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I might be done with Case for a while...

J

JD Bear

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The title says it all boys. I think I might avoid Case for a while, and it's a sad day for me. Now, Buck is my favorite brand and I'm sure always will be, but Buck doesn't have everything I want and Case has always filled that void. For instance, I really don't like the soft pulls on the 301, so I've used a Case when I wanted to carry a stockman (along with a 110 or 112). Same with the trapper pattern, Texas Jack, etc.. What did it was a knife that I've really wanted for a long time and finally decided to get....the trapper with 154cm blades. Man, I was so excited to finally get it. When I did get it, the fit and finish was horrible for a $100 knife. The clip had play, the scale was so poorly sized I could run my fingernail on the liner the whole way up the knife, and both springs were sunk when the blades were open. There may have been more issues, but after noticing these I put it right back in the box. I'm not going to send it back to Case to fix and I'm not going to ask CK for an exchange. I'm going to return it and get a GEC instead. I haven't gotten into GEC that much, mostly because of the carbon steel. At this point, I'd rather have the 1095 on a knife that's very well put together than 154cm on a knife that no one really cared about. That's just my opinion and I'm not bashing Case since I will still carry the one's I have. Going forward, I think I might just stay away for a bit...
 
JD Bear said:
The title says it all boys. I think I might avoid ....because of the carbon steel. At this point, I'd rather have the 1095 on a knife that's very well put together than 154cm on a knife that no one really cared about. That's just my opinion and I'm not bashing Case since I will still carry the one's I have. Going forward, I think I might just stay away for a bit...
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Gec does do 440C, and the occasional tool steel choices, if you like
 
Woodrow F Call said:
I think you should let Case know how disappointed you are more so than us. I'd like to think it would do some good.
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I've done so in the past with other knives I've gotten from them and for the most part they've fixed issues I've had. That being said, even if I went that route and they gave me a perfect trapper I still think I might shy away in the future. It seems like I've had more knives with issues from them than not. I don't mind as much when it's a more inexpensive model, but this one just bugged me. Please bear in mind that I'm just venting and seeing what opinions others have....
 
Sorry to hear about such shoddy work. I think most here already buy GEC when spending $100+. Maybe Case still sells to enough non-knife people to warrant this type of business risk.
 
Woodrow F Call said:
I think you should let Case know how disappointed you are more so than us. I'd like to think it would do some good.
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Agree with this statement. I've posted a couple times now about a case that I purchased recently that came with the blade so off center that it rubbed the liner. Sent an email to case and just now got a reply apologizing for the issue and said they would look into the QC for it. I would think if they heard more complaints directly they might actually do something about the QC.
 
I agree with you guys too, and I've sent quite a few back that were an unacceptable level of QC. I don't know what it is about this instance that makes me just not want the knife anymore....perfect or not. And this is coming from a guy that has always loved Case.
 
IMO, if holding that knife doesn't bring you joy, send it back. I just think Case should know.

GEC makes a great knife and in general is a little better in the F&F department, but they have can flaws too. Case is going to have more as they process so many more knives.... but for one of their pricey ones, they especially need to know.
 
Case is an enigma. The brand has been a legend, but can't seem to put out an acceptable quality knife on a consistent basis. It takes inspecting multiple knives to find a good one. Even some of the Case Bose collaborations have been disappointing.

It's a shame, I love some of the old patterns.
 
I'll echo the sentiment of contacting them, regardless of what you do with the particular sample. From my experience in the modern folder world, most companies will listen and at least look into QC issues, along with trying to make sure you're happy.

They're made by people, and people are imperfect. Just as now, something just sours you going forward with the brand, humans just have sensibilities that are their own. Not necessarily bad, but imperfect nonetheless.

I was soured on KaBar traditionals a while ago, even from a sample of one. Not really fair or logical, just human. I did let them know though, and they were very kind and gracious. It made me more likely to buy from them in the future.

Sorry to hear about the lemon though.
 
CK should have plenty of GEC to choose from! They have plenty in stainless, happy hunting, post watcha get! (Sorry to hear your trapper didn't work out).
 
Jody744 said:
CK should have plenty of GEC to choose from! They have plenty in stainless, happy hunting, post watcha get! (Sorry to hear your trapper didn't work out).
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Thanks :thumbsup: I have one already picked out. I spoke with Mike about returning it earlier this morning so it'll work out in the long run. One of those things that just wasn't meant to be I reckon. I'm just going to grab a pocket slip so the 1095 won't be that big of a deal.
 
That's a shame, but I totally understand your feelings. I too love Case and want to be happy with anything they put out, but yes, I try to examine them first to pick out a good one.
I'm sure you will be quite pleased with the workmanship on your GEC and I'm glad Mike had one you like.
(As an aside, I had a hard time reconciling the soft pull on my 301, but I'm okay with it now...just one of its features that make it different)
 
Surprises me to hear you got it from CK. I had the impression that Mike ran pretty tight QC of his own, and ends up sending back at least the real problem children to the manufacturers without ever offering them up. Maybe thats unrealistic to expect on every knife though. I don't know what kind of quantities he deals with.
 
I haven't owned a Case in a long time but GEC has become a favorite of mine. They put out some amazing knives. The only issue I have with some models from GEC is the absurdly strong pull. Just a bit of reading will help you with the quirks of each model. I think you'll find most of them are money well spent.
 
I can relate. I got one too many Case's with horizontal blade play issues, and didn't buy another for ten years.

Case is definitely one of those brands that's best chosen by hand, and not purchased off the Internet.
 
Last week there was an "everything (Case & Queen) except GEC is terrible" topic and I said the topic would come up again the next week. Here it is like clockwork. ;)

If you haven't bought a Case knife in 10 years, things have changed quite a bit. In the last 6 months, I've ordered over a dozen Case knives from a very large dealer without any inspection and every one of them has been fine. They were all Bose patterns but regular production knives, not Case/Bose collaboration knives. They usually have great fit and finish.

I think it's okay to like GEC and knives from other companies as well. :D
 
I don't blame Mike from CK at all. In a perfect world he shouldn't have to inspect brand new merchandise before selling it. I've gotten some really nice ones and some that were pretty weak. Gotta take the good with the bad when ordering online. Not going to take this one though. I'm glad Mike is willing to help me out....
 
supratentorial said:
Last week there was an "everything (Case & Queen) except GEC is terrible" topic and I said the topic would come up again the next week. Here it is like clockwork. ;)

If you haven't bought a Case knife in 10 years, things have changed quite a bit. In the last 6 months, I've ordered over a dozen Case knives from a very large dealer without any inspection and every one of them has been fine. They were all Bose patterns but regular production knives, not Case/Bose collaboration knives. They usually have great fit and finish.

I think it's okay to like GEC and knives from other companies as well. :D
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That's not my intention. Trust me. I have a couple dozen Case knives and one GEC. Just one. I said previously that I am a big fan of Case, but I'm not going to pay almost a hundred bucks for a poorly put together trapper....
 
The problem is that expectations get built elsewhere and then we are disappointed when we actually fondle the knives. The fact of the matter is that there are issues with most knives. If seeing the liner a thousandth or two under the slab is a problem, don't get a GEC (or most other brands). And I haven't seen a lot of play in Case's trapper pattern, but I expect you are not talking about a lot - just discernible. Where the backspring sits on an opened knife, within reason, is not in the top 10 concerns of most knife factories. So, what you actually bought was a $45 knife with $50 blades. They didn't re-vamp the trapper pattern for the 154cm blades. Because it was a certain price, you expected something that there was little reason to expect. That's not a problem, you get the right to decide what works for you. That is why one person just bought several and they were all very nice and there are others that can't find a good one. We are making issues from things that have always existed (historically without being problems), and are now holding the factories to standards they didn't sign up for. They can either meet our expectations or go the way of the dinosaur. That's not to say problems do not slip thru from time to time; but I have never gotten so many knives back with issues that are not issues as I have in the last 9 months. If the factories are getting as many back (proportionately) with non-issues as I am I wouldn't expect them to make it going forward without building the expense back into the product. And that is a cycle that provides a self-fulfilling prophecy. But, there will always be someone waiting to sell us something new.

Don't mean to sound so negative, but the fact is we are losing the old timers that made knife collecting a hobby. They bought them as tools and didn't think a thing about the faults we are finding in them today. We like the thought of having an economical handmade knife, we just don't like the thought of a happy human hand making it in an economical amount of time.
 
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