"Sterile" Appears to be a Case copy?? What is this?

S

sandmountainslim

Joined
Sep 14, 2007
Messages
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I picked this knife up in the early nineties thinking it was a second from Case but from what I understand now Case destroys all seconds and none make it out.
As you can see it looks much like a Case but is completely sterile with no tang markings whatsoever and nothing on the handle.
Anyone have a clue what this is? Carbon steel and a really good knife for what it is..

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I believe it has happened at every Factory whether recorded and reported or not. It might not have been very common at Case, but I suppose over 125 years it HAS been done a few times. And there are a lot of Case Counterfeits out there otherwise. In some parts of Appalachia, Case Counterfeiting is a Cottage Industry. That being said, I guess a Counterfeit would try harder to have the markings.
 
sandmountainslim said:
I was thinking something along those lines. I didn't know if there was any history of that occuring at the Case factory.
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I would say lunch box knife is a really good guess. The shield dimensions and curvature suggest XX strongly. In the old days of Case, say in the 1960's and prior to, one needs to remember that most people only had a couple knives. Not so many collectors. I would guess that management did little to encourage it in those days and probably did just as little to discourage it. Things like a lunch box knife might get you a frown, but, not a firing. Fast forward to today, where there are so many different knives being produced and collectors a plenty, and one can see why it is strongly discouraged. Just my opinion, thinking back to the old days. ;)
 
Woodrow F Call said:
Made the knife at work (at Case) and took it home?
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Lunch Box Knives were generally made from parts taken home over a period of time, finished at home (hence the rough appearance, most factory workers did not have a full knife shop at home) and sold at any opportunity: out of the trunk, field trials, trade days, swap meets, etc.
 
Primble said:
I would say lunch box knife is a really good guess. The shield dimensions and curvature suggest XX strongly. In the old days of Case, say in the 1960's and prior to, one needs to remember that most people only had a couple knives. Not so many collectors. I would guess that management did little to encourage it in those days and probably did just as little to discourage it. Things like a lunch box knife might get you a frown, but, not a firing. Fast forward to today, where there are so many different knives being produced and collectors a plenty, and one can see why it is strongly discouraged. Just my opinion, thinking back to the old days. ;)
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Im gonna look up photos of older Case slim trappers and see how it matches up to them. U could well be right.
 
It is a Case 31048, but this example was made by Camillus on contract for Case. Camillus made some percentage of 048 patterns in delrin and yellow (both one and two blade) from about 1970 until about 1976. Those were years that Case had big problems keeping their production up with demand. The telltale sign is the slightly different blade grind and nail pull. The shield is obviously not original. So it may be as others have suggested, a lunch box knife or rejected second from the Camillus factory. If you have a copy of the book Collecting Case Knives Identification and Price Guide, see page 170 and page 172.
 
cilohaefink said:
It is a Case 31048, but this example was made by Camillus on contract for Case. Camillus made some percentage of 048 patterns in delrin and yellow (both one and two blade) from about 1970 until about 1976. Those were years that Case had big problems keeping their production up with demand. The telltale sign is the slightly different blade grind and nail pull. The shield is obviously not original. So it may be as others have suggested, a lunch box knife or rejected second from the Camillus factory. If you have a copy of the book Collecting Case Knives Identification and Price Guide, see page 170 and page 172.
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Thanks! Appreciate the detailed and informative answer.
 
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