Case knife "barn find"

[Heldfamily]

Hello everyone first post here, looking for information!

Story goes like this

Local hardware store has a vintage display of Case XX knifes from God knows when. Should be one of every knife type of the time. The display sat in an office room for many years after being taken off the sales floor. When they finally got rid of it I bought all the knifes because I thought they were cool, now looking online they seem to be quite pricey. I'm looking for somebody to help me appraise these knifes or at least tell me there worthless.

Quick summary of what I have:
Kitchen knife sets
Belt knife holders
All types of sharpening rods
Case sisors
One of every model Pocket knife of the era

Thank you for anybody willing to help!

[edge213]

Hello everyone first post here, looking for information!

Story goes like this

Local hardware store has a vintage display of Case XX knifes from God knows when. Should be one of every knife type of the time. The display sat in an office room for many years after being taken off the sales floor. When they finally got rid of it I bought all the knifes because I thought they were cool, now looking online they seem to be quite pricey. I'm looking for somebody to help me appraise these knifes or at least tell me there worthless.

Quick summary of what I have:
Kitchen knife sets
Belt knife holders
All types of sharpening rods
Case sisors
One of every model Pocket knife of the era

Thank you for anybody willing to help!

You will need to show pictures.

[Heldfamily]

Here are some pictures

[Mumbleypeg]

Welcome to AAPK. Questions and requests similar to yours come up on this forum occasionally. If you’re looking for an appraisal of the lot of what you have, be prepared to spend some money to pay an experienced and knowledgeable appraiser. As with many collectables, condition is paramount. Therefore without seeing the items in person, or at least excellent quality photographs of individual items it’s not possible to appraise them.

If you simply want a ballpark estimate of value and have the time and willingness to do it, you can educate yourself and appraise the items yourself. Learn what you have (there is a very good research section here (click on Research up there in the header at the top of this page, scroll down to the section on Case, and start learning). Then use ebay advanced search to find sold listings of the item you’re researching. If you have a lot if items, which seems to be your situation, it will take some time. You can also look up posts here for most items and learn more about them. The keyword search function found under Quicklinks on the upper left of this thread is a good way to find posts about individual patterns, retail display cases, etc.

You can weigh that investment of your time against what you’d pay an appraiser, and decide which course is best for you. Be aware most kitchen knives, scissors, etc aren't as popular as pocket knives, therefore values of those items aren't as high, and based on the pictures you have a lot of them. There are some exceptions for certain items.

Good luck. See here for a similar thread viewtopic.php?f=2&t=66491

Ken

[philco]

Year of manufacture and condition are two critical factors in determining the value of any knife and particularly Case knives. With the blades closed and tang stamps obscured it's not possible for anyone to tell the year of manufacture on the folding knives, nor is it possible to tell a lot about the condition. I see at least a couple of folding knives with blades partially open and that raises the question of why they are that way. Are the backsprings broken? If not, why are they not closed completely ? Ken has given you some good advice about how to research values on your own in the previous post.

[1967redrider]

Looks like you could have some nice knives there. Condition is everything in the knife collecting world. I agree with Ken 100% on value, you can search Completed Listings on eBay to see what similar knives in similar condition have sold for and use that to figure out what these are worth. Lots of great knife information here, to AAPK!

John

[Heldfamily]

Alright thanks for the information! I've noticed most people know the year of manufacture, any idea how to find this if I don't particularly know what to look for?

I can answer a few questions though. Some knives are partially opened with a small wood shim, as this is how they were displayed at the hardware store. I've taken most out and all back springs are in tact.

As for the condition none of them have been used and are all vintage "new" knifes, they have spend their whole lives on display. Just dusty and some scratches on a few.

Also, I'd definitely be open to paying an appraiser, any contact info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Joe

[Mumbleypeg]

Since 1970 Case has used a yearly date code system, for pocket knives, stamped on the tang of each knife. For knives made priir to 1970 you can only determine age within several years range.

Open the Research link I pointed out in my previous post. https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/page/research.php How to determine the age of your knife based on its stamp is one of the sections there. Tip - don't attempt just reading all the info by itself - it can seem overwhelming at first. Instead take a couple of your knives and as you're reading, look fon the knifev for the examples as described - it will begin to make more sense.


Steve Pfeifer (knifeaholic on this forum) might be willing to appraise them. There are some others also, most of them sell Case knives in the stores here.

Ken

[Bamarick]

You have a nice find there. As most of the others have said, it is impossible to tell the exact year the knives were made without being able to see the front of the tang in an opened position. You have some pretty nice knives there and some that are what I'd call just good users. From what I can see I can tell you that I believe the knives are from the mid to late 1970's. Several things tell me that. The most telling point for me is the handle material on three knives in particular. The SR 6220 Peanut, SR 6225 1/2 Small Coke Bottle, and the A 62009 1/2 Barlow. I believe, and someone may correct me, that production with these handle materials started in 1978 and continued until the early 1980's. Maybe someone will come along who is willing to appraise these knives and you can work out something with them. Best of luck and congratulations on your find. Rick.

[TPK]

Wow! Beautiful find! Welcome to the AAPK!
Hope you stick around and start collecting knives. It's a great Hobby & that lot would be a great start for a collection.

[treefarmer]

to AAPK, Heldfamily!
What a wonderful find! You'll have fun with that pile. Not enough real identifying marks from the pictures but I think I see Appaloosa bone handles and of course some faded Delrin handles along with regular bone. So what year did the Appaloosa bone begin to be offered? That might be a starting point.
Treefarmer