Is Case still "leader of the pack"??

[ilikeknives]

I personally think the last best case offering was the 90's classics series, it HAD to bail out Case in Chap 11.
B4 that period, the 70's knives started off well but declined in design and craftsmanship towards the 80's
Now,,,,,,well, what do you think? Is Case going to be the Prima-Donna in years to come?? The certainly lag behind on all fronts and face serious competition.
They are still the "grandaddy" knife line, for absolutely sure.
As with all comments herein, it is strictly my opinion. Case knives ain't what they used to be,,,or even,,, could be.
Whats your say??
-Glenn

[Classic Case]

I used to collect case knives exclusively.Now, to be honest, they are less than 5-10% of the ones i buy now.I dont know if its the competition getting better, or case getting worse, or both .Alls i can say is the last 3 or 4 case i bought for edc, i just didnt like the blades.A friend gave me an old camillus camp/scout knife from the 40's or 50's i believe, all rusty, i cleaned it up,sharpened it, and i doubt a new case knife could match that edge.its now my edc.

[useem]

I think CASE is very well cemented in to American knife collecting. It is probably the most recognized knife brand among young people just getting started in collecting, and still has alot to offer. Other brands may meet and even surpass CASE in quality, but they are certainly not done yet. I think there will always be collector interest of some kind in CASE brand knives both from young people and those who wouldn't have it any other way

[sunburst]

My thoughts on the topic are if it was not for the Case/Bose Collaboration knives being made in the Case specialty shop these days I would not even consider owning a modern day (current era) Case knife, And these knives are pretty much a custom-production knife so cannot really be considered a true off the shelve Case knife.

Just my opinion of course, I think the Case Classics were and are incredible and that the older vintage knives are among the best ever made.

But as useem said, they are the most recognizable American knife maker and old habits and traditions die hard..I know that folks in my circle have no idea the quality has changed and are still going on with the idea that if it was good enough for grandpa it is good enough for me..

Sunburst

[jonet143]

imo case has succumbed to the marketing/jewelery trend, their knives are not made as tools anymore. most case classics were'nt even made by case and imo don't count. old case knives can be a joy and new case knives are very important to case collectors. i too used to collect case exclusivley and their lack of quality steel(stainless) and cheaper (thin bolsters and thin flat bone) production left me cold. so i've broadened my collecting to some of the newer knives(not case) and old case and other brands.

[Gunsmoke47]

I am a Case collector from awhile back. I personally do not believe you can beat a CASE pre 1980. I have never collected Classics but I believe they are great knives. Of coarse they were made by Queen? I think? which needs no explanation there! I have just recently bought a 2005 Case Yellow Comp Stockman for an EDC. The knife seems fine for an EDC although it (or anything similar) would never be something I would collect. I think CASE has declined somewhat over the years...... but they still beat the hell out of a Chinese knife! My Opinion Only Of Coarse. Kelley

[upnorth]

About modern Case, I don't know whether we forum-lurkers represent a significant slice of their market or not. If we do, then I would say that they are slow to respond to what we expect.
It seems many of us talk about CV and 1095 as ideal steels for everyday carry. Dealers have a hard time stocking carbon steel knives ie: Cumberland Knifeworks.
So why don't they make my favorite patterns in CV?? Like their nicely proportioned Seahorse whittler. There's one of the best iterations of the classic Wharncliffe, in useable but boring old 420HC. Instead they sell Bubba Gum!! Gag me!!

[Hukk]

Case used to be top dog bar none. I sold a lot of Case knives and bought Bulldog brand knives, they had some really good knives for a decent price. As of 2007, it's my opinion that the quality of both have gone downhill in direct competition with China - my guess. I bought a couple Case saddlehorns for my son and I to customize when he was here from a friend of mine and fellow forum member. Boy was I ever supprised, the backspring in those was so weak that that closing the knife, damn-no snap, a safety pin had more snap than those. In fact I rated Frost's Steel Warrior saddlehorn much higher, quality wise had the walk and talk, Case had -- well SLOP!

When my arm/shoulder gets better I plan to make a comparative analysis, I have some different Saddlehorns from Steel Warrior, Case, Bulldog and one other, let me see what kind of tests I can come up with, some with some measurable and meaningful results.

The drop in quality left a big hole open, and I remember mentioning it several times. IMO, this void is now filled by GEC, THEY ARE DOING exactly what needs to be done to win against China. The answer was never to compete against China on China's terms - go cheap will only delay positve results.

[Hukk]

About modern Case, I don't know whether we forum-lurkers represent a significant slice of their market or not. If we do, then I would say that they are slow to respond to what we expect.
It seems many of us talk about CV and 1095 as ideal steels for everyday carry. Dealers have a hard time stocking carbon steel knives ie: Cumberland Knifeworks.
So why don't they make my favorite patterns in CV?? Like their nicely proportioned Seahorse whittler. There's one of the best iterations of the classic Wharncliffe, in useable but boring old 420HC. Instead they sell Bubba Gum!! Gag me!!

I'm tired of 420 too , ole cookie cutter steel. Comes off in sheets or rolls so they can stamp a ton at once. BUBBA--BUM, need we say more?

[mooseman]

As has already been mentioned, the quality of Case knives, has decreased over the years, but I am a member of a large knife club with over 100 members and a Case knife is the only thing that will get you a sure trade from anyone. Sure Case quality is not up to Queen/Schatt or great eastern, but you have to take into account the vast descrepancy in price. The most affordable schatt that I have seen was maybe 60 bucks and it is hard to buy them lower than retail price. Wherin as my knife club always buys a Case knife each year as our club knife , we pay 50 bucks for the knife including engraving the blades and having our shields installed.

[olderdogs1]

I am not a Case collector per say but do own several new and old and attend a lot of knife shows. Here is my opinion which is as a lot of the folks here say is JMO.
Case has one thing hands down over most of the other brands and that is the dating system that they have used throughout the years, dots and the different stamps. You can not argue the fact that whether you like the new ones or not, the older Case knives were excellent quality. You still see a lot of Case dealers at the shows dealing in the new Case knives. The ones I have seen are not of inferior quality although the older ones are better hands down in my opinion.
The point I want to make is not real popular with several folks and that is to pat American Brands on the back for the period that they owned Case. Most folks think that was when the quality went down and I am not flatly qualified to argue that point. What a lot of folks don't know is that during the time that American Brands owned Case they burned/buried 2 large truckloads of Case XX and Case Tested parts. If they had not done this can you imagine how many "Warehouse Finds" we would be seeing today had Case fallen into the wrong hands. This in my opinion has kept Case the collectable it is today. As I said before, this is JMO. I love to see the American Companies Prosper.
Tom

[Rusty1]

I think that Case could end up selling more knives if they kept to some of the older traditional style knives with some really nice jigged bone from ages passed, Jack knives, equal end styles, large congress, with some nice peachseed jigging, instead of all this laser etched stuff they are making now. They are not at the top of my list these days, just my 0.2

Rusty1

[marcinek]

I'm new to the whole slipjoint scene and, coincidentally, just got my first Case last week (Red Bone CV Peanut). It's a really nice knife and I'm enjoying it (its my new EDC).

Would I buy another Case? A current one? Probably not. The quality is excellent but their selection of user knives is not, in my book.

I guess the selection is great if you want to collect different-colored-handled peanuts. Which is cool, but just not what I want to do.

Now if they came out with that Seahorse in CV...maybe a dark amber jigged bone....

[Forensic Jim]

Case is probably the front runner is sales. However, their quality leaves a lot to be desired on a lot of their newer knives. I have bought some knives that have absolutely no snap at all. Handles that were either split or poor fitting. I seriously doubt whether I will buy a new Case again. Some of the C. Platts, Case Brothers and Crandalls seem to have a better quality to them. Believe it or not, one of the best made knives I've gotten recently is the 2002 Marbles Trapper with Pre-ban Elephant Ivory handles. It's USA made and the quality is incredible. I suspect it was finished by Queen, and the handles were laser cut by da boys up in da UP.

[Hukk]

I've read many places that Case's TruSharp surgical steel is 420 HC. I also have read that Case CV is a modified 1095. Likely it was modified so that it would be available in a sheet or roll form so that Case can stamp out huge numbers of blades.

Although fit and finish have gone downhill, along with the walk and talk, Case hase been innovative with some of their knives.

I just bought 3 Warncliffe trappers and I prefer these over over the standard spey blade, even if the backsprings are a bit limp. I bought 3 different sizes, 2 1/2, 3 1/2, and 4 1/8 inches and have yet to put the through their paces, some Case saddlehorns I got were surprisinly limp in the backspring area.

As I metioned earlier and hate to admit it, on a small sample of 2 knives each, I rated the Steel Warrior saddlehorn higher than the Case Saddlehorn. The Case was better designed (opinion), and better steel. The Steel Warrior had the fit and finish and the walk and talk.

I don't think I would carry the Steel Warrior, just don't like the design of the Saddlehorn, especially in the front bolster.

People will continue to buy Case, just because they are American and, well they are Case. What knives are our children going to buy?

[jholcomb]

Any Case made prior to 1972 is a fine piece of cutlery. Everything since (with the exeception of the Case Classics) has gone down hill in terms of quality of materials and workmanship. I have to agree with Hukk in that some of the cheap imports are actually seem to be better made. Some other brands like Schatt and Morgan, Canal Street, and Great Eastern may be more expensive but you can honestly feel the difference. But, Case is the 800 pound gorilla of the American cutlery industry. Their name is so well recognized and their market share is so large, they could box up a knife made of pot metal with a special blade etch and it would sell. It is kind of sad IMO.

[Forensic Jim]

I just had to box up another new knife today to send back to Case. Bone handled with a huge crack that ran from the bolster through the pin all the way to the shield. Really a shame.

[redferd]

I think when Case switched over to the Tru-Sharp ss butterknife steel the knves went downhill. What year was that?

[Gunsmoke47]

I agree that Case has gone downhill in the last few years as I stated earlier. I also believe the Classics are a Great knife, but then again they aren't really Case are they? I do ,however , disagree that they (Case) started downhill after 1972. Some of the finest Sambar ..... (Not to be confused with Sandbar) Stag you can find are on the 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979 knives. You may match, but you won't beat the scales , walk and talk, and general feel of these knives. Of coarse...... This is my opinion only, and very biased as well, as I own these! Kelley

[jholcomb]

Some of the finest Sambar ..... (Not to be confused with Sandbar) Stag you can find are on the 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979 knives. You may match, but you won't beat the scales , walk and talk, and general feel of these knives.

I can't say that I disagree. The stag on some of those knives is awesome, and they are well put together But some of the bone they used in those years !

[Sqg1]

After reading everyone's opinion. I checked all my Case knives. (I only have newer ones). All of them have very little snap. One I have to push all the way closed, no snap at all. I then check my Shatt and Morgan,,,,,,,, almost lost a finger when it snapped shut. And you don't won't to close a Great Eastern on a finger.

[jonet143]

interesting from case:

http://www.wrcase.com/vault/

[knifeswapper]

I think a lot of it has to do with the quantities being put out today for collectors. If you charted the number of knives produced in a given year with the general quality for that year; you would see inversely proportional lines.

But the other makers are not immune from it either. Queen made knives have seen a definate downturn in quality as of late as well. I am turning back way more Schatt & Morgan knives than Case these days. They are making knives for everybody and producing more than they are able at the quality they did even 5-6 years ago.

So, you can either make all the knives you can sell and have them be a little lower quality / price. Or you can make only what can be done at very high quality; not both. You might think they could just add employees to keep up with demand and quality, but workforce economics do not work like that.

I think you have three scenarios today. 1) Case making thousands of knives a week and utilizing technologies that shortcut some of the quality we desire in the perfect pocket knife; 2) Queen making hundreds of knives a week and starting to fall into the cycle Case is well into; 3) Great Eastern make only what can be done at a quality level, but probably not enough peices weekly to pay the bills. I'll tell you which works best in 10 years.

If Case would stop putting that nasty final sharpening on the blade that they started 3-4 years ago, and Queen would finish the grind lines out of their blades like they used to, and GEC would keep their etching templates clean; I would stop my complaining altogether (not really).

[Forensic Jim]

Here are some photos of a knife I mailed back yesterday to Case. See if you can see the CRACK.

[jholcomb]

interesting from case:

http://www.wrcase.com/vault/

More info on the vault program....
http://caseknifeoutlet.com/news.cfm