All About Pocket Knives

This is my knife purchased from a Voyles auction. As I recall I was the only bidder. This knife was originally in the collection of Bob Farquharson former president of Case for many years. I have spoken with a few Case experts about this knife. I believe the Case Tested XX mark is a legitimate stamp. It is debatable (I think unlikely) that the blade is a Case Tested XX blade. The shield, bone, and frame look to be Case XX or even more likely Case XX USA.

There is speculation that Mr. Farquharson might have commissioned these "custom" knives. Here is a link to an old AAPK thread that makes this allusion: viewtopic.php?t=26400#p235730

There is also speculation that a rogue Case employee might have found the Case Tested XX die in the 1960's and started making knives to be sold into the burgeoning collector market and that Mr. Farquharson became aware and confiscated the knives. If this were true it seems odd that the knives would be released into the wild unless Mr. Farquharson's estate caused this to happen.

Anyway I decided to keep the knife because I believe it is a Case made knife, albeit not 80+ years old. I paid about what I would have paid for a Case XX or Case XX USA 6392 in comparable condition and it is a bit of a novelty with a known provenance. If I determine it has no collector value I might put it into the EDC rotation.

Please share any insights, opinions, or suggestions. Thanks for looking.

The knife shouts XX U.S.A. to me. I can't explain the stamping, nor the provenance. Based on what my eyes are telling me, I'd have to question the story.

Ken

A less critical eye says that's still a pretty knife

I like the knife in the OP, it's a beauty legit or not. I might add this, within the past year I have attended 2 major knife auctions in the area. One auction had over 500 knives and the other over 800. Both auctions were the collections of locals who had built them up over the years. In both auction there were some very suspect knives and a few that were across the room fakes. You might wonder why experienced collectors would keep questionable knives in their collections. I don't think they ever intended to do that. The knives were set aside and kept out of circulation because the collectors didn't want them in the market and to be bought and sold. When they passed away it became the responsibility of the auctioneers and heirs to go through the knives and sort them for the auctions. If you've ever been to an estate auction you know in most cases the auctioneer has little knowledge of knives and they almost always issue a disclaimer that they are not representing the authenticity of an item. It is the responsibility of the bidder to inspect the item and form their own opinions. Just like on ebay some of these whacked out knives brought ridiculous money. If the original owner's had been present they probably wouldn't have let that happen and would have spoken up.
I'd like to hear the story of the knife in the OP from the original owner. I'll bet he could set the record straight on it in a hurry. Thank you for posting the pictures and story of it.

Voyles, for whatever reason, lists and sells some questionable knives. His grading is pretty suspect too, just my 2 cents.

As already noted the bone color says USA which by the way IMO is the prettiest bone color Case has ever made. The blade looks a bit different from testeds I have seen. Here's my USA.

Not sure about the stamp or where the blade came from but the fact that the blade and it's stamp is incompatible with the handles makes it a fake in my opinion. Nice looking knife but certainly not right.

This is my U.S.A. era 6392 for comparison

Been thinking about the beautiful OP knife, shouldn't the brass liners be an indicator at least of how old the knife is not? When did Case stop using nickel silver and go to brass liners on this pattern?
Treefarmer

treefarmer wrote:Been thinking about the beautiful OP knife, shouldn't the brass liners be an indicator at least of how old the knife is not? When did Case stop using nickel silver and go to brass liners on this pattern?
Treefarmer

Phillip you may be on to something here Steve's book says the standard material on 92 stockmans from the XX era through 1977 was nickel silver liners. In 1978 they changed to brass. No mention of the tested era though.

Thanks to everyone who has read, responded, and supplied reference pictures.

treefarmer wrote:Been thinking about the beautiful OP knife, shouldn't the brass liners be an indicator at least of how old the knife is not? When did Case stop using nickel silver and go to brass liners on this pattern?
Treefarmer

Phillip, thank you for the observation regarding brass liners. I think that is very relevant to when the knife was "put together". Below are blade comparison pictures. There is a true tested blade, a USA blade, a 10 dot 1970 blade and a 2 dot 1978 blade. To my eye the blade 2 dot 78 blade and the 10 dot 1970 blade most closely resemble the blade in question.

I also included scans of paperwork that came with the knife. I redacted names except for Mr. Farquharson and his wife. I should have reviewed this before I wrote the first post because a letter clearly indicates that Mr. Farquharson knowingly sold the group knives that included my 6392. The documentation provides no explanation about how and why the Tested XX red bone knives were made.

Thanks for showing the blade profile comparison. Lot of semi-subtle little differences I never saw before, though I don't buy many Tested era knives, it's cool to see them "side-by-side", so to speak