Case Tested XX Authenticity?

[DocScooter]

I've been a fan of Case knives for quite a while and had until recently been content with knives from the 70s on. I've just recently become more interested in the older ones, and just picked up my first "old" Case, and was hoping to get some input on my purchase (and hopefully end up not regretting it!).

To my understanding this is a 62031 1/2 Rough Jack from the 1920-40 Case Tested era. I've never held a pre-1970 Case so I'd really love to get thoughts from any experts out there as to 1) are there any issues with this knife that might suggest it's not authentic (I really hope it's all legit, my only hesitation upon holding it in my hand is that it actually seems almost too pristine), 2) what are the chances the knife is in such good shape without having been refurbished or worked on in any major way, the blades in particular seem just like new and that makes me wonder... and 3) is there any way to narrow the manufacture date within that 20 year window?

Really appreciate any input or knowledge you all may be willing to share, if I've made a mistake buying this please don't hesitate to let me know as I'm hoping to learn a lot more about these knives before building my collection any further!

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Welcome to the forum. I am not an expert on these older Case knives but I think it looks like a great knife. Your fears of it being a counterfeit are the reason I don’t collect these older knives. I’ve been collecting for nearly 25 years and I still don’t know enough to tell the difference in some cases. But there are people here that will tell soon.
Glad you are here.

[Jeffinn]

Don't know much about your knife.
I did see one that sold in a AAPK store though that looks just like yours. There may be a bit of info there that helps.
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ca ... jack-knife

[Mumbleypeg]

Welcome to AAPK. From what I can see the knife looks good to me. More pictures would help, though. Both sides of the knife, both blades, and a clear in-focus picture of the shield.

Ken

[DocScooter]

Thanks for the input everyone! I’ll get some better pics posted soon, thanks for the suggestion!

[fergusontd]

Unless it's a new unused condition knife from the 20 - 40 Case tested era I'd be leary of it. A knife that old should show some kind of age even if its unused. I'm not an expert by any stretch but I would take the opnions from the more knowledgeable collectors on this forum. ftd

[hardman]

Just a minor point, but if real it would be a 62031 1/2 Swell End Jack (sometimes called a Torpedo Jack) with Rough Black handle scales. I think you referred to it as a Rough Jack. And while it looks fine to me, I agree that it pays to be wary any time an 80 year old knife looks like new.

[kootenay joe]

If Ken says it looks good, it probably is, but to me it looks too good to be true. After 80 years carbon steel blades usually show some signs of oxidation but these blades have none. They look new.
There are a few very serious Case experts here. When they post you will get an authoritative answer.
kj

[peanut740]

Better pictures would help,but from what I see it is real and it appears to been cleaned.

[DocScooter]

A few more pics of the knife that may be helpful. I agree with the comments here that the knife seems to be real, but I do wonder to what extent it's been cleaned since the blades just seem too good to be true. I had asked before buying if they had been cleaned and was told no by the seller. I suspect he may have been telling the truth that he has not cleaned them, but it's hard for me to believe it's this old and still this perfect. I'm just fine with the knife having been cleaned and think the price I paid is reasonable for that case. I just would like to know as much as possible about my new knife!

The other question I had for the experts was if there's any way to narrow the manufacture date in the 20-40 window? Any other clues as to when this particular configuration may have been made?

Thanks everyone, you are awesome!!

[olderdogs1]

The knife looks ok to me. There is no way to say exactly when it was made in the 20-40 period. Probably towards the latter years. I would say it shows a little wear and has been cleaned at some point. JMO

Tom

[Sharpnshinyknives]

A few more pics of the knife that may be helpful. I agree with the comments here that the knife seems to be real, but I do wonder to what extent it's been cleaned since the blades just seem too good to be true. I had asked before buying if they had been cleaned and was told no by the seller. I suspect he may have been telling the truth that he has not cleaned them, but it's hard for me to believe it's this old and still this perfect. I'm just fine with the knife having been cleaned and think the price I paid is reasonable for that case. I just would like to know as much as possible about my new knife!

The other question I had for the experts was if there's any way to narrow the manufacture date in the 20-40 window? Any other clues as to when this particular configuration may have been made?

Thanks everyone, you are awesome!!


IMG-8328.jpgIMG-8329.jpgIMG-8330.jpgIMG-8332.jpgIMG-8333.jpg

I don’t see any signs that the knife has been buffed. Usually when a knife is buffed you can see dimples from pits that have been leveled off by the buffing machine and there is no sign of that. I don’t have a hard time believing that this could have survived in this condition. I bought a collect about 8 years ago from a collector who had been collecting since the 60’s. He didn’t use them or abuse them he kept them stored. Out of sight out of mind. It wasn’t until he died that most of his knives saw the light of day again. His son and two daughters weren’t collectors so they sold the collection to me. My point being that knives change hands from one collector to another and some very old knives survive this way in pristine condition. When you happen onto one, it’s wise to be skeptical, but it can be exactly what the seller said it is.
Hope this helps.

[DocScooter]

Thank you, that's great to hear that it might not be too out of the ordinary to see blades in this sort of shape!

[Mumbleypeg]

Thanks for the additional pictures. They confirm my previous thoughts. I see no reason to think the knife is not authentic, and none of the usual or subtle “tells” that give alway altered knives.

It’s difficult on most Tested era knives to narrow the age to specific years. There are a few indicators of knives made very early in the Tested era, such as all blades being marked, or the “Tested XX” stamp being marked in an oval or circle on a secondary blade. There were also changes in shields used during the Tested era but no one knows precisely when those changes were made nor do they seem to have been made universally across all patterns at a given point in time - in other words there was possibly more than one shield being used at the same time. I’m also of the belief that the Tested XX stamp was in use past 1940, based on observations and evidence (I have seen, and have in my possession, knives purported to have been made for WWII use which have the Tested XX tang stamp). Your knife has what appears to be the shield most commonly seen for Tested knives. It’s not a later shield. So although it could be from any time, I’d agree with earlier comments that it’s most likely from the mid-Tested era. Just a semi-educated guess at best however.

Lastly, it is in fact “out of the ordinary to see blades in this sort of shape”. Any time you see one that looks like yours, your B.S. detector should go off. Then proceed with caution. The key takeaway is, it does happen and it is possible. There are pages of posts with pictures of honest Tested (and older) near-mint knives here. But it’s not common.

Ken

[peanut740]

The knife does show wear and evidence of cleaning.The choils are pretty much gone on both blades.If you don't know choils are,they are notches on the blades next to the tang.Still a decent old knife.

[Railsplitter]

I thought I read somewhere that Case started using Rough Black handle slabs during World War II because of the scarcity of other materials brought on by the war.

If there's any truth to that it might help get you closer to the year of manufacture.

[Gunsil]

I agree, well cleaned. If natural the brass liners would have a bit of dark patina. The blades look a bit "washed out" too. Regarding mint ones, I do have a never used tested slick black jack, they are out there.

[DocScooter]

Thank you all for continuing to share the knowledge (and Ken's point on the BS detector, which started to go off for me as soon as I saw these blades in person)!

Interesting observation regarding the choils. While I am new to vintage Case knives, I have been collecting and sharpening knives for 20 years so no need to avoid jargon! I do notice the choils are pretty minimal compared with my newer Case knives. However from images I'm seeing on the internet I'm not sure how much of a choil there would have been originally on these knives, I'll defer to you if you have better examples of mint versions with more of a choil? The fact that there is an identical choil on the two blades, IMHO, might suggest not much sharpening as I would have a hard time believing the two blades would have seen an identical amount of use and sharpening? Just a thought. Either way I think I have an authentic and pretty decent knife here based on the discussion, so I'm pretty happy with that!

And interesting point about the handles as well, I wondered if there was any info on that material and era. I'm particularly curious if this one was made closer to WWII, part of my interest in picking one of these up was to try to get something from that era that reminds me of the knives my grandpa would carry, as sadly all but one of his knives (a combat fixed blade he built himself!) were stolen by movers when I was a kid after he passed away. This reminds me of the sort of pocket knife I remember him carrying, so to date it close to WWII (he served in the army, signal corps in Germany around 41-45) would be extra special!

Thanks Gentlemen!

[Railsplitter]

I believe Rough Black is also known as "Gum Fuddy". My internet time is limited at the moment but I did find this description of the material on the Shepherd Hills Cutlery website.
https://www.casexx.com/Handle/DisplayHa ... AutoID=379

That would narrow it down to 1939 or 1940 manufacture as I believe WWII began in 1939.

[DocScooter]

Wow great find Railsplitter!! Thanks!

[Gunsil]

I believe Rough Black is also known as "Gum Fuddy". My internet time is limited at the moment but I did find this description of the material on the Shepherd Hills Cutlery website.
https://www.casexx.com/Handle/DisplayHa ... AutoID=379

That would narrow it down to 1939 or 1940 manufacture as I believe WWII began in 1939.

For the USA WW2 didn't start until December, 1941 with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The Case Tested XX mark did not end in 1940, all the Case pocket knives on the Case factory board displaying the knives they made for the war effort carry the Tested mark. It is more likely that the Tested mark ended in 1946 or 1947. The Case company historian thinks the Tested mark may have well gone until 1948. Gotta remember lots of info has arisen since all those charts were made up. Some of those Case tang stamp date charts also list a Case's Stainless mark as being 1916-1920 which is preposterous since stainless steel wasn't even available for use until 1919 and really not used until 1920. Stainless was invented in 1916-1917 but due to WW1 it was not available until the war was over.