- Joined
- Jul 13, 2011
- Messages
- 2,090
I’m talking about the Case Mini Copperlock. I bought it off of Amazon for less than $50. This is the knife that just keeps finding its way into my pocket. I’ve been trying to figure out why I love it… and I can’t put my finger on it, but it's always in my pocket. I wasn’t even a big fan of traditional knives before I got this one, and I don’t remember why I bought it in the first place. But it has been in my pocket every day since I bought it, kicking the Spyderco Delica 4 with custom STR clip—along with all of my other knives—permanently out of rotation.
This knife is simple, solid, pocketable, and beautiful in a rugged, classic American kind of way. It opens easily and smoothly with an authoritative click and locks up solid as a vault. It is smooth and nicely rounded everywhere. The Tru Sharp steel (420HC) has a good heat treat, takes a keen edge, and sharpens up easily. The blade is evenly centered in the handle. This is a thin, solid-feeling, attractive knife that disappears in the pocket and is a joy to open and close. The traditional materials used in construction feel very reassuring in the hand.
Hell, I only bought this knife to sit in my pocket until I found something better. I’ve even tried to replace it with a Buck Custom Knife Shop 501 with jigged Asian buffalo horn handles that I waited months for. That lasted all of two days. The Mini Copperlock found its way back into my pocket. The truth is that it’s a better knife. The locking mechanism prevents the blade from touching the tension rod, which is cleverly hidden in the handle. On the 501, if you squeeze the lock bar and the blade together, the blade will actually press against the tension bar. On the Mini Copperlock, the lock release is perfectly located in the middle of the handle, making it much more comfortable to manipulate. The 501 has the release located at the very end of the knife like many lockbacks. On the Mini Copperlock, the lock bar sits absolutely flush against the scales in the open and closed position. On the 501, it is slightly out of line in both positions. I don’t know what to say… it’s just a better knife than the 501.
Here is my Mini Copperlock. This one has blue jigged bone handles, but there are many different handle materials to choose from. As you can see, it’s taken on a bit of “pocket worn” character from daily carry, which I like. You can see that I reprofiled the tip, which I think makes it more useable; the original tip was extremely curved, which was my only complaint. It is now tack sharp. You can see in the last two pictures how the lock bar is flush with the scales in the open and closed position. Again… I don’t know why I love this knife. Maybe because it's so simply--yet so perfectly--designed.
This knife is simple, solid, pocketable, and beautiful in a rugged, classic American kind of way. It opens easily and smoothly with an authoritative click and locks up solid as a vault. It is smooth and nicely rounded everywhere. The Tru Sharp steel (420HC) has a good heat treat, takes a keen edge, and sharpens up easily. The blade is evenly centered in the handle. This is a thin, solid-feeling, attractive knife that disappears in the pocket and is a joy to open and close. The traditional materials used in construction feel very reassuring in the hand.
Hell, I only bought this knife to sit in my pocket until I found something better. I’ve even tried to replace it with a Buck Custom Knife Shop 501 with jigged Asian buffalo horn handles that I waited months for. That lasted all of two days. The Mini Copperlock found its way back into my pocket. The truth is that it’s a better knife. The locking mechanism prevents the blade from touching the tension rod, which is cleverly hidden in the handle. On the 501, if you squeeze the lock bar and the blade together, the blade will actually press against the tension bar. On the Mini Copperlock, the lock release is perfectly located in the middle of the handle, making it much more comfortable to manipulate. The 501 has the release located at the very end of the knife like many lockbacks. On the Mini Copperlock, the lock bar sits absolutely flush against the scales in the open and closed position. On the 501, it is slightly out of line in both positions. I don’t know what to say… it’s just a better knife than the 501.
Here is my Mini Copperlock. This one has blue jigged bone handles, but there are many different handle materials to choose from. As you can see, it’s taken on a bit of “pocket worn” character from daily carry, which I like. You can see that I reprofiled the tip, which I think makes it more useable; the original tip was extremely curved, which was my only complaint. It is now tack sharp. You can see in the last two pictures how the lock bar is flush with the scales in the open and closed position. Again… I don’t know why I love this knife. Maybe because it's so simply--yet so perfectly--designed.