Hello and Drowning in Knives!

[Adapptiv]

Hello all...

Wanted to say hi and introduce myself and my wife. We are Chris and Christy (I know lol) and we recently inherited a MASSIVE collection of knives from my wife’s father. He was a Case knife dealer in WV and we have probably 1000 or maybe even 2000 knives to sell. Most are Case, som Schrade, some others we haven’t yet evaluated, but needless to say we have a TON of knives we are getting ready to sell.

We will be selling on eBay, possibly Amazon, and other venues if they work out, including here. We have both been researching and boning up on the tang stamps, types and more, and we feel like we are getting close to knowing what we have (at least what we have dug out and started to look at) and we will be starting to sell soon.

The main reason we are here is to get involved with this forum, and to ask for your help in identifying certain knives, collections, etc. when we hit a wall in our research.

Case (Pun unintended) in point (again sorry lol) I am looking at a set of seven knives that the tang stamps tell me is from 1965-1969 and is pattern #5245, but we aren;t sure how to drill down further.

I have included a couple shots. If anyone can tell me more about these, it would be much appreciated.

Ultimately we are looking to sell all these knives at as close to retail as possible. Her Dad was a great guy but spent her entire inheritance on knives, coins and baseball cards, so we are motivated to get as much back as possible.

Thanks in advance for your consideration and help and God Bless!

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Hello all...

Wanted to say hi and introduce myself and my wife. We are Chris and Christy (I know lol) and we recently inherited a MASSIVE collection of knives from my wife’s father. He was a Case knife dealer in WV and we have probably 1000 or maybe even 2000 knives to sell. Most are Case, som Schrade, some others we haven’t yet evaluated, but needless to say we have a TON of knives we are getting ready to sell.

We will be selling on eBay, possibly Amazon, and other venues if they work out, including here. We have both been researching and boning up on the tang stamps, types and more, and we feel like we are getting close to knowing what we have (at least what we have dug out and started to look at) and we will be starting to sell soon.

The main reason we are here is to get involved with this forum, and to ask for your help in identifying certain knives, collections, etc. when we hit a wall in our research.

Case (Pun unintended) in point (again sorry lol) I am looking at a set of seven knives that the tang stamps tell me is from 1965-1969 and is pattern #5245, but we aren;t sure how to drill down further.

I have included a couple shots. If anyone can tell me more about these, it would be much appreciated.

Ultimately we are looking to sell all these knives at as close to retail as possible. Her Dad was a great guy but spent her entire inheritance on knives, coins and baseball cards, so we are motivated to get as much back as possible.

Thanks in advance for your consideration and help and God Bless!

Welcome to the forum. I hope you get as much as you can for the collection. I know there are several of us here that buy collections like this if you get to a point where you don’t want to mess with it anymore. Having bought and handled a lot of knives I can tell you there is a lot to learn and to do to maximize value. If you need any pointers on the best way to approach selling or other things, don’t hesitate to ask. You have come to a great place to get started.
Case Collectors Forum allows you to sell Case knives as well. Only Case knives on that forum. There you have some die hard Case collectors that might appreciate first shot at some rare ones and likely pay to get them. You do have to be a member of the CCC to use that forum.

[tongueriver]

Don't forget to go here:
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ca ... scriptions

[Mumbleypeg]

Welcome to AAPK.

I’m a little unclear as to what you are asking. You said you are “looking at a set of seven knives and the pattern number is 5254.” I see seven knives but only one pattern 5254. The rest are other patterns, looks like maybe some stockmans? So if you can be more specific with questions maybe we can help.

Also I’ll refer you to the Research section here which can be found by clicking on “Research” up at the top of the page in the light grey header. Then scroll down to the Case section, look around at what is there. You’ll probably find answers to a lot of your questions there including pattern numbers, common collector names for them, etc.

Not discouraging you from asking questions here but with that many knives you'll need a resource like that provides.

Ken

[just bob]

Looks like that is the red letter set. Here is a link to a set that sold on ebay. The ballpark value of many of your knives can be accomplished with a simple ebay search. This set looks nicer than yours, but you have the box. Maybe higher / lower but in the ballpark.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Case-XX-1978-R ... 7675.l2557

[just bob]

BTW your set is from 1978 and not 1965 - 69.

[kennedy knives]

You may want to get a couple of knife books one is American Premium Guide to Knives & Razors By Jim Sargent & the other is one Steve Phiffer (not sure of my spelling ) Which is Knifeaholic on AAPK Did There is a lot of knife guys here that will answer most of your questions And from what I can see you have a 1978 Red Letter Set in original wood display. You will need to take better photo's for description & Selling .

[kennedy knives]

Don't forget to go here:
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ca ... scriptions

[Mumbleypeg]

According to information from Collecting Case Knives 2nd Edition, by Steve Pfeiffer, your 1978 Red Scroll set is one of one thousand sets made. Included in the set are patterns 5220 SSP, 52032 SSP, 5254 SSP, 5279 SSP, 52087 SSP, MUSKRAT SSP, and 5347 Sh Sp SSP.

I recommend you find and buy a copy of the referenced book. It will be an invaluable resource for you and repay its cost many times over. The book is out of print so you may have to search a bit to find a copy. Also recommend you read posts on this forum regarding best practices for photographing knives, what views to show in your pictures, and how to best describe your knives to sell them. A little attention to such details will help you get the highest prices.

Ken

[deo-pa]

If you search the AAPK store you will see severally individual red letter knives as well as a set that appears to have sold for $560. At least that was the asking price; it could have sold for less.

Dennis

[TripleF]

So to get a "real" guage on value go to ebay and conduct a search with a minimum of info.
For example: Case 5254 , then click on the left SOLD LISTINGS.
Then hit the drop down arrow from BEST MATCH to HIGHEST FIRST.

Then you can sort out dates, handle material, used, new, etc......

Then you'll have an estimate on the value.

I've been duped before when someone says.....Oh wait, there's one on ebay for 300.00. Come to find out that's someone who looked
in the book and saw the mint condition was 300. So they figured they'd try that price.

Completed/Sold listings ARE INDEED REALITY!!

Good luck!!

Sorry about the family loss.

[kootenay joe]

Many knife books have a "price guide" that give values based on knife patterns and years made. These are useful for relative values only showing which knives are worth more and which less. But for today's value, a search of sold listings on ebay is accurate.
Millions of knives have been made every year for a very long time. There are a limited number of knife collectors so for many knives supply is greater than demand. You are unlikely to get retail price for every knife unless all are vintage.
Selling by auction on ebay is a lot of work when a large number of knives are involved but it will give you maximum prices. The listing title is very important so that your listings will come up in a search. Be sure to include the word "knife". Close up, well cropped in focus pictures are also very important.
It can take a few weeks for knife collectors to discover your listings but when they do you will get more bidders and higher selling prices.
Be sure to post a link here so that AAPK'ers can have the opportunity to bid.
kj

[Lansky1]

I can tell you from fairly extensive experience in buying and especially selling exclusively Case knives on eBay ... the audience of Case collectors and buyers that use eBay is absolutely massive. This tremendous accumulation of Case buyers on eBay will always determine what the secondary market will bring. What I mean is that you could list every single one of your knives for $1 starting bid, and there are so many people hunting eBay knives, they will always bid a given knife to what it's actually worth. Some sellers have an inflated perception of what their Case knives are worth, and start their bids too high & never get any bids ... or set their Buy It Now price at full retail, which most will ignore - thats not why we all go to eBay to pay full retail.

My advice is use at least 4 pictures for every knife (do not use stock pictures) - more the better, especially for more expensive knives. Forget the Buy It Now feature - I list my knives at typically the lowest price I can stomach if only one person bids, and almost every time, the knives bring what I think they should due to the multitudes of Case hunters on eBay ... sometimes, with good pictures, I get far more than expected.

Lastly, using the free $7.90 small USPS Priority shipping box will dissuade many buyers from bidding on a knife auction. eBayers know anyone can ship a knife for ~ $3.20 using USPS First Class anywhere in the USA, and it will get there almost as fast. People do NOT like to pay for the sellers convenience by being forced to pay an upcharge for USPS priority shipping.

Hope that helps in your eBaying ... have fun with this - you'll be amazed how much you'll earn with good pictures (thats the key).

[Adapptiv]

Welcome to AAPK.

I’m a little unclear as to what you are asking. You said you are “looking at a set of seven knives and the pattern number is 5254.” I see seven knives but only one pattern 5254. The rest are other patterns, looks like maybe some stockmans? So if you can be more specific with questions maybe we can help.

Also I’ll refer you to the Research section here which can be found by clicking on “Research” up at the top of the page in the light grey header. Then scroll down to the Case section, look around at what is there. You’ll probably find answers to a lot of your questions there including pattern numbers, common collector names for them, etc.

Not discouraging you from asking questions here but with that many knives you'll need a resource like that provides.

Ken

I appreciate the response, to all of you who have, thank you.

That’s one of the issues I’m having and this possibly answered a question I had. I was unable to talk to my father in law about any of his collection, he was VERY private and didn’t like to talk about his collections at all. I know, weird.

The knives in this post came in a box and were together, so I assumed (yea bad idea) that they were some sort of set. They look similar but of course not totally alike, but even though I’ve done some research and get things like tang stamps, pattern numbers etc., why these seven knives were put together as a set is still a mystery to me.

We still have a couple thousand knives probably to get to our home and inventory in some way, but these sets are my first attempt reaching out for help and getting into selling the collection.

So, making a long story longer, from the pics I posted, does this look like a set from Case or a set that was put together because?!?! He wasn’t exactly an organized collector, but his collection is impressive.

Thanks again folks, much appreciated!

[Mumbleypeg]

It was a set, although many of the same patterns were offered as “open stock” for sale individually. I tried to answer that question in my second post above.

Ken

[Adapptiv]

Looks like that is the red letter set. Here is a link to a set that sold on ebay. The ballpark value of many of your knives can be accomplished with a simple ebay search. This set looks nicer than yours, but you have the box. Maybe higher / lower but in the ballpark.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Case-XX-1978-R ... 7675.l2557

Could you please tell me more anything about what a red letter set is? I’ve looked around but haven’t found a good explanation of that. Thanks and God Bless!

Chris

[Adapptiv]

According to information from Collecting Case Knives 2nd Edition, by Steve Pfeiffer, your 1978 Red Scroll set is one of one thousand sets made. Included in the set are patterns 5220 SSP, 52032 SSP, 5254 SSP, 5279 SSP, 52087 SSP, MUSKRAT SSP, and 5347 Sh Sp SSP.

I recommend you find and buy a copy of the referenced book. It will be an invaluable resource for you and repay its cost many times over. The book is out of print so you may have to search a bit to find a copy. Also recommend you read posts on this forum regarding best practices for photographing knives, what views to show in your pictures, and how to best describe your knives to sell them. A little attention to such details will help you get the highest prices.

Ken

Thank you Ken, he may actually have that book in his piles.

It’s weird tho, I looked up the tang stamp and it was a nine dot on the one I folded out, which by the image I saw online was from th 65-69 era. I’ll have to get the books out he has and really dive in. Woohoo.

Thanks again all!

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Welcome to AAPK.

I’m a little unclear as to what you are asking. You said you are “looking at a set of seven knives and the pattern number is 5254.” I see seven knives but only one pattern 5254. The rest are other patterns, looks like maybe some stockmans? So if you can be more specific with questions maybe we can help.

Also I’ll refer you to the Research section here which can be found by clicking on “Research” up at the top of the page in the light grey header. Then scroll down to the Case section, look around at what is there. You’ll probably find answers to a lot of your questions there including pattern numbers, common collector names for them, etc.

Not discouraging you from asking questions here but with that many knives you'll need a resource like that provides.

Ken

I appreciate the response, to all of you who have, thank you.

That’s one of the issues I’m having and this possibly answered a question I had. I was unable to talk to my father in law about any of his collection, he was VERY private and didn’t like to talk about his collections at all. I know, weird.

The knives in this post came in a box and were together, so I assumed (yea bad idea) that they were some sort of set. They look similar but of course not totally alike, but even though I’ve done some research and get things like tang stamps, pattern numbers etc., why these seven knives were put together as a set is still a mystery to me.

We still have a couple thousand knives probably to get to our home and inventory in some way, but these sets are my first attempt reaching out for help and getting into selling the collection.

So, making a long story longer, from the pics I posted, does this look like a set from Case or a set that was put together because?!?! He wasn’t exactly an organized collector, but his collection is impressive.

Thanks again folks, much appreciated!

I think these are all together because they are the same handle material. Plus they are probably all from the same year. That makes sense to me as a collector. Even if these weren’t sold as a set, I am not saying they weren’t, just hypothetically, I would put knives like that together too. You can tell if they were from the same year by looking at the tang stamps. He may have more than one collection like that where he put similar knives together.
He was probably pretty private about his collection out of fear it would be stolen. I don’t discuss my collection w/ strangers or anyone beyond my children and wife either.

[just bob]

"Could you please tell me more anything about what a red letter set is? I’ve looked around but haven’t found a good explanation of that. Thanks and God Bless!"

Chris





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4b5_8xGxhM

[Adapptiv]

So to get a "real" guage on value go to ebay and conduct a search with a minimum of info.
For example: Case 5254 , then click on the left SOLD LISTINGS.
Then hit the drop down arrow from BEST MATCH to HIGHEST FIRST.

Then you can sort out dates, handle material, used, new, etc......

Then you'll have an estimate on the value.

I've been duped before when someone says.....Oh wait, there's one on ebay for 300.00. Come to find out that's someone who looked
in the book and saw the mint condition was 300. So they figured they'd try that price.

Completed/Sold listings ARE INDEED REALITY!!

Good luck!!

Sorry about the family loss.

Thanks Scott, appreciate it. Yea I have delved into eBay quite a bit, but the sheer amount of items we have is a little daunting. Knives, coins, and sports cards out the wazoo.

Even just starting with this post has been very helpful in seeing what I’m doing wrong or at least could do better on, and it’s helped quite a bit already.

Thanks for the kind thoughts, he was a great guy and greatly missed.

God Bless!

Chris

[Adapptiv]

It was a set, although many of the same patterns were offered as “open stock” for sale individually. I tried to answer that question in my second post above.

Ken

Gotcha thanks.

[philco]

These are called Red Letter Set because there is an etch on the blades with red lettering. Case made another set of stag handled knives with a blue etched lettering commonly referred to as the “blue scroll set”. The two sets were issued in different years. By the 70s stag was becoming difficult to obtain in sufficient quantities so production of stag knives was more limited than in earlier times.

[kootenay joe]

Names like "Red Letter Set" etc. are common in the knife business. In general the knives are the same quality as the regular run knives. These names are from the marketing department. Catchy names to catch buyers & collectors. But they are useful when selling the knives because it helps collectors ID the knives.
2,000 is quite a few knives but many collectors have this many or more. I suggest you start by organizing according to maker: all Case knives together, Schrade knives in another pile, etc.
Then start with Case and take one in focus picture of entire knife, blades open with camera directly overhead, no flash, use outside daylight. Crop & enlarge pictures so that it almost fills computer screen when clicked on.
People here will be able to easily ID the majority of your knives.
kj

[1967redrider]

Here's the recommended reference book you need to get, with information about the stag sets Case produced from the late 1970's into the early 1980's. Also including a picture of the Red Letter set I have in a Case display.

to AAPK!

[RobesonsRme.com]

Adaptive, re’ confusion on Case tang stamps and dating knives, there is a Case tang stamp forum here somewhere.

Case started using the dot system in 1970 with ten dots below the tang stamp. They removed a dot each year and started with ten again in 1980, but in a different location.

A Case knife from 1965 - 1969 would not have any dots.

Case put out multiple collector sets in fancy wooden glass topped cases in the 70’s and 80’s. There were Red Scroll, Blue Scroll, engraved and not engraved, pattern sets like Trappers, Canoes, etc.

I think most of the sets would sell for pretty much what they sold for when new. They have maintained their value, but not really appreciated.

Charlie