New Case Knives

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fergusontd
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New Case Knives

Post by fergusontd »

::tu:: Don't get me wrong, I like Case Knives, but it seems to me no new patterens and blade types, same knives but the only change is handle materials. I'm on their email list and get new product notices. Seems to me they just want people to buy the same knife patterens with different handle materials and higher prices. My Trapper Lock with yellow handles was about $80. With different handles, same quality materials, a lot higher price. ftd
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Mumbleypeg
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Re: New Case Knives

Post by Mumbleypeg »

I agree ferg, to an extent. No new traditional patterns but what they are doing is adding assisted opening capability to old patterns (newest out is the old SharkTooth with their "Kickstart" assisted opener design.) And new "flipper" style patterns.

IMHO Case is trying to recoup market share that has been lost to companies making single blade "tactical" folders. Those seem to be what appeals to the current generation of knife enthusiasts. How quickly you can flip the blade open, with one hand, seems to be an important criteria, whether the knife costs $5 or $500. ::shrug::

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Re: New Case Knives

Post by Modern Slip Joints »

To be fair they have added a few patterns with kick start springs for less traditional buyers and their big distributors, SMKW and Shepherd Hills special order unusual blade combinations. Over the last year I bought a Trapper, Mini Trapper and Peanut with a third blade. It's a Wharncliff in both Trappers and a long spey in the Nut. The Nut is still in SMKW Christmas catalog along with yellow CV Trappers with the third Wharncliff blade. The company who's specialty is providing tiny batches in a zillion different handle patterns is GEC and doing that makes their knives very expensive for what you get.

I'd buy several Mid-Folding Hunters assembled with clip and skinner blades. I think they'd be a 62265SS. They'd be smaller versions of the old 6265 Folding Hunter. They'd fill a hole in Case's product line without much retooling. They'd compete with the copperheads made by most other manufacturers of traditional knives.
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rea1eye
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Re: New Case Knives

Post by rea1eye »

What have other knife companies done that Case has not ( not counting the single blade easy open previously mentioned) ?

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Re: New Case Knives

Post by Mumbleypeg »

rea1eye wrote: Fri Oct 25, 2019 9:49 pm What have other knife companies done that Case has not ( not counting the single blade easy open previously mentioned) ?

Bob
Case hasn't moved their manufacturing offshore. Most others have.

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Colonel26
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Re: New Case Knives

Post by Colonel26 »

Full disclosure, I’ve been one of the biggest critics of CASE knives of the late 80’s through the 90’s, and I really don’t like their Trusharp.

BUT I’ll always be a CASE guy at heart. AND in my humble opinion the knives CASE has been putting out for the last several years that I’ve acquired are better than anything they’ve put out since the 70’s.

I i have one of the mid folding hunters with the kick start and it’s a real fine knife. Only thing that would make it better was if it were CV. It fills a nice niche between Tacticool and traditional.
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Re: New Case Knives

Post by cody6268 »

With Tec-X, is it technically "overseas Case"; or just simply another brand Zippo owns?

The two-blade "Mid Folding Hunter" would be awesome! A 265 is a bit too big a beast for EDC. While we're on the 65, why not a saw blade, like on the old Schrade Son of a Gun? Since Buck has the LT line, why not some larger patterns in the Caliber line? Why not a 65? Given how so many colors have been discontinued, I don't think the Caliber line is that good of a seller. I quite like them. They weigh a lot less, and have tough, grippy Zytel handles.

I really don't get the Case knives with pocket clips. They look more like a homemade job the way Case does it.
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Re: New Case Knives

Post by Modern Slip Joints »

This is the first time I've heard of a Case "Caliber Line" but I did watch an auction for a _265 SS Folding Hunter with the traditional blades but grey graphite sides without bolsters. Someone wanted it more than me. Since it's the only one I've seen apparently it did not sell well. The problem probably was it was too modern for buyers of traditional models and buyers of modern knives want fast one hand opening knives.

I would prefer the saw blade added to a 6265 as a third blade. However, as long as the saw had cross cut teeth like Victorinox, Puma, Schrade, Boker and most other pocket knife saws I'd buy more than one made with only one knife blade and the saw. The Camillus/Remington saws with single side teeth are better described as bread knives. That must have been Remington's way of saving manufacturing costs because when Camillus made the same 5" knives for the Boy Scouts they had cross cut saws.
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Re: New Case Knives

Post by TwoFlowersLuggage »

The problem I have with Case (and I love Case knives) is that the price of their new knives seems to be based on what they think the popularity will be, not on the cost to manufacture. I have a real problem with "creating" scarcity (*cough* GEC *cough*). Does a single blade back pocket really cost $30 more to make than a full-size trapper with the same handle material? Really? I absolutely loath being manipulated by marketing wanks.
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Re: New Case Knives

Post by Colonel26 »

TwoFlowersLuggage wrote: Sat Oct 26, 2019 2:12 am The problem I have with Case (and I love Case knives) is that the price of their new knives seems to be based on what they think the popularity will be, not on the cost to manufacture. I have a real problem with "creating" scarcity (*cough* GEC *cough*). Does a single blade back pocket really cost $30 more to make than a full-size trapper with the same handle material? Really? I absolutely loath being manipulated by marketing wanks.
I'm right there with you on the GEC thing. I have one of the early back pocket knives with the thin bone, bareheaded, and CV blades. The half stops and swedge, etc along with the nice thin scales really do set it apart from a run of the mill trapper. I don't know how much more if any it costs to produce it than a regular trapper, but it is a totally different beast. That said, I snagged mine out of the bay while nobody was looking for less than the cost of a new trapper, I have no idea what they cost retail.
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Re: New Case Knives

Post by Modern Slip Joints »

Colonel26 wrote: Fri Oct 25, 2019 11:22 pm [...] I i have one of the mid folding hunters with the kick start and it’s a real fine knife. Only thing that would make it better was if it were CV. It fills a nice niche between Tacticool and traditional.
The SMKW Christmas catalog that arrived this week has yellow Delrin KickStart Mid Folding Hunters with CV blades for $91 on page 24. Case has been adding more and more CV models so one in bone would not be a surprise.
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Re: New Case Knives

Post by Colonel26 »

Modern Slip Joints wrote: Sat Oct 26, 2019 2:48 am
Colonel26 wrote: Fri Oct 25, 2019 11:22 pm [...] I i have one of the mid folding hunters with the kick start and it’s a real fine knife. Only thing that would make it better was if it were CV. It fills a nice niche between Tacticool and traditional.
The SMKW Christmas catalog that arrived this week has yellow Delrin KickStart Mid Folding Hunters with CV blades for $91 on page 24. Case has been adding more and more CV models so one in bone would not be a surprise.
A couple of years ago I know Case made one in red bone and CV. It’d be a dandy I’m sure, and I am partial to yellow CASES. but alas out of my reach.
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Re: New Case Knives

Post by Modern Slip Joints »

TwoFlowersLuggage wrote: Sat Oct 26, 2019 2:12 am The problem I have with Case (and I love Case knives) is that the price of their new knives seems to be based on what they think the popularity will be, not on the cost to manufacture. I have a real problem with "creating" scarcity (*cough* GEC *cough*). Does a single blade back pocket really cost $30 more to make than a full-size trapper with the same handle material? Really? I absolutely loath being manipulated by marketing wanks.
My guess is that the higher MSRP was to recover the cost of new tooling over an expected relatively small number of sales. The Back Pocket knife is not even in the current SMKW catalog. Have they already stored the Back Pocket knife tooling in "the vault?" The tooling for the 54 pattern paid for itself a long time ago.

By the way, what's the pattern number for the Back Pocket knife?
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Re: New Case Knives

Post by TwoFlowersLuggage »

Backpocket in "Deep Canyon Jigged Autumn Bone": https://caseknives.com/collections/ever ... backpocket

Fullsize Trapper is the same handle: https://caseknives.com/collections/ever ... ne-trapper

The backpocket has a pattern # of 46

I have a hard time believing that a single blade knife has a higher production cost than a two blade knife.
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Re: New Case Knives

Post by 1967redrider »

TwoFlowersLuggage wrote: Sat Oct 26, 2019 4:04 am Backpocket in "Deep Canyon Jigged Autumn Bone": https://caseknives.com/collections/ever ... backpocket

Fullsize Trapper is the same handle: https://caseknives.com/collections/ever ... ne-trapper

The backpocket has a pattern # of 46

I have a hard time believing that a single blade knife has a higher production cost than a two blade knife.
I think it's more about economics, the Back Pocket sells better so they can jack up the price a bit. ::disgust::
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Re: New Case Knives

Post by Mumbleypeg »

TwoFlowersLuggage wrote: Sat Oct 26, 2019 2:12 am The problem I have with Case (and I love Case knives) is that the price of their new knives seems to be based on what they think the popularity will be, not on the cost to manufacture. I have a real problem with "creating" scarcity (*cough* GEC *cough*). Does a single blade back pocket really cost $30 more to make than a full-size trapper with the same handle material? Really? I absolutely loath being manipulated by marketing wanks.
You're certainly entitled to feel as you do. However let's be glad you're not in Case's marketing department. ::woot:: :lol:

Solely cost-based pricing is foolish. Depending on your marketing strategy, in most scenarios product should be priced for as much as the market will bear.

Lots of factors besides material cost have a bearing on pricing. Market share strategy, break-even payback on design and tooling costs, manufacturing complexities, yields, etc. Offhand I can think of several reasons why the back pocket might cost more to manufacture than the trapper, the least of which is cost of material.

We don't know that the cost is the same or not and we don't know what other factors affect the pricing decisions. But the point is material is just one of many costs, and cost is only one of many factors in a product pricing decision.

They're in business to make profit, and seem to have a product and marketing strategy (like it or not) that's working, whereas most of their competitors are gone.

And yes I worked in marketing and made product pricing decisions. :lol: ::handshake::

Ken
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Re: New Case Knives

Post by Modern Slip Joints »

As you know, Case's web sit is only showing two Back Pocket knives, one clip point ant the other spear point. There's no choice of side covers or blade material. That indicates very limited sales.

I never paid much attention to Back Pocket knives because I prefer more blades. The research section here has not been updated to show they exist. They are not in either the pattern number guide or the pattern name guide. The number guide only shows two very different discontinued #46 patterns.
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Re: New Case Knives

Post by Old Hunter »

Recently bought a Case Mini-Copperlock to replace one I gifted several years ago. Fit and finish excellent and a great EDC pocketknife - modern design too, never seen this pattern marked any older than 20 years (+/-). OH
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