All About Pocket Knives

I just got a Copperhead which I presumed was from the 70's based on the Case tang stamp chart ... the # dots is largely obscured by the bolster - can't be read in whatever position the blade is in. This is just a HOK delrin copperhead, but its got great snap, no wobble, crisp half stops and full blades. I noticed the shield is pinned - if anybody knows what year they stopped pinning the shields, it would give me a better feel for roughly the era when it was made ... thx.

I believe that unpinned shields first began appearing on bone-handled Case knives in 1978; I can see enough dots in the photos of your knife to know that it was manufactured in the early ‘70s. Are you certain that the handle scales on your knife are actually Delrin? I have never seen a Delrin-handled Case knife with a pinned shield. To the best of my knowledge, the shields on Delrin knives were always “melted” into the handle material.

I don't have the knife anymore but I had an older Case camp knife in brown delrin that had a pinned shield. You could see the pin outline clearly. ???

Greenman wrote: I have never seen a Delrin-handled Case knife with a pinned shield.

I'm in agreement here. Unless it was a fluke, Case did not pin shields to Delrin handled knives.

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Mike

From the positioning of the dots I can see, it's early 1970's production. And it appears to me it's bone.

To answer the OP question, I don't recall ever seeing a Delrin knife with pinned shield. Not gonna say it never happened, but I've never seen one. It seems Case stopped pinning shields over a period of time during the 1970's with the transition to glued shields complete by around 1980. I don't have access to Steve Pfeiffer's book right now but there's a section about shields in it that gives a lot of info about pinning and glueing timelines. Maybe he'll see this and enlighten us all.

Ken

XX Case XX wrote:

Greenman wrote: I have never seen a Delrin-handled Case knife with a pinned shield.

I'm in agreement here. Unless it was a fluke, Case did not pin shields to Delrin handled knives.

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Mike

I agree that is true for modern Delrin handles post 1967. Case (and other manufacturers) used to actually melt the shield into the handle using a special electric piece of equipment.

The knife referred to may be an older 640045R made by Camillus for Case. These made prior to delrin used an odd early plastic that will shrink and disintegrate. The shields on these were pinned on.

As to the original question as it refers to Case bone and stag handled knives, Case started gluing some in 1977 but the transition to all glued shields was not complete until 1979. You will find MOST but not all pinned in 1977 and a mixed bag in 1978. This is based on my own observations.

Many thanks guys - the knowledge base here at AAPK never disappoints !

PS - the rear tang stamp indicates it is a 6249. Glad to hear it's bone and not delrin - the dark color is so uniform, I had a hard time distinguishing with the naked eye - definitely feels hard like bone does.

Thank you knifeaholic.

Lansky

Looking at your copperhead and the viewable dots, I think your knife may be a 9 or 10 dot knife, making it a 1970 or 71 made knife. My 9 dot copperhead has the dot missing from the missing from the left side. You may be able to see all of the dots on your knife by playing with the position of the blade.

I have a delrin handled 61048 SSP (satin finish) USA tang stamp that does in fact have a pinned shield. There is also evidence around the edges of the shield where it was “melted” on. This shield isn’t going anywhere! Have had this knife in my collection since about 1967. Bought it from George Goring for $3.00 at a Detroit gun show. Funny how you remember certain things.

zenithman wrote:I have a delrin handled 61048 SSP (satin finish) USA tang stamp that does in fact have a pinned shield. There is also evidence around the edges of the shield where it was “melted” on. This shield isn’t going anywhere! Have had this knife in my collection since about 1967. Bought it from George Goring for $3.00 at a Detroit gun show. Funny how you remember certain things.

Zenithman!! George Goring!! Thanks for mentioning him. I met him in about 1974 and he got me started in knife collecting. Which gun shows did you got to back then?

Hi Steve, I first met George in the mid 60’s when I was pretty young. I would see him as Dad and I attended the local Detroit area gun shows. When I was old enough to drive, I went to gun shows pretty much on a weekly basis. At that time most of the shows I attended were the Michigan Antique Arms shows and the Bill Goodman shows held at the local Roma Halls and various other venues. I would hang out at George’s table, ask intelligent questions and look at most of his knives. Eventually I ended up sitting with him behind his table and talking with him about many things, not just knives. I did this for a number of years and we became friends. Got some great knives from George but more importantly knowledge about how the world worked, at least according to George. George is gone now, I don’t attend shows nearly as often as I would like but when I do, a part of me still keeps an eye out for George and his green covered display tables.

zenithman wrote:Hi Steve, I first met George in the mid 60’s when I was pretty young. I would see him as Dad and I attended the local Detroit area gun shows. When I was old enough to drive, I went to gun shows pretty much on a weekly basis. At that time most of the shows I attended were the Michigan Antique Arms shows and the Bill Goodman shows held at the local Roma Halls and various other venues. I would hang out at George’s table, ask intelligent questions and look at most of his knives. Eventually I ended up sitting with him behind his table and talking with him about many things, not just knives. I did this for a number of years and we became friends. Got some great knives from George but more importantly knowledge about how the world worked, at least according to George. George is gone now, I don’t attend shows nearly as often as I would like but when I do, a part of me still keeps an eye out for George and his green covered display tables.

Wow your history is similar to mine...we may know each other! I grew up in St Clair Shoes, started knife collecting after my dad and I attended the Roma Hall gun show where we met George. About 1973. I remember the Roma Hall later Carpenter's Hall gun shows, Light Guard Armory, Fairgrounds shows. Also George became a permanent fixture at the Country Fair Flea Market, 8 & Schoenner. Wow what memories.

I moved here to Massachusetts in 1984, my dad was still friends with George. Dad passed on in 2003, George a bit after that.

Hi Steve, I’m sure we have met back in the day. George was such a knowledgeable man in many areas. Men like him are few and far between. Have a Merry Christmas!