Case pocket knives: How do I know what kind of steel it's made of?

T

The Real Hawkeye

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Aug 13, 2008
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I have two Case pocket knives. One's at least 80 years old (given to me by a friend, whose grandfather left it to him), and the other's a stockman bought soon after Case came back in the 1990s. I assume the old one is some kind of carbon steel, but how do I know what kind of steel the other one is made from? Thanks.

PS I've been informed that the knife was made in 1974, which means the story about it belonging to his grandfather was BS. Oh well, he was a little kid at the time.


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The tang stamp on the stockman should tell you. As far as I know, all the modern carbon steel knives will have a CV after the pattern number. Otherwise, it is most likely to be Case Tru-Sharp stainless.
 
Here is the easiest way to consistently tell:

A stainless CASE pocket knife will always have one or more of the following identifiers:

- the word STAINLESS as part of the tang stamping (pre-1980 only)

- the letters SS on the tang of one or more blades

- the letters SS or SSP after the pattern number

There are other clues, those are the easiest. If its not got one of those markings it is CV. They only started putting the actual letters CV on in 1996 though.

BTW, those knives in the picture posted - the 11031 SH is from the 70's and is CV

the 53032 SS is from 2000 or later and is SS.
 
knifeaholic said:
Here is the easiest way to consistently tell:

A stainless CASE pocket knife will always have one or more of the following identifiers:

- the word STAINLESS as part of the tang stamping (pre-1980 only)

- the letters SS on the tang of one or more blades

- the letters SS or SSP after the pattern number

There are other clues, those are the easiest. If its not got one of those markings it is CV. They only started putting the actual letters CV on in 1996 though.

BTW, those knives in the picture posted - the 11031 SH is from the 70's and is CV

the 53032 SS is from 2000 or later and is SS.
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Thank you. You may well be right about the stag handled multi-blade (my memory is not 100% clear about when I bought that one), but the wood handle knife was given to me around 1973, and it was then quite old (blade was almost black, with a slight rainbow hue at the time. It belonged to my friend's grandfather.

Unless my friend was lying (we were only 13 at the time, but he still confirms the story), his grandfather had owned that knife since he was a young man, which would put it's date of manufacture quite a bit older than you state. On what basis do you make this claim? Thank you.
 
Time Out!

Hawkeye, you're new around here and you are welcome but you need to take a breath and a step back.

I realize you have a lot of questions on everything from sharpening to knife identification to steels etc but you need to take a little time and think about your posts.

When folks like knifeaholic take time out of their day to read your thread and help answer your question, the last thing you want to do is to come across in a challenging manner.

knifeaholic has forgotten more about Case knives than most of us can hope to learn. Aside from that, the evidence is right on the tang of the knife blade.

What you don't want to do is create a situation where you are implying that either one of our members is lying or your friend is. His grandfather may well have owned that knife but that knife is not as old as you remember him telling you it is or was.

There are lots of resources from books to websites that provide information on Case knives and their patterns and tang stamps. I suggest you avail yourself of some of those resources and when you still have a question you wish to pursue here, don't get in a huff if the answer isn't quite what you may wish to hear.

We have a very friendly, cordial atmosphere here that is built upon mutual respect. Nothing less is acceptable nor will it be tolerated.
 
Blues said:
Time Out!

Hawkeye, you're new around here and you are welcome but you need to take a breath and a step back.

I realize you have a lot of questions on everything from sharpening to knife identification to steels etc but you need to take a little time and think about your posts.

When folks like knifeaholic take time out of their day to read your thread and help answer your question, the last thing you want to do is to come across in a challenging manner.

knifeaholic has forgotten more about Case knives than most of us can hope to learn. Aside from that, the evidence is right on the tang of the knife blade.

What you don't want to do is create a situation where you are implying that either one of our members is lying or your friend is. His grandfather may well have owned that knife but that knife is not as old as you remember him telling you it is or was.

There are lots of resources from books to websites that provide information on Case knives and their patterns and tang stamps. I suggest you avail yourself of some of those resources and when you still have a question you wish to pursue here, don't get in a huff if the answer isn't quite what you may wish to hear.

We have a very friendly, cordial atmosphere here that is built upon mutual respect. Nothing less is acceptable nor will it be tolerated.
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Wow. Sorry. I honestly had no idea I was coming off that way. My apologies to the gentleman. I was honestly interested in hearing the basis of his statement. Of course it is completely possible that my friend was mistaken, and I would take the word of any of your experts over his on that subject.
 
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Okay, thanks for saying so. :thumbup:

It's not about any of us (least of all me) being experts, but rather the atmosphere of respect that is most important. Though you will find quite a few who do qualify as experts here.

Now, let me try to help you.

If you look at the tang stamp on the knife you were given, you'll see Case XX USA under which there are dots. On my monitor it looks like five dots. That would indicate that the knife was made in 1975. The knife is carbon steel and can become oxidized (black) very easily giving it an older look than it actually is. But the fact is that the tang stamp doesn't lie (in this case).
 
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Blues said:
Okay, thanks for saying so. :thumbup:

It's not about any of us (least of all me) being experts, but rather the atmosphere of respect that is most important. Though you will find quite a few who do qualify as experts here.

Now, let me try to help you.

If you look at the tang stamp on the knife you were given, you'll see Case XX USA under which there are dots. On my monitor it looks like five dots. That would indicate that the knife was made in 1975. The knife is carbon steel and can become oxidized (black) very easily giving it an older look than it actually is. But the fact is that the tang stamp doesn't lie (in this case).
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I'm no expert on knives. That's for sure. That's why I like this place, i.e., I have access to the knowledge of experts. It's just that I was a little blown away by someone who obviously knows his stuff contradicting a story behind a knife that's been with me since the early to middle 1970s, and was very eager to hear the basis for the statement. Now, it's possible that my memory is off on that by a year or two, but I have very specific memories of that knife being on his desk in his room when we were kids, and for years (or what seemed like years to a little kid) I'd come in there and play around with it, and he'd tell me that it had been his grandfathers for many years previously. Eventually, he up and said I could have it. It's just weird, is all.

PS It actually has six dots. Does that help or hurt me? :D
 
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Six dots would be 1974.

In any case, nothing can change the fact that it's a fine keepsake and remembrance of both your friend and his grandfather.

(It's just not an "old" knife. Unless 1974, the year I graduated from college, is particularly old. ;))
 
Blues said:
Six dots would be 1974.
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That means it was brand new when I first saw it on his desk. I guess I cannot hold a grudge for being told it was his grandfather's since he did give me a nice Case knife. Sure did get old looking fast, though. Took me lots of rubbing with Flitz before I could see anything that looked like steel.

PS I called him (we've been friends since the fifth grade), and he says he now has almost no memory of the knife and none of its history. He was never a knife guy. I still remember every knife I ever owned. Well, it's good to know the year it was made, anyway, even if it's not as cool as the story he told me about it when we were kids.
 
To add to what Elliot said; In 1970 Case put 10 dots on the tangs, under USA. Then each year forward they droped one. Like 1971 had 9 dots, 1972, 8 dots and so forth. A six dot would have been made in 1974.

Strange story, maybe a time warp :D
 
I have been collecting knives since 1973...and over those years I have found that many many well-intentioned knife owners truly believe that the particular knife that they own goes back to the boyhood of their great uncle or of their wife's grandfather, etc...when in reality it is the STORY that goes back that far and the knife has been replaced along the way. Bernard Levine has written about this phenomenon as well. People are often UTTTERLY and completely convinced of the age of the knife, often when the knife itself has other tales to tell.

With CASE pocket knives, the dates of the tang stampings are so well established that on some knives its like having a coin with a date stamping.

I recall in 1977, the year that I graduated from high school...a classmate showing me his pocket knife...a CASE 2231-1/2 SAB with well used patina'd carbon steel blades...it was his grandfather's knife from when his grandfather was a boy, etc. I opened the main blade...CASE XX USA 10 dots (1970). The first of many such experiences.

Blues and Don Hanson have explained the tang stamp on the 11031 SH. On the 53032 I cannot see the tang stamping clearly; however that style shield was introduced in 2000.
 
knifeaholic said:
I have been collecting knives since 1973...and over those years I have found that many many well-intentioned knife owners truly believe that the particular knife that they own goes back to the boyhood of their great uncle or of their wife's grandfather, etc...when in reality it is the STORY that goes back that far and the knife has been replaced along the way. Bernard Levine has written about this phenomenon as well. People are often UTTTERLY and completely convinced of the age of the knife, often when the knife itself has other tales to tell.

With CASE pocket knives, the dates of the tang stampings are so well established that on some knives its like having a coin with a date stamping.

I recall in 1977, the year that I graduated from high school...a classmate showing me his pocket knife...a CASE 2231-1/2 SAB with well used patina'd carbon steel blades...it was his grandfather's knife from when his grandfather was a boy, etc. I opened the main blade...CASE XX USA 10 dots (1970). The first of many such experiences.

Blues and Don Hanson have explained the tang stamp on the 11031 SH. On the 53032 I cannot see the tang stamping clearly; however that style shield was introduced in 2000.
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Thanks, knifeaholic. Interesting story. I guess these knives lend themselves to that sort of thing.
 
I'd just like tho say that that one is very nice, regaurdless of its age! Also Very nice that you have something to remember your friendship with. :tu

G.
 
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