When did Case sell honing rods?

[Modern Slip Joints]

I just bought a 10" carbon steel honing rod that is stamped CASE XX, nothing else. The letters do not have sherifs. It has a wood handle, a roughly triangular hand guard and its pommel or butt end cap includes an integeral ring. Compared to most honing rods its striations are finer and the rod is heavier, 0.58" near the guard. During what time period(s) might it have been made?

[knifeaholic]

Case sold that type of large "butcher" sharpening steel from the pre-WWII era through the late 1980's. Impossible to date them by markings.

[Modern Slip Joints]

Thank-you for the answer knifeaholic.

While I did not desperately need another steel anything stamped CASE XX is worth the $1.75 the thrift store wanted for it. I like using steels in the kitchen and I sometimes use one to freshen up a pocket knife edge without removing metal. I was not aware Case sold steels.

[Mumbleypeg]

Case sold at least two different sizes of steels. There was a shorter version that came as part of their "Noble Trio" carving sets, and a longer version sold as a stand alone item. There is one of the longer ones on the board in the Case retail display case that I have. The knives on that board are from 1980 and 1981 so they were available at that time.

Ken

[Modern Slip Joints]

I believe any stag on your display of 1980-81 knives would be real sambar or India stag. Thanks for confirming the large steels were available then. I remember nice stag pocket knives in the store displays then but some how don't remember large steels for butchers and restaurant chefs. We remember what we lusted for.

[Mumbleypeg]

No stag on the board of the display. Mostly bone, some wood and some Delrin. Stag disappeared from the standard Case line-up in the early 1970s. By mid-1970s after Case officially announcing their discontinuance of stag, some dealers were selling stag knives right off the boards in their store displays. (Of course, Case later created the “limited edition” stag runs, with associated dedicated displays.)

Handle on the sharpening rod (bottom right corner of display) appears to be some type of synthetic. Note there is also a (shorter) ceramic sharpening rod, IIRC Case called it the Sharp-Stik. BTW the Noble Trio sets, consisting of a carving knife, fork and sharpening rod in a lined hinged wooden box, had stag handles. Steve Pfeiffer probably knows when those carving sets were available but I don’t. I would guess they were discontinued when, or before, they dropped stag from the standard product line.

Ken

[Mumbleypeg]

Looks like Case still sells honing rods - received this as part of an email from Case today. The rod and knives shown come as a set, with a walnut block. All the knives are available for individual purchase, but apparently the rods are only available with the set.

Ken