Case Dot System/1970-1979

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XX Case XX
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Case Dot System/1970-1979

Post by XX Case XX »

Anytime I hear of a Case folding knife with "dots", I automatically think 1970-1979 even though that system was used far beyond that. Am I the only person that thinks that way?

Sometimes a seller will say "Case 7-Dot", and then it's up to us to figure out which decade they're referring to by studying the knife or looking at the tang stamp. I wish there was a way Case folding knives from 70-79 could be referred to as "original" dots or something of that nature.

Does anyone else feel that way?

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big monk
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Re: Case Dot System/1970-1979

Post by big monk »

I made me a copy of the tang stamps & put in my knife book,so I could glance at when needed** --- going to get interesting in 2020,when it time for the next stamp ?? ::shrug:: ---good luck,Monk ::tu::

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Re: Case Dot System/1970-1979

Post by gsmith7158 »

Mike I think that is the way collectors of vintage knives think. I know I do. To me the 70's knives are the only ones that qualify as vintage at this point in time. But there are a lot of people who don't think that way or may not know that there is a difference in the stamps. Probably best to just know your stamps. :D
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Colonel26
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Re: Case Dot System/1970-1979

Post by Colonel26 »

Whenever I hear dot I automatically think 70's. just like when I hear XX I automatically think '40-'64.

I try not to think about CASE knives from the '80's and 90's.
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Re: Case Dot System/1970-1979

Post by zp4ja »

Colonel26 wrote:

I try not to think about CASE knives from the '80's and 90's.
Besides some select few, I am trying to forget about them
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Re: Case Dot System/1970-1979

Post by zp4ja »

Oh yeah Wade. I look at the dotted knives the same way that you mentioned. 1970s years only.
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Re: Case Dot System/1970-1979

Post by Old Hunter »

My sweet spot extends until 1982 - the last year of the full size shield on many patterns. I will collect and use an 80 - 82 as readily as a late 1970's. But I do agree, when I see 7-Dot or 10-Dot I think 1970's (but I know to check!) OH
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Re: Case Dot System/1970-1979

Post by treefarmer »

I'm on board with the idea when a Case knife with dots is mentioned they are referring to the 1970-79 era. I have seen several knives advertised to be from that era that were actually from the 80s. The seller was not familiar with the tang stamp differences, an honest mistake.
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Re: Case Dot System/1970-1979

Post by Tsar Bomba »

In general I agree with the prevailing sympathy regarding dot-era knives being from the 70s.

Consider that some of Case's finest releases extended into the 80s, however. I've got some gorgeous SS and carbon Appaloosa bone knives from 1980-1982 including Barlows, peanuts, canoes, 33s and even a lovely SFO sunfish, and some of the stag knives from 80-85 are absolutely fantastic. Even some of the early 80s "new grind" knives are among my favorite Cases. Frankly I don't even see many of the notorious quality issues with 80s Case knives until later in the decade (87, 88, etc. when I start seeing lots of blade wobble, bad grinds and poor F&F issues on "mint" knives).

I am used to the understanding that "X-dot" knives can be 70s, 80s or even post-1993 but I think in terms of common usage the 70s knives are the ones most understood to be "dot-era". Throw "vintage" in with "dot-era" however and you'd better be talking about the 70s or else be very specific about the year. Through poor photography I once bought a "6-dot" 92 Texas jack that was repped as 1974 but turned out to be 1984. In the end, however, it's become one of my favorite users and allowed me to keep some nicer vintage 92s in minty condition, so I don't mind much, but obviously this can make a mail order/auction buy go sour really fast if there is any confusion over the year of the knife.
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Re: Case Dot System/1970-1979

Post by jerryd6818 »

I seldom add a Case to my pile and it's the X's & Dots that confuse the rabbit droppings out of me. I have to look it up every time because I can't remember if it's the dots they remove first or the X's and then it's which "Case" goes with which years. Seems to me it would have been much simpler to stamp it 'Case', and added the year, 1998, 1999, 2000, etc, etc. Oh well, they didn't ask me.
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Tsar Bomba
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Re: Case Dot System/1970-1979

Post by Tsar Bomba »

jerryd6818 wrote:I seldom add a Case to my pile and it's the X's & Dots that confuse the rabbit droppings out of me. I have to look it up every time because I can't remember if it's the dots they remove first or the X's and then it's which "Case" goes with which years. Seems to me it would have been much simpler to stamp it 'Case', and added the year, 1998, 1999, 2000, etc, etc. Oh well, they didn't ask me.
I think for completeness's sake we should address the whole dots/dots-and-Xs system in one post. :mrgreen:

Between 1970s and 1980s dot-era knives, it's almost always distinguishable as 1970s by the CASE being the old-style sanserif font with a normal "S" (and most of the stainless knives will say 'STAINLESS' right on the tang stamp of the master along with the dots) while 1980s dot knives have the "lightning-bolt" S in "CASE" and "USA" (I sometimes think of this as the "SS" era, and that's not for stainless steel) with the same style S in "SS" splitting the dots for stainless knives.
case-xx-tang-stamps-1970-1979.jpg
case-xx-tang-stamps-1970-1979.jpg (4.71 KiB) Viewed 2195 times
case-xx-tang-stamps-1980-1989.jpg
case-xx-tang-stamps-1980-1989.jpg (4.52 KiB) Viewed 2195 times
In the 1990s, the first 3 years were mostly dated in standard numerals bracketing the USA but otherwise similar to the 80s version, but in 1993 they reverted to the dots (with the "fancy" C and long tail for Case, not just standard text any more) for lots of knives, and since 2000 it's been dots-and-Xs with various different fancy Case logos. X's come off first (first five years of the decade), then dots (last five). You have to get used to remembering which fancy logo is which decade from 2000-present.
case-tang-stamps-1990-present.jpg
I've never encountered the 97-99 variant with the pattern number as part of it but I'm sure someone on AAPK has.
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Re: Case Dot System/1970-1979

Post by KnifeSlinger#81 »

XX Case XX wrote:Anytime I hear of a Case folding knife with "dots", I automatically think 1970-1979 even though that system was used far beyond that. Am I the only person that thinks that way?
No, you are not the only one.
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