Case Brand Encyclopedia Set

The W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company has a very rich history that began in 1889 when William Russell (“W.R.”), Jean, John, and Andrew Case began fashioning their knives and selling them along a wagon trail in upstate New York. The company has produced countless treasures and it continues to do so as one of the most collected brands in the world.
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tshortledgge
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Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2019 1:21 am

Case Brand Encyclopedia Set

Post by tshortledgge »

Hello all. I'm attempting to work through my recently deceased father's knife collection for my mother. The collection isn't something she wants and not something that her children really want either. One of the items that I've found is a complete Case Brand Family Encyclopedia Set. I was able to find a few places that sell the individual volumes for between $800 and $900. However, I was wondering if anyone has seen any recently sold complete sets? Are these sets are still desired in the community. Also, my dad was a case dealer for the last 20 years or so and has a number of the yearly dealer knife sets and other case memorabilia (clocks, etc). Are those things that you see commonly sold on this forum page or do you think that it is better to try to sell them somewhere else? Thank you for your help.

Tom
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rea1eye
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Re: Case Brand Encyclopedia Set

Post by rea1eye »

Looks like you have a lot of good things to sell and would go to a good AAPK member home. Hang around the forum
here for a few days,then become a Supporting Member (so you can sell on the forum). If you keep some of the knives
for yourself you might develop a new hobby and really like this forum ( sure beats hands down reading and seeing anything that
the internet has to offer).

Bob
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XX Case XX
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Re: Case Brand Encyclopedia Set

Post by XX Case XX »

Welcome. ::welcome:: First of all, very sorry to hear of your father's passing. I'm sure this is a difficult time for you and your entire family.

As to your questions, we can certainly give you a place to start as you go through your father's collections. The first thing I'd recommend for your older, individual Case knives is that you take very clear and close-up photos of your knives, especially of the tang stamps.

As far as the sets are concerned, taking some good clear pictures of the entire set itself will help. Also, checking for recently sold items on eBay that are similar to yours will give you a good idea of what people are willing to pay.

You could also purchase a membership here and sell some of those items as well. At first, this kind of thing can be overwhelming, but if you start slow and gather necessary information first, it will get easer as you learn things.

Also, I wouldn't be too quick to sell those Case knives. You could very well change your mind in the future and wish you had kept them to pass down through the family. You might want to take a step back and consider this carefully. Once those knives are sold, they are gone forever.

____________
Mike
"If there are no Dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went". Will Rogers

I work hard so my Dog can have a better life...
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Old Folder
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Re: Case Brand Encyclopedia Set

Post by Old Folder »

tshortledgge wrote: Sun Jan 12, 2020 2:26 pm Hello all. I'm attempting to work through my recently deceased father's knife collection for my mother. The collection isn't something she wants and not something that her children really want either. One of the items that I've found is a complete Case Brand Family Encyclopedia Set. I was able to find a few places that sell the individual volumes for between $800 and $900. However, I was wondering if anyone has seen any recently sold complete sets? Are these sets are still desired in the community. Also, my dad was a case dealer for the last 20 years or so and has a number of the yearly dealer knife sets and other case memorabilia (clocks, etc). Are those things that you see commonly sold on this forum page or do you think that it is better to try to sell them somewhere else? Thank you for your help.

Tom
Sorry for your loss Tom.
Welcome to AAPK. ::nod::

Is this the Encyclopedia Set you are referring to?
I brought this set up for dissuasion a couple years ago.

viewtopic.php?f=66&t=55461&hilit=Encyclopedia

It appears that your Fathers knife collection is worth a small fortune. However, please give it a second thought in exchanging his items just for financial gain. Once they are gone, there gone forever. Perhaps someone in your future family tree would be very thankful for your retaining such beautiful and historical items that obviously meant very much to him.
Just my opinion.
Dan
It's always important to know what you don't know.
Dan
tshortledgge
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Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2019 1:21 am

Re: Case Brand Encyclopedia Set

Post by tshortledgge »

Thank you all for your replies. My brother and I are planning on keeping the knives that were special to my dad. There are many knives we won't sell, however, we would like to sell some of them as a small stream of revenue for my mom. At last count, we had over 100 unopened Case pocket knifes that were just stored in an old chest and we haven't finished going through everything yet. My dad was lucky as he as was a dealer and was able to get knives pretty much anytime he wanted and he did that pretty often. Dan, the Encyclopedia set is the on you linked to, thank you for the additional information.
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Mumbleypeg
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Re: Case Brand Encyclopedia Set

Post by Mumbleypeg »

Welcome to AAPK Tom.

Your challenge with selling most if not all items, and especially the Encyclopedia Set, will be the amount of work and patience it will take, given the size and value of the collection. The Encyclopedia Set is valuable, which means it may take a while to find a buyer having the financial resources needed to buy it. Then again someone who can afford it and has been wanting one may jump on it.

The advantage to buying a membership and selling here is you have a targeted audience of knife collectors, and the cost to sell here is low. It’s not an auction site so you would need to do your homework to decide how to price your items for sale.

On the other hand a site like eBay has a huge audience of potential buyers, including knife collectors. But the fees to sell there are high. You can post the item as an auction with a low starting bid requirement and let the bidders define the sale price. So less research is needed on your part.

Or you can look for a “dealer”, who will buy the entirety, or part, of your collection for a discounted price. In that situation you get cash quickly, and don’t have to do the homework or list the items. Depending on where you are located some dealers may come to you to evaluate the collection and make an offer. There are several dealers who are members here, and have member stores here. The downside is the amount you receive will be significantly discounted - the dealer who buys them will have to do all the work of researching, listing and selling the items plus take on the risk.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

Ken
Member AKTI, TSRA, NRA.

If your religion requires that you hate someone, you need a new religion.

When the people fear their government, that is tyranny. When government fears the people, that is freedom.

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