All About Pocket Knives

Although the auction is over, I was curious what you think about this knife. It's stamped as a Case USA 5375 and sold for less that what I expected.

What mainly stood out to me was the shield. According to the pics, it just doesn't look right. It appears to have varying stamp widths, some areas are deeper and thicker while others are thinner and shallower. This includes both the oval outline as well as the letters. Also the "S" looks too tall and skinny.

The frame appears to check out as does the blade profiles. There are some details in the stag that match up to a USA that I own.

I understand that having the knife in front of you offers the best analysis, but am I wrong on my assessment based on the pics and your own experience? Or is it a legit USA?

Thanks.
(P.s. I'm not the buyer)

Looks like a nice honest knife to me. That’s the “open C, tall S” shield that started being used in the XX era and carried over well into the XX U.S.A. era. The “open C, flat S” shield started being used during the XX U.S.A. era and continued into the 1970s. Both shields will be found on XX U.S.A. knives.

Ken

Thank you Ken. I’m sure this has been discussed before and I just missed it. Regardless, this is terrific information for future reference!

What’s funny is I was comparing the two shields you mentioned. The XX USA 5375 I own is the flat S version while the one in the pics is the tall S.

$147 may have been a good buy on it.

In today's market you're right. It's all about condition as far as pricing on older used knives. I think the issues you mention about the shield are because it's pocket worn.

John

That’s my kind of knife, John.
The buyer may have laid down a max bid above 147 but I would have been happy with that knife, for that price. I don’t think it’s a candidate for the Crazing Asking Prices thread

I am by no means an expert, but I have replaced a missing shield on
a stag knife. The shield went in OK but it is not 100 % level on the
immediate surface of the knife ( unlike a non-stag knife).

Bob

I probably should have posted this topic in the Knife Q&A forum instead of here since the knife in question did have some good qualities about it. Not like the 6318 in the next thread that made Ken physically ill.

But to add some closure, and maybe educational value for others like me that come along…. below is the Case XX USA I was comparing to, which incidentally I bought from a member here. I believe this is known as the flat S shield as mentioned above.

Bob, I have another XX USA that is very pocket worn. So much so that the shield was knocked loose. I suspect this knife was carried in a pocket loaded down with excessive coins and keys. I chose to leave it shield-less as it adds more character. It’s actually one of my favorite knives. I like to think it was carried by a trucker, but who knows.