Question for the Case-o-philes

[coffeecup]

Back about '80 or so, I saved up and sent away for a new Case. Being charitable, it was junk--and the factory didn't care. Over the next 25 or so years, I bought >300 knives, none made by Case. I'm still not a fan, and don't care much for their current production. But having come into a couple early '70s knives, and an XX-era daddy barlow, I can see they weren't always like the one I sent away for.

Looking around the 'web, it seems Case had some bad years (and that my first Case was made during these years). When did the "bad years" start, and when did quality start improving (if it really has)?

Thanks,
Jim

[MrBlister]

Het Jim Het ! !! ! !!
Ive got a few piles o' CASE . .
the best quality ones I own
are 1940-64 XX era....
I also have a NEAR FULL SET of
8 dot 1972 (bones) that are
impressive in quality..
Cant comment on the newbs
as i own none nor care to..
For a knife investment,
I'd say XX era . ..
Hope this helps..

Puma Pants

[gino]

I will no longer buy any Case knife made after 1980 myself its just not the same craftsmanship or quality (not even close). I will however buy any pre 65 Case I can afford as these are one of my favorite overall knives made

[bamafan]

70's era are still good quality IMO. 80's era, the quality started going downhill from there. I'd have to say the best ones I own are pre-70's.

[coffeecup]

Thanks guys! I'm just trying to develop a rule-of-thumb to use when buying knives via the 'net. I'm not really interested in collecting Case, but am realizing that excluding them from the makers I will consider for work knives has meant that I've been overlooking some decent knives.

Would it be fair to say that if I avoid knives made after 1975, I should miss out on the bad years?

I'm liking this daddy barlow. Someone carried and used the bejeebers out of it: the sawcuts are almost completely worn off the covers, and the blade has lost 1/8"-3/16" from the edge, but there is no detectable blade play. I may re-shape the blade to a wharncliffe and put it to work as my large carving knife.

[Old Hunter]

I have a small collection of 1970's Case knives (my "Significant Decade Collection") and all of them are great knives - 1978/1979 included. I have started on a 1980's decade collection and I can see differences in fit and finish (bolsters more squared and bone not as well rounded on the edges, etc.) but the walk and talk is still there (at least in the early 1980's). In sheer numbers of knives I own I skip to the late 1990's up to the current day (only own a few late 1980's/early 1990's) and I find the current fit and finish better than the late 1980's to the early 1990's. In fact some of the Barlow's I have bought from the 2000 decade are as well built as my GEC knives (fit, snap, walk, centering of blades, factory edges of the bolsters and bone handles, etc.) I have several Case knives from the last 15 years that I EDC and they are good knives - I like stainless steel equally well to carbon steel for EDC use, so I don't get too bothered by the CV vs. SS debate (patina's are nice, but not necessary in my view). I think you can buy a current Case knife with confidence - I don't think they will ever be collectors items equal to the 1970's and before, but they are as good a USA made EDC as you can find for the money in today's market. Compare these bone handled Case 6249, a 1978 (stock) and a 1986 (Firefighter); you can see the small touch differences in the 1970's vs. the 1980's - for lack of a better term I would call the mid-1980's knife "blocky". OH

Ps in these pictures, from top to bottom; the 1980s knife is on the top, in the center picture it is on the left, and bottom picture it is on the right.

[zp4ja]

I agree that pre 1980 is the best quaility made. I own a hundred or so post 80' CASE knives and they are hit and miss. Mainly QA letting out weak snap from hafting mud in the joints. CASE will repair or replace for free, but still. I have quite a few to send in in the future. That being said, based on the knives I have, seems some frames and maybe years are more consistent high quality than others post 80' patterns or years. For example, I have first run Copperlocks, mini and regulars. Seven 1997' full size and and four 1998' mini Copperlocks so a fair sized test group that are all perfect factory mint, great F&F and blade action. Is it the year made or the model? Don't know. Seems like the post 80' to 2000' lockbacks are all pretty quality as you would expect. Can't speak to 2001' to present CASE knives as I don't own any and don't plan to.

I personally am trying to downsize my collection by 50% and I am choosing to keep my XX to 1980' knives (and my 11-1/2 swing guards and Cheetahs of course). I will probably keep a few special ones outside that timeframe though. Not a damn thing wrong with pre XX era CASE knives as far as quality. High Quality!!! Just how I am choosing to thin the herd.

Hope this helps. Regards, Jerry

[Jethro Bodine]

When did the "bad years" start, and when did quality start improving (if it really has)?

Thanks,
Jim

Great post Jim. IMO the really bad years are 1987-ish to 95-ish as Old Hunter stated.

In the Parker era, QC was horrible.

Another great point from Jerry about the pattern. I think you can find that certain patterns consistently have a much better F/F than others. For whatever reason.

[coffeecup]

What were the Parker years?

[knifeaholic]

What were the Parker years?

1989, 1990

[coffeecup]

Thanks. I guess I'm just shocked that quality went downhill from what I saw in '80.

On the other hand, my early '70s sodbuster is becoming a favorite for general work, and that XX-era daddy barlow is growing on me.

[btrwtr]

I started selling new retail knives and collecting old knives about 1980. It didn't take me long to see the quality shift in Case knives after that point in time. No sharp angles on the corners and edges of the steel. All the points, angles and edges of steel got soft and round. Poor fit and finish. I do think it had something to do with Case losing focus on making a quality using knife and starting to cash in on the ready made collectible market. Somehow the fact that they only made 5???? of them didn't equate with me and make the knife automatically collectible. Most of the pre 1980 knives were made to use and if the quality wasn't there it hurt the manufacturers' sales. Not so with the ready made collectibles. Not many of them get used.

I am not saying that new collectible knives aren't good or can't be great quality. Not suggesting that any one field of collecting is any better or worse than the next. Just stating my opinion and observations.

[Elvis]

Case has been owned by Zippo (another Bradford, PA company) for a little over 15 years or more. Zippo did a lot to bring back quality after the holding companies that has previously owned it tried to gut the place. While I have seen some ups and downs, their knives are a lot better than under the ownership of American Brands and River Associates. Quality since 2003 in particular seems to have improved. Do they still cater to the collector market? Sure they do. The knives I prefer to collect is when they made them for use as tools and weren't all that worried about making a dozen different handle colors, but I own a lot of them, old and newer. They still make a great knife.

[singin46]

As Jethro, Gino and others have already stated, there were some very bad years for Case that I too have no desire to own any from that time. However I have seen some recent offerings that have some older quality to them. Like this TESTED XX Sowbelly that was given to me by BIGHEAD a few years back. Great quality and has great build and snap overall. Jim while many are still made pretty shorty IMO, a few of these TESTED knives hold up to quality.

[Reid]

Lifetime guarantee. They stand behind their product 100%. I think the quality is excellent. Keep in mind most of the knives made today are $25-75. In this price range, they are the best knives made. I always felt people didn't collect the 1980's knives due to the brown/grey color of the handles. Most collectors prefer the red/pretty bone handles of the 70's.

[jmh58]

It seems CASE is stamping the bolsters of some/all of their current production knives.. Dont know when this started?? BUT.. What I am getting at is they no longer have the nice rounded smooth feel.. Now Kinda like an unopened pack of gum in your pocket!! Square and not too comfortable!! Wonder why they went this route and why they aint rounding it all to give it a nice feel?? I know they have pocket worn line but in the past the standard production was some what rounded and had a good feel to them.. John

[Colonel26]

Boy you can tell a difference when you hold my two straight XX 6375 knives and then hold my 2003ish 6375. The old ones, even though they're square bolstered, are all dehorned smooth and sleek. They snap like no body's business and have no blade rub. The new one is square with sharp corners, has bad blade run, softer snap, and rusts if you look at it wrong.

The old ones didn't rust as easy as the newer ones IMO. I know this is heresy, but I still think the CV has changed over the years. It ain't what it used to be.

[singin46]

I truly believe they went the route of square angles and no rounded edges for cost cutting, plain and simple.

[Colonel26]

Agreed. Case today is not the Case of my childhood.

[singin46]

Right you are, a literal world away from 40 years ago.

[knifeaholic]

It seems CASE is stamping the bolsters of some/all of their current production knives.. Dont know when this started?? BUT.. What I am getting at is they no longer have the nice rounded smooth feel.. Now Kinda like an unopened pack of gum in your pocket!! Square and not too comfortable!! Wonder why they went this route and why they aint rounding it all to give it a nice feel?? I know they have pocket worn line but in the past the standard production was some what rounded and had a good feel to them.. John

As you and Colonel26 pointed out that is a BIG difference. In the old days the bolsters were formed by dies from blocks of nickel silver into the semi-round shape. Then during final hafting the handle covers were shaped to fit the rounded contour of the bolsters.

These days the bolsters are stamped from flat sheets of nickel silver using the same machines that stamp out the blades.

This change started in about 1985-86 at the same time that they started tumble polishing the blades.