Post
by East Branch Knives » Sat Nov 09, 2019 1:54 am
Thanks everyone for the info! I paid 18 bucks for this knife. Ironically, I've never been too big a fan of Case stockmans because of the narrow, swedgeless clip blades, so when I saw this one with a short fat clip sporting a pronounced swedge I figured I'd pick it up, but thought it might be suspect. I also liked that the springs had that great, subtle carbon steel pitting that really shows the age of a knife.
It would be nice to know where the replacement clip blade originated. It also looks pretty old, and I may do an HRC test to see if it's got a decent heat treat (to the extent one can tell based solely on Rockwell hardness).
The conclusion that the clip is a replacement is further supported by the fact that it's got mushy/gritty walk and talk and some side-to-side wobble. Whereas the spey and punch blades have great snap, strong pulls and no wobble. At least it's nice to know they appear to be original.
Thanks again for the replies. I've really learned a lot from this forum and am pleased to have finally become a participating member.