waynorth
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2005
- Messages
- 33,200
Case has upped their quality in recent times, and they have listened to their customers, at least in some regards. And having Tony Bose as a consultant/knife designer, I am sure hasn't hurt their bottom line.
The Case-Bose collaboration knives are near custom quality, and are priced accordingly. Case has tried to trickle some of that appeal down into their production knives.
Witness the Swayback, at 3 1/5" long, a perfect watchpocket knife.
Equipped with much-loved CV steel, in a forever useful Wharcliffe blade and with an ubiquitous pen by its side (almost a mini-Zulu!), this knife is all the knife most people need in their daily lives. Cap it off with nicely jigged and dyed bone, the jig size scaled reasonably well to the knife, and you can even brag a little!
But there are limits to what kind of effort you can put into a knife, retail it for $65 or so, and still pay everyone who works on it. When you compare it to a custom knife, made by a Master of knife functionality, or a "collaboration knife", there is room for improvement.
This knife left Case, with nice fit and finish, an appealing appearance if a bit "shiny", and workable edges but not very refined. Its journey brought it to Wilfred Indiana, where it got Worked a bit!!
It now sports proof of the blade's heat treatment, being Rockwell tested at 58. The blades have been finish ground to a thinner slightly concave "near zero edge" profile on a 14" wheel. The swedges have been "crisped" up and improved, to get rid of the "tumbler" look.
And the bluing gives the CV a bit of corrosion resistance, and a purposeful appearance. Last but not least, they have a honed edge that will shave a housefly, and still allow it to hover!!
Now if Case could just incorporate a little more of this goodness in their knives, at a reasonable price . . . . .I hope they read this!!
The Case-Bose collaboration knives are near custom quality, and are priced accordingly. Case has tried to trickle some of that appeal down into their production knives.
Witness the Swayback, at 3 1/5" long, a perfect watchpocket knife.
Equipped with much-loved CV steel, in a forever useful Wharcliffe blade and with an ubiquitous pen by its side (almost a mini-Zulu!), this knife is all the knife most people need in their daily lives. Cap it off with nicely jigged and dyed bone, the jig size scaled reasonably well to the knife, and you can even brag a little!
But there are limits to what kind of effort you can put into a knife, retail it for $65 or so, and still pay everyone who works on it. When you compare it to a custom knife, made by a Master of knife functionality, or a "collaboration knife", there is room for improvement.
This knife left Case, with nice fit and finish, an appealing appearance if a bit "shiny", and workable edges but not very refined. Its journey brought it to Wilfred Indiana, where it got Worked a bit!!
It now sports proof of the blade's heat treatment, being Rockwell tested at 58. The blades have been finish ground to a thinner slightly concave "near zero edge" profile on a 14" wheel. The swedges have been "crisped" up and improved, to get rid of the "tumbler" look.
And the bluing gives the CV a bit of corrosion resistance, and a purposeful appearance. Last but not least, they have a honed edge that will shave a housefly, and still allow it to hover!!
Now if Case could just incorporate a little more of this goodness in their knives, at a reasonable price . . . . .I hope they read this!!
