Case Knife Values Guide
Feast your eyes on the craftsmanship and quality that is synonymous with Case pocket knives with this one-of-a-kind guide. The only full-color book focused.
Written by Timothy Martinez Jr. Back in 1889, four brothers dared to make their own knives and sold them out of a wagon while traveling through small villages in New York. Now, 125 years later, the company that bears their name continues crafting high-quality knives that captivate people from all over the world. That company is. Because of the longevity of this decidedly American institution, Case Knives is widely respected and revered among knife enthusiasts, especially knife collectors. In fact, Case may be one of the most collected knife brands ever. Collecting Case knives (and knives in general) is a fun and rewarding hobby, but it can be somewhat overwhelming to jump in to.
To help set you on your path to building an impressive Case knife collection, we've assembled this guide. Why Should You Collect Case Knives? While it's possible to collect a wide range of brands or styles of knives, collecting Case knives is a tradition almost as old as Case itself. In the late 19th century, Case began using a unique stamp dating system that helped spark the desire to collect and it's only become more widespread since then.
Because the institution of collecting is already in place for the brand, it's easier for beginners to jump in. There are so many resources out there for amateur and expert collectors, so you may not feel as stranded as you might be collecting a brand like Scorpion Knives, which is even older but doesn't have the same fanaticism behind it as Case. Case also has a long and storied history with 125 years of knives, meaning you'll never run out of knives to desire. The Best Way to Start?
'Focus, Focus, Focus' We're stealing part of the subhead from an itself, but the advice was too on point to pass up. It's a quote from renowned Case collector Bob Wurzelbacher, giving his best insight for where a beginner should start. Since Case has been around for 125 years, the company has developed hundreds and hundreds of different knives. A beginner might feel overwhelmed at the prospect of starting off, so it'll make your life significantly easier to focus on one specific attribute. That way your collection won't be all over the place.
By focusing on one aspect, you'll be able to better organize your want lists and make your collecting more efficient. Catholic daily bible guide 2015 chevy. We'll cover the different areas of focus in the next section Options for Where to Start If you're interested in starting a collection, focus on one of the following aspects:. Pattern. Handle material. Limited editions. Licensed knives. First run production knives Here's a little more about each.
Pattern A common way to narrow your collecting scope is to focus on one pattern. We won't go over all the patterns because hundreds have been produced over Case's history, but here's a partial list of some of the most popular patterns: Stockman, Peanut, Copperhead, Barlow, Congress, Elephant Toe, Trapper, Canoe, Bowie, Muskrat, Jack Knife, Whittler, Pruner, Sodbuster, and Folding Hunter. The key is to pick a pattern you really enjoy. If you find the Sowbelly draws you in more than others, then start there. Your interest and desire to acquire that pattern will help your collecting feel more organic and less forced.
If you start off collecting the Teardrop but simply don't like the way it looks, you won't be inclined to continue. Starting off with newer patterns like the Russlock will help you complete a collection and keep up with new releases. Otherwise, you'll be collecting Trappers forever. Handle Another way to collect is by targeting a handle material.
You could opt for a certain type of bone handle or something more exotic like Mother-of-Pearl. Here's a partial list of handle materials used by Case: stag, bone, synthetic, abalone, Micarta, celluloid, and various woods. Before venturing into a handle material, you may want to consider your price range.
For example, knives with handles made of mammoth ivory will cost significantly more than knives with smooth synthetic handles. Within this category, you can also collect different types of jigging patterns, which is when a bone handle is cut in a certain way to form a distinctive appearance and feel.
Some of the jigging patterns are Peach Seed, Crow's Feet, Heritage, Impala, Rogers, and Standard. Once you pick a handle material, the idea is to get that same material in different patterns. Limited Editions A third way people collect Case knives is by focusing on Limited Editions. Case frequently puts out knives in limited qualities with numbers on them up to a predetermined production quota, which is usually around 3,000 or less.
There are currently more than a dozen knives in the XX Limited Edition Series, which was introduced in 1995, and more are slated to come. Licensed Knives We wrote about to create licensed knives, which is another example how people collect. Licensed knives are created when Case collaborates with another company or organization to design exclusive knives that bear the name of the other entity. A few of the organizations you can find official Case knives for are John Deere, Ford, and the Boy Scouts of America.
You can even find official Case knives for John Wayne, Johnny Cash, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Elvis Presley. This is a particularly fun way to collect Case Knives because having the same licensed knife in every pattern makes a collection look great. First Production Run Some people prefer getting a first production run knife, meaning it has a numbered stamp on the blade that indicates it was part of the first batch manufactured. The first run numbers vary but they're usually 500 or less.
This requires you to jump on new products the moment they come out because, as you might expect, they go very quickly. Learn to Read Tang Stamps and Pattern Stamps. If you see a knife with the tang stamp to the right, you should be able to tell exactly what year it was made (The answer is 1997). With the code at the bottom of the stamp, you should be able to tell the handle material, pattern style and number of blades. It might seem daunting at first, but Case has made it easy to identify years and patterns of knives with a code. Learning the code will make identifying and searching for those wishlist knives significantly easier. The fact that Case made it easy to ID knives from the tang stamps is one of the reasons people love collecting them.
Case Knife Collectors Price Guide
In certain decades, the stamp features 10 dots or stars and one is removed each year. Case has this laid out for you in the education portion of their site so you can easily. As for the pattern stamp, the numbers are written in a specific order to help you know all about the knife. The first number indicates the type of handle material used, the second is the number of blades on the knife, and the last number is the pattern style.
These numbers become intuitive after some studying of the and. Make Your Lists When you've decided how you want to collect, it makes life easier to create a want list. That'll keep you focused and give you the satisfaction of crossing out things you buy. Your want lists should be centered around the type of pattern, handle, or style you're starting out with. Pick a range of knives that you like the look of or would have fun pursuing within your collection guidelines. Connect with Collectors.
If you're jumping into the hobby, it's never fun doing it alone. In fact, it's darn near impossible to build your collection alone. A great way to expand your collection (and enjoyment) is to attend knife shows or swap meets to talk to your fellow collectors. Not only will they give you insight and knowledge about Case knives but they will also be able to point you to auctions and dealers. An easy place for beginners to start is the. Membership gets you a subscription to the quarterly The Case Collector magazine, access to an online community, and alerts about exclusive promotions.
Learn to Clean Case Knives Sometimes, when you get that rare knife at a yard sale, you need to restore it to its former glory. A used knife can often benefit from a thorough cleaning.
We have some fantastic or you can head over to Case's site for some other. If there's rust on the knife, we wrote a nice blog post about by using rust remover like WD-40 or white vinegar. Properly Store or Display Your Knives. Amassing a collection is only half the battle. Once you have a few knives under your belt, proper storage and displaying is key for maintenance. You don't want your knives accumulating dust or getting rusty, so you should consider two options.
The first is an actual Case display box. These typically have a glass window where you can see all the knives you have. A second option is for a regular. These won't necessarily display your knives openly, but it will keep them clean and hidden away. If you have hundreds of knives, you may not want them all out for the world to see.
Knife rolls also make it easier to carry your collection places. Don't Forget to Have Fun There's no real wrong way to collect, so you shouldn't be too rigid in your collecting techniques, but you should heed one important piece of advice: have fun.
There's a huge difference between being frustrated about not finding a certain knife and downright hating knife-collecting. Some frustration is to be expected throughout your collecting, but it should never feel burdensome. Make sure you're having fun because if you don't enjoy it, there are so many other hobbies you could take up like.
Check out our selection of to help get your collection on its way.
IGuide?Pocket Knives Price Guide: Current Market Values of Pocket Knives:::::::: About the iGuide?Pocket Knives Price Guide Searching for Pocket Knives market values? You have come to the right place!
IGuide?is proud to host the online Pocket Knives Price Guide.The price guide is maintained by Jon R. Warren, whose price guide books have been the authority on collectibles values since 1985. The searchable database consists of detailed reports on a ever-growing list of items.
Each report includes current market values in ten different grades, as well as a section for 'Real Market Data', actual prices fetched at auction. The database is updated daily. Of course, any item is only worth what a willing buyer will pay to a willing seller. IGuide?is 'just a guide.'
Case Trapper Knife Price Guide
Please be aware that PRICES VARY WIDELY from region to region. Current estimated values are the result of much research.
Antique Case Knife Price Guide
And we invite anyone to help add and update data. Read the 'What's A Wiki' section below for more info on how to help. When selling wholesale, or selling your entire collection at one time, expect to be offered anywhere from 30% to 50% of the total retail value depending on the quality and condition of your items. About The Estimated Values Shown The Estimated Values shown on each web page are out-of-date in many cases.
One person cannot possibly keep every page up-to-date, so that is why we created a Wiki system to allow anyone to help maintain the database. We invite anyone who sees a problem with any Estimated Value to report it to us by clicking the Report A Problem icon at the top of each page (it looks like this ). How To Search Input kewords into the searchbox at the top of each page, then click the WHAT'S IT WORTH button.
The search engine will find matching pages based on keywords you type into the Search Box. The engine searches all categories of objects, not just this particular category, so you may get some irrelevant items in your search results.
Too many results? Be more specific. Not enough results? Be less specific.
Be A Contributor We invite expert collectors and dealers to contribute knowledge to the search engine for the shared benefit of the collecting community. It's easy, anyone can add images and contribute information to the web pages in the database. Read more in the 'What Is A Wiki?' Section below. What is a Wiki?
A Wiki is a web page that anyone can make changes to. The job of maintaining accurate information is far too monumental for one person, but a community of enthusiasts can maintain many thousands of pages quite easily, each person adding a bit at a time. That's the idea behind iGuide?s 'What's It Worth Wiki'. The most famous example of a Knowledge Wiki is Wikipedia, of course. But, our vision is that someday iGuide?will become the Wikipedia of Art, Antiques, Collectibles, Memorabilia.and Pocket Knives. IGuide?is here to provide the platform and tools to enable researchers and collectors to share knowledge. Anyone can contribute to the WIKI.
Upload images, improve descriptions, update pricing, add auction results and 'Real Market Data', add missing pages, and so on. If you see something wrong, fix it. If you see something missing, add it. Read more about our vision of a community of shared information in our. Then, read our. What is 'Real Market Data'?
Wouldn't it be great if you could determine what price constitutes a 'fair deal' before you made a deal? That's why we've created iGuide's Real Market Data (RMD) pricing, our proprietary system that does the research for you. It's a guide that gives you updated information on what you should pay for an item or what you should expect to receive - without having to spend hours researching.
IGuide's Real Market Data pricing system is the internet's best guide to market value pricing and the only pricing system designed with the consumer in mind. Our exclusive RMD pricing is based on real sales data, gathered from auction sites in near real-time. This ensures you get the most accurate pricing available, as quickly as possible!
Get an iGuide?For Your Site If you have a website that is targeted toward consumers, we encourage you to add our Real Market Data Search Box to your Web site. We've made the process simple, quick and painless? And implementation is free.
These are low-bandwidth tools that allow you to offer up-to-date, unbiased pricing to your Web site users. Add an iGuide?to Your Web Site (coming soon) Is It Free Of Charge? Our goal is to always keep iGuide a FREE site without ever charging users a subscription fee.
We will survive from donations and sponsors, or we die. NO SUBSCRIPTIONS! History iGuide was founded in January, 1999 to answer the question, 'What's it worth?'