Most valuable old knife?

[zp4ja]

I forgot about this poor old thing. Candy stripe pen marked Case & Son's (with apostrophe) on both blades. Only made in 1903-04. Had no idea what it was worth when I found it. (I just liked the swell center shape and knew it was old and in great shape considering its age.). Wasn't until I got it home and studied it with a loupe that I realized what I had found. Probably not worth $500 (Sargent's 7th says $750 mint) but it's the only Case & Sons I've ever seen in hand.

Ken

Great oldie there Ken no matter what it cost or is worth, nice knife. Not sure value can be quantified by purchase price alone as I alluded to in my previous post.

Jerry

[Tsar Bomba]

And to think it wasn't that long ago when I was a little aghast at myself for dipping into the triple-digits to get an etched Case 6250 toe.

[Paladin]

And to think it wasn't that long ago when I was a little aghast at myself for dipping into the triple-digits to get an etched Case 6250 toe.

I still remember well when I first paid over $100 for a knife. The Bride and I agreed that I needed counseling.

Ray

[btrwtr]

Don't have a good answer to the OP question but here is the URL for high selling old folders on eBay.

Nothing five digits but quite a few Case knives in the four digit range. The knives are arranged high to low price and although you don't see the actual prices on best offer accepted knives you can get an idea of what they sold for because they are bracketed by the actual sold for price knives.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Vintage-Folding ... =1&_sop=16

[kootenay joe]

I had one high end vintage knife which i sold recently to a well known Canadian knifer dude for in the low 4 figures. It is a 3 3/8" Jos. Rodgers ivory Sportsman knife that the knowledgeable Brits date as about 1906. I cannot find my pictures of it but if you have "Sheffield Exhibition Knives" by Claussen, et al. it is shown upper left on page 212.
Never have i experienced such perfect in hand feel as this knife affords. It's condition is truly mint, not even a little black spider on it. And that in part is why i sold it. I felt the duty to preserve it in this pure condition to be rather onerous and i worried that the next time i looked at it some oxidation might have occurred.
It was a wonderful experience of ownership but i do feel more relaxed now that the duty of preservation is no longer mine.
kj

[Tsar Bomba]

Such a good point, KJ. The first time I took my big 10-dot Barlow to a stone, it felt like an immense weight was lifted from my chest. Exactly the opposite feeling from when you open a long-preserved box and there are dark marks on keenly-oiled blades despite your best efforts.

These days I usually have an eye for desirable knives which aren't so insanely minty that I'm afraid to use them... That's where I find my value.

[gsmith7158]

Whoooweee!!
Some great knives in that ebay link.

[tongueriver]

Don't have a good answer to the OP question but here is the URL for high selling old folders on eBay.

Nothing five digits but quite a few Case knives in the four digit range. The knives are arranged high to low price and although you don't see the actual prices on best offer accepted knives you can get an idea of what they sold for because they are bracketed by the actual sold for price knives.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Vintage-Folding ... =1&_sop=16

Wow! Now I remember why I backed off from high-end CASE knives. I get more bang for my buck in other venues. I do have a very few really nice CASE knives but I don't even look at the listings for them anymore. I will always long for a Tested longpull 6345 or 6345 1/2 minty greenbone, but I don't think it will happen. Don't ever think I didn't ask Charlie for his!

[KnifeSlinger#81]

Don't have a good answer to the OP question but here is the URL for high selling old folders on eBay.

Nothing five digits but quite a few Case knives in the four digit range. The knives are arranged high to low price and although you don't see the actual prices on best offer accepted knives you can get an idea of what they sold for because they are bracketed by the actual sold for price knives.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Vintage-Folding ... =1&_sop=16

Thanks for that link! I thought I would post my favorite one, I wish I could afford one of these but at least pictures are free BEAUTIFUL knife!

[cbfd]

Very interesting Ebay link Wayne,Thank You for doing the work and Posting it here! Bill

[peanut740]

Wayne,did you notice the majority of those high dollar knives were sold by 3 sellers?

[zp4ja]

Don't have a good answer to the OP question but here is the URL for high selling old folders on eBay.

Nothing five digits but quite a few Case knives in the four digit range. The knives are arranged high to low price and although you don't see the actual prices on best offer accepted knives you can get an idea of what they sold for because they are bracketed by the actual sold for price knives.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Vintage-Folding ... =1&_sop=16

Thanks for posting that my friend. Great knives posted in there along with a turd from the infamous tommygg101 to the tune of 431 bucks. Likely more in that link.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-CASE-TE ... Sw5cNYbGYS

First thought in my mind is 3 pound sledge and fingers. What a disgrace.

Jerry

[KnifeSlinger#81]

Thanks for posting that my friend. Great knives posted in there along with a turd from the infamous tommygg101 to the tune of 431 bucks. Likely more in that link.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-CASE-TE ... Sw5cNYbGYS

First thought in my mind is 3 pound sledge and fingers. What a disgrace.

Jerry

I wonder how he stamps those blades. Did you notice he stated the knife did not appear to have been cleaned but in the next sentence he turns right around and says the blades have been cleaned. Its such a shame he gets away with this.

[zp4ja]

Thanks for posting that my friend. Great knives posted in there along with a turd from the infamous tommygg101 to the tune of 431 bucks. Likely more in that link.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-CASE-TE ... Sw5cNYbGYS

First thought in my mind is 3 pound sledge and fingers. What a disgrace.

Jerry

I wonder how he stamps those blades. Did you notice he stated the knife did not appear to have been cleaned but in the next sentence he turns right around and says the blades have been cleaned. Its such a shame he gets away with this.

No I did not notice that since I could not get past the super fat stag that is commonly seen on CASE 1970 era knives. And the nail nicks and...

Likely a very cobbled knife.

[btrwtr]

Wayne,did you notice the majority of those high dollar knives were sold by 3 sellers?

Yes Roger it is hard not to notice. There is something to be said for developing a following on eBay. There are many other sellers that consistently offer high quality knives with good descriptions and photos but they do not list and sell with the frequency that develops such a devoted following.

It's also hard to overlook the dominant number of old Case knives that top this list.

And "shiny sells" is evident here as well.

[gsmith7158]

I would say one of our own probably the number 1 seller. A testament to honesty and integrity. And a fine fellow to boot. No offense intended to the others.

[KnifeSlinger#81]

Well said Greg.

[kootenay joe]

Greg, i am trying to guess whom you are referring to. Do you mean #1 in terms of volume of sales ? or for number of high value knives ? or ??
kj

[gsmith7158]

Number of sales Kj .I didn't add up the value.

Edit Although I Probably Added to that.

[Tsar Bomba]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-CASE-TE ... Sw5cNYbGYS

First thought in my mind is 3 pound sledge and fingers. What a disgrace.

You've gotta wonder how a guy as prolific as he is can get away with selling all sorts of junk for the kind of money he gets. If I were spending $430 on a knife, I'd damn sure know what I was buying before I laid down a single thin dime. How can there not be a constant parade of pissed-off buyers complaining to him or fleabay or both about some of these across-the-room fakes?

[Mumbleypeg]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-CASE-TE ... Sw5cNYbGYS

First thought in my mind is 3 pound sledge and fingers. What a disgrace.

You've gotta wonder how a guy as prolific as he is can get away with selling all sorts of junk for the kind of money he gets. If I were spending $430 on a knife, I'd damn sure know what I was buying before I laid down a single thin dime. How can there not be a constant parade of pissed-off buyers complaining to him or fleabay or both about some of these across-the-room fakes?

Ignorance is bliss!

Ken

[Tsar Bomba]

...and expensive.

[keithw]

Wow,
This is a really interesting topic, and a real eye-opener for me. I didn't realize how cheap I am. This month marks 10 years since I became reacquainted with knife collecting. I record all my knives in an Access database, so I went back and looked at the 400+ knives that I've purchased over that span and found that I haven't spent over $99 on any single knife (2008 GEC #23 Elk scales). Sure, there are quite a few junkers that just caught my eye, but I don't feel like I've really limited myself too much. I don't collect vintage Case knives or custom makers, so that helps. But prices seem to be shooting up for the kind of knives I like (Eye Brand, Buck Creek, Kissing Crane, etc.). So it might not be too long before I have to break into the 3-digit club.
Thanks,
Keith