that it was imitation ivory. Well, the photos were poor but good enough that I didn't think it was imitation ivory because of the interior reflections. I also did not think it was MOTS, but with poor photos, you might not be able tell the difference. It arrived this afternoon, but I was not here to pick it up out of the mailbox in time to take photos.

Edit: I was able to track down Case's model number code and the model is 92109X. The leading "9" indicates that the covers are imitation pearl as the auction description claimed. So, I have picked up a nice Case MCH with clip blade and imitation pearl covers at a fair price. I am happy with the knife, especially for the price I paid. I was thinking it might be real pearl, but I am not disappointed at all with what I received; it is very good looking material.

Meanwhile, here is one of the photos from the auction.

130131_MCH_zps2db959ee.jpg


Ed J
 
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MOP is mother of pearl, whats MOT? sorry for the dumb question. As for your knife, the covers are beautiful in and of them-self, nice white semi-translucent milky-cloudy streaks within, i wouldnt stress about it too much, just enjoy your new acquisition :)
 
shrapne1 said:
MOP is mother of pearl, whats MOT? sorry for the dumb question. As for your knife, the covers are beautiful in and of them-self, nice white semi-translucent milky-cloudy streaks within, i wouldnt stress about it too much, just enjoy your new acquisition :)
Click to expand...

MOTS is mother of toilet seat, an affectionate term for the look of the MOP, ya either love it or loathe it :D
i dont care for it but wouldnt kick a knife to the curb for havin it
gene
 
MOTS is "Mother Of Toilet Seat" a term for imitation MOP. I did pull out a white Mother of Pearl, and a Case Gold Lip Mother of Pearl knife to compare it with and it does not really look like real mother of pearl when compared to these two knives. I also have a Bulldog with "oyster" covers which is the MOTS material that I have been familiar with. The covers on this knife don't look like that either. So, I still don't know, but it is a handsome little knife regardless of what the material actually is.

So, I'm thinking it is a different, better version of MOTS than the Bulldog has. I am beginning to think it is imitation rather than the real thing. I hope I am able to capture the "fire" in the material.

Ed J
 
I don't think that that's real mother of pear on that knife. However, that doesn't seem to be a Case knock off in my opinion thankfully. What you seem to have there is a genuine Case knife with knock off mother of pearl scales. Here is a Case knife (a Stockman in this case) with real mother of pearl scales and it looks quite different from what you have.

fLRNpV9.jpg
 
What's the model number.Genuine pearl is 8 isn't it?And imitation 9?As in 8249 or whatever the little copperhead is.
 
Case also did the "corelon" series of knives in an imitation sort of MOP. Though those are more contemporary, and have an etch on the blade, giving a description. Still they might have used the stuff in the past and just rehashed it giving it a new moniker.
 
Seals said:
What's the model number.Genuine pearl is 8 isn't it?And imitation 9?As in 8249 or whatever the little copperhead is.
Click to expand...

I found the decoder ring on AAPK website (It could be here as well) and it is "imitation pearl" by the model number code "9". Full model stamp on the pen blade reads 92109X. I'm not sure what the "X" designates. I've seen that before, but don't know what it is refering to.

The model number on my deep canyon jigged bone model is 62109W (wharncliffe blade).

I will still try to get photos up today as I will be carrying it all day.

Ed J
 
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In my very most humble of opinion, the scales don't have the translucent quality of MOP.

By that I mean a haziness that sets the real stuff off.

It's a really nice knife, in any case.

My 2¢.
 
Tom, as I have said before and it will apply here I am sure - I have a lot of trouble getting good photos of real MOP. No doubt, I will have a hard time capturing this material as well. It looks much better than the auction photo, but then all my real MOP knives look much better than my photos of them.

Here is an example of one of my photos of Case's gold lip pearl and abalone canoes to illustrate what I'm talking about:

knives1103-002.jpg


JC57, thank you for your information and the link; I've saved it off to my bookmarks.

Stich, I saved your link to my bookmarks as well.

Thanks folks for your input. I still owe you pictures....

Ed J
 
A lot of good info in this thread. I know that I have another model of Case to keep my eyes open for now.:D
Whatever the scales, ya gotta love the mini copperhead.
 
Ed - I've got a modest collection of mini copperheads, been collecting them for almost 20 years. I believe I have the same knife you purchased there. Mine has the same model number as yours and it is most definitely MOTS - although a really pretty MOTS! Definitely not real MOP.

TedP
 
Here is a photo of it with a Silver Knight. It is more "yellow" which explains my first impression that it might actually be MOP. It is definitely a nice looking knife. I would have taken more photos, but given my handicap trying to capture pearl with my point and shoot Kodak, I thought it prudent to see how this photo came out before investing a lot of time. It's not a good picture either. So, my luck hasn't changed regarding shooting these materials.

100_2405_zps92c24fa4.jpg


Ed J
 
TLARbb said:
It's not a good picture either. So, my luck hasn't changed regarding shooting these materials.
Click to expand...

Tricky materials to photograph, indeed; while your eyes see in person what we are "missing" in the above picture, I think you've done an admirable job, especially as your photograph captures (at least some of) the difference in hue and texture. Thanks for the comparison. :thumbup:

Speaking of comparisons, while the wharncliffe mini copperhead has that extra "I-don't-know-what" (as the French say ;)) that puts it over the top, the clip blade version of this pattern definitely has its own charms.
IMG_6536_zpsa74d3941.jpg


Nice pick-up, Ed, and fun little pattern-number explore. :)

~ P.
 
Hopefully not thread-jacking, but I'm on a quest to find a nice Mini Copperhead Wharncliffe myself. I find that I don't like the current offerings of handles for them. I like the look of the Deep Canyon Chestnut Bone on some larger patterns where you can get 2 or 3 rows of the "canyon", but not on a knife with scales that small - the canyon ends up looking like a defect in the scale. The Navy Blue Bone doesn't do anything for me, I prefer more natural looking scales (ambers, golds, browns, darker reds or oranges, etc.) The Ducks Unlimited version looks ok in the brown bone, but I don't especially want to pay twice as much for that little duck-head badge.

I am finding the hunt itself quite enjoyable, so maybe some day I'll have a nice one to post pics of. I think I may have one on the way but I've had enough experiences with a knife showing in-stock on a web page when you order it, only to get an e-mail the next day apologizing for being out of stock, that I won't believe it until it's in my hand.

On the positive side, the search has started me looking for all of the small independent hardware stores in the region that are listed as Case dealers, which is turning out to be fun experience itself.
 
Sarah, your blue bone wharncliffe pulled me over the edge. Found one at a good price so I ordered it. I'm looking for a nice blue bone copperlock to go with it now. Jeff hasn't helped with that nice blue bone wharncliffe copperhead either.

Ed J
 
TLARbb said:
Sarah, your blue bone wharncliffe pulled me over the edge. Found one at a good price so I ordered it. I'm looking for a nice blue bone copperlock to go with it now. Jeff hasn't helped with that nice blue bone wharncliffe copperhead either.
Click to expand...

In an interesting turn of events, my "blue" wharncliffe mini copperhead started its life as amber, which I hunted down and bought (sight unseen) due to your pictures of your own! Life is funny, sometimes.

Unfortunately, its amber coloration wasn't nearly as pleasing as that on yours (or as found on the Texas Jack I ordered in to give away, which was similarly stellar). After a few attempts to 'colorize' it, I decided it looked worse for my efforts and RIT-dyed it blue. It's still a work in progress, but we're getting there.

I dare say your True Blue will look better!

~ P.
 
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