Current CASE XX quality?

These type of threads come up a lot about CASE and they do rather puzzle me. Being a very large producer of Traditional knives it might be expected that there are variations in quality, there are but I don't feel I've ever had a really poor CASE knife. Should add that I'm not an American and don't reside in the USA so I can't hand pick my knives but have to take a chance. Once or twice I've had to return a knife as being not up to my standard and in both cases the dealer and CASE came up with excellent replacements, no quibbling, I regard that as very good indeed.

I think there is a lot of nostalgia for old CASE knives, mostly correct as many had beautiful bone, but if the quality was higher in fit I'm uncertain.

Well, this arrived earlier this year and I CANNOT find fault, beautiful small but credible carry. CASE Swayback Gent cv Chestnut Bone

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This came a few weeks later, CASE Slimline Trapper in Old Redbone (slightly tea dyed it's true) but 1st class F&F, no gaps, no play, centre blade, great W&T. Now if I can take these risks in Europe on buying CASE you Americans should have little to fear:D

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That is beautiful! I sure hope mine look that nice when I get them.

I’m so glad I found this forum. Only been here a few weeks but it’s been very helpful.
 
The Junior Case Scout Knife was a contract knife made by Queen until they closed.

That I did not know. Thanks for the info. :thumbsup:

I’ve bought quite a few Case knives this year, and they’ve all been quite good. In some ways, even superior to my GEC’s. I’m in a position now, where I’m actually preferring Case knives over GEC, which I thought would never happen.

I generally buy my Case knives with bone covers from dealers that show the actual knife I’ll be receiving. Case can be kind of hit or miss with their dyed bone, from one knife to the next.

Luv my Case Scouts:
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If you have a particular feature that you want in a knife, like that 'Victorinox snap', you should buy knives that you can handle before buying. You may well find that finding a Case that feels like a Victorinox is impossible. If you have particular ideas about what you want, there's really no substitute for handling knives yourself.

Why Case? Why not hit up a few gun shows and handle a variety of knives? There are a lot of good old names that are still available at very reasonable prices.
 
Buy the CASE knife you want. Yes u won't be disappointed.

It doesn't matter what name is stamped on the knife or how much you pay for it, every brand will eventually have a flaw that someone finds. It your knife does return it and they will send you one that you're satisfied with. No matter what brand.

I've purchased many CASE knives in store and off the web and not had any problems.

Anymore I go to the auction site and buy used. The older knives seem to be more intriguing.

God Bless
 
With all these Case threads you all are making me want to buy one or two sense I don’t have any regular production Case knives even tho I already have too many traditionals that I want to carry! Bad influences!
The Case knives I’ve bought have been pretty nice over the last two years haven’t got a lemon yet except on one of the Bose cattle knives. I think I’ve only bought 4 tho 8 counting the Bose knives. Mini trapper, Backpocket, 32 medium stockman, and the 3 spring stockman. All were pretty nice all are gone now and my dad carries the mini trapper
 
If you have a particular feature that you want in a knife, like that 'Victorinox snap', you should buy knives that you can handle before buying. You may well find that finding a Case that feels like a Victorinox is impossible. If you have particular ideas about what you want, there's really no substitute for handling knives yourself.

Why Case? Why not hit up a few gun shows and handle a variety of knives? There are a lot of good old names that are still available at very reasonable prices.

I will be trying to find the models I like in stores to handle first. I dont expect a Case to be exactly like a SAK. Its just a shame more companies cant have the consistent quality that Victorinox has. I have about 30 classic red and alox SAKs. Not a single issue on any of them and all but 4 were bought on the internet. I cant say that about any other knife maker I have bought from. Not even my beloved Bucks were all flawless(lookin at you Buck Brahma).

I want a Case because they are pretty much the only regularly stocked USA made knife that has traditional models that I like and familiar with. Besides GEC, what other brands do you recommend looking at? I don't frequent gun shows to much any more because they just had jacked up prices and cheap flea market jewelry. Its been probably 7 years, so maybe its time I give them a try. I do miss them and would love to introduce shows like I used to know to my kids.
 
That I did not know. Thanks for the info. :thumbsup:

I’ve bought quite a few Case knives this year, and they’ve all been quite good. In some ways, even superior to my GEC’s. I’m in a position now, where I’m actually preferring Case knives over GEC, which I thought would never happen.

I generally buy my Case knives with bone covers from dealers that show the actual knife I’ll be receiving. Case can be kind of hit or miss with their dyed bone, from one knife to the next.

Luv my Case Scouts:
YrNNoBEh.jpg

7g6SEkdh.jpg
That is a beautiful collection! I love the bone scales on Case knives. I will definitely be getting bone scales, both jigged and smooth. I also saw a smooth black micarta Folding Hunter that looked really classy. That might find a home in my collection one day too.
 
I bought a pocket worn red jigged bone Swayback Gent a few months ago. It is a beautiful example of how well they can do good looking bone. However, it does not close perfectly. I have oiled and flushed it one hundred times, but it is still a little soft on the close. A gentleman showed me his swayback gent in with a Damascus blade & bonestag handles over the weekend and his had perfect action, equal to my best GEC’s. So I’m just reconfirming the hit and miss. If I ever buy another new Case, it will be one that I handle first.

I tend to buy non-mint Cases from the 1970’s or before. They have great value, a little history, and you can carry them without worry.

This 1979 6318 HP only cost me $75 and has perfect walk & talk on all three blades, with much stronger snap than all the modern Cases I have handled (stronger snap than all the GEC stockman I have handled too). Plus I don’t have to worry about keeping it new looking.
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This is my Case smooth bone trapper. Sorry, clearly a 2019 not 2018 like I said earlier. This knife is marvelous, on par with the best of any production knife I have. And they seem to be getting better about not rounding the dang tips off on the polished blades.
 

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i bought numerous case knives. i sold them all once i discovered GEC. the f&f on case knives is bad.
 
Man, all you guys posting pictures of your knives is making me want more than just the two models I named earlier!
 
For what it's worth, I just received 2 Peanuts in the last couple of weeks. Fit and finish were spot on. Centered blades, pull a little stiff, but that is normal with Peanuts in my experience. The bone covers were well done. The colors were pretty well matched but not really what I expected. The first one was supposed to be Black Cherry Bone. I detected no red highlights that were described but the color is really nice and even on both sides. The second, Red Sawcut Bone is well done and it is RED. I darkened it a bit with a coffee soak and I like it better now. Overall, I'm very happy with what Case put out. These were both random online purchases a week apart that were shipped from a dealer we are all familiar with. My past experiences with Case in the last 10 years is similar as others for sketchy dye jobs. But fit and finish has always been pretty good considering the volume of production overall. I'd try and go to a dealer and hand pick but there just isn't much to choose from in Central Florida.
 
I bought a pocket worn red jigged bone Swayback Gent a few months ago. It is a beautiful example of how well they can do good looking bone. However, it does not close perfectly. I have oiled and flushed it one hundred times, but it is still a little soft on the close. A gentleman showed me his swayback gent in with a Damascus blade & bonestag handles over the weekend and his had perfect action, equal to my best GEC’s. So I’m just reconfirming the hit and miss. If I ever buy another new Case, it will be one that I handle first.

I tend to buy non-mint Cases from the 1970’s or before. They have great value, a little history, and you can carry them without worry.

This 1979 6318 HP only cost me $75 and has perfect walk & talk on all three blades, with much stronger snap than all the modern Cases I have handled (stronger snap than all the GEC stockman I have handled too). Plus I don’t have to worry about keeping it new looking.
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Agreed, the old Case are so cool. Below are a 1998 #18 Stockman and a 1976 25 1/2 Coke Bottle we picked up at a flea market this weekend. There's also a 1940-64 #27 that I'm cleaning up right now. The kicker? I paid $110 for 10 knives. There's a post of all of them in the Newest Additions thread. If you want an old Case, flea markets, old feed stores, etc. are great places to look.
20190811_080208 by Chris Thayer, on Flickr

20190811_055422 by Chris Thayer, on Flickr
 
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...

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I tend to buy non-mint Cases from the 1970’s or before.
I agree, there are some great deals on older Case knives to be found out there.
I bought this older Dogleg Jack. It has a nice strong pull on both blades, gator-like 'snap', and almost perfect F&F. It's as well made as any knife in my little collection, including my GEC knives. And I picked it up for almost half the price of a new Mini Trapper. :cool::thumbsup:

 
This 1979 6318 HP only cost me $75 and has perfect walk & talk on all three blades, with much stronger snap than all the modern Cases I have handled (stronger snap than all the GEC stockman I have handled too).

That looks like the same bone as on my 1977 6232 jack. And talk about SNAP! Apparently the 70s were a time of really strong back springs. :D
 
6. All my knives are users.


A lot of good info and this right here is what it boils down to for me. Every knife I own, except for 3-4 sentimental knives, gets used. I wont buy one that wont get used. Generally, as the price of a knife goes up, I do expect the quality to go up, but I won't knit pick the small issues that come with handmade work at a reasonable price. I just want my knife to be as close to pristine(unless bought used) as it can be when I drop it into my pocket and put my own scratches on it.


After looking at a dealers website for the better park of an hour, I think I am up to 9-10 model variations that I want now. You guys put me on a road I was afraid to go down, but its not a bad thing. lol My newest liking is the Barlow knives. I had on from another manufacturer years ago and it was ok. These Case ones look great.
 
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