Case & Son Lady's Leg Knife

[ole_muddy]

I am confident that this knife has had a blade replaced. And with a poor example of a blade too. The long pull is too wide for the era of the tang stamp. I wrote the seller that it wasn't right and I would appreciate any/all comments from you aapk members about the knife.

Thanks, Eric

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... AQ:US:1123

[zp4ja]

Hey Muddy,

No expert here but until we get past the following, if I am correct that is, the blade or stamp is irrelevant.

As far as I know, could be wrong, CASE only made 2 models of the "Lady Leg" knife.

1. Large Leg 097 pattern. One blade only. 5" closed.
2. Small Leg 97 pattern. 2 blade only. 3-1/4"

The seller states 3-1/4" and it is obviously not a Large Leg.

My point is that I don't think they made a Small Leg with only one blade like the knife posted. All the small legs had 2 blades. Could have a snapped of blade inside the knife, can't tell .

Again, could be wrong but that is what I know. Never seen a boot like that on a CASE leg knife either but hey, no expert as I said, so that doesn't mean anything.

Jerry

[olderdogs1]

As another aside, the tested XX stamped on the rear tang would technically be incorrect as WR Case didn't aquire the XX trademark until 1914 or so when Case Brothers went out of business. I have heard however that some of the older WR case knives did use the XX marking on rare occasions. I just have never personally seen one. The W R Case and SON as opposed to WR Case & Sons would narrow the production to a very few years around 1902 when the Tested XX stamp was the property of Case Brothers. I also am no expert but that might be just one more consideration.

Tom

[knifeaholic]

I agree with all the comments. An original od frame (maybe Case maybe not) but a crudely stamped blade and Case never made the small one in a single blade.

[MikeB]

Not an expert but look at the knife, does it look like Case bros. quality?

Mike

[alexshrewsbury]

Hello Community, New member here.

I have this knife. Looking for information about it. Google doesn't really return much except this thread.

Does anyone know of case producing a single bladed lady leg in Christmas Tree?

I'll take some photos tonight and post them tomorrow.

-Alex

[gsmith7158]

The top three people that commented on this knife already are just being modest. They are all as close to being Case experts as any one can get. Take it to the bank that's a fantasy knife.

[stockman]

Off the subject some, has anyone heard from ole_muddy aka Eric? I have not seen a post of his in a few years.

Harold

[alexshrewsbury]

Thanks GSmith. Bummer this is probably a fake.
I saw this youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOT6xPwcp48
However the boot/shoe shape on my knife doesn't match the ones in this video. Nor does it have any German stampings on the back.

The Case logo on the tang appears to be the middle logo in the 1920 - 1940 era on this page:
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/co ... ification/
I know it is alteast ~20 years old because it's been sitting in my knife case that long.

As for the Fit and Finish,,, well, Its kind of rough in spots. The handle material appears to be spaced out from the bolsters, however this could be due to a breakdown in the celluloid over time.
The liners do not precisely match up to the bolster on the end of the boot/shoe either. The liners are sunk in about 1/2 mm.


Here are some photos anyway, since I already took them. =)

[alexshrewsbury]

I'm still googling this. I hate when the internet fails me.

The boot shaped bolster is quite similar to the picture at the bottom. I did an image search for lady's leg and noticed the three circles where the shoe laces would go. That link ultimately goes out to some random site that says the post cannot be found. I got the Crown Cutlery from the title above the image.
Crown Cutlery was a NY based company from 1900 - 1930 according to another forum on this site.
My pin spacing also matches up with this one.
My knife has a single blade, this one has two blades.
I'd be inclined to think that this was indeed manufactured from Crown Cutlery if it wasn't for the case stamp on the tang.
I suppose it is possible that the knife had been disassembled, a blade replaced and a blade removed, them put back together.
None of my pins show any damage though, and they are all quite flush to the handle.

[peanut740]

You're answering a lot of your own questions.Read the knife,not what the tang says.Case is the most faked brand there is.Blade may have been changed or tang could have been shaved and re-stamped.

[alexshrewsbury]

Well I got some info from the horse's mouth, My Grandfather. No offense to anyone here, but he is the Case Guy in my family, and the person who passed this one on to me.

He said he bought two of these knives in Cincinnati. Both turned out to be fake.

Thanks to everyone on this forum. I've had alot of fun researching this. Hope this can help another unlucky soul. =)

Case closed in my opinion.
(pun intended)

-Alex

[zp4ja]

Well I got some info from the horse's mouth, My Grandfather. No offense to anyone here, but he is the Case Guy in my family, and the person who passed this one on to me.

He said he bought two of these knives in Cincinnati. Both turned out to be fake.

Thanks to everyone on this forum. I've had alot of fun researching this. Hope this can help another unlucky soul. =)

Case closed in my opinion.
(pun intended)

-Alex

Hello Alex,

Glad to help and that you got resolution on this.

Fake or not, I know it was your Grandfathers knife and I respect that. That said, now that you know it is fake, will you somehow mark it as such to prevent perpetuating the fraud? I am sure you would never pass on as authentic but marking as such or destruction is only way to deal with this in my opinion. To each his own.

My Dad left me plenty of knives and one fake. That fake got a .308 at 100 yards to make sure never again someone was duped. Gave the pieces to a buddy as a conversation piece on fake knife disposal.

Whatever you decide I respect that. However, forgery is very pervasive in our hobby and hurts the hobby as a whole.

My 2 cents.

Jerry

[alexshrewsbury]

Hey Jerry,
I'm not sure what I will do with this knife. I guarantee you that I won't try to sell it as an original. That wouldn't be honest.

I'm not really attached to this knife. I have several several other examples of knives from my grandfather. This isn't one he used or anything, just one that fell into my knife case somehow... He probably gave it to my mother. My knife was always peanuts, my cousin's texas toothpicks, etc.

I'm not sure about destroying it either. All in all, it is a functional tool. I might keep it in the junk drawer to use as a bottle opener.

I was speaking with my grandfather by phone last night. We were discussing this as a follow up to the email I sent him. He had a few other stories about fakes including one experience I thought was interesting.

He said he was at an unnamed individuals home in KY who either made fakes or knew about faking Case knives. My grandfather asked what it would take to fake one(not that he would ever try to profit from that sort of activity).
He said the guy took a blade, threw it on the grinder for a few seconds, picked up a stamp and hit it with a hammer. And that was that.

I dont see how you would press a knife back together. I suppose it would be alot like finishing a new one, making sure all the lines line up and everything.

Anyway, hope everyone here is doing well.
Thanks for everything!

-Alex