Help With Age of Case Knife

[Ncsporter86]

Good morning all, i have been reading on this site for some time and i finally decided to register since i think i have something worth talking about! Long story short, my Grandfather was an avid knife collector growing up in NYC near a very large distributor...
As a kid he would spend all of his allowance on knives, now every year my Dad gives me a knife from his collection, this year i obtained a few nice ones!

This CASE is untouched/unused.. it has been in a case all of its life. Here is the thing, my grandfather had notes on all knives when he bought them... from my understanding the date on this knife from the font should be 1940-1965 (i can be really wrong here too) BUT in the hand written notes that my grandfather kept he purchased this knife in the 30's..

I am basically trying to find some info on it, any and all help is appreciated!

[Gunsil]

What a fine example!! Gorgeous knife. I believe these were only made pre-war and after 1932. I also think they were made on contract for Case by KA-BAR since the blade and swell center handles are identical to a KA-BAR pattern of the time. If you are interested in selling it I would be interested, I regret selling the one I used to have just like it.

[Railsplitter]

Sweet!!!

[Ncsporter86]

Thank you for the info so far, I am not interested in selling it. If i can help it i will never sell any of his knives! Although, an idea on real world value would be nice. There are others in his collection that are rare so I am told.. I will have to do some digging, but at one point in his life someone did an article about his collection because of the age and the condition. He never touched half of them.. Really cool in my eyes

[btrwtr]

Beautiful knife!

[Ncsporter86]

What a fine example!! Gorgeous knife. I believe these were only made pre-war and after 1932. I also think they were made on contract for Case by KA-BAR since the blade and swell center handles are identical to a KA-BAR pattern of the time. If you are interested in selling it I would be interested, I regret selling the one I used to have just like it.

Do you know where i may be able to find more information on this?? Thanks in advance

[Mumbleypeg]

What a fine example!! Gorgeous knife. I believe these were only made pre-war and after 1932. I also think they were made on contract for Case by KA-BAR since the blade and swell center handles are identical to a KA-BAR pattern of the time. If you are interested in selling it I would be interested, I regret selling the one I used to have just like it.

Do you know where i may be able to find more information on this?? Thanks in advance

Your question was probably addressed to Gene (Gunsil) and he may have a better recommendation for you. The best resource I’m aware of for info on Case fixed blade hunting knives is American Premium Guide to Knives and Razors, 7th Edition, by Jim Sargent. The 7th edition contains over 50 pages of detailed information and pictures on Case fixed blade knives. The prior editions do not have that, so if you decide to go that route get the 7th edition. Unfortunately the book is out of print but good copies can be found through on-line used book sellers, for under $50.

To be sure you get the right (7th) edition, it was published in 2008. Here’s some additional info to help identify the 7th edition

American Premium Guide To Knives & Razors: Identification And Value Guide (American Premium Guide to Knives & Razors (w/DVD))
Jim Sargent
ISBN 10: 0896896722 / ISBN 13: 9780896896727
Published by Krause Publications, 2008

Note the 7th edition included a DVD copy of the book. Some seller’s on-line used versions of the book either do not have the DVD included, or are the DVD (or are a copy of the DVD) only. So be sure to read the seller’s fine print or ask questions before buying to make sure you get what you think you are buying.

Ken

[btrwtr]

Not sure how much more information than what Gunsil gave you is available. I believe the pattern of this knife would be 551 and a KA-BAR made knife as Gene said. I have not seen this knife in a stamping other than the example you have. The Case pocketknife stamps do not correlate with the same time frame as the fixed blade knives. This knife was discontinued by Case sometime after 1940.

[Ncsporter86]

Thank you all for your responses, i will look into that book and see if i can find anything on it!
I will post some more pics of the couple other Case models that we have, i am certain i will learn something about it!!!
I would not have thought Case had another company make it for them, to me that explains the name stamp and the date that my grandfather put down that he purchased it.

[petesknives]

That is one fine knife! I love the stag handles

[Railsplitter]

Thank you all for your responses, i will look into that book and see if i can find anything on it!
I will post some more pics of the couple other Case models that we have, i am certain i will learn something about it!!!
I would not have thought Case had another company make it for them, to me that explains the name stamp and the date that my grandfather put down that he purchased it.

I won't be much help with this subject but I'm really enjoying this thread and looking forward to your additional pics if you're able to post some.

This is the first time that I've heard of someone who began collecting knives so long ago (~1930) and I find it very interesting. Thank you for sharing this with us.

[TPK]

Beautiful knife and Welcome to the AAPK!

[New_Windsor_NY]

Good morning all, i have been reading on this site for some time and i finally decided to register since i think i have something worth talking about! Long story short, my Grandfather was an avid knife collector growing up in NYC near a very large distributor...
As a kid he would spend all of his allowance on knives, now every year my Dad gives me a knife from his collection, this year i obtained a few nice ones!

This CASE is untouched/unused.. it has been in a case all of its life. Here is the thing, my grandfather had notes on all knives when he bought them... from my understanding the date on this knife from the font should be 1940-1965 (i can be really wrong here too) BUT in the hand written notes that my grandfather kept he purchased this knife in the 30's..

I am basically trying to find some info on it, any and all help is appreciated!

Hi and to AAPK. Very nice knife and history. I think the guys in the Case Knife Forums would enjoy this as well!
Here are the links to the Case Knife Forums:
viewforum.php?f=66

viewforum.php?f=24

[Ncsporter86]

Thank you all for your responses, i will look into that book and see if i can find anything on it!
I will post some more pics of the couple other Case models that we have, i am certain i will learn something about it!!!
I would not have thought Case had another company make it for them, to me that explains the name stamp and the date that my grandfather put down that he purchased it.

I won't be much help with this subject but I'm really enjoying this thread and looking forward to your additional pics if you're able to post some.

This is the first time that I've heard of someone who began collecting knives so long ago (~1930) and I find it very interesting. Thank you for sharing this with us.

Rick, thank you. My grandfather lived/grew up in NYC, i am in my 30's now, when i was a kid he would tell me of the stories of how he obtained all of his knives over the years when he was just a child. He used to walk to Bannerman's (i believe that is what he called it) and that is where he purchased all of his knives throughout his childhood. But what made it different is that he saved EVERYTHING!!

None of the knives he bought were ever used, they were put into cases and he would clean them every so often. When i was a teenager my brother and i would look forward to visiting them so we could help him clean his knives and swords! We hoped that we would take a couple days to show us and tell the stories.. and like every time he would allow us to clean and help him. It was certainly cool to hold these and get to clean them, now my father has the majority of the collection and he gives my brother and I a knife every year from it for Christmas... I will pass them to my son and hope they stay in our family so the story of them can continue!

I will get some more pics soon and post them.. I know there are a few fixed blade that are XX tested.. The book we have from 1968 said at that time they were extremely rare... i can only imagine 50 plus years later..

[Gunsil]

Ncs, actually Case had ALL their hunting knives made for them by Kinfolks circa 1925-1932. Most with the Tested XX mark were made by Kinfolks. I don't think your grand dad got all his knives from Bannerman's, Bannerman was a military surplus dealer and there are no Case hunting knives or any other American commercial hunting knives in Bannerman's catalogs from the 1920s. There were a lot of outfitters and sporting good stores in NYC at the time, he likely got his knives from such places. He may well have shopped at Bannermans but Bannerman moved out of NYC early before WW1 to an island that now bears his name in the Hudson river above Cold Spring, NY. The Sargent's book referred to above will have photos of many Case hunting knives but the prices given are out of date. Sadly, old knives have taken a downturn in value and one cannot realize some of those prices today. Many knives shown in the book are listed as model number unknown but recently there has been more info found and the model numbers are known to some.

It sounds like you have a fabulous collection gathered by your grand dad and we would LOVE to see more.

[Gunsil]

Here is the KA-BAR version of the OP knife, and why many believe the Case one was made by Union Cut Co. There are minor differences, the pommel plate on the Case has rounded corners while the KA-BAR has sharp corners on the pommel plate. The Case blade is chrome plated while the KA-BAR is not.

[espn77]

Rick, thank you. My grandfather lived/grew up in NYC, i am in my 30's now, when i was a kid he would tell me of the stories of how he obtained all of his knives over the years when he was just a child. He used to walk to Bannerman's (i believe that is what he called it) and that is where he purchased all of his knives throughout his childhood. But what made it different is that he saved EVERYTHING!!

None of the knives he bought were ever used, they were put into cases and he would clean them every so often. When i was a teenager my brother and i would look forward to visiting them so we could help him clean his knives and swords! We hoped that we would take a couple days to show us and tell the stories.. and like every time he would allow us to clean and help him. It was certainly cool to hold these and get to clean them, now my father has the majority of the collection and he gives my brother and I a knife every year from it for Christmas... I will pass them to my son and hope they stay in our family so the story of them can continue!

I will get some more pics soon and post them.. I know there are a few fixed blade that are XX tested.. The book we have from 1968 said at that time they were extremely rare... i can only imagine 50 plus years later..

Its refreshing to hear of a younger person seeing the value in his grandfather's collection. Good for you for not parting with them and passing them down.

[Ncsporter86]

Ncs, actually Case had ALL their hunting knives made for them by Kinfolks circa 1925-1932. Most with the Tested XX mark were made by Kinfolks. I don't think your grand dad got all his knives from Bannerman's, Bannerman was a military surplus dealer and there are no Case hunting knives or any other American commercial hunting knives in Bannerman's catalogs from the 1920s. There were a lot of outfitters and sporting good stores in NYC at the time, he likely got his knives from such places. He may well have shopped at Bannermans but Bannerman moved out of NYC early before WW1 to an island that now bears his name in the Hudson river above Cold Spring, NY. The Sargent's book referred to above will have photos of many Case hunting knives but the prices given are out of date. Sadly, old knives have taken a downturn in value and one cannot realize some of those prices today. Many knives shown in the book are listed as model number unknown but recently there has been more info found and the model numbers are known to some.

It sounds like you have a fabulous collection gathered by your grand dad and we would LOVE to see more.

Thank you for the info, i am sure there was more than 1 place that he got them from, I could only remember that one! At this point it would be cool to know the value, but at the same time i have no plans on parting with any of them! The nostalgia of having something that could be rare is just cool to me! I will get some more pics up..

[Ncsporter86]

Rick, thank you. My grandfather lived/grew up in NYC, i am in my 30's now, when i was a kid he would tell me of the stories of how he obtained all of his knives over the years when he was just a child. He used to walk to Bannerman's (i believe that is what he called it) and that is where he purchased all of his knives throughout his childhood. But what made it different is that he saved EVERYTHING!!

None of the knives he bought were ever used, they were put into cases and he would clean them every so often. When i was a teenager my brother and i would look forward to visiting them so we could help him clean his knives and swords! We hoped that we would take a couple days to show us and tell the stories.. and like every time he would allow us to clean and help him. It was certainly cool to hold these and get to clean them, now my father has the majority of the collection and he gives my brother and I a knife every year from it for Christmas... I will pass them to my son and hope they stay in our family so the story of them can continue!

I will get some more pics soon and post them.. I know there are a few fixed blade that are XX tested.. The book we have from 1968 said at that time they were extremely rare... i can only imagine 50 plus years later..

Its refreshing to hear of a younger person seeing the value in his grandfather's collection. Good for you for not parting with them and passing them down.

Yes sir!! It brings me a lot of joy to have something that he and my father held... This day and age far too many just get rid of stuff. I will be the first to tell you i know nothing about knives but the sentimental value is worth it to me!!

[Ncsporter86]

Here is one that i received from him as well! Only pic i have right now

[espn77]

Here is one that i received from him as well! Only pic i have right now

I'm curious to hear what gunsil or Wayne have to say about that knife. Very cool

[kennedy knives]

The first Case Stag you showed would bring north of $350.00 maybe up to 600.00 to the right collector. I'm not afraid to tell you that and Case Stag Fixed Blades are bring more today than they ever have in the condition of the one you have . Glad you want to keep your grandfathers knives . Look forward to seeing more and Sargents book is excellent read . Bradley Wood is the Fixed Blade Guru he is putting together a book on Case Fixed Blades with many of there variations. can't wait till it's out .
Gary

[peanut740]

Gary is right about Brad Wood,Case fixed blades is his passion.

[Ncsporter86]

One more! Keep the history coming I love it!!

[kennedy knives]

What is that a shadow on the blade at the guard . That one looks to be a model 63-5 Green Bone Fighter Produced between January 1934 to January 2 1941 One of the nicest ones I have seen . this may be a 6'' not a 5'' could you measure the blade thanks
Gary