Once you become familiar with the stampings on the blades of a Case pocketknife, you can read them like a book. The unique numbering system found on the pile side of the knife tang tells the story of how to identify the knife pattern as well as characteristics of the knife, such as the handle material, the number of blades, the factory pattern number, and the type of steel used to make the knife. When a pocketknife is turned over, the company logo stamped into the blade’s tang on the mark (reverse) side tells the era or year that the knife was manufactured. We refer to the mark side of the tang as the “tang stamp”.
Since the very beginning of Case Cutlery, tang stamps have been given a history timeline of their own. Beginning in 1902, the tang stamps read W.R. Case & Son Cutlery Company, Little Valley, NY. In 1904, we find the W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company, Little Valley, NY tang stamp which indicates the time when Harvey Platts joined the company to put the “s” in Sons.
When the move to Bradford, PA took place in 1905, the tang stamps indicated W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co., Bradford, PA. Throughout the next century, there were many tang stamp changes reflecting historical marks in time. One of these resulted when the government asked Case to identify an exact year a knife was manufactured because of a court case. This activated the Dot Dating System in 1970. Case added ten dots beneath the USA on all tang stamps. Each year, a dot was removed.
The Dot Dating System remained in use during the 1980’s and 90’s with a few differences in the Case logo. Note the square style “C” in the 1980’s and the “Long Tail C” in the 1990’s. Just as observed in the previous decade, a dot was removed each year. One exception was that from 1990 to mid-1993, the actual date was stamped on the tang.
In 2000, Case introduced a new tang date stamp: five X’s and five dots. From 2001 through 2005, one dot is removed each year. From 2006 through 2009, an X is removed each year.
Here we are on the edge of a new decade; and, like those before, there is much to look forward to. 2010 marks the calendar for a great year of change. One of these that we have eagerly awaited to share is the new Case 2010 Tang Stamp.
Case has kept this quite secret for the past several months; but there’s good reason. In 2008, Case put together a memo that went to Case Associates requesting their input for a new design; specifically the 2010 Tang Stamp. As you can imagine, we were swamped with suggestions. The difficult task of choosing a final design took teamwork from the Sales and Marketing Team with the assistance of our Engineering Drafting Team. The submissions were very creative. The complicated assignment we faced was to find an idea that would allow the placement of a very complex logo onto a smaller pattern, like the Small Texas Toothpick (‘0096) and still be visible, as well as look nice on a larger pattern like the Large Folding Hunter (‘65). The great news is that we have chosen a workable design and are ready to share it with the world.
So without further ado, the 2010 Case Tang Stamp is shown at the top of the page. Unique to this tang stamp is the incorporation of the Case “Long Tail C” design. Please note the X and Dot combination, similar to the 2000 through 2009 tang stamps. The dating system for this new 2010 Tang Stamp Era will remove one dot for the first five years, 2011 through 2014, and then remove one X starting in 2015 through to 2019.
The Case Tang Stamp Guide on the our web site (Click here) provides a visual aid of some tang stamps used on Case pocketknives over the years. While it is our endeavor to provide an informative list, there are exceptions. If you find a tang stamp in your searches that you need help identifying, we will be happy to assist you. Please send a description and photo to info@shephills.com.
