Vintage Case knives: A slice of history
- kb5947
- Jan 16
- 5 min read
Watch for, and enjoy, these 1960s-90s collectibles
By KELLY BOSTIAN
Doomscrolling all the nifty, spiffy new knife reveals on TikTok and YouTube Reels, with all the out-the-front, push-button, and open-assist mechanisms that provide those quick-flip video-ready visuals, still can’t match the thrill of opening the treasure trove that recently rolled into J Gray’s.
Rolled is literal, by the way, many of the roughly 300 knives in a recent collection were perfectly preserved in rolled-up sleeves. Others were in original boxes, as if they’d just been shipped to a dealer. All are being indexed and appraised and will be listed for sale individually and in lots.
Popular influencers like @MelissaBackwoods and @GideonsTactical would have to slow things down considerably. Still, it would be entertaining to watch one of those relatively young enthusiasts take a 1970s Case out of the box, still coated in factory grease and wrapped in that yellowed, waxed paper that doubles as a knife-care instruction sheet.
Definitely a slower, but cool, addition to their fast-paced atmosphere.
We’re talking classic pocket knives, carbon steel, from back when a “nail nick” for opening was considered a great design advantage in its day.
Careful, that spring is a little stiff the first few times you pry that blade free. Don’t let it slip and spring shut and take off a fingertip!
How cool is it to unearth a never-before-opened, shiny carbon steel Canoe with that classic black etching of an indian in a birch-bark canoe?
The nostalgia surely can’t be lost on new generations, even if they are enamored with every style of point and metal alloy combos you’ll never memorize. Definitely, it will take late Boomers and early Gen-Xers back to the days of three TV channels and adjusting the rabbit ears to pick up Daniel Boone or Gunsmoke (in color), running the trapline after work or school, and waiting impatiently to see the latest John Wayne or Clint Eastwood westerns at the drive-in theater.
What makes Case knives collectible?
You might ask, and some vehemently debate: “Are Case knives really THAT collectible?”
Well, the very existence of the Case Collector’s Club®, established in 1981, is one answer to that question.
Club members pay $25 a year ($200 lifetime) to enjoy perks like quarterly issues of “The Case Collector” magazine, exclusive limited-run promotions, eligibility to purchase an annual “club knife,” factory tours, and more.
What makes an item collectible (and valuable) is the number of individuals interested in possessing it. The rarer the condition and configuration of a blade is, the more it is worth. According to caseknives.com, the enrollment of 19,000-plus Collector’s Club members makes it the largest known knife-collecting association in the world.
Place your bids, folks.
Case is famous for fully embracing the collectible aspect of its knives in the 1970s.
Anyone who’s owned a Case knife, and there are millions of us, has no doubt noticed the tang marks on the side of the blade. However, relatively few of us understand the history and importance of those markings.
From the company’s origins in the late 1800s, the Case family brothers incorporated unique stamp designs into their blades. Knife magazine authors note that the brothers were trendsetters in that fashion, as other knife-makers adopted the practice, and that knife historians realized the value of the marks for dating blades and identifying unique qualities.
Case Knives boasts that its library of markings spans more than 130 years. Some marks cover wide spans, but starting in 1970, the company began stamping blades with “dot dating.” The annual removal of one of 10 dots marked the start of a new production year. From 1970 on, the tang marks on any Case blade denote the exact year it was manufactured.
History of quality and salesmanship
The exact date of the founding of the Case Brothers’ Cutlery Company is somewhat elusive; however, according to accounts from the Cattaraugus County Historical Society.
Four brothers—William Russell (W.R.), Jean, John, and Andrew Case—sold knives for their brother-in-law, J.B.F. Champin, and the Cattaraugus Cutlery in the late 1880s.
Their sales acumen among the high country wagon roads led them to C. Platts & Sons Cutlery in 1896, and the brothers soon opened their own factory, Case Brothers’ Cutlery, in Little Valley in 1900. That marked the origin of the legendary hand-forged pocket, jack, and fixed-blade knives and the XX mark that launched their fame.
Cattaraugus historians note the business enjoyed “massive growth and multiple factories” until a fire destroyed the Little Valley factory in 1912.
Family feuds also played a role in the demise of the original Case Brothers, the historians note. Jean’s sons, Dean and Elliott Case, left to form Standard Knife Company. W.R.’s son, Russ, left to form W.R. Case & Son (later “Sons”) in Pennsylvania. John left to form John D. Case & Sons in Kane, Pennsylvania. Andrew left to form Case Manufacturing, but later became a minority owner of W.R. Case & Sons and of Union Cutlery Company, aka KA-BAR.
John D.’s company did not last long. And after Elliott Case died suddenly, Dean and Standard merged back into Case Brothers, which officially closed in 1915. Its famous “Tested XX” trademark, as well as the assets of John D.'s company, was acquired by W.R. Case & Sons, which had established its long-running factory at Braden, Pennsylvania, in 1905.
Zippo, the famous lighter company, purchased the company in1993.
After some rocky reputational issues in lean years in the late 1980s and 1990s, the knives remain an industry staple more than 130 years beyond those early beginnings.
Vintage Case knives, especially, have a reputation for quality, with CV/CS carbon-steel blades, a variety of handles from jigged bone to stag and hardwoods, and, as Case advertised for decades, their hand-made, double-tested, Made in the U.S.A. quality was hard to beat.
Carbon-steel blades are valued for superior edge retention and ease of sharpening, but they do benefit from a continuous application of protective lube to prevent rust and tarnish. (thus, that lithium grease coating from the factory)Case “Tru-Sharp” stainless steel blades were offered to provide performance without worry, but regular users of the carbon-steel blades weren’t known to complain much.
Case fans who’ve pocketed these knives for decades brag about their durability, with centered blades that stay that way with forever-tight joints, and offer up pictures of still-useful, trusty blades sharpened so many times they’re a shrunken shadow of their former glory. Preserved like new in the box, or a tool that has been of daily use for a grandparent to grandchild, some are of invaluable sentimental value, some as much as any two bidders are willing to spend on any given day. But, collectible? You bet.
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