All About Pocket Knives

Hi, I purchased a Case brand knife at an auction and was told that it was possibly rare. I need help. I have searched and cannot verify if it is true or not. I am attaching pictures of the knife in hopes that someone can help me understand what it is. I was told that it is a "Cotton Sampler" or "Cotton Cutter". At the auction there was a lot of interest in it and bidding activity. If someone could point me in the the right direction I would deeply appreciate it. I would like to know more about the knife and possibly it's value. Thank you.

There is one pictured in Sargent's 7th edition but it shows an arched tang stamp and the Tested XX in a circle I don't think was used until the Bradford era. I myself would be a little suspect of the knife, of course I am by no means an expert. It shows a value of $1500 for the WR Case and Sons Cotton sampler.

I don’t like it. Harold

I don’t mean to be negative. It’s a beautiful knife but what the heck is this?

I'm far from expert but brand new looking bone on a knife with a heavily buffed blade makes me skeptical. In th AAPK research section the pre-1920 Case over Tested in a circle tang stamp has two Xs in the center, not two dots.

I’m a big fan of the cotton sampler. Logan did a blog post dive on the history of this pattern in general on his Knife Thoughts https://knifethoughts.com/the-cotton-sa ... r-history/. There are some links to other sources including a discussion thread here on AAPK. Not much about Case versions though. I agree that’s a beautiful knife. Looks to be in possibly too good of shape for a rare vintage piece but I am far from expert.

Thank you to all for the input. I’m curious to know if there is a person, a Case Knife expert, who can verify it as authentic?

Tang stamp has been nearly removed by over polishing, and grinder marks next to the Case Tested stamp raise some questions. Someone has been at work trying to "improve" this knife.

At best, I believe that the knife has been both rehandled and heavily buffed, either of which would devalue it greatly.
At worst, it is a counterfeit.
There are definite signs that it is an older blade that has been buffed, but I don't know that it is a Case blade. The front looks slightly cold stamped, and both stamps look new to me. Buffing rarely cleans out the bottom of the imprint without wearing away the stamp itself.

Hopefully someone on here has an authentic Cotton Sampler and can compare the rest of the knife, but from what I can see I believe that it is not at all an authentic knife.

JLS wrote: ↑Sun Dec 15, 2024 12:34 pm Thank you to all for the input. I’m curious to know if there is a person, a Case Knife expert, who can verify it as authentic?

There is indeed. The guy that the Case people call to verify their own knives is a member here. He or other experts will probably drop in and give their input in due time.

I'm not a Case expert by any means. But I have handled enough old knives to be suspicious of this one. The difference in condition of the stamps is concerning. One side is blasted, the other is crisp and clean.

At the very least I think I recognize those scratchy tool marks. That's what it looks like when you're using a Dremel to buff and polish but you get a little careless and scrape the spinning chuck against your blade or bolsters. This is the one thing that I'm an expert at

OP knife is a horrid fake. Lots of red flags, some already mentioned, but it is as simple as this: Case never owned (or used) the TESTED XX trademark during the time the W.R. CASE & SONS tang stamp was used (~1905 - 1914). TESTED XX was a trademark owned by Case Brothers Cutlery, a competitor of W.R. Case & Sons. W.R. Case & Sons acquired the rights to TESTED XX only after Case Brothers bankruptcy, about which time their stamp was changed to “CASE BRADFORD”.

If you find a knife marked W.R. CASE & SONS and TESTED or TESTED XX, it’s a counterfeit.

Ken

JLS wrote: ↑Sun Dec 15, 2024 12:53 amI would like to know more about the knife and possibly it's value

The evidence tells us that it is100% not factory and collector value is $0 however just as a broken clock is correct twice a day, your knife is functional as a $10 tool.

Yes, as others have pointed out, to me this one is an "across the room fake".

Two things about the cotton sampler pattern:

#1 - authentic antique cotton samplers are EXTREMELY rare in any brand. It may be considered the rarest hardest to find traditional pocket knife pattern.

#2 - cotton samplers in recent years have been widely faked - in both Case stamps and in others, like oddball hardware brands.

Regarding #2 above, this has been facilitated because a few modern knife companies - notably Bulldog and Rough Rider - have produced a lot of cotton samplers. Counterfeiters can restamp/rehandle these.

Faking of cotton samplers has gotten so bad that whenever someone contacts me or texts me saying that they have a vintage cotton sampler that they want me to look at - my immediate reaction is that there is a 99.9% chance that it is a modern fake.

Didn't Case use that Chevron type jigging in the 80's?

At least you got some answers, JLS, and to AAPK.

Any old cotton sampler with anything other than wood handles bares scrutiny.

JLS wrote: ↑Sun Dec 15, 2024 12:34 pm Thank you to all for the input. I’m curious to know if there is a person, a Case Knife expert, who can verify it as authentic?

That person is member Knifeaholic, Steve Pfeiffer, author of Collecting Case Knives: Identification and Price Guide who posted above your cotton sampler is a counterfeit.

Thank you all again. Obviously I'm disappointed but am glad to know what I have, or in this case, do not have. I'll wrap it up and place it back in a drawer. I'm actually a gun collector. I attended the the auction where I purchased this knife to bid on a older Colt Python. The Gentleman who owned the knife was present at the auction told me the history of the knife. Unfortunately I can't remember what he said. I'm going to reach back out to him and have him refresh my memory. Thanks again!

Did you out bid all the other Python lovers?

I did. I wasn't going to be denied. Just like the knife, probably paid too much.

Anyone thinking about spending much on any older knife should first read through posts in the Counterfeit watch forum here. There you can learn some the things to watch out for. viewforum.php?f=17

Ken

With a few mods who knows.

As a small time Case collector, I gain much information just by reading a post like this. I personally realize my limitations…I feel comfortable buying Case slipjoints down to 1965. After that, I need to be very careful as I certainly don’t pick up on all the nuances of pre 1965 slipjoints, let alone pre-1940 slipjoints and earlier. Maybe with time, but definitely would ask for a second opinion before the purchase of an early Case. If it was at an auction, I would just need to let it go. Unfortunately, it seems to me that there is a “cottage industry” of unscrupulous individuals putting out early Case counterfeits that sometimes ruin the hobby a bit.

Fallon63 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 16, 2024 7:06 pm As a small time Case collector, I gain much information just by reading a post like this. I personally realize my limitations…I feel comfortable buying Case slipjoints down to 1965. After that, I need to be very careful as I certainly don’t pick up on all the nuances of pre 1965 slipjoints, let alone pre-1940 slipjoints and earlier. Maybe with time, but definitely would ask for a second opinion before the purchase of an early Case. If it was at an auction, I would just need to let it go. Unfortunately, it seems to me that there is a “cottage industry” of unscrupulous individuals putting out early Case counterfeits that sometimes ruin the hobby a bit.

Same here. I don’t buy or colllect Case knives anymore but if I did, I would post here before buying an older model. Either that or I would ask Steve directly.

It’s unfortunate that the starter of this thread didn’t ask until after the purchase but I understand that too.

If I have learned one thing, it’s that all vintage Case knives are counterfeit unless proven otherwise.

[quote=Railsplitter post_id=1169248 time=
If I have learned one thing, it’s that all vintage Case knives are counterfeit unless proven otherwise.
[/quote]

Well said!