Old Timer Quality vs. Case

R

Rick4184

Joined
Jan 22, 2019
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Okay, total rookie here, so this is an elementary question. Nonetheless.....

I'm interested in buying an everyday pocket knife that pays homage to my granddad and men like him. So, my first thought was an Old Timer. But when I shopped, the Old Timers were in plastic bubble packs, hanging from a peg, and priced under $20 (Gunstock Trapper). The Case knives were behind glass, came in boxes and the one l'm looking at is priced at $65 (mini copperlock). That said, I keep hearing about Old Timer, over and over and over. So what's the deal here? Why so cheap? How do you get one made in America? Should I buy one in good shape at an antique store? Need some guidance please. I'm running half blind right now.
 
They're made in China now that Taylor bought the trademark. You can still pick up the USA made ones fairly reasonably on the secondary market. I've found them to be common on auction sites.
 
If you want cheap/inexpensive and pretty good, get a Rough Rider slippie. I think they are very close in quality to many Case slip joints. For a better slip joint, look at Great Eastern Cutlery (GEC). They get high praise on the traditional forum here and from me. But they are more expensive than a Case.

Lion Steel makes a great slip joint with modern materials primarily sold by Collector Knives.

The current Schrade Old Timers are made in China. I don't believe they are as good as the old USA made ones. Old ones will have USA on the blade tang. As mentioned, you can get them on many auction sites as well at knife shows.
 
22-rimfire said:
If you want cheap/inexpensive and pretty good, get a Rough Rider slippie. I think they are very close in quality to many Case slip joints. For a better slip joint, look at Great Eastern Cutlery (GEC). They get high praise on the traditional forum here and from me. But they are more expensive than a Case.

Lion Steel makes a great slip joint with modern materials primarily sold by Collector Knives.
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This.

I love Case knives, but even a $100 Trapper with limited or special scales will still likely be a bit “rustic”. A bit better quality than a Rough Rider from the Far East (Case are Made in the USA) but for more $$$. GEC are better made and the number of scale, blade and body combinations are crazy. Great platform for a collector or someone that wants traditional knives that arent commonplace, are made well and in lots of different styles.

I received my first LionSteel Roundhead from Collector Knives and it is a fantastic knife made with the best materials (CF or bone, Titanium, M390 blade, etc. They are in the $100-130 range, so not super cheap. Definately worth a look if the price tag doesn’t give you sticker shock.
 
DSC03613ed.jpg DSC03612ed.jpg

The picture of the two Rough Riders (Sowbelly and Peanut) that I bought last year. Together they cost $25. The other picture above is the RR Peanut with the Case Peanut I bought.

When I said Rough Riders are inexpensive, they run in the $10-$15 range typically. Good knives overall with consistent quality control. Quality control is where Case falls behind. Yes, Case knives are made in the US. I'm looking forward to my next visit to the big knife store in Sevierville TN and look at what Rough Riders are there. They are calling them Rough Ryders now.... don't know what that means? Ryder Trucks bought into SMKW, who knows?

I'm a big fan of the GEC made slip joints by the way. It took about a year before I was willing to spend the extra $ over a Case. But I'm glad I did. They approach custom made quality. I did buy a stag Case Peanut this past year. It is very well put together by the way (or I wouldn't have bought it). ;)
 
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Old Timers were for the most part mass produced working knives that were meant to be used. Case while they also cater to this side are mostly more geared towards collectors. Both are good knives and comparing USA to USA models not much quality difference. Maybe a slight not towards Old Timer on certain models but Case has always made a solid traditional knife.

Modern Schrade/Old Timer is made in China and can be hit and miss.

That being said I've bought and sold alot of airport knives over the years and many models you cant really tell a difference other than lack of USA stamp.

Modern Schrade is priced very cheap and some of the models would make very good user knives depending on your wants and needs.
 
I'm a huge USA made Old Timer/Schrade/Uncle Henry fan since the '70's.
Vinatge ones were a notch above Case, and we're great knives.

The new ones are junk, with poor quality made cheaply in China.
Taylor's shamed the name.

RR makes decent knives and one of the better bangs for the buck.
For a low priced user they are hard to beat.

Case is good, US made, and a notch above RR, but a little overpriced IMHO for what they are.
 
I might ruffle a feather or two but if I was going to pay homage to my granddad, I wouldn't buy him a Chinese Old Timer or Rough Rider.
Check out Amazon you'll be able to find a USA made Case copperlock there. You might also check out Buck, just avoid the Chinese bucks the steel is poor at best.
 
Dean51 said:
I might ruffle a feather or two but if I was going to pay homage to my granddad, I wouldn't buy him a Chinese Old Timer or Rough Rider.
Check out Amazon you'll be able to find a USA made Case copperlock there. You might also check out Buck, just avoid the Chinese bucks the steel is poor at best.
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I lean the same way. I'd look for a Schrade USA that is in near new condition. Nothing wrong with Case. Overall, they make a good knife. The Case sales rep was looking at Rough Ryders in the store and bought about ten of them. He's trying to figure out how they can make and sell a knife that good, at such a low price point, and make a reasonable profit. But I would still pay homage to my Grandfather with a US made knife (at least this time).
 
jill jackson said:
They're made in China now that Taylor bought the trademark. You can still pick up the USA made ones fairly reasonably on the secondary market. I've found them to be common on auction sites.
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^ This. I have a couple from the US-made days. Carbon steel ones. In those days, they were solid blue-collar knives, but not on par with Case as far as fit & finish. Case are into making collectibles, these days. A million variants, all different color dyed bone scales. I lost some respect for them for that. They stopped innovating.

Don't buy a new Old Timer. They're a shadow of what they once were. Find a good used one, and don't be afraid of a stained blade; only rust and blades that were sharpened with a bench grinder.

Modern Case are OK, but I've seen some quality issues from them as well. I had one with a red-dyed bone scale, but they didn't dye it all the way to the edge, so it was pink on the edges. Looked horrible. With Case too, you're better off with an old one. The fact that someone else put the miles on it won't bother you. It'll save you 50 years. ;)
 
22-rimfire said:
I lean the same way. I'd look for a Schrade USA that is in near new condition. Nothing wrong with Case. Overall, they make a good knife. The Case sales rep was looking at Rough Ryders in the store and bought about ten of them. He's trying to figure out how they can make and sell a knife that good, at such a low price point, and make a reasonable profit. But I would still pay homage to my Grandfather with a US made knife (at least this time).
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Cheap Chinese labor, government subsidized manufacturing, and free shipping (also government subsidized).
Rep must not be knowledgeable on how the Chinese economy works.
 
Gotta agree with what's been said. Look at the selection of Rough Riders. Try one. Lotta knife for under $20.
 
The question you have to ask yourself is whether your grandfather would want you to buy an USA made knife or one made in China, if you want a brand new knife.
 
Depending on your price range, you could look for a used or NOS Canal Street Cutlery knife. US made, nice quality and a real tie-in with the old Schrade company.
 
Didn't GEC buy all the old Schrade manufacturing equipment? Seems like they'd be the way to go if you wanted to pay homage to ye olde domestic knives. The fact that they make wonderful knives helps too.
 
Boker hasn't been mentioned yet. If you don't mind German made, check them out. I don't buy many pocket knives because I always carry a Spyderco, but I saw this used Boker trapper and money jumped out of my pocket. I guess they cost more, but how can you love a cheap knife?
 
The new Old Timers are garbage. I would buy a carbon steel Rough Rider instead.

I recently ordered a few case knives, and they all had issues. I'm not impressed.

The GEC knives I have owned have been decent. The factory edges haven't been that great, but I can fix that.
 
I have to admit that I like Case knives however you need to inspect them before you buy because quality control can vary from knife to knife. I have a number of different knives from them, mostly with stag handles. I regularly carry one in my pocket and I use one of their old Hobo models to eat my lunch at work every day.
I also have an Schrade Old Timer made in the USA which I bought new almost forty years ago. It is a decent knife but I feel that Case is a notch above. I also recently purchase my first Boker trapper with stag scales. It is very nicely made.
 
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