Highway Patrol Case XX 6265 SAB Knife

[PirateLou]

Just acquired a few of these NC Highway Patrol Case XX Knives. Has anyone seen Police awarded knives before? Would they be considered desirable, or doesn't matter? The blades are gold in color, I'm assuming they've been gold washed, correct? Thank for any input you can provide. Much appreciated.

[hardman]

I can't answer your questions, but would be interested in the answers. What I can say is that I have a North Carolina Highway Patrol set made by Case that includes a 5299 1/2 Stag Railsplitter Jack. Nice deep blade etch.

Also, I have a Case XX 5249 Second Cut Stag Copperhead that came in a special "American Lawman" presentation box and has the gold plated or gold washed blades. That gold on the blades must be super thin as it is very delicate. So, it is probably gold washed, and I am thinking about removing it as there seems to be the start if some tarnish under the gold on the blade and I don't want it to get worse. Any effort to deal with the corrosion will destroy the gold wash. The gold coating is so thin, I'm betting I only have to look at the blades with a polishing cloth and the gold wash will dissolve.

[mrwatch]

I am not up on a gold wash but as a watchmaker I can tell you that many wrist watches are 1-3 micron gold plated or washed. Meaning one millionth of one inch. Rubs right off.

Found this, Gold wash refers to a gilded layer with a thickness less than 0.2 micron.

[jerryd6818]

From what I've read, others have said that for the most part the commemorative knives are of little interest to the general knife buying community. They are more of a niche market, attractive to those connected to the organization being commemorated. An example would be the Illinois State Police Schrade I have. I bought it because I live in Illinois, as where I would have no interest in a North Carolina Highway Patrol knife even though I lived there for ten months back in the dark ages. In fact it has been speculated that for the general knife buying public, the value of commemorative knives, club knives, etc is diminished somewhat by their connection to that organization. Crazy, huh.

[gsmith7158]

Jerry I have found that to be true also. If you watch the sales of these type knives on eBay they just don't bring the same money as a regular production Knife unless they happen to be a highly sought after knife with stag handles. I'm like you though I would have no interest in an N.C. State Patrol knife. I'm not even sure I would have interest in a Georgia State Patrol knife as rough as they have been on me over the years.

[knife7knut]

I think the only time this may not apply(value diminished by etch)is if the knife was made by a custom maker rather than a production knife. When I belonged to the Wolverine Knife Collectors Club their club knife one year was made by one of their members(Bob Enders) whose knives were works of art and collectible in their own right.
I have one knife that was made for the Duxback Company and sports their logo in a button on the handle.It was made by Jimmy Lile and while there were quite a few made(mine is #333 of 500) I don't think the mark diminishes the value of the knife.

[gsmith7158]

K7K I think you have just proven our point. While those knives May be special to you, someone who does not know who Bob Enders or Jimmy Lile is would probably not pay a premium price for either. Niche groups or local makers just don't have a big following in the general public.

[knife7knut]

K7K I think you have just proven our point. While those knives May be special to you, someone who does not know who Bob Enders or Jimmy Lile is would probably not pay a premium price for either. Niche groups or local makers just don't have a big following in the general public.

So true! Outside of Michigan very few people knew of Bob Enders. He was a retired machinist who liked to make knives as a hobby and to make a few dollars on the side.Among some of his projects was a complete set of Remington Bullet knives that were made to his standards(fabulous). He always liked making folders;especially multi-bladed ones. A good friend of mine in town here has quite a collection of Bob's knives.Bob was in his 80's when he passed.
Jimmy Lile of course needs no introduction. One of the premier knife makers of the 1960's and 70's,his knives were always of the highest quality.At one time you could hardly pick up a knife magazine without seeing that huge smile of his.
On another note:Back in the early 1980's there was a company that was subscribing a series of knives honoring the armed forces that was based on a Case dagger blade.The handles were cast pewter and silver plated and designed(made?) by Shaw-Liebowitz. The first knife in the series was to honor the Marines and the subscription was $600 for the four knives including a display case.That worked out to roughly $150 per knife.There was supposed to be 750 of each knife produced.
Well apparently they couldn't get enough people to buy into this because the ads stopped showing up in the magazines and the one knife was all that was ever produced. I bought two of them at a flea market about a year after that for $20 apiece. Gave one to my brother(a Marine) and kept the other one. The serial #'s were in the 600's so it is possible they made all 750 of them.
Don't know what a Case dagger is worth today;or what this one is worth either but it is still a neat knife.Here is a pic of the knife.I have a pic of the ad around somewhere;will try and dig it out.

[gsmith7158]

USMC
I would say that knife would have a much wider base of appeal, after all who doesn't love a marine. That one would be a keeper I would say and pretty doggone rare.

[jerryd6818]

Greg, Marines will buy just about anything with USMC or the Marine Corps Emblem on it. How do I know?

[gsmith7158]

You iz one. And I for one appreciate you and every thing you did for our country.ihave several buds who are marines and you are right if it says USMC on it they gotta have it.

[jerryd6818]

Had a plumber step in the door a few weeks ago because they were working on an issue in the upstairs apartment. He looked around and said "So, were you in the Marine Corps?"

[gsmith7158]

There ain't nothing wrong with that. You need to wear that badge proudly. One of my buds told me one time you might get out of the corps but you are a Marine forever.

[btrwtr]

One of the best cases in point I can think of concerning these commemorative or special edition type knives are the Case Moby Dick and Nantucket Sleigh Ride 6165SAB pattern knives. Limited edition in 1978 and 1979 of 10,000 each (that's not very limited) at a retail issue price of $200.

Like the OP knife and others posted here, they are indeed very attractive and well made knives.

Today they seldom will bring the issue prices. By the way, $200 in 1978 would equal approx. $727 in 2016 when adjusted for inflation.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Factory-Manufac ... +moby+dick

[gsmith7158]

Excellent point Wayne. I think it may have something to do with the knife being issued as a collectable so you know right off the bat that everyone that was issued will never be used and will remain in that box in mint condition. The numbers never reduced. There will always be 10, 000 of them.

[kootenay joe]

Quote: "the knife being issued as a collectable so you know right off the bat that everyone that was issued will never be used and will remain in that box in mint condition."
Are knives issued as commemoratives or others with a fancy etch maybe multi-colored, suitable for use ? i.e. is the blade tempered to the same hardness as the regular run knives ?
There is a series of large stag clasp knives issued by Schrade around 1976(?) with extensively etched blade, e.g. "Trail of Tears" & others. I tried to sharpen one of these: no luck, far too soft to take an edge, not a usable knife. Is this the same for most or all etched commemorative knives ?
kj

[gsmith7158]

Kj, I don't have any empirical data to back that up but I had the same experience with a Case trapper from a 1983 mint set. It looked like someone had opened a bottle cap with the spey blade. The indentions of the cap were very evident. Iput it on a stone and in about a minute the indentions were gone. You could take the blade between thumb and index finger and flex the blade. Very soft.

[hardman]

Another great example that demonstrates the negative impact of customized markings on a knife can be witnessed often on eBay with the Case MOP 079 Sleeveboard and 8220 Peanut knives made for the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, TN. Both knives have genuine presentation grade Mother of Pearl, and both have serial numbers and a logo painted on the mark side MOP for the World's Fair. Yet, both of those knives usually sell for less than half of what a 'plain' MOP Peanut or Sleeveboard goes for. This is particularly true of the Peanut. Interestingly, a person can easily buy the World's Fair versions and remove the surface painted logo and the rest of the "etch" with a finger nail. And the MOP underneath is beautiful. All that remains that could identify the knife as a World's Fair version is the serial number on the blade or bolster.