How to Identify a Case Knife
Case knives are very collectible, and are also fairly easy to identify and date. The W.R. Case & Sons knife company began in 1889, when William Russell, Jean, John and Andrew Case decided to sell cutlery out of a wagon in western New York. They called the company the Case Brothers Cutlery Company. In 1905, John Russell Case, William's son, took over the company and renamed it W.R. Case & Sons, after his father.
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Instructions
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All Case knives have a maker's mark on the tang of the master blade. These marks changed substantially over the years, however all of the marks say Case XX.
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In 1905, the company moved from New York to Bradford, Pennsylvania. For a short period of time prior to 1920, the mark included the city and state. This was eliminated after awhile, and reinstated for a couple of years in the early 90s.
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In 1970, a system of dots was used to identify the year of manufacture. The 1970 mark had 10 dots under the name. For every year after 1970, one dot was removed so that every year had it's own unique stamp. In 1980, the mark included 10 dots again and used the same system of removing dots. On 1980s knives, SS appeared (for stainless steel) and the letters were designed like lightening bolts.
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In 1990, the dot system was removed and the actual date was stamped, however this was very unpopular with collectors and the dot system was reinstated in 1993. One dot was removed for every year up until 2000. In 2000, they added 5 Xs and 5 dots. One dot was removed for every year up until 2005, and one X is removed every year thereafter.
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Additionally, Case used a numbering system for the different types of handle materials and styles. These numbers can also be found on the tang, and should be compared to a reliable collector's guide to confirm authenticity of the knife. The older the knife is, the more wear there will be on both the handle and the blade. If a knife looks brand new, but bears an older mark, it is probably a fake.
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