Tony Bose Tribal Spear.. Picky?

C

cutterman

Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Messages
122
Hi all

Just received a lovely Chestnut Bone T B Tribal Spear, and a fine knife it is. Straight centered blade open and closed good grinds , but with a small issue I'd like your opinions on.

To quell the photo boys yelling it's slight and I can't get this to show well in any photograph I take, but I'm sure you will get my drift.

The, I must say beautiful, scale edges on BOTH sides from about midway back to the butt are just slightly below the steel liners all the way around. You can see it in CRITICAL light and you can feel it with your finger tip or finger nail. It's very slight and it's so even on both sides that it looks as if it was designed this way. Any body else notice this on theirs?

Yes it is a production knife and not a true custom, but I don't see it on many of my regular production case knives. For instance, my two T B Backpockets scales are flush and smooth all the way. Too picky,or do I forget about it, chaulk it up to hand craftsmanship, pocket and use the hell out of it? It's a beauty!

What's your Q C tolerance level on knives in this quality level.

Merry Christmas and thanks to all.

cutterman
 
I've never seen that on any of the Case/Bose Collaboration knives I have. If it bothers you, see if the dealer has a better one or see what Case can do. In my opinion the fit and finish on the Collab knives should be real, real close to spot on, considering the price you pay.

Merry Christmas!
 
Without images it's hard to appreciate the extent of the issue. You really should post an image so we can get a feel for the overall look, fit and finish of the knife.

In the end, only you can determine what's acceptable. If it's not acceptable then either the dealer or Case should make it right.

My knife came with very good fit and finish overall. (Well, the shield is a bit proud but that seems to be common to most...and the tip not as pointy as I'd have liked.)

The main issue was that the edge grind was poor and the bevels uneven. I took it downstairs to my shop and immediately addressed that with a good sharpening. Should I have had to do that? Probably not...but now I'm very happy with the knife.
 
I agree. You paid good money for it and you should be proud to carry it.

If the knife does not give you complete satisfaction you should get the issue resolved through either the dealer or Case.

It will be a bit of a hassle but I think it's better to endure a week or so of hassle than a lifetime of disatisfaction.
 
cutterman said:
T scale edges on BOTH sides from about midway back to the butt are just slightly below the steel liners all the way around. You can see it in CRITICAL light and you can feel it with your finger tip or finger nail. It's very slight and it's so even on both sides that it looks as if it was designed this way. Any body else notice this on theirs?
cutterman
Click to expand...

If I understand your description correctly my guess would be a tiny bit of shrinkage from the time the scales were hafted to now. Natural scale materials , bone, ivory, ebony can and will shrink, swell with varying atmospheric conditions. I have hafted a knife with bone or ivory that is well seasoned, came back the next day and have experienced the same condition as you describe. I have also noticed that when this happens I will refinish the frame to scales. It seems that most of the shrinkage will happen when the scales are first worked down from a much larger piece of material. The shrinkage is so very consistent that you could think it was intentional. You mention that the shrinkage is from about midway back. To me this makes sense as there is more width and material to shrink with that pattern from the center back.

Ken
 
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I bought an Ebony with the same issue. The scale looked like it was a mm to small around the entire edge and you could see and feel a hairline of the underlying liners around the entire knife. It was also over hafted around the sheilds and pins so the scale looked wavy. This along with other issues is why I sent mine back for a refund.
 
My chestnut bone Tribal Spear also has the same shrinkage, but it is almost unnoticable, and not an issue to me. I like the knife very much. I have a Yukon and an Arkansas Hunter also in that handle variety, and they have no problem at all.
 
I got lucky because my Antique Bone Tribal Spear is perfect in everything.
Only my Customs are this right-on. And it's a truly great pattern, not only attractive but it's a big knife that carries like a smaller knife thanks to it's slim nature.
So for me, if the only issue was v. slight scale shrinkage and it was still comfortable when gripped tightly, i'd keep it. Perfection in all aspects is rare, so i'm willing to accept minor issues that do not impair function to any degree.
roland
 
Thanks to all for the opinions.

Ericksons comments above make a lot of sense. I never thought of material shrinkage , but thats exactly what it looks like. I'm leaning towards returning it it Case. I'm going to call them after the holidays and talk about it. I do like the knife very much, and believe it "is" a warranty issue, particularly on a knife costing this much and touted as close to custom. I've returned knives to them in the past and got them back with other problems. The use it and enjoy argument has some merit.

Happy New Year

cutterman
 
Even several of my true customs have shrinkage on the handle material. In large part it's due to moisture levels where you live v. the area of the country in which the knife was made. On some of my ivory knives, for instance, I've seen them shrink/expand over a period of days when I had them with me on trips. The srinkage can also be seasonal (e.g., less humidity in the winter)
 
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I'd take some very magnified scans of the shrinkage, then oil the bone with mineral oil (not too heavily) in warm room. Lightly wipe off the excess after a couple of hours, and re-scan them the next day.
You might be surprised.
 
cutterman,
I hate to hear about your problem with the scale shrinkage. I got mine on Christmas Day and everything looks great. I agree that if your not happy, you should send it back. I'm the same way, it would probably drive me crazy.
Good luck Buddy.
 
I had the same "problem" with my ebony one. I looked at the box, the date was in early september when it is very humid in PA and I bought it from a southwestern purveyor in December with much lower humidity. I looked at the scales and "read the knife". The scales were obviosly hand fitted and rounded to match the liners at time of production, so the slight shrinkage had to be due to moisture.

About 10 years ago, when I bought a custom bone handled knife, the maker warned me that the scales will shrink ever so slightly come winter since I bought it in June. This was true, and as with other knives I have, I expect the Case scales will be perfect come next May. Who says it has to be flush to be anyway? Why expect perfection from a man made product?
 
For what it's worth, I was oiling all of my knives this weekend. Nashville has had a considerably non-humid winter thus far. 70% of my stag/ivory knives had noticeable shrinkage...by far this is the worse I've seen them, although it usually happens to one or two each winter. I did the same maintenance task in August and there was no shrinkage then. Like I said earlier and what brownshoe mentioned above, a lot of the problem is seasonal. It just comes with having natural handle material. I've put a couple glasses of water in with the knives to increase the moisture level. Will let you know how it works.
 
Campbell, I'm interested by your experiments, do let us know if you see a change.

Here in Scandinavia not only is winter very cold and hence dry, but indoor temps are so high 22c and more that you can walk around in not much. The downside of this is excessively dry atmosphere, not good for the throat and skin and VERY bad for Traditional handled knives. The humidity is frequently under 20%, i have a humidifier in one room which pumps out 3 litres in a night but even so, it's still too dry particulalry for stag. Might have to get one of those humidors for cigars and stow the favourites there!
 
That's the main reason I avoid ivory here. The humidity is usually about 5%. During the 'wet' season, it can get as high as 35%. It can also get to over 120 in the summer, in the shade!

When I did have a couple ivory knives, I kept them in a small travel humidor in my safe. On one knife, the scales actually swelled a little in there, making the action a bit tight. The others were perfect in there. They would exhibit a tiny amount of shrinkage otherwise. Had the same problem with a couple wood-handled knives, one with impala horn, and one with giraffe bone.

It's the nature of natural scale materials - not a defect in the knife and certainly not a warranty issue.

I finally decided it was silly to keep my ivory knives locked up in a humidor and sold them. So far, no issues with stag, pearl, most bone, and of course micarta, carbon fiber, and G10. Micarta will actually exhibit a tiny response to variations in humidity. G10 is the least hydroscopic of the man-made materials and is the best choice for extreme environments.
 
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