All About Pocket Knives

Hello! Brand new here and thanks for letting me join. I started collecting Case knives about a year ago. Aside from trying to get all the Vault releases from ‘17 to now (missing the 52 Congress), I’ve collected exclusively the medium stockman pattern. I picked up one from eBay this week and could really use some expert opinions. It’s main blade has little snap and it’s two smaller blades have none. Also, I believe the tang stamp to read 2020 but the included box is dated 2/21. Is the snap a warranty issue? I have to push the spey blade all the way down. Also, does the stamp look right to the box or maybe it’s not the original box? Thanks for any help!!

I’d consider it a warranty issue - defective workmanship. But why worry about a Case warranty? Send it back to the seller, get a refund, and find another knife that doesn’t have problems. Let the seller worry about it.

As for the discrepancy between the stamp on the knife and date on the box, it happens all the time. Knife factories don’t throw out parts just because the calendar year changed. The master blade was produced in 2020, and probably was left over from a 2020 run of the pattern. The tangs are stamped at the same time in the same operation the blades are stamped out. Leftover parts are ”bunked” until the next manufacturing run. They made another run in 2021 and used up the remainder of the blades left over from the 2020 run. The knife was assembled, boxed, labeled and shipped in 2021.

The other possibility is that the knife doesn’t go with that box. But I doubt that is likely.

Welcome to AAPK.

Ken

I wouldn't be concerned that the box is dated the year after the knife. It's common for Case to make a knife late in the year and then print the box label early the next year. I have a knife with the same circumstances and I've seen it a few other times as well.

Case would have to make the decision on the lack of snap but I would be surprised if they didn't consider it a warranty issue.

Hope you get things resolved and welcome to AAK!

Thanks for the helpful replies. I was pretty sure that the box was original and your explanation makes perfect sense. I would return it but it came bundled as a pair. The other knife is the American Workman series and is really nice. Got them both for $75 - decent deal hopefully. I thought I could remedy it with a cleaning and oil. No such luck. I’ll contact case and ship it out. I’ll keep ahold of the box, don’t want to risk losing it.

Welcome to AAPK. Lot's of "Case" guys here, including me. I like the 18, 32, and 47 patterns as well. Hope you get it all sorted out. Here's some of mine. (Second and third photos courtesy of Steve).

Late entry: I just noticed the last photo is a 92. Oops.

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Mike

Nice knives! I’m kind of a small time collector. Think I’ve got about 5-6 stockmans in their boxes and a duo I got that were used. One is my EDC and the other it’s backup. Also grabbed the Vault patterns and almost have that set completed missing only the 52 Congress. Got some nice examples of those knives.

Welcome aboard, bigmac58. Nice collection you have there, too. I like that American Workman 4318!

As for the snap, if cleaning and oiling didn't bring it back, it's definitely a warranty issue. Sounds like you want to deal with it yourself, but returning it is a viable option (if the seller allows returns).

Welcome!

I have a medium with a soft snap, but it’s acceptable. I’ve not personally encountered one with no snap at all. As several others have said, it should be a warranty issue.

I’ve always been fond of Cases, but in recent years I’ve encountered a lot of QC issues with them. Mainly blade wobble and gaps under the scales. Seems they might be trying to turn out too many units too fast?

Unless the seller mentioned the snap (like "good snap" or "OK snap") in the auction, you might have difficulty getting a refund. I agree that you should try for a warranty repair from Case. In case you haven't done this before, they have a form on their website that you complete (be sure to indicate that you want a warranty repair) and email it in with 3 pictures. I've had mixed results with getting warranty repairs from Case, so don't get your hopes up too high. Sometimes they have amazed me with terrific work done for free, and other times they've turned down ones that I thought were a slam dunk. I guess it just depends on who processes your application. Good luck!

Appreciate all the help here. Yeah, the listing did say “no snap” and I bid hoping I could get it going. Here’s a pic that I submitted with the Case warranty form showing how bad it is. The spey blade won’t even close on its own. Has to be pushed into place.

I hope that they fix it for you, as that is a really good looking knife!

Got the knife back today from Case. Much better! Shocked it left them that way to begin with - even with their quality control issues. They even included some brown paper that I asked for to replace the tattered papers on some of my other knives. Happy!

Also finished up my Vault collection and ready for next year.

bigmac58 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 24, 2021 4:02 pm Happy!

Glad everything worked out well, and that the turnaround was quick. I'll have to see about getting some of the brown paper, too; some of mine are also a little rough.