What is Case greenbone?

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jec88

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What exactly was or is old greenbone as seen in old case knives? I've tried to research it, but mostly come up with current bright green colored knives. I have an old 1920's Case jacknife that is greenbone and I've seen alot of gorgeous old knives that are called greenbone. Was it a specific color of bone like redbone, or was it just a chestnut bone knife with pocket wear over time? I've seen some of the new pocketworn burnt brown bone knives and they look pretty close.
 
Those are great! The lighter two could almost pass as the new Pocketworn burnt brown bone, while the darker two I would have thought were chestnut bone. That is what I was wondering about, were they called green bone when they first came out or were they just lighter chestnut bone knives? On the link provided above, redbone gets added to the discussion?
 
The name comes from the processed used to treat/dye the bone. Green bone can range from greenish to brownish in color. Redbone can range from brownish to reddish in color. The best way to know is to show others who are experienced, or to just research a lot of Tested era Case knives, and you will get a feel for what you are looking at.
 
Here is what Case is calling pocketworn burnt brown bone below, if my link works. I really like it! In my opinion, it does look like it might resemble the green bone of old? The reason I started this thread is, if I wanted to get a new knife that at least resembles greenbone of old, was their something actually called greenbone or is it just faded variations of something else? Below pic might be the way to go.



swatch-large-burnt-brown-bone-jigged.jpg
 
jec88 said:
Those are great! The lighter two could almost pass as the new Pocketworn burnt brown bone, while the darker two I would have thought were chestnut bone. That is what I was wondering about, were they called green bone when they first came out or were they just lighter chestnut bone knives? On the link provided above, redbone gets added to the discussion?
Click to expand...
My understanding is that Case just called it bone . They didn't distinguish color. Neither did they pay much attention to matching slabs.I believe greenbone is only found in tested(20-40) and XX era ( 40-64) Redbone , greenbone , prettybone are collector terms . There's color variations that add to the confusion. Especially with redbone.
I'm a new collector so I could be mistaken
 
Thanks, that was helpful! That leans toward what I have been able to come up with
 
Case made a green bone 6345½ cigar cattle knife for the NKCA club knife in 1987. It's not the bright green of newer knives, but not quite as brown as the older ones either. More of an olive drab color, very attractive.
 
Was greenbone more common in the tested era and redbone from the xx era onwards or it just me? Old greenbone looks great (not that redbone doesnt). So if I get that right it can be completely subjective whether or not a knife is considered to have greenbone or redbone scales as it's really the collectors making the call.

The brown bone used in the 70s and 80s isn't called greenbone though, is it?
 
As far as my understanding no green or redbone past XX Era ( 49-64 ) - lot of red looking knives between 1965-1975. That's where "true redbone" term comes in, I guess .I haven't seen anything close to greenbone past XX era but can't say I've seen many knives either
 
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Some of the Tested era greenbone is really amazing when you get to see it up close. There were a few other knife companies during that era that had very similar jigging and bone coloring, but I believe only those old Case knives can have "greenbone". If I remember correctly, I believe they used cyanide during the treatment/dying process, which is why they can't replicate it today due to safety/health concerns.

Here is one I have with nice greenbone.
(image removed)
 
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