All About Pocket Knives

I ordered a Case Russlock that was described as having natural colored jigged bone. The dealer must have hit a closeout batch of these, they being new, but made during 2002. I liked the idea of a natural un-dyed jigged bone handle, so I ordered it without caring when it was made... I did think it was going to be a recent 2012-2013 specimen. Anyhow, I only went by the pics offered by the vender, and I believe they used pics from a catalog or something... showing the bone to be quite whitish in color. To my surprise, the knife was new, but 11 years old. It likely has already gained a tiny bit of natural aging, so the color is more like a creamy color that looks much better than I expected

Welcome to the forum pocketknifejimmy!!!

Very nice Russlock you have there! Really like the bone.

I hope you stick around as this forum has much to offer from some real fine members who are willing to assist, answer questions, etc.

I apologize if you already know this information, just trying to help.

Case knife collectiing really took off on the late 60s', early 70s'. It is not uncommon to find CASE knives, unused in the the original box that are 30 years old. It is also common to find older examples of CASE knives from the 70s' in mint unused, uncarried and unsharpened condition or "Near Mint". The older you get on the 1940' to 1969' knives, still possible to find one near mint but some have been cleaned to look that way. The older you get the less the chances are.

That being said, you have a fine knife and find there. Enjoy it in good health and welcome!

The reason I say all of the above concerning the CASE knives in general is that if you see a near mint CASE knife from 1940', could be real or it could also be a counterfeit which is done more often than you may think. Similiar to a fake Rolex watch for example, if you will. If you or anyone has questions about authenticity of a knife, CASE or another maker, there are they appropriate forums to do so on this site. Many members will assist as they can. This is all done hopefully before you buy it. No worries on the knife you posted though.

Not trying to discourage you as you are obviously proud of your knives as you should be. We all are, that is why we are here. Just wanted you to be aware of the playing field here. If you know all this, I apologize. If that is the case, maybe someone else can benefit from my response that is not aware of these facts.

If you are a CASE collector, so am I. If you PM me using the message area in the upper right hand corner, I will try assist best I can or you can post a thread like this. I am not an expert (but will try my best to help) but a few here are.

Hope you stick around. Keep collecting my friend! Regards, Jerry

Thanks, Jerry.... was good of you to share your knowledge with me here I am a little careful about ordering items online, this knife came from a well known source (Deadwood Knives). My enjoyment of pocket knives began as a kid, but a year ago began collecting some. I currently own specimens from canal st, Utica, case, queen, and buck... but gec and vintage knives are planned to be added in the future. At 47 yrs old, I am becoming very nostalgic, lol! Thanks again for your welcoming me here, and for sharing your info

Jerry, I am only on my second display case of my modest american made traditional style pocket knife collection... As you can see, I am only one away from being able to consider this display done. Actually, waiting on a case canoe in cv steel, which will complete this one. But no worries, will surely buy another display case, and then have to find specimens to fill it with, lol! Thanks again, buddy

Btw, the second knife down on the right in the above photo, is a Queen Classics Doctor's Knife, limited to 100 pcs. and etched first run on the spatula blade. I made this purchase via a vendor found here on aapk, (Frank's Classics). It is offered exclusively through Frank's... I was very pleased with his service, and the knife is indeed pretty nice

Very nice Jimmy! Nice display. You can not go wrong buying from the AAPK stores here. Good group of sellers there!

Thanks again, sir!