What happened to this knife? - Case Trapper content

[Humppa]

Hi guys and gals!

Long story short - I bought a Case Trapper on the Bay some time ago. It was listed as "used and rusty". Alright I thought no problem and I bought it. On the pics it seemed to be patinaed at some case and the prize was ok - at least for a used Case knife sold in Germany.
Then it arrived and I´ve never seen something lik this - here are some pics:







That seems to be some pretty bad pitting all over the two blades not patina in any way. Those "craters" are til about 1 mm deep in the steel.

I´m curious now - what could have happened to this blades?! Did the previous owner bathed the knife over a couple of days in acid? This really looks strange to me. The knife still has a strong snap on the springs and it´s a pretty nice working knife.

This is how a well earned patina looks like on another user knife of mine - in comparison

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

That's just what's left over after some REALLY BAD rusting. Hard to say what the corrosive agent was. But, sometimes with simple rust, if one doesn't catch it when it starts, the rust itself can trap moisture and anything else that contributes to more corrosion, and it'll quickly deteriorate. Might've been used as a fishing knife, and left in a tacklebox in the 'off-season' from fishing. Lots of knives and other tools have met an early demise after being left for a few months/years in a tacklebox. The blades do look like they've been sharpened a lot, so it looks like it's definitely been "used hard & put away wet", as the saying goes. All the worse, if it was used around saltwater. Whatever the case, it looks like it's been stashed/lost/dropped and left in a wet location, for some time.


David

 

[Humppa]

Thanks for the replie - David. Much appreciated.

But you could be definitelly right, the bolsters are pretty scratched, so there could have been used some kind drilling-machin driven brush to remove the rust and a little sharpened and sold for a few bucks as a "well used but rusty knife". I didn´t get on the idea of being used as a fishing knife, but it´s logical somehow.

 

[OHALLUM]

I've got a Colonial Barlow that was the same way. Took some WD-40 and a wire brush on my drill and polished it up a bit. Came out polished but still pitted, but looking much better. It sharpened up just great, and turned out to be a good addition to my collection. Polish her up, it can't hurt.

Blessings,

Omar

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Thanks for the replie - David. Much appreciated.

But you could be definitelly right, the bolsters are pretty scratched, so there could have been used some kind drilling-machin driven brush to remove the rust and a little sharpened and sold for a few bucks as a "well used but rusty knife". I didn´t get on the idea of being used as a fishing knife, but it´s logical somehow.

I've no doubt somebody had to get pretty aggressive, in cleaning it up. A powered wire brush would've been handy, as badly rusted as it was.

I once saw a yellow Case Sod Buster Jr. listed on the 'bay, and it was in similar condition. Obviously badly rusted, and it had been cleaned up, leaving deep & widespread pitting behind. The thing that made me laugh (while rolling my eyes and shaking my head) at that one was, the seller listed the knife as an 'antique'. The pitting made it look like it'd endured for decades, but the date stamp on the tang dated the knife to 2004.

I hope the seller of your knife didn't mis-represent it similarly.


David

 

[longun]

Could that knife have been left outside. It appears in the photos that the delrin is bleeched out. One side looks darker then the other. Like it was laying out in the weather for some time.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Could that knife have been left outside. It appears in the photos that the delrin is bleeched out. One side looks darker then the other. Like it was laying out in the weather for some time.

This occurred to me too. The depth and extent of the pitting suggests it was exposed for a long time to both moisture and oxygen, as if laying on the wet ground somewhere.


David

 

[Sadden]

That kind of pitting does take some time form. But its definitely a rust and not an acid or caustic.

 

[FarmKid]

If its a work knife take a diamond sharpening stone and lay them flat and keep sharpening till the whole blade starts making contact with the stone. When u start the only contact between blade and stone will be the top of the blade and at the edge. Keep doing this until the whole blade starts making contact. Had bad pitting on a cv trapper and did this and most of the pitting dissapeared. Plus it takes a quick patina after. Hope this makes sense and helps.

 

[Humppa]

Thanks for your help, fellows. Much appreciated. I gonna put into regular use... after some spa treatment ... and sharpening...

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Thanks for your help, fellows. Much appreciated. I gonna put into regular use... after some spa treatment ... and sharpening...

Andi,

Nice thing is, the CV will still sharpen up nice, in spite of the 'weathered look'. After viewing your post, I had dug out an older (1988) yellow Case trapper of mine, also in carbon steel (that vintage not yet stamped as 'CV'). I haven't ordinarily carried trappers very often, but still wanted to give it a 2nd look. Put a new edge on the clip blade, and it's wicked sharp. In addition to the 2 other CV Case knives I've purchased recently ('75 pattern stockman and a Peanut), they're 3-for-3 in how easily they sharpen up. I'm learning to really like this steel.


David

 

[Bowman1911]

Looks like it lived a "salt water" life.

 

[r8shell]

You say it still has snap, so I guess the backsprings are stainless?

 

[Humppa]

Andi,

Nice thing is, the CV will still sharpen up nice, in spite of the 'weathered look'. After viewing your post, I had dug out an older (1988) yellow Case trapper of mine, also in carbon steel (that vintage not yet stamped as 'CV'). I haven't ordinarily carried trappers very often, but still wanted to give it a 2nd look. Put a new edge on the clip blade, and it's wicked sharp. In addition to the 2 other CV Case knives I've purchased recently ('75 pattern stockman and a Peanut), they're 3-for-3 in how easily they sharpen up. I'm learning to really like this steel.


David

Case´s carbon steel is great stuff, imo. I have several knives in this steel and it takes a great edge and keeps it nicely long time. I really like what Case does on their HT. Trappers aren´t my favorite pattern, too. I tend to like 3.5" jackknives as my favorite pattern... or smaller ... and sometimes slightly bigger

You say it still has snap, so I guess the backsprings are stainless?

Yes, the backsprings are stainless. I don´t think it´s a real old knife. There´s a CV stamp on the spey blade. But unfortunatelly the stamp on the main blade is hardly to read. So stainless springs and a CV stamp could count down the date of production to a period until nowadays...

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Case´s carbon steel is great stuff, imo. I have several knives in this steel and it takes a great edge and keeps it nicely long time. I really like what Case does on their HT. Trappers aren´t my favorite pattern, too. I tend to like 3.5" jackknives as my favorite pattern... or smaller ... and sometimes slightly bigger



Yes, the backsprings are stainless. I don´t think it´s a real old knife. There´s a CV stamp on the spey blade. But unfortunatelly the stamp on the main blade is hardly to read. So stainless springs and a CV stamp could count down the date of production to a period until nowadays...

I think Case didn't start stamping 'CV' on their carbon blades until sometime in the '90s. AND, on yours, I noticed the shield looks like the one seen in some of their current line (& maybe last few years), which is a throwback or homage to the 'classic' Case oval shield (vendor pic of current model below). Yours may not be more than ~3-4 years old, but just with some very hard miles behind it. Hopefully now, it'll have some better days ahead, in your hands.

David