All About Pocket Knives

What do we think about this one? Since I'm not familiar with every pattern that Case made in the Tested era, I am not certain if this Teardrop is even a Case pattern, but I've never seen a Case knife like it before so I'm suspicious The first thing that sent up a red flag for me is the denten (matchstriker) pull, which Mumblypeg Ken repeatedly says he's never seen on a legitimate Case knife. Another thing that looks suspicious to me is the "TESTED XX" blade stamp. I know Case did use an "XX" blade stamp, but I don't know if they ever include the word "TESTED", so I’m not sure about that. Also, the letters in the blade stamp look odd....different thicknesses. Not sure about the tang stamp....will need someone more qualified to determine its legitimacy.


Anything else???

https://www.ebay.com/itm/277411655418

I would call that a Candle Jack.

Yes, that is what I would call this pattern, as well. (“Teardrop” is what the seller called it in his listing)

It was listed for a 5 day auction starting at $325 with a OBO option, but apparently the seller accepted an offer because it has already been sold.

Still curious if it is a legitimate Case knife.

Here’s a similar Candle Jack pattern of mine that is stamped A.W. Wordsworth & Son, Austria, for comparison:

Q, my opinion FWIW is it’s probably legit. You’re right that I said I’ve never seen a legitimate Case with a match striker pull. I should have clarified I’m referring to knives stamped from any of the various W.R. Case & Son companies (W.R. Case & Son, Case & Sons, etc). I also have said just because I haven’t seen one doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Case Brothers was a different company, unfortunately often confused with W.R. Case. My bad! There are in fact a couple of Case Brothers knives having match striker pulls pictured in Sargent’s 7th Edition.

As to the OP knife, here’s why I think it’s probably legit. After they left the employ of Cattaraugus the four Case brothers (W. R., Andrew, Jean, and John D.) went to Nebraska and began farming, raising and selling livestock. They also engaged in cutlery as jobbers, using their extensive connections with other cutleries to have knives produced for them with the NORTH AMERICAN CUTLERY stamp. Some of those knives were unmistakably made by Phoenix Knife Company, known for having match striker pulls. I also see no obvious evidence the knife has been altered, but some others might see something.

When Andrew, Jean, and John D. Case began using the Case Brothers stamp they were again operating as jobbers. They had no factory until a few years later. (Their brother W. R. was not a partner with them in Case Brothers). It’s believed many of the earliest knives stamped Case Brothers were made by Platts, but since we have conclusive evidence that Phoenix Cutlery manufactured some of their North American knives, it’s very probable also some of the early Case Brothers knives were for them made by Phoenix, with match striker pulls. JMO.

Ken

QTCut5 wrote: ↑Tue Sep 30, 2025 4:10 pm What do we think about this one? Since I'm not familiar with every pattern that Case made in the Tested era, I am not certain if this Teardrop is even a Case pattern, but I've never seen a Case knife like it before so I'm suspicious The first thing that sent up a red flag for me is the denten (matchstriker) pull, which Mumblypeg Ken repeatedly says he's never seen on a legitimate Case knife. Another thing that looks suspicious to me is the "TESTED XX" blade stamp. I know Case did use an "XX" blade stamp, but I don't know if they ever include the word "TESTED", so I’m not sure about that. Also, the letters in the blade stamp look odd....different thicknesses. Not sure about the tang stamp....will need someone more qualified to determine its legitimacy.


Anything else???

https://www.ebay.com/itm/277411655418

Here is a catalog image from an early Case Bros catalog. It is fine for the knife to have "TESTED XX" etched into the face of the blade. This was used as well as just the "XX". As I was paging through the catalog, I noticed several images with match striker pulls. Some people speculate that a match striker pull indicates a contract knife.

Note the crisply squared corners of the letters in the stamps on the OP knife, both TESTED XX and CASE BROS. That’s an indication the stamps were applied before the steel was hardened. On a stamp applied after hardening, aka a “cold stamp”, the corners are typically rounded and mushy looking.

Ken

Looks fine to me. I had the same pattern and stamp at one time. Blades weren't as nice though. Can't remember if it had a match striker pull on the master.

Good call out on the sharpness of the stamping. I took one look at that Tested XX blade stamp and new for sure we were working with something real here, even if the blades didn't start out in that frame, which - it looks like they do. Nice pattern they should make a new release of this.