How do you tell case green bone, bone, red bone

[Dgood187]

Is there a giveaway for what bone it is?

[Mumbleypeg]

Look at a lot of knives, and/or get someone to show you. These are all terms that originated amongst collectors to describe different colors of bone used by Case. They’ve since spread to other brands and can be seen being used by sellers to describe the bone colors on knives they’re trying to increase the value of. Often times such descriptions are incorrect, thereby creating a lot of confusion. Here’s a thread on the topic you might find useful. viewtopic.php?f=4&t=56564

A search here on AAPK for those terms “green bone”, and “red bone” will find examples and discussion about them. Since your title says Case, I’d start your search limited to the Case Collector subforum. Just go there and type the words you’re looking for in the box that says “Search these results”.

AAPK member jlw257 (Larry) has some fine Case green bone knives. Here are some posts that show them search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&keyw ... r_id=16219

To confuse matters more “green bone” isn’t really green. But “red bone” is really red. As I said, you just have to look at some to know.

Maybe this will help. Side by side pictures, same 06267 pattern. Top bottom, XX U.S.A. red bone, XX red bone, Tested XX rough black (aka Gum Fuddy), and Tested XX green bone. Click the picture to enlarge so you can see the color differences better.

Ken

[btrwtr]

I tend to be old school in my beliefs of what USA and earlier stamped Case knives are as far as classification of bone color is concerned. Here is what is said previously on AAPK in a reply to the same type of question. Everyone seems to have their own definition.

"As far as Case marketing is concerned there was never any effort or intent to sell the XX stamped knives as either Red or Green bone. This said there was a distinct transition in the dying of the bone during the XX stamped knives from the earlier green to the later, not green, more red and brown colors. As far as I know Case did dye and jig their own bone handles and every phase of the process has variables. Density of bone, concentration of dye solution, time left in the process of the boiling etc. Given this there is no wonder that we see a vast array of color and hues in the of the bone handles.

The terms red bone and green bone as applied to Case knives originated in large with the interest of knives being bought as collectibles. Back when books dealing with Case collectible knives, such as Ferguson's "Romance of Collecting Case Knives" was printed in 1978, price guides differentiated between Green and Red bone XX stamped knives and placed a premium on these knives over regular bone handles.

The reason for a premium on Green bone is that XX stamped green bone knives are earlier production than the other and later colors found. Green is not necessarily true green in color but is distinctly different and easily determined in that it is the same bone as found on many Tested era knives. An earlier made knife equals more desirable and thus a premium pricing in the guides.

The reason for a premium price placed on Red bone handled knives is that early on in the Case knife collecting game collectors would pay more for the XX knives that had the true red color in the handles. I believe the pricing and designation of "red bone" in price guides was intended to describe knives that were Crayola red in color. You know, the kind of red that every first grade child recognizes as red and can readily point out. Not brown, reddish brown, mottled red, dark red and the like but true red in color. It seems through wishful thinking that now, as evidenced on eBay, any knife that is made by Case despite color or material used is being described as "red bone". I do not believe that this is the intent of price guides but it is what it is.

Whereas XX green bone is more a classification of a time, red bone is a classification of color. I believe that red bone is an anomaly of the dying process that randomly occurred in the XX and USA stamped knives.

A general rule is that bone handled Tested era knives are base priced as being green bone. In Tested stamped knives premiums are paid for harder to find bone such as Rogers or Winterbottom.

I have seen many USA era knives that I would consider true red bone. Conversely given the timeline of the transition from green to the not green bone XX knives I would question any red bone Tested era knife as being original."

[richard]

here are some of my favorite "ole bones"

[Rookie]

This is a good example of traditional Case Tested era greenbone.

[1967redrider]

I knows it when I sees it.

Feel free to post pictures for opinions.