pearl

[winst]

Where are all these pearl handle Case knives coming from. I see a sudden surge of these pearls on ebay and on this platform. Most of them have absolutely flawless pearl scales. Most of them are of the older vintage......1970 back to the tested era. Could these be older stock that has been rehandled??????

[Mumbleypeg]

I haven’t noticed any changes but the pattern number on the knife would tell whether it originally had mother of pearl covers. Need to see clear pictures or have the knife in-hand to determine more. Case typically used high quality pearl so unless damaged aftermarket, flawless is what I would expect. A few years ago a large collection of pearls was sold at auction and many of those subsequently re-sold - maybe another similar situation.

Pearl is expensive, difficult to work, and difficult to acquire. Making it unlikely a single counterfeiter would re-handle a large number of knives. Not impossible I suppose, but unlikely IMHO.

Ken

[stockman]

Any Tested Case that has really nice stag or really nice pearl, needs to be looked at closely. Possible has replaced handles. Most has no pattern number,
this makes it easy for the faker.

Harold

[btrwtr]

Just did a quick search on eBay for "Case Pearl" in vintage folding knives category. I don't really note that there is an unusual number of listings here. One notorious 25 cent knife that the seller doesn't claim to be authentic and a few I would suspect could have had one side rehandled in new pearl. There is one seller that is a all to frequent post subject in the AAPK counterfeit section that I wouldn't buy anything from under any circumstance. Also some very nice older very legitimate looking knives for sale, some by very reputable AAPK members.

All said, Case did make quite a few pearl handled knives over the years with most being smaller Sunday type pen knives. These knives in particular weren't subjected to the same hard use as larger working knives so they did often survive quite well. As Stockman pointed out they are worth scrutiny as is any old knife especially on eBay. New pearl will often stand out when rehandled on an older knife. As with any old knife you should expect the handle condition to somewhat agree with the overall condition of the knife. New looking, fierey pearl on an old worn knife or one handle that is worn and discolored and one that looks obviously newer is a bad sign. Many times old knives that have new pearl put on them will show signs of poor, substandard work in hafting. I don't believe that pearl is subject to any shrinkage so handles should be tight to bolsters on a quality made knife.

I just posted some Case pearls in my AAPK store that have been in my collection for over 30 years. Just time to let some things go in many cases.