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How do I Find the Date of a Case Pocket Knife?

The W. R. Case &Sons Cutlery Company is an American knife manufacturer that has been producing knives since 1889. The company is best known for its hundreds of different models of pocket or heavy folding knives that have been produced in large quantities since 1905. Case knives are particularly popular with collectors, one reason being the ease with which the knives can be dated -- to within a few years up until 1970, and then to the exact year after that.

Instructions

- 1
  Open the largest blade of the knife. This is known as the master blade.
- 2
  Locate the tang stamp at the base of the blade. The tang stamp may be either a logo or words, often with the letters XX, which signifies a two-step heating and testing process. Do not confuse the tang stamp with the pattern (or model) stamp, which will only be a series of letters or numbers.
- 3
  Date your knife using an online gallery of tang stamp images available on the W. R. Case &Sons website. A user-generated website, allaboutpocketknives.com, is also a good resource that is recommended by the Case company.

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