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Case tested era shield
Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2021 6:52 pm
by winst
I have noticed, here of late, that there are many tested era green bone Case knives for sale on ebay with no shields. My question is: was this a common practice by Case or were there certain models that were manufactured with no shields?
Re: Case tested era shield
Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2021 9:15 pm
by 98src
I have had several w/o shields, and it seems that those w/o shields also had steel bolsters. Might have been a WW2 economy measure re: scarcity of nickel and copper needed for the war effort.
Re: Case tested era shield
Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2021 9:34 pm
by gsmith7158
Yes not uncommon for Case knives to be sans shields specially in that time period leading up to WWll.
Re: Case tested era shield
Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2021 11:55 pm
by herbva
I have several from that era with bone or smooth black composition scales and steel liners, bolsters and pins. One 28 I am working on right now seems to have exceptionally thick steel liners. None of these knives have any evidence of ever having had shields. Interestingly, all of the ones I have with rough black "gum fuddy" scales have their shields. Might just be the ones I have, but I do find this interesting.
Re: Case tested era shield
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 12:45 am
by Mumbleypeg
herbva wrote: ↑Wed Dec 15, 2021 11:55 pm
I have several from that era with bone or smooth black composition scales and steel liners, bolsters and pins. One 28 I am working on right now seems to have exceptionally thick steel liners. None of these knives have any evidence of ever having had shields. Interestingly, all of the ones I have with rough black "gum fuddy" scales have their shields. Might just be the ones I have, but I do find this interesting.
Another reason some believe the theory that Rough Black aka gum fuddy was a war-time creation is a myth.
Ken
Re: Case tested era shield
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 2:41 pm
by winst
98src wrote: ↑Wed Dec 15, 2021 9:15 pm
I have had several w/o shields, and it seems that those w/o shields also had steel bolsters. Might have been a WW2 economy measure re: scarcity of nickel and copper needed for the war effort.
1920-40 is prier to the US entrance into the 2nd world war..why would these metals be more scarce than post war period--1940-64 models nearly all bone handles have shields?
Re: Case tested era shield
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 2:53 pm
by gsmith7158
winst wrote: ↑Thu Dec 16, 2021 2:41 pm
98src wrote: ↑Wed Dec 15, 2021 9:15 pm
I have had several w/o shields, and it seems that those w/o shields also had steel bolsters. Might have been a WW2 economy measure re: scarcity of nickel and copper needed for the war effort.
1920-40 is prier to the US entrance into the 2nd world war..why would these metals be more scarce than post war period--1940-64 models nearly all bone handles have shields?
Most people believe that the tested era stamp was used well in to the 1940s so it makes sense that those would show the period where there was scarcity of certain metals used in the war effort.
Re: Case tested era shield
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 4:31 pm
by Mumbleypeg
During the late 1960s Case executive Bob Farquharson was reportedly informed by collector/author Dewey Ferguson that collectors were interested in knowing the date when their knives were manufactured. Lacking any written evidence, Farquharson, himself a Case employee since the early 1950s, reportedly asked long-time Case employee Mary Petro to advise when the various tang stamps were used. Mary provided her best estimates. Farquharson gave those dates to Ferguson, who published them. The commonly published dates of 1920-1940 for Case Tested XX” and 1940-1964 for “Case XX” supposedly came from that source. (There’s a lesson in there somewhere!). Whether the story is true or not I do not know. What is apparently true is that Case themselves has no archived documentation. And shortly thereafter in 1970 Case instituted the “dots” method of dating their knives.
More compelling is that I have seen, and have in my possession pocket knives made during WWII for the U.S. armed forces, which are stamped “Tested XX”. Not possible if you adhere to the 1920-1940 theory.
I find it interesting that references like Sargent’s show the 1920-1940 date in the “Case history” section, yet have photographs of knives clearly stamped Tested XX with captions like “Pattern made for the U.S. Navy during WWII”.
Ken
Re: Case tested era shield
Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2025 11:47 pm
by Alex_93
Ken, so do these knives made during wwII for armed forces ever have shields? And if they do do they have the closed c like the majority of the tested knives or could they have also came with the x era shield?
Re: Case tested era shield
Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2025 11:54 pm
by knifeaholic
Alex_93 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 08, 2025 11:47 pm
Ken, so do these knives made during wwII for armed forces ever have shields? And if they do do they have the closed c like the majority of the tested knives or could they have also came with the x era shield?
Many of the military patterns will have shields, but remember that knives contracted for the military were also made during peace time when resources were not scarce. Chances are good that if a military contract knife was made DURING the war time, it was made without the shield and most likley with iron bolsters. Both styles of shield were used in the Tested to XX eras, so both are correct.
Re: Case tested era shield
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2025 12:53 am
by Mumbleypeg
Alex_93 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 08, 2025 11:47 pm
Ken, so do these knives made during wwII for armed forces ever have shields? And if they do do they have the closed c like the majority of the tested knives or could they have also came with the x era shield?
Those I have do not have shields or bolsters. For example one is described in Sargent’s as “6445R, 1920-40, Tested XX, Navy knife, red fiberloid, WWII”. As I said in my prior post, it can’t be both 1920-40 and WWII. One or the other is not true.
Ken
Re: Case tested era shield
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2025 3:13 am
by Alex_93
Thanks for the clarification Ken.
Re: Case tested era shield
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2025 3:48 pm
by Ridgegrass
Here's a green bone tested. No shield, all steel. J.O'.
Re: Case tested era shield
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2025 7:32 pm
by stockman
Pictures of 47 Green Bone XX, with what I call a tested shield. I always thought it was a early XX. Harold