Yellow CV trapper (3254) manufacturing variations by year?

The W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company has a very rich history that began in 1889 when William Russell (“W.R.”), Jean, John, and Andrew Case began fashioning their knives and selling them along a wagon trail in upstate New York. The company has produced countless treasures and it continues to do so as one of the most collected brands in the world.
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kennbr34
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Yellow CV trapper (3254) manufacturing variations by year?

Post by kennbr34 »

I'm trying to track down in what years the 3254 trapper was produced with a specific manufacturing variation.

The specific variation is that the bolsters and handles were done much flatter than on other years. Basically completely flat. Here's a few links to demonstrate what I mean.

https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ca ... er_stock=3
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ca ... ife-in-box
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ca ... ife-in-box
viewtopic.php?f=66&t=49857&p=526753&hil ... es#p526753

I've been tracking down this variation on various auction sites including this one, and I've been able to confirm that the flat-handle variants were produced from 2005-2006 at the earliest and that they switched back to the rounder styling in 2009 at the latest. Though of course I can't find auction listings for every year, so I think there may be some gaps there. Also there seem to be other manufacturing dates where the handles are a bit flatter than others, but not dead-flat like on these 2005-2006 variants.

I remember when I first got a 3254 it was about 2010-2011 and I bought it out of a hardware store display case, and then when I got it home I noticed it looked a lot different than the rounder versions I had seen online. Unfortunately I don't remember if I checked the manufacturing date on it at that time and I've since lost it. I suppose it wouldn't be that unusual for the store to have stock from 2005-2006 left and not have a brand-new one in the display case though.

Wondering if anyone has any of these super-flat models if they could check the manufacturing year and post?

I may seem weirdly obsessed over this but I've always wondered why these years had this variation and kind of want to get another flat-handled one since they seem kind of unique, and another rounder-handled one to go along with it.
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Re: Yellow CV trapper (3254) manufacturing variations by year?

Post by doglegg »

Interesting post kennbr34. The flat ones do have an appeal to them, I like their looks. And Welcome! Great first post. ::nod:: ::nod:: ::handshake::
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Re: Yellow CV trapper (3254) manufacturing variations by year?

Post by BFORSE »

Sharp eye. The only one I have is a 2000 and it has the round shape and bevel cut on the top bolsters. I hope this post gets some traction, it would be interesting if it was solely a year thing or if it was regional because I don’t recall ever seeing ones like that where I live.
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Mumbleypeg
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Re: Yellow CV trapper (3254) manufacturing variations by year?

Post by Mumbleypeg »

Welcome to AAPK. I’m not a collector of newer Case knives so can’t say for sure that there was or was not a change made. However, I am familiar to some extent with factory knife manufacturing processes, and have been to the Case factory and seen knives being made there. I can tell you that the shape of handle covers are affected largely by two factors. The shape of the bolsters, and the hafting process.

The handle material is a rectangular slab of whatever material is being used. In the case of your knife, it’s yellow Delrin plastic. The rectangular slabs are flat on both sides, and prior to the manufacturing step where it is attached to the knife, holes have been drilled where the pins which hold it in place will be. During assembly the operator has a “jig” specially made for the particular pattern being assembled.

The operator successively places (piles) the various parts, including the handle covers and blades, into the jig, inserts and taps the rivets into place. Immediately after the handles are attached the slab is still rectangular, with areas extending beyond the frame of the knife, which of course is not rectangular. The excess material on the pins/rivets is clipped off and “spun” to be flattened out and near flush with the handle slabs. Then the handles have to be shaped to conform to the bolsters and frame of the knife. This shaping is done by what is called “hafting”, which can be thought of as sort of a sanding process. This is where the excess handle material (remember it’s rectangular and flat at this point, prior to hafting) is removed and shaped to conform to the frame and bolsters.

And this is where every knife becomes flatter or rounder. In other words, unique. Whether the operator doing the hafting leaves the slab flatter, or more rounded, is purely an outcome of this hand-done operation. In theory no two knives are identical. So my guess is what you are seeing could simply be the result of differences in hafting, not a machine or design change. Some operators may leave a somewhat flat side, others a more rounded side.

It is known and established that from time to time Case (and other companies) make tooling changes. If/when the shape of bolsters change, the result of hafting the handle covers to fit those bolsters can result in a different shape or thickness of the handles. But it can also be simply differences in hafting by the operator. Hope that helps.

Sorry for the lengthy explanation. I’ve attached a video that probably explains it better. About 2:40 to 4:00 minutes into the video is when the knife assembly and hafting can be seen. These processes are the same regardless the handle material.

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Re: Yellow CV trapper (3254) manufacturing variations by year?

Post by knifeaholic »

I have a chapter in my book about the first time that Case changed the bolster manufacturing process...from the long-time traditional method of forming the bolsters by drop forging to stamping them out of flat sheets...happened in 1985-86. I have no ideas as to when and how they have made changes since then.
kennbr34
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Re: Yellow CV trapper (3254) manufacturing variations by year?

Post by kennbr34 »

doglegg wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 1:29 pm Interesting post kennbr34. The flat ones do have an appeal to them, I like their looks. And Welcome! Great first post. ::nod:: ::nod:: ::handshake::
Thanks! Yeah I originally was kind of disappointed I didn't get a rounded one but the flat look grew on me.
BFORSE wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 3:19 pm Sharp eye. The only one I have is a 2000 and it has the round shape and bevel cut on the top bolsters. I hope this post gets some traction, it would be interesting if it was solely a year thing or if it was regional because I don’t recall ever seeing ones like that where I live.
Yeah so far I have only found it in 2005-2006 year issues, but haven't been able to find any 07-08 specimens to check. That bevel cut on the top bolster being absent is one of the easier ways I have spotted the flat ones.
Mumbleypeg wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 5:02 pm Welcome to AAPK. I’m not a collector of newer Case knives so can’t say for sure that there was or was not a change made. However, I am familiar to some extent with factory knife manufacturing processes, and have been to the Case factory and seen knives being made there. I can tell you that the shape of handle covers are affected largely by two factors. The shape of the bolsters, and the hafting process.

The handle material is a rectangular slab of whatever material is being used. In the case of your knife, it’s yellow Delrin plastic. The rectangular slabs are flat on both sides, and prior to the manufacturing step where it is attached to the knife, holes have been drilled where the pins which hold it in place will be. During assembly the operator has a “jig” specially made for the particular pattern being assembled.

The operator successively places (piles) the various parts, including the handle covers and blades, into the jig, inserts and taps the rivets into place. Immediately after the handles are attached the slab is still rectangular, with areas extending beyond the frame of the knife, which of course is not rectangular. The excess material on the pins/rivets is clipped off and “spun” to be flattened out and near flush with the handle slabs. Then the handles have to be shaped to conform to the bolsters and frame of the knife. This shaping is done by what is called “hafting”, which can be thought of as sort of a sanding process. This is where the excess handle material (remember it’s rectangular and flat at this point, prior to hafting) is removed and shaped to conform to the frame and bolsters.

And this is where every knife becomes flatter or rounder. In other words, unique. Whether the operator doing the hafting leaves the slab flatter, or more rounded, is purely an outcome of this hand-done operation. In theory no two knives are identical. So my guess is what you are seeing could simply be the result of differences in hafting, not a machine or design change. Some operators may leave a somewhat flat side, others a more rounded side.

It is known and established that from time to time Case (and other companies) make tooling changes. If/when the shape of bolsters change, the result of hafting the handle covers to fit those bolsters can result in a different shape or thickness of the handles. But it can also be simply differences in hafting by the operator. Hope that helps.

Sorry for the lengthy explanation. I’ve attached a video that probably explains it better. About 2:40 to 4:00 minutes into the video is when the knife assembly and hafting can be seen. These processes are the same regardless the handle material.

Ken
Oh wow thanks for all the info and great video. That's very enlightening as to how they may all have their unique qualities with the hand finishing process. I wonder if perhaps the tooling was a lot worn down and so the people doing the hafting couldn't get quite the same rounded look before the tooling was replaced.
knifeaholic wrote: Mon Jun 01, 2020 11:03 pm I have a chapter in my book about the first time that Case changed the bolster manufacturing process...from the long-time traditional method of forming the bolsters by drop forging to stamping them out of flat sheets...happened in 1985-86. I have no ideas as to when and how they have made changes since then.
That makes sense because I did spot an '88 one that was pretty flat compares to older years too. Thanks for the info!

I picked up one to EDC as a user. It wasn't mint condition and had some pitting on the blade so I polished it up to remove as much of the pitting as I could but wasn't able to get all of it. I decided to just force a patina on it to hide the blemishes, and besides I like a patina for a user. I think I might still get that mint edition one listed above just to have a pristine one that lives in a drawer.

Here's some pics...
IMG_20200602_024326183.jpg
IMG_20200602_023734632.jpg
IMG_20200602_021624819.jpg
IMG_20200602_021522378.jpg
IMG_20200602_021859224.jpg
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