All About Pocket Knives

I am the owner of a pocket knife that is stamped “Case Bros Little Valley NY” on the blade and the word case on the knife is written in cursive. I would like to learn the value of the knife and am willing to sell if there is value

Welcome to aapk Cindylu;
You may want to sit down. You will be receiving some wonderful information about your CASE knife from the Case pros.
Dan

The handles are gorgeous and it’s a cool looking knife. But I’m thinking it’s a fantasy piece.
The blade looks like it’s had the tang shaved and then restamped. I’ve not seen a Case brothers barlow but Case did make a sheepsfoot version in the tested era but it was a double blade. Also I’ve never seen the incursive Case on the bolster like that either. It looks like it’s been together for awhile.
Really cool to see, hope I’m wrong. There are Case experts that will be along to tell you for sure.
Kerry

Thanks so much, I hope that it is authentic. I know we have had it over 30 years.

Looks like a nice knife but unfortunately I don't think it is a genuine old factory made knife.

Wonderful looking knife. Looking forward to what the Case experts say.

Bob

The blade appears to be a cut down spear blade.

On a knife that old it’s difficult to say with certainty because there are few catalogs or other documentation, and many knives made then have not survived. I’ve never seen a legitimate Case from any era having script bolsters. Those I have seen stamped Case (in block letters) had both bolsters oriented the same, not one “upside down” as the OP knife has. In other words the factory made two separate dies for stamping bolsters whereas the OP knife was made using one stamping tool, hence one side had to be oriented upside down. Case Brothers knives I’ve seen had “Tested” and/or “XX” stamped on a blade somewhere.

So I believe the earlier assessment of it being a “fantasy knife” is probably correct. Having had it for 30 years doesn’t make it legit. I have a counterfeit Case Tested whittler that I’ve had for about 45 years - fakes were being made then!

It would be interesting to have opinions from those who have seen and documented many old Case knives (olderdogs1 and knifeaholic).

Welcome to AAPK cindylu, and thanks for showing the knife and giving us something to ponder!

Ken

Thanks for the welcome. I wasn't trying to suggest that because we owned the knife for some time that it was authentic. I apologize if thats how it came across. I am just hoping. I have seen several older Case knives as well and none like this. I certainly appreciate any and all help I can get. I called the Case company several times but I haven't gotten a response yet.

Cindylu wrote: ↑Mon Oct 26, 2020 6:52 pm Thanks for the welcome. I wasn't trying to suggest that because we owned the knife for some time that it was authentic. I apologize if thats how it came across. I am just hoping. I have seen several older Case knives as well and none like this. I certainly appreciate any and all help I can get. I called the Case company several times but I haven't gotten a response yet.

Case has been way behind on everything since the pandemic - they were shut down for weeks on orders from the Governor and haven’t caught up yet. But for questions on an item that old they’ll likely call on knifeaholic (Steve Pfeiffer) or Tony Foster for information.

Ken

Time to pull out Sargent's . . .

How long is the knife in the closed position? Thanks and to AAPK. Usually an answer will come out, good or bad.

Here's a stamped upside-down bolster for you.

No Case Script bolsters. Could be an -005 or -009 pattern.

3 3/8

Fantasy or real, that is a very cool looking knife! I'm no Case expert so I can't chime in on it's authenticity..I think it would make make an awesome EDC (every day carry)!! I like it a lot Cindylu! And to AAPK!Glad you joined! You'll really come to love this website if you stick around!

Welcome to AAPK and thank you for providing clear pictures of the knife you are asking about.

This knife is questionable to me for many of the same reasons already mentioned. Attached are annotated images with specific observations.

Thanks everyone again for the welcome, I have located some pictures of other case knives with the cursive Case on the bolster. I will post a picture.

Cindylu wrote: ↑Wed Oct 28, 2020 3:54 am Thanks everyone again for the welcome, I have located some pictures of other case knives with the cursive Case on the bolster. I will post a picture.

This knife shown is a terrible fake.

Sorry Cindylu, but that last picture may have hurt more than it helps. The picture you posted is from an eBay seller who is known here as a purveyor of “questionable” knives. Recognizable from the hand in the picture and the green background. You can find more about that in the “Counterfeit Watch” forum here.

The pictures RalphAlsip posted are very telling. He didn’t explain but what they show a knowledgeable collector is indicative of the blade’s tang being “shaved” (ground down) to eliminate the original tang stamps, so it can be re-stamped. For reference look at how the opposite (pile) side of the blade on your knife appears. The grind line there is original.

On an unaltered blade the “grind line” (see the arrow and description in his picture) should be visible across the blade from cutting edge to the spine. When a tang has been shaved, metal is removed. Because the blade is thinner at the cutting edge the grind line there is not as damaged, but the grind line nearer the spine is removed. The result is a grind line like that in the picture. Hope that explanation makes sense. I’m posting a picture from Counterfeiting Antique Cutlery by Gerald Witcher which explains this. After the original tang stamp has been removed the tang is re-stamped with whatever mark the counterfeiter chooses. However, the tell-tale signs of tampering are present. It’s almost certain even if the rest of the knife is okay the blade is not.

Sorry to be the bearer of such disappointing news, and I really hate to tell you. I know from experience it’s hard to accept that an item has been counterfeited. It happens to most of us sooner or later.

Ken

btrwtr wrote: ↑Wed Oct 28, 2020 2:47 pm

Cindylu wrote: ↑Wed Oct 28, 2020 3:54 am Thanks everyone again for the welcome, I have located some pictures of other case knives with the cursive Case on the bolster. I will post a picture.

This knife shown is a terrible fake.

Agreed!