Good one to learn from

[Mumbleypeg]

Here’s a knife that shows some things to watch out for when shopping. https://www.ebay.com/itm/284946748181?h ... R_LW2sDfYA

First take a look at the tang, where it has been ground down (shaved) to remove the original stamp. This results in an upswept curve where metal was removed as the shoulder approaches the blade spine.

Next is a great example of what a shaved down tang looks like where the blade tang is now thinner than its spring. Both the tang and its spring should be the same thickness but here you can see the blades are thinner than their springs. There is a gap between the blade and bolster liners where the blade tang and springs meet. The springs are their original width but the blade tangs are now thinner, the result of having been ground down to remove the original stamp. You can also see that the blades don’t align with the back of the knife.

9FC8E17A-696A-4A50-928A-0DC6E87348F3.jpeg (22.19 KiB) Viewed 1019 times

Ken

[Whitneyrifle]

Awesome lesson and well explained! I learn so much from you and other members! Thank you.

[QTCut5]

Yes, excellent post and explanation. Thank you, Ken, you would make a great teacher (or, rather, you ARE a great teacher!)

[herbva]

Great job Ken! Thanks for posting this. It also appears to me that the tang stamp is way too "crisp" for a knife of this age and with this much wear.

[royal0014]

I appreciate the visuals along with the description.
Helps a lot !

[CluelessNick]

You point out things I would never even know to look for...thanks

[Steve Warden]

Great stuff!
And thank you for not hollering, "FAKE!" and just walking away.
I appreciate the time you took to educate.

[1967redrider]

Awesome tutorial, Ken.

[Mumbleypeg]

Glad y’all found it a helpful post. Another example why it’s best to “read the knife”, not the stamp.

Ken

[rea1eye]

Excellent pictorial explanation along with the extra arrows. We are are all
learning from this post.

Bob

[Reverand]

Ditto!

[Dinadan]

Just out of curiosity, does the stamp look right? I have no idea what a correct stamp from that era would look like. The one thing that bothers me about the idea that this knife is a fake is that the blades and back springs do not have a smooth joint. The bad joint is exactly like some Case knives that I own. Exactly. I think that if it is a counterfeit then the original knife must also have been a Case that was re-stamped.

[olderdogs1]

Just out of curiosity, does the stamp look right? I have no idea what a correct stamp from that era would look like. The one thing that bothers me about the idea that this knife is a fake is that the blades and back springs do not have a smooth joint. The bad joint is exactly like some Case knives that I own. Exactly. I think that if it is a counterfeit then the original knife must also have been a Case that was re-stamped.

Ken made some great points about what is wrong with the knife. As far as the stamp goes, no, it is not correct. The letters have edges that are rounded as opposed to squared with sharper corners. Basically a Cold Stamp instead of a hot Stamp. The handles in no way resemble what a Case knife of that vintage would have. In my opinion the knife was not a Case knife at all.

Tom

[EC_Snooker]

Thank you for posting this. Very helpful.