Fake Case Tony Bose Tribal Lock?

Is my Tribal Lock fake or not?

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T

Titan

Joined
Jan 21, 1999
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Hello everyone! Last night I finally received my shipment from the US of various Case pocket knives I bought over eBay. I'm so happy to get this batch -- a Trapper, a Slimline Trapper, Tribal Lock, Mini-Trapper and Canoe!

My two favorites are the Trapper (feels so solid!) and Mini-Trapper (so efficient!). Everything I expected a Case pocket knife to be, quality wise.

Except I was so disappointed about the Tony Bose-designed Tribal Lock! The walk and talk are weak, and there is blade play once I start opening the blade. Worse, the half-stop is weird as its like the stop is two thirds along the way.

I suspect there is factory defect, or worse, I got a fake.

I'm in the Philippines and will cost a ton to ship this item for Case to fix. I will live with it and consider it it's "character" if its factory defect. But what I can't live with is I have this nagging feeling that I might have bought a FAKE Case knife. Any opinions?

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I think mine is a 2018 version. I do hope its simply factory flaw. Thanks, @TheChunky91!
 
Beautiful set of pocket knives. I concur that looks authentic but has a defect.

Is there any way to return the item to the seller or feasibly ship it to Case?
 
MolokaiRider said:
Beautiful set of pocket knives. I concur that looks authentic but has a defect.

Is there any way to return the item to the seller or feasibly ship it to Case?
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Shipping cost from my country to Pennsylvania will cost almost the same as much as I paid for the knife ($55). I'm okay with the factory defect as long as it's a genuine Case :thumbsup:
 
I'm still waiting for the exact same knife, I live in Europe. Certainly hope mine isn't as poor as that one, bad QC there for sure. Anxiously waiting now.....

I certainly doubt it's a fake, there would be very little if any profit in such a thing, fake CASE knives are rare old ones made up of dubious parts.

I suggest you send the pix to CASE and ask for their opinion, let them know it costs a lot in shipping for you, they might offer a solution as their guarantee system is very good.
 
Will Power said:
I'm still waiting for the exact same knife, I live in Europe. Certainly hope mine isn't as poor as that one, bad QC there for sure. Anxiously waiting now.....

I certainly doubt it's a fake, there would be very little if any profit in such a thing, fake CASE knives are rare old ones made up of dubious parts.

I suggest you send the pix to CASE and ask for their opinion, let them know it costs a lot in shipping for you, they might offer a solution as their guarantee system is very good.
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Thank you! I will do so. I hope yours will be problem-free!
 
I will go a bit further than most - although they all would agree I expect. It is a genuine Case knife. You have to think to yourself, would they fake a $55 knife with a $15 knife for a grand profit of $40 for all the risk? The answer is "No". In addition, if you compare photos online - your knife looks exactly like every other one from the series.

They could have tuned it a little better in finishing. But so goes the Case products.
 
It looks real. Nice knife. I would use it and probably not even notice that defect over time. Eventually you see only memories of how useful its been. :)
 
I think it’s very likely it’s not defective at all. I don’t think that there would be a half stop on that knife as a lock back, and what you are thinking of as a half stop is just that first bit of extra resistance the blade has to overcome so it doesn’t just flop open which it would if it were fully rounded, the back spring is not close to flush in the two thirds open picture. The blade play you could take care of yourself if you wanted by lightly peining the pin and then sanding and polishing the bolsters, or just love with it if it’s not too bad, but that is pretty common. The issue with the back spring and lock not coming in line when closed could be as simple a a piece of fuzz jammed in there, lock back springs are so weak it could be anything and could be cleaned out or worked out through use. I’m no expert but these would be my guesses.
 
While on the factory tour a couple of years back the Case rep said they had issues with the initial Tribal Lock runs. Once open it took a very strong man to be able to depress the lock and close it. Way to stiff so the design had to be reworked. So even perfect was not perfect originally. There is no real half stop as mentioned above.

I have 3 Tribal Locks and only one of them has a flush backlock when closed. The other two protrude just slightly. I can live with it. I am in a similar situation being in Canada that sending them back to Case is not practical due to costs. I would still buy another from a reputable dealer who will do a good inspection before shipping it out.

Waiting anxiously on a Mini Tribal Lock to come out. 3.65 inches.

They are "Knice Knives" in hand. Even in the word "knife" seems slightly off when you look at it too closely.

,,,Mike in Canada
 
I have a tribal lock and it has a half stop. It is a different kind of half stop. It springs to the half stop position, but their is no spring from the half stop to the locking position. It's different and I have read where others have this same type of half stop. I don't think it is a flaw, but the design. I kind of like it, because it is not a sudden stop and that is where the half stops usually gets me cut, and this one hasn't cut me.
From what i understand, and this might not be correct but it seems that I read that some Tribal locks have a half stop and some don't?? If so, this probably causes some confusion.

* Just looked the half-stop issue up. Dealers have some versions listed as having a semi-stop. Mine is the antique bone and it is listed as a semi-stop. It just feels like a smoother half-stop, minus the kick.
 
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I would echo jsdistin in post #12. It could be some crud in between the kick and the backspring which prevents it from fully closing. Give the knife a very thorough flushing and cleaning with the blade in all different positions to get any crud out of there, then use a hair dryer to completely dry it before oiling it, then check the action again. Hopefully that's all it is.
 
I had a Tribal Lock with a "2/3 stop" that I thought was an incorrectly ground tang with a little bit of a flat spot. Not a big deal, but I found I prefer the Copperlock, so I gave it a new home.
 
Reitwagen said:
I had a Tribal Lock with a "2/3 stop" that I thought was an incorrectly ground tang with a little bit of a flat spot. Not a big deal, but I found I prefer the Copperlock, so I gave it a new home.
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I think that is closer to the truth. I do not think they have a "designed" half stop as it is rare on a lockbar.
 
Semi stop. Hmmm. I just tried my 3 Tribals and they all do have that 2/3rds stop where my two Copperlocks are more fluid in motion. Actually I feel it is more like 2/3rds resistance rather the a stop. The effort to get over the hump is minimal but you are right, it is there.

,,,Mike in Canada
 
I had a Tribal Lock that I thought the walk and talk/fit and finish were just a bit funky I likewise thought mine had to do with an incorrectly ground tang. I ended up giving it away in a GAW. I think you have a genuine Case knife that has some inherent issues and unfortunately the one you received those issues for whatever reason are worse. I am a big Case fan in fact the last 8 knives I've bought from Mike 4 of them were Case and I personally feel they are doing much better the last few years in the fit and finish department because they had slipped in QC for a few years. Although I feel they are and have been back on track for quite awhile you can still get one that's just not up to par.
 
Duper said:
While on the factory tour a couple of years back the Case rep said they had issues with the initial Tribal Lock runs. Once open it took a very strong man to be able to depress the lock and close it. Way to stiff so the design had to be reworked. So even perfect was not perfect originally...
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I didn’t know this, but it meshes with my own experience.

My first Tribal Lock (a very early one) was difficult to disengage; my second (a later version) was much easier to unlock.

Fortunately my first one has broken in quite nicely, so its lock not appreciably more difficult to disengage than its updated brother.

This is the first I’ve heard of a “mini” version of the Tribal Lock. I sincerely hope this is actually in the works.
 
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