I've acquired several Case knives this year. Production dates from 2017-19. All were purchased via the internet from reputable dealers. I love them! A red Kirinite Cheetah was the first knife in three decades of my wife simply tolerating my knife habit to actually getting involved in it. Now it gets routinely handed to me after work for a "touch up" and now her favorite kitchen knife seems to require touch ups much more often.
I think stores stocking Case knives is more of a regional thing. Here in the Pacific Northwest of the USA, I've never seen them in a store, even those who carry them on their web pages. Around here you'll find Buck of course, Kershaw and Victorinox are common, and then all the junk. And they are almost always in clam shell packaging so no handling anyway.
Here's some of my thoughts...
1. I want stainless steel, so Case is an easy choice.
2. These are nearly all sub-$100 knives, some I've gotten brand new for $35. I've got $150 kitchen knives that had sharp spines. I've got $100+ Spydercos that had sharp edges, loose screws, etc. I'm not knocking other offerings at all, just pointing out that price doesn't always dictate results. But, I do understand it is a purchasing influence and for me, at these prices, and considering all of what I type below, the products absolutely meet my expectations.
3. It's a rather small business in a sea of giants producing products that the knife community at large thinks are passe and don't give a second thought to. Even within their niche, they swim with sharks. You don't have to look far or long to see how many traditional knife manufacturing names you come across and how few of them are still operating. So, I like supporting that. It's not enough to overcome shoddy work or bad materials but it is surely a factor I like.
4. It's my experience that the lighter colored bone such as amber and 6.5 Bone Stag can be inconsistent from side to side. I have had no issues with various blues, greens, browns, and of course synthetics.
5. The finish and overall fit on all of my mine are very good. If you want to go clicking your thumb nail along bolster corners, yeah, you can find some that will catch, but in my mind, who cares? You don't see it and you don't feel it. It's something you have to hunt for. There's no sharp edges or unseated pins or anything like that. Now, nearly all of my multi-bladed knives that do not have a center liner (divider) have blade rub. But, in all of the uh hum....cases...it is caused from opening. One or more blades will flex just enough when pushing on the nail nick to rub against the neighboring blade on opening. None of them hit or touch on closing or when at rest. Yeah, I've got a couple single blades that if you look down the end the blade favors one side or another. None of them rub and quite honestly, in all my years of knife ownership and use, I never gave such a thing a second thought until I got on the internet and was told it is a bad thing.
6. All my knives are users. They are going to spend their pocket life rubbing around with my keys so they are going to get scratched. Not to mention just through general usage. I have one non-Case traditional knife that I baby a bit but it resides in a pocket slip. So on that front I don't stress it much. If I ever decide I want display models, I'll buy some of those little easels and models just for that. Otherwise, I want function first, but form doesn't need to be overly sacrificed.
My Case knives make me happy every time I pull them out of my pocket. I like the look. I like the feel. I like the functionality. Heck, I like the way they "click" when a couple of them tap against each other.
Today's carry, scratches and all...