CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

The W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company has a very rich history that began in 1889 when William Russell (“W.R.”), Jean, John, and Andrew Case began fashioning their knives and selling them along a wagon trail in upstate New York. The company has produced countless treasures and it continues to do so as one of the most collected brands in the world.
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FRJ
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by FRJ »

Thanks, Greg. Haven't chased these so I didn't know about name changes from date changes. I assume those are Case's marketing names.
I like "swing guard", actually.
I am pretty impressed with this knife.
Thanks again, Greg.
Joe
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zp4ja
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by zp4ja »

Great knife Joe. The bug bites. Real nice one.
Technically, from the old days thru 81' when discontinued, only the Stag 70' Proto and 71 production run of the proto with the etch are considered the only true Cheetahs by most serious CASE swing guard 11-1/2 collectors.
I do not get that technically crazy but some moron reamed me at a knife about 20 years ago. Told him to pound sand.

Besides those mentioned, 81' and prior I understand they just called them the "Case Swing Guard" as they were the only swing guard made besides the Tested 050 Big Coke as I recall. Not sure they continued that knife into XX era from memory.

Great pickup. By the way, the font on the pattern number switched in USA.That is the earlier one you have My guess is that when the change occurred, that when the 2 rare USA era factory errors were produced. So there are actually 4 variations of the CASE USA Swing Guard.

First mention I have heard about the Stilleto reference.

Hope that helps. My 2 cents.

Jerry
That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who leaves the world better than he found it; who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in other's and gave the best he had.
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FRJ
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by FRJ »

Thanks so much, Jerry.
Always nice to get your input on these great old knives. ::tu::

As I mentioned, I like the swing garde name.
Joe
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by zp4ja »

Glad to help Joe. I carry a swing guard usually daily as on of my two EDCs.
Actually as I recall, marketed as a hunting knife in one of my old CASE catalogs.
I will try to get all four USA era variations out for a pic in the near future.

Regards, Jerry
That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who leaves the world better than he found it; who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in other's and gave the best he had.
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by FRJ »

That would be great.
Thanks Jerry. ::tu::
Joe
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Meridian_Mike
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by Meridian_Mike »

My first swing guard Case....
It needs a little bit of clean-up... (OK maybe a lot of clean-up) Not a lot of blade loss though.
Case Swing Guard 6111_1.JPG
Case Swing Guard 6111_2.JPG
Mike
"Life is tough.... but it's tougher if you're stupid."....John Wayne
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by zp4ja »

Nice Mike. Love that late 70s CASE bone with the white and purplish accents.
Please post a pic when you get it cleaned up.
Jerry
That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who leaves the world better than he found it; who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in other's and gave the best he had.
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by Jcj02 »

Hey Jerry, Thanks for pointing me in this direction. I was the one up in Central KY couple years ago where we spoke and I wear the GOT CHEETAH? shirts.

So SURELY someone here can get my prize piece together for me.
A TRUE RED CHEETAH
That's all I want in life : :roll:

**I CALL THEM ALL CHEETAHS AS ITS SIMPLER THAN EXPLAINING** I like all swing guards for most part

I will be getting my cheetahs together in the upcoming months but as I shared in the other thread here is what I have got in one place together so far. Love the swing guards!! Look forward to chatting with you all

I will be letting some of my 71's go soon. As I grab some additional green bones and also I am wanting another Mammoth Ivory should anyone have a spare. Looking for the bark look
green cheetah.jpg
reddish cheetah.jpg
reds cheetahs.jpg
stags cheetahs.jpg
table of cheetahs.jpg
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by Jcj02 »

zp4ja wrote:Keep posting those knives!!!

Here is my red bone Factory Error (no model stamp) CASE XX USA 6111-1/2L. Now this is a CASE Red bone for sure. I love this knife. Amazing bone color in my opinion.

Regards, Jerry


Jerry

I need this. Please find it again lol....or one like it
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zp4ja
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by zp4ja »

Jcj02 wrote:Hey Jerry, Thanks for pointing me in this direction. I was the one up in Central KY couple years ago where we spoke and I wear the GOT CHEETAH? shirts.

So SURELY someone here can get my prize piece together for me.
A TRUE RED CHEETAH
That's all I want in life : :roll:

**I CALL THEM ALL CHEETAHS AS ITS SIMPLER THAN EXPLAINING** I like all swing guards for most part

I will be getting my cheetahs together in the upcoming months but as I shared in the other thread here is what I have got in one place together so far. Love the swing guards!! Look forward to chatting with you all

I will be letting some of my 71's go soon. As I grab some additional green bones and also I am wanting another Mammoth Ivory should anyone have a spare. Looking for the bark look

green cheetah.jpgreddish cheetah.jpgreds cheetahs.jpgstags cheetahs.jpgtable of cheetahs.jpg
Hello JC,

Although it would be nice to meet and talk knives, that was not me that you met at the show in KY.

Thanks for reviving this thread and showing your beautiful CASE Swing Guards! On the true Cheetahs you posted, is there a 10 stag dot Proto in there?

Regards, Jerry
That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who leaves the world better than he found it; who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in other's and gave the best he had.
Jcj02
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by Jcj02 »

zp4ja wrote:
Jcj02 wrote:Hey Jerry, Thanks for pointing me in this direction. I was the one up in Central KY couple years ago where we spoke and I wear the GOT CHEETAH? shirts.

So SURELY someone here can get my prize piece together for me.
A TRUE RED CHEETAH
That's all I want in life : :roll:

**I CALL THEM ALL CHEETAHS AS ITS SIMPLER THAN EXPLAINING** I like all swing guards for most part

I will be getting my cheetahs together in the upcoming months but as I shared in the other thread here is what I have got in one place together so far. Love the swing guards!! Look forward to chatting with you all

I will be letting some of my 71's go soon. As I grab some additional green bones and also I am wanting another Mammoth Ivory should anyone have a spare. Looking for the bark look

green cheetah.jpgreddish cheetah.jpgreds cheetahs.jpgstags cheetahs.jpgtable of cheetahs.jpg
Hello JC,

Although it would be nice to meet and talk knives, that was not me that you met at the show in KY.

Thanks for reviving this thread and showing your beautiful CASE Swing Guards! On the true Cheetahs you posted, is there a 10 stag dot Proto in there?

Regards, Jerry

Replied to your email.
Very sorry about the confusion then. Pleased to meet you here then sir ::tu:: Shoot me an email back and tell me your last name. I could have swore we have met somewhere or spoke another time
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by zp4ja »

Jcj02 wrote:
zp4ja wrote:Keep posting those knives!!!

Here is my red bone Factory Error (no model stamp) CASE XX USA 6111-1/2L. Now this is a CASE Red bone for sure. I love this knife. Amazing bone color in my opinion.

Regards, Jerry


Jerry

I need this. Please find it again lol....or one like it
I know right where it is, in my safe. I will keep an eye out for you. True red swing guards are hard to find. Although not official CASE colors, they vary on color spectrum of red. But red is red based on color spectrum in my opinion. I call that one strawberry red myself. Also have one that is a dark red cranberry color.and maybe ( don’t recall off top of my head) some other red color variations.

You will find you one.

Jerry
That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who leaves the world better than he found it; who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in other's and gave the best he had.
zenithman
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by zenithman »

When I first started collecting back in the late 60’s to early 70’s, the pattern was called the “lock back” as that was pretty much the only locking blade pattern Case made during that time period. The number of locking bladed knive patterns exploded in the mid 70’s with the introduction of the Buck (can’t recall the pattern #) locking blade slipjoint. The Buck probably did more to influence knife styles than any other pattern. Seem like every manufacturer copied its style, some more successfully than others. I personally didn’t like the pattern or the style but I seemed to be in the minority. At gun/knife shows it’s fun to listen to the various collectors discuss the 6111-1/2L and what they call the pattern. Older collectors almost always refer to it as the lock back while younger ones call it the Cheetah.
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by zp4ja »

zenithman wrote:When I first started collecting back in the late 60’s to early 70’s, the pattern was called the “lock back” as that was pretty much the only locking blade pattern Case made during that time period. The number of locking bladed knive patterns exploded in the mid 70’s with the introduction of the Buck (can’t recall the pattern #) locking blade slipjoint. The Buck probably did more to influence knife styles than any other pattern. Seem like every manufacturer copied its style, some more successfully than others. I personally didn’t like the pattern or the style but I seemed to be in the minority. At gun/knife shows it’s fun to listen to the various collectors discuss the 6111-1/2L and what they call the pattern. Older collectors almost always refer to it as the lock back while younger ones call it the Cheetah.
Absolutely agree with what you have stated regarding the CASE Swing Guard. Only lock back made at that time so old timers just said "lock back". I fully subscribe to that myself.

And yes, all the CASE lock backs or swing guards are named as such. Technically, the only "True Cheetahs" were made in 1970' and 1971' only and are rightfully called Cheetahs. Any other year it is a CASE lock back, 11-1/2L or swing guard. Hence why I named the thread title the way that I did.

That said, even though I use the properly assigned term, I don't get out of whack like some collectors I have met when people do not use the proper term regarding this.

Jerry
That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who leaves the world better than he found it; who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in other's and gave the best he had.
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by jlw257 »

Saw this Knife at the Dalton Show last month and couldn’t get it out of my mind so I call the guy and was able to acquire it

Case XX 9-Dot 5111 1/2L SSP Ivory handle Cheetah
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Larry W

Happiness is looking for XX Case Red Stag Knives
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by peanut740 »

Pretty knife Larry! ::tu::
Roger
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by jlw257 »

Roger, thank you ::tu:: ::tu::
Larry W

Happiness is looking for XX Case Red Stag Knives
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by jlw257 »

Did you ever trade a knife and a year later trade for it back? Glad this one is back in the fold ::tu:: ::tu::
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Larry W

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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by olderdogs1 »

Super nice knife Larry ::tu:: ::
::tu::

Tom
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by zp4ja »

Those are some very rare birds Larry. Congratulations on some amazing pickups.

Jerry
That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who leaves the world better than he found it; who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in other's and gave the best he had.
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by jlw257 »

Thanks Tom and Jerry ::tu::
Larry W

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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by PaulHerron »

Thank you Jerry. Nice collection![image][image][/image][/image]
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by zp4ja »

Thanks for the compliment on my collection Paul! Other members have sure posted some beautiful CASE Swing Guards on this post also.
That includes the one you just posted. Beautiful USA example. Nice red bone.

Not sure if you are aware but there are actually 4 different bone examples in the USA era...

Early model stamp font
Late model stamp font
No model stamp
Extra 1 model stamp

All in USA era. I have an example of each, just never photographed the knives stamps (or lack thereof in one example).

The transition between one and 2 listed above led to the example 3 and 4 listed above by way of factory errors or a very discreet marketing campaign best I can tell. Likely the former but who knows.

Jerry
That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who leaves the world better than he found it; who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in other's and gave the best he had.
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Re: CASE 11, 11-1/2, 11-1/2L and Cheetah thread

Post by zp4ja »

Reviving this post. No new swing guards for me. In fact, sold a few 77' Blue Scroll 5111-1/2LSSP duplicates serialized I had. Owned 6 of the 1000 made and now down to two I will keep. My goal of getting all 1000 diminished when I realized the cash involved.

Any acquisitions to you pile? Please share.

Jerry
That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who leaves the world better than he found it; who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best in other's and gave the best he had.
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