Case xx 5488 backsprings

[bkazz5]

Did a little trading and ended up with my first XX era 5488. A couple of questions. It has a sheep foot master blade. Is that more or less common than having a spear master blade? Second question, is it common for the back springs on a 5488 to be uneven. One spring is raised a little higher than the other and the blades do not perfectly match up to the back spring when open. I have two other USA era 5488’s that are similar with slightly uneven back springs. So, is this common among this pattern?

[msteele6]

Bkazz5,

Not really to the point of your question but that stamp really looks unusual to me and not in a good way. This knife is probably one of the most prone to doctoring due to its value.

There should be somebody along who is more knowledgeable than I am on these knives to give a more definitive opinion.

I don't think the sheepsfoot master is a problem.

I hope I'm wrong.

JMO

[zp4ja]

Hey bkazz
Can you provide better pics. I have many authentic Case knives where the spring is not flush with backsprings but not un matching springs or not matching liners. But hey, no expert here.
Blades open both sides and top and bottom view? Is the stag fat? Does it have a model number on the sheepfoot? Like msteele said, I am really not addressing your question on the commonality of the master. Maybe the pics but the knife aspects you pictured look odd. Maybe just the pics. Never heard that uneven springs is common on any Case pattern. Maybe wear related if low but not if to high.
Jerry

[bkazz5]

Thanks for the response. I will provide more pics this evening.

[zp4ja]

Cool. Weather permitting, seems outdoor light pics come out best. Be home later and I can look closer.

[bkazz5]

Here's a few more pics. Sorry for the photography skills. It was close to sundown and a little overcast. I appreciate any and all feedback and opinions.

[cbfd]

Your 88 looks good to me,would be proud to own it. I`ve seen other 88`s with the back spring slightly raised like yours that were right. I wouldn`t worry about it. Bill

[knifeaholic]

To me the tang stamps and pattern number do not look right. My guess is that someone took a 70's 6488 and rehandled and restamped it to make a XX 5488. The handles are nice though.

[knife7knut]

I don't know whether it is an authentic knife or not but I cringe when I see a knife displayed like this with all the blades open and especially only opened partially.This puts a tremendous strain on the backsprings;particularly this pattern.I have one in my collection that has suffered a broken backspring(prior to my acquiring it)and is patiently waiting until I can find someone to replace it.

[bkazz5]

knife7nut - I agree. I was hesitant to open all blades but wanted to get pictures that would assist with my questions. While opening the blades I was questioning if it was worth the risk of causing damage. Fortunately all is well.

Steve - Thanks for your feedback. I guess because I do not have near the skill or patience it would take, it seems like a lot of work to take the handles off a 6488, replace with stag, replace two dotted stamps with XX stamps and replace the 6488 with 5488.

Is it common for the back springs on an 88 to be uneven as seen in the 5th and last pic?

[olderdogs1]

One thing that sticks out to me is the pin placement on the handles. I would think XX handles would have the pins closer to the bolsters that they are on this knife. These appear to more closely resemble the pin placement on a dotted knife.

[knifeaholic]

knife7nut - I agree. I was hesitant to open all blades but wanted to get pictures that would assist with my questions. While opening the blades I was questioning if it was worth the risk of causing damage. Fortunately all is well.

Steve - Thanks for your feedback. I guess because I do not have near the skill or patience it would take, it seems like a lot of work to take the handles off a 6488, replace with stag, replace two dotted stamps with XX stamps and replace the 6488 with 5488.

Is it common for the back springs on an 88 to be uneven as seen in the 5th and last pic?

No I have never seen backpsrings on a Case knife that uneven or even close to that. I believe that it is a real Case 88, probably got that way due to the rework.

In the 70's it was common for counterfeiters to take then-new Case knives usually in delrin and "convert" them to XX or Tested knives. Case's tooling and designs changed very little from the Tested era to the 70's. The common patterns to fake were the 88, 47, 18, 08, and 83. A lot were done in stag and pearl. Green bone and red bone would have been much harder to fake then, as bone would have to be jigged and dyed from scratch. There were no supply houses like there are today that supply jigged dyed bone.

[msteele6]

How do you think that tang stamp was done?

[zp4ja]

I won't rehash what others have said. I looked at the knife closely last night and alot of aspects made me uneasy. I agree with the posted observations.
The springs? Maybe the knife was stored open and some "spring memory" occurred. Maybe from being apart and reassembled. I own a few 88s (not my favorite pattern), the oldest being a bone USA that I looked at last night. Springs are flush and knife is tight.
Either way, no expert, but if I was buying or owned it, I would be skeptical. I critique the knives I inherited with the same regard.

Steve - Thanks for your feedback. I guess because I do not have near the skill or patience it would take, it seems like a lot of work to take the handles off a 6488, replace with stag, replace two dotted stamps with XX stamps and replace the 6488 with 5488.

As far as amount of work to fake one of these, I cannot speak to that. However, a delrin 78' 6488 books for 200 bucks and a XX 5488 books for 1600 bucks. Regardless of realized value, 8 times book value. So pretty easy to see why some scumbag lowlife would make the effort.

Jerry