are case knives REALLY that collectible?

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wildpig001

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May 17, 2011
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welp i gotta admit--Case puts it out there as one heck of a collectible knife and as such I think it's a legitimate question ==Are case knives all that collectible? case in point-- punt intended-- i see all these "rare an collectible" case folders yet over an over again they sell for 1/2 less than original price and secondly-- just a lil searching an one can find the "rare and collectible" folders most anywhere...... am i seeing this correctly? I think I am-- so what am I saying exactly-- welp I'm saying case is totally over rated in the collectibily of most all of it's folders....... i dont think I'm wrng. Now this doesnt even address the issue of owner satisfaction-- if yer happy with your folder--I'm happy, but the point is-- most arent allthat rare nor collectible..........
 
Rare and collectable - does it mean it has an awful lots of models and each model is produced in limited quantities, so they can hurry to produce the next one? So you can keep collecting hundreds of variations. And they are not guaranteed to be a good investment. Not all the collecting is about financial return.
 
I assume if you had an ol XX case that was your great grandfather's, then it would change your tune. Sure they hype up the value but I have noticed almost all knives have a retail & most go for less than their retail.
Watch what would happen if they decide to stop making those knives you don't value much. Imagine if you have Swayback made by a custom maker. Hopefully that maker will make a name for themselves. Sure the knife was made by "blah, blah" but until their is a want for their product, you have an overly expensive knife.
Just my $0.02
 
Most folks I know don't collect knives because they plan to turn around some day and sell their collection for a profit. They collect knives because they enjoy collecting and/or using them. That said, any collector with half a brain can see past marketing. Things touted as "rare" and "collectible" are seldom either.

Old knives become scarce and collectible because there tend to be fewer and fewer around over the years. Knives get lost, thrown away, damaged, worn out, or disappear into the black holes of collections. Every single knife coming out of Case's factory today will be worth something 100 years from now if it is still in good shape. If a person were to take a time machine to Sheffield England in the mid-late 19th century, buy a bunch of "ordinary", common knives from then and bring them back to the present, those knives would be worth a pretty penny.
 
A person's subjective belief makes something collectible. So if someone collects something, that something is by definition collectible.
 
powernoodle said:
A person's subjective belief makes something collectible. So if someone collects something, that something is by definition collectible.
Click to expand...

Very true. And since there are so many folks who collect Case knives (myself included), that means that Case knives are indeed very collectible. Lots of knives means lots of knives to collect. Collecting Case knives is fun because the knives themselves are very interesting. As is the history of the company. That's why folks buy them. Buying them as an investment is silly. There were a lot of folks who used to collect Beanie Babies too. I doubt many of those people are seeing much of a return on their investment these days.
 
Case makes quality. People like, use, and collect quality.

Thus, Case = collectible.

I have a bunch of Case knives from the 80's that are still working perfectly.
 
I have a small and growing collection of Case knives myself, and buying them with the intent of selling them for a profit never crossed my mind.

There are so many models available in umpteen different styles. That alone...makes them collectible. I collect them because I enjoy having them and it's fun picking up all the different models in one particular color of bone, and then you can choose another color or configuration and then you have those different models to acquire, again. A Case collection can become rather large, if one decided to keep with it. You could have 100 Case knives and not one of them...would be the same.
 
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They are collectible (verb sense) as mentioned already, however those are subjective based on individual. Some want to have many styles of Case, however that does not make them a "collectible" overall.
There is a difference between being collectible, and being a collectible.
In my own opinion a collective is a knife sought after by many individuals, where a pattern can be logically seen. For example a Sebenza or old Chris Reeve knife is a collectible because many users would want one (whether they can afford or want to may that much for one is another matter, but most is safe to say most want one). And as such, they are often backordered. Not only that but resale value stays WELL above 70% most of the time. Some even are worth MORE then the original cost for older knives from different manufacturers.
That to me a a collectible. A collection of popularity, mixed with resale value.


Any knife can be collected however not all collected knives are collectibles.
 
Anything is collectible. However, it does not mean that anything will be collectible and translate into rising value.

I like Case knives, always have. But I also view them as sort of the Beanie Babies for the male crowd. Often, their collectability is contrived, and comes to fruition because there are enough dedicated knife nuts to make it so.
 
Poez said:
Not all the collecting is about financial return.
Click to expand...
:thumbup:
Collecting rarely results in a "profit". Some of the items you collect will increase in value, most probably won't.

If you do your homework and collect items with some knowledge, you might make a profit, more likely you will break even.

You should collect for pleasure, not with profit as the objective.

And yes, Case knives are collectible.
 
If you want to collect knives for "investment" you are going to lose. and miss the fun.
 
No one can guess which of today's items will be sought after by future collectors. But my guess, it won't be the items being marketed as "collectible." ;)
 
If you get a chance to go to an NKCA show you will see more Case collectable knives than you could imagine. The real old one's(and some newer one's) are pretty expensive. They are making so many these days that it is hard to figure which one's will go up alot in value, but some of the newer ones could go up in just a few years. Even some of the cheapest models can do this. Take the yellow derlin handled mini copperlocks that came out about ten years ago for around $25. You can't find one today for twice that amount, and it was just a plain old derlin handled knife with CV steel.

I don't buy Case(or others) for collection anymore, but have alot of Case stag trappers from the 70's, and they have really gone up in price since then.

Since you think they are easy to find(and some at half the price) try to find a plain ole bone 1970 Case Trapper for example and see what you'll have to pay.
 
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