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My Old Case Trapper

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 12:32 am
by kootenay joe
I have sold my rural 90 acres of mountainside and now have the task of packing up 42 years worth of 'stuff' stashed away. The good part is that i have found a few knives i had forgotten about.
One is the Case XX/USA Trapper pattern 6254 with jigged bone handles. I did carry for awhile some years ago.
Looking in Steve Pfeiffer's book i cannot find a tang stamping that matches the one on this knife. Probably it is there but my sleep deprived brain is not spotting it.
Would someone please have a look at these pictures and give me a date range.
thanks, kj

Re: My Old Case Trapper

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 12:42 am
by Mumbleypeg
That stamp was used from 1993-1999. Can’t see for sure in your pictures how many dots it has, looks like maybe one or two. One dot would make it 1999, two would be 1998, etc.

Ken

Re: My Old Case Trapper

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 12:56 am
by kootenay joe
Thanks Ken. I thought that the dates you give used the "lightening" S. This one has the 'regular' S in Case & USA.
And are these handles what is called Case's " Dark Red bone" or "Old Red bone" ?
Steve P. on page 194 gives a chart showing which years in the 1990's different handle materials were used with the 54 pattern.
kj

Re: My Old Case Trapper

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 2:35 am
by Mumbleypeg
When in doubt, the Research section here https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/co ... ification/ is your friend. ::tu::

Ken

Re: My Old Case Trapper

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 3:03 am
by treefarmer
Seems like the regular "S" in this time frame indicated CV steel, the "lightening S" was SS. This is from my memory and may not be correct. ::shrug::
Treefarmer

Re: My Old Case Trapper

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 4:49 am
by kootenay joe
Here is what is in the link provided by Ken:
"From the middle of 1993 to 1999, Case returned to the dot system that was used in the 70’s and 80’s. Case also returned to using a long tailed C on the word Case which resembled the older tang stamps. The dots started in 1993, and one was removed for every year until 2000. On some knives in this era, the S in U.S.A. is lightening shaped like those in the 80’s."

However the "Case" on my knife does not look like the "Case" shown in the link for these dates. The long tail C is a different shape and thickness and the "ase" is a straight line on mine but arched in reference material.
Maybe Case had a few different stamping dies during this time ?
Also is the 54 pattern made in the 1990's known for having the dots hidden by the bolster ?
kj

Re: My Old Case Trapper

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 6:20 am
by QTCut5
kootenay joe wrote: Mon Jun 14, 2021 4:49 am ...the "Case" on my knife does not look like the "Case" shown in the link for these dates. The long tail C is a different shape and thickness and the "ase" is a straight line on mine but arched in reference material.
Maybe Case had a few different stamping dies during this time ?
Also is the 54 pattern made in the 1990's known for having the dots hidden by the bolster ?
kj
I may be wrong, but the 1993-1999 tang stamp shown in AAPK's research section almost looks hand-drawn to me. ::skeptic:: I have never seen a tang stamp with such a uniformly narrow "C" nor the arched "ase" so, I think that is not a perfect representation of the actual tang stamp of that era...it's probably just meant to convey the general idea and basically show how the 1990s era tang stamp style differed from the stamps used in other eras.

For comparison: 1999 Case 6207 Mini Trapper.
1999 Case 6207.JPG
Notice how close the dot is to the bolster on my 07 Mini Trapper; the larger bolster on the 54 Trapper may account for the hidden dot(s), but the long tail "C" is thick and the "ase" is in a straight line just like the tang stamp on the OP 6254. As for the round "S" vs the lightning "S" mine has a lightning "S" and the blades are Stainless Steel. The round "S" as well as the heavy patina on the OP knife indicates CV, which supports Philip's comment about the distinction between the two letter styles.

Re: My Old Case Trapper

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 12:17 pm
by knifeaholic
Others have given correct info. The stamp is 93-99. These will have the "lightning" s if it is a stainless steel knife and the regular S for a CV knife. The one is the standard production knife with chestnut bone handles.

Re: My Old Case Trapper

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 4:40 pm
by kootenay joe
Thank you QT & Steve.
Now that i have my 'old Case Trapper' dated it is not as old as i had thought it to be.
kj