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Guide to Case Knives
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Identifying the Age of a Case Knife
Throughout the long history of W. R. Case & Sons, there have been many
different stamps used on its knives. These stamps are located on the
tang of the master blade, and can be used to identify when the knife was
manufactured. Below is a picture of where the stamp is located, along with
the most common stamps and the years that they were used. Please note
that not all stamps used by Case have been included because of the overwhelming
number of variations. If you have a picture of a tang stamp that is not on this page, please email it to bryan@allaboutpocketknives.com
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Pre-1920
The above stamps were the most common used by Case on knives that were
manufactured in the years prior to 1920. |
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1920-1940 (some say 1919 - 1945)
You will find that most books date this stamp as being used from 1920 to 1940. I have found that many serious knife collectors disagree with this date range and say that it was actually used from 1919 to 1945. It has been my experience that collectors call knives with these stamps "Tested" or "Circle C" era knives.
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1940-1964 (some say 1945 - 1964)
You will find that most books date this stamp as 1940 - 1964. I have found that many serious knife collectors say that it was actually used from 1945 - 1964.
It has been my experience that collectors call knives with these stamps "XX" era knives. |
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1945-1950
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1950-1964
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1965-1969
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1970-1979
The stamps
used from 1970-1979 are the same as those used between 1965-1969 except
that dots were added below the U.S.A. 10 dots were added in 1970,
and for every year thereafter, one dot was removed so that each year had a
unique stamp. For clarification, note that ten dots appear on 1970 knives, nine dots
appear in 1971 knives, eight on 1972 knives, and so on. |
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1980-1989
Throughout
the 1980's, Case used the same dating system as the 70's. 1980
knives have 10 dots, and one is removed each year. Unlike 70's
knives however, the s's are lightening shaped, and the dots are located
between the Case XX, and the U.S.A. |
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1990-1993
Beginning in 1990, Case replaced the dating system with a
stamp that imprinted the actual date on the knife tang. This was not
as popular with collectors, so Case changed back to the dot dating system in
the middle of 1993.
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1993 -1999
From the middle of 1993 to 1999, Case returned to the dot
system that was used in the 70's and 80's. Case also returned to
using a long tailed C on the word Case which resembled the older tang
stamps. The dots started in 1993, and one was removed for every year
until 2000. On some knives in this era, the S in U.S.A. is
lightening shaped like those in the 80's. |
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2000-present time
In 2000, Case developed yet another dating system.
Case is currently using an old style Case XX stamp along with a mix of
dots and x's both above the Case XX symbol and below. Case started
with 5 x's, and 5 dots in 2000. For each year thereafter, they have
been removing one dot. When all of the dots are gone after 2005, the
x's will be removed one by one until 2010 at which point collectors will
undoubtedly see a new dating system. Stay tuned. |
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