WR Case and Son hunting knife

[Landersknives]

Ok guys I need some help. A friend of mine asked me about the year and authenticity of the knife in the pictures. Please let me know what you think.

[kennedy knives]

Looks a little like the one I have . Not the right handle and is missing Under W.R.Case & Sons Bradford PA.
I've been told made around 1920 . I've seen one other that had a Pearl Handle that was made for the Bradford Gun Club in Bradford PA.

[dlr110]

One is "SON" and the other is "SONS" which is correct?
Also on the first one is that a letter P just under and to the right that
may have been there before? It could be these 70 year old eyes
playing tricks on me though.

[olderdogs1]

W R Case & Son was only in business from 1903-05 and they were contract knives. That knife looks good to me. Great stamp.

Tom

[Landersknives]

W R Case & Son was only in business from 1903-05 and they were contract knives. That knife looks good to me. Great stamp.

Tom

1903-05 ok. What value in this condition do you think Tom? I appreciate it cause I sure thought it was a fake because of the lack of a s on Son.

[olderdogs1]

Hard to place a value on it as I have not seen another or don’t have any comparable sales so worth what someone will pay when exposed to the market for a reasonable time. Probably won’t bring a great big price but definitely desirable in my opinion.

Tom

[Landersknives]

Hard to place a value on it as I have not seen another or don’t have any comparable sales so worth what someone will pay when exposed to the market for a reasonable time. Probably won’t bring a great big price but definitely desirable in my opinion.

Tom

Thanks Tom.

[Landersknives]

Looks a little like the one I have . Not the right handle and is missing Under W.R.Case & Sons Bradford PA.
I've been told made around 1920 . I've seen one other that had a Pearl Handle that was made for the Bradford Gun Club in Bradford PA.

I appreciate your comment. Thanks for the help.

One is "SON" and the other is "SONS" which is correct?
Also on the first one is that a letter P just under and to the right that
may have been there before? It could be these 70 year old eyes
playing tricks on me though.

Thank you for the help. I appreciate your comments.

[Mumbleypeg]

A little Case history will explain the addition of the “s”. First some background. J.B.F. Champlin who owned Cattaraugus was married to Theresa Case, daughter of Job Case. In the 1880s he was in business with her brothers W.R., Andrew, Jean and John at Cattaraugus. Some accounts say J.B.F. hired them, others say they were business partners. Eventually the brothers left Cattaraugus and went into farming. A few years later Andrew, Jean, and John joined together to form Case Brothers Cutlery, in competition with Cattaraugus. The oldest brother, W.R., decided to stay a farmer and did not join them.

W.R.’s son Russ Case, until then employed at Cattaraugus, joined Case Brothers as a salesman. A job at which he excelled. So good in fact that after a couple of years Russ’s commissions were greater than what his uncles were making as owners. When his uncles could not (or would not) pay Russ what he was owed, he got mad and quit. Russ asked his father W.R. to finance him in starting his own cutlery. W.R. gave Russ not only the money but also his name, thus was born W.R. Case & Son Cutlery. (With no “s”).

W.R.’s daughter, Russ’s older sister Debbie, was married to H.N. Platts, of Platts & Sons Cutlery. H.N. was a master cutler. Russ Case was a salesman and businessman but not an expert in manufacturing. So a couple of years after W.R. Case & Son was founded, Russ Case and his brother-in-law H.N. Platts merged their companies, and added an “s”. W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery (with an “s”) was born, with the common connection being Debbie Case Platts. One was the son of W.R. Case, the other the son-in-law. H.N. took over the manufacturing while Russ focused on sales and business.

In a few years another son-in-law/brother-in-law, Herbert Crandall (Crandall Cutlery and Little Valley Knife Association) would join W.R. Case & Sons. And H.N. Platts would leave due to health reasons and move to Colorado, where he founded Western States Cutlery. But that’s a story for another day.

Ken

[dlr110]

Another great history lesson Ken, thank you...

[btrwtr]

Very hard to find early W.R. Case knife. I believe the OP knife has been rehandled at some time in the past. Examples I have seen do not have the swell at the butt of the handle.

The knife I have is marked W.R. Case & Sons Bradford PA. Blade measures 6". The handle is mostly gone but what is left I belive is original. See the closeup of what the threaded handle bolts look like. The OP knife looks to have the original threaded handle bolts.The knife I have did not have the handle material drilled at the center of the handle. I have heard this knife was originally handled in stag as well but I can't verify that.

[1967redrider]

Is the OP knife lacquered/coated wood or some kind of composite material? Very cool history here, thanks for posting and thanks to the other posts.

[Mumbleypeg]

Another great history lesson Ken, thank you...

Thanks David. Studying Case family history and how pervasive the family was through numerous American cutlery companies during the 20th century intrigues and amazes me.

Ken