All About Pocket Knives

Last year my grandfather passed away and he was a true Case collector. One item he had that I wanted was a wooden Case display he had purchased. Unfortunately when he bought it the knives had already been removed or sold. He never got the chance to try and buy these knives, restore the display, etc before he got too sick. I now have the display and would really like to finish this for him but since Case produces the same patterns over several years I do not know where to begin. I'm hoping someone here who knows much more than I do can help me figure this out since I'm new to this. Thanks

Welcome to AAPK! And congratulations on a nice display case and especially so since it was your grandfathers. Hope you can complete his wish to restore the contents. I can tell you that the display is fairly recent production, probably within the last 15-20 years. Case made displays like these for several years so it's unlikely that the exact year can be determined. I do notice something in your first photo, bottom right-hand corner of the sign that looks like maybe a serial or part number. The last two digits look like "98" - could possibly designate the year? Just guessing. You might try contacting W .R. Case and asking them what the numbers designate and how you might determine the year. Some others more familiar with Case recent production than me will be along and can likely give you more info.

Ken

Thanks and good eye on that. I didnt even see that. Ill have to research that number when i get home. Def coukd be right about that.

The display mentions "pocket worn". Google search for example for "CASE knife 780" or "CASE knife 786" bring up the correct patterns based on the display. Looks to be the "Pocket Worn Old Red Bone" display which had knives from the years in the 2000s' range.
Looks like it will be fairly easy to find the knives to fill out the display. Maybe not all the same year but same model knives that the display once held.

Best of luck. Jerry

I don't know what year the display is, my earliest pocket worn is from 1996. It was what I think to be a Test Run. There could have been some before that.

DR_MAGOO wrote:I don't know what year the display is, my earliest pocket worn is from 1996. It was what I think to be a Test Run. There could have been some before that.

Hey Magoo,

Like Ken, I don't do new CASE knives but I do own quite a few 1980' to 2000'. I know I have some pocket worn knives. Not sure when they started making them for sure. Just the Google search found ones from the 2000s' timeframe.

Thanks for the info! Jerry

Well just in case someone in the future needs this info, my research led me to a "Pocket Worn Checklist" on the Case website which shows the years and what knifes came out that year (link - http://www.wrcase.com/special_programs/ ... 20Worn.pdf ). I believe even though it doesn't list them, for each year, all the knives listed the previous years were also produced. For example, in 1996 it list "00780 Canoe (62131 SS)" as being produced but in 1997 it only list "00789 Medium Congress (64052 SS)".
Seems safe to presume that in 1997 case did make #62131 Old Red Bone Canoe knife. I could be wrong but that is my guess. Anyways, unless I figure out a way to know the exact year/s the original knifes displayed in this case were, I'll probably try to obtain the first year each of them were produced in the Old Red Bone handle. Of course I only want to buy NIB knifes so it could take some time but thats the fun part, the hunt. Thanks everyone for any input and help. Much appreciated.

This kinda research and information is what makes collecting fun Hobo,welcome.

The boards in this display could easily changed.I think they still use the same display today.From the listed prices I would guess it is no older than the last 10 years or so.

Case introduced the Pocket Worn knives in 1996. The 6227 in pocket worn was introduced in 1996 with the Pocket Worn line but was discontinued in the early 2000's (not sure what year). The Pocket Worn Copperlock 61549 was introduced in 1997.

So the panel that you have is from 1997 to the early 2000's.

Case still makes some of the knives that were in that display but not all of them. The 3-digit product code numbers are the easiest way to check against Case's current product line.