History of the Case Knife

The Cattaraugus Cutlery Company

• John Champlin and his son established a distribution company in New York, in 1882. The company was reorganized and expanded to include knife production in 1886, with the help of the William R. Case, and his brothers, Jean, John and Andrew. In 1889, the Case family separated from Cattaragugus Cutlery to form their own business.

Case Brothers Cutlery

• After leaving their partnership with the Champlin's, the Case brothers traveled across upstate New York selling their hand-crafted cutlery out of the back of a wagon. They continued working to establish their own knife brand, and in 1900 incorporated to form Case Brothers Cutlery.

W.R. Case and Sons Cutlery

• W.R. Case and Sons Cutlery Co. was originally established in 1902 by J. Russell Case, with the help of his father William R. It was a jobber company and served as a wholesaler. This business was incorporated in Bradford Pennsylvania in 1905, and purchased the Case brothers trademark in 1914.

Case Government Contracting

• The Case Company was contracted during the first World War to make knives for army servicemen. During WWI they produced over 81,000 Jack Knives for the U.S. military, which they sold for 39 cents apiece. They were again contracted to produce knives for the military during WWII. They produced a number of army issue blades including O. S. S. Machete, V-44 Navy Machete, V-42 Stiletto, USMC Combat Knife and the Bowie Survival Knife. In 1965, chase manufactured the Astronaut knife for NASA. These knives were carried by Astronauts on every Galileo and Apollo flight ever conducted.

Case Collectors Club

• In 1972, Dewey Ferguson contacted Case president Bob Farquharson about forming a club for collectors of Case knives. Formally established in 1981, the club had 426 members in its first year, and now has over 18,000 members worldwide. Today, this is the largest club of its kind in the world.

Leaving the Family

• Also in 1972, the case company left family hands for the first time. It was, at this time, purchased by American Brands, a large conglomerate, and the Case family ceased to be in charge of the company's major day to day operations. It changed hands several times during the next two decades, until it was finally purchased by Zippo in 1993.