When did Case start gluing their shields in place instead of pinning them in place?

L

Lastmohecken

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Jul 20, 2013
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I have had one case yellow bladed stockman's shield fall off and get lost, and it's not a new knife, as I have had it probably 10yrs or more, and I have a Tree Brand that has also lost it's shield. All of my other Case knives are good, so far, even the hard used bone handled one from the 70's.

I read where someone else was complaining about Case gluing the shields on, and it got me to wondering. Does anyone know the years that were glued on, etc?
 
From what I've read, seems like the late 70s is when they began transitioning to glued shields, and 1980 they were all glued.
 
Yeah... I read sometime in 1978 they began the glue in shields... but they supposedly started much earlier than that with using an alternative method on their Delrin material, they were melted in. I hate glued in shields... my biggest gripe with Case... but still love their product in general :-)
 
Btw... Canal Street and Queen do the glue too.... Though with a Queen knife I purchased after the Daniel purchase of Queen, had a pinned in shield... So, maybe things there will change, and maybe others will follow :-)
 
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Great Eastern pins all their shields. :thumbup:
Learned that on the factory tour.

Sorry I don't know the answer to the Case question.
 
It really seems Case does a great job with their bone scales... and their pricing is already atleast comparable, if not better, than their other American made competition. I, for one, would be willing to pay a few more dollars for pinned in shields on those nice scales :-)
 
No problem with a glued shield, IF it's correctly placed and the glue is quality. A pinned shield may be far less reliable, like if it has been ground/polished so much to get it flush with the handle that it is only tin foil thin (true story)... Quality of build is paramount, the process applied by the brand seems less important to me.
 
From what I have seen, up to 1976 they were all pinned on bone and stag handles. 1977 and 1978 were when they transitioned to the glued shields. I have seen 1978 knives both ways.

Another interesting point - on the delrin handled knives Case used to melt the shields into the delrin (jigged brown, black, yellow) with a special piece of equipment that heated the shield electrically. My understanding is that now on delrin knives they are glued in like on the others.
 
I have always loved a good Case knife. And I recon the glued in shields hold ok for most people. I think the yellow handled Delrin stockman is the only Case I have that has lost it's shield. I was looking at the Boker Tree Brand knife that lost it's shield, and it actually was pinned, but it came off, too.
 
herisson said:
No problem with a glued shield, IF it's correctly placed and the glue is quality. A pinned shield may be far less reliable, like if it has been ground/polished so much to get it flush with the handle that it is only tin foil thin (true story)... Quality of build is paramount, the process applied by the brand seems less important to me.
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I like pinned and glued shields. Both, at the same time. :)

The pinned shield in your example is a perfect example of poor build quality, not necessarily a bad process.
 
herisson said:
No problem with a glued shield, IF it's correctly placed and the glue is quality. A pinned shield may be far less reliable, like if it has been ground/polished so much to get it flush with the handle that it is only tin foil thin (true story)... Quality of build is paramount, the process applied by the brand seems less important to me.
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^^That. Pinned shields are nice, and an indicator of individual craftsmanship and attention to detail. But, modern adhesives, when used correctly, are as durable and strong as nails (dare I say pins?), and sometimes stronger in terms of force required to remove them. Many adhesive bonds, when cured, are stronger than the materials they glue together. The issues of glued shields falling out are due to a breakdown in the process (glue applied to oily/dirty/wet surfaces, I'd bet), and not the method of attachment.


David
 
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That also depends on the surfaces being glued; porus to non-porus, non-porus to porus, etc.. (i.e., you'd get a better bond between a shield and delrin than say between a shield and bone). Some glues say they are not for use on porus surfaces.
 
Anyway, I immersed a new CASE Half Whittler in boiling tea, let it soak overnight to darken the bone. Shield stayed put so I think if it stands this it'll stand anything!

Queen knives drop shields without tea-soak......Yes it all depends on the glue and the prep.of the handle.
 
Modoc ED said:
That also depends on the surfaces being glued; porus to non-porus, non-porus to porus, etc.. (i.e., you'd get a better bond between a shield and delrin than say between a shield and bone). Some glues say they are not for use on porus surfaces.
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Agreed. Of the dozens of Case folders I own, only one of them ever dropped it's glued shield (when it was brand new). Inspecting the bottom of the milled recess in the stag cover, and underneath the shield itself, there was no indication of any glue at all. Whatever they used, I'm assuming it was absorbed almost entirely into the stag. I re-glued it with 2 drops of 'gel' CA glue (cyanoacrylate, a.k.a. superglue), which is recommended for porous surfaces. It's been bulletproof since.


David
 
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I have had the shields fall out of 2 Cases, 4 Queens, one Boker and one Henkels. (And the emblem fall off of one Leupold scope.) I dislike glued shields, but there isn't much way around them anymore as so many knives and other products have emblems, shields or insignia glued in place.
 
I would pay more for any manufacturers knives for pinned shields. All glue breaks down at some point. Pinned is more secure for my money...assuming both are done correctly.
 
akadave2 said:
I would pay more for any manufacturers knives for pinned shields. All glue breaks down at some point. Pinned is more secure for my money...assuming both are done correctly.
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You do realize that all G10 is epoxy? That many Micarta materials are based on epoxy? Very similar to epoxy used in adhesives? Very similar to the epoxy used to make airplane parts? These materials do not "break down".
 
I only own ten knives with shields, 3 Tidioutes, pinned; 2 1930s era Case knives, pinned; and 5 newer Case knives, glued. I have 10 GECs and a Buck without any shields at all. I never used to worry about shields falling off. Now I'm going to be checking 'em all the time! I'll probably have nightmares about knives losing shields! Thanks a lot, fellas. ;)
 
akadave2 said:
I would pay more for any manufacturers knives for pinned shields. All glue breaks down at some point. Pinned is more secure for my money...assuming both are done correctly.
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I would as well.

knarfeng said:
You do realize that all G10 is epoxy? That many Micarta materials are based on epoxy? Very similar to epoxy used in adhesives? Very similar to the epoxy used to make airplane parts? These materials do not "break down".
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Yes, but the way they are bonded is unlike just gluing a shield onto a bone scale. G10, Micarta, and other phenolic materials are bonded with heat and pressure and when the process is complete the materials are often one piece and no longer seperate layers.
 
Modoc ED said:
That also depends on the surfaces being glued; porus to non-porus, non-porus to porus, etc.. (i.e., you'd get a better bond between a shield and delrin than say between a shield and bone). Some glues say they are not for use on porus surfaces.
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Epoxy works wonderfully for glueing to porous surfaces. I have gued bone to bone (and taxidermists do it all the time) with two part epoxy.
 
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