W.R. Case & Sons
Bradford, Pennsylvania · the Tested XX era, and how to date a Case knife by its tang stamp
The whole game is dating — and the pre-war chronology is knowable
A pre-WWII Case knife carries no stamped pattern number (Case did not stamp one until 1949), so you date it by the front-tang stamp. Case never published a register of exact change dates, so the stamp date ranges are careful collector estimates — but they hang on a hard primary anchor: the “TESTED XX” trademark, Reg. No. 64,130, filed Oct. 7 1905 and registered July 23 1907, read directly from the USPTO. ✓ primary · S2
Case is where this reference starts because it is where American pocket-knife collecting centers: the deepest documentation, the richest tang-stamp chronology, and a continuous arc from the 1889 wagon-peddling brothers to a company still stamping knives in Bradford today. What follows is the pre-war story — the tangle of Case-family firms, the decoder that reads a pattern number, the handles and patterns of the Tested XX era, and, above all, the stamp key that pins a knife to its decade.
Corporate genealogy — a tangle of Case-family firms, untangled
The single most common error, corrected up front: “W.R.” Case (William Russell, the father, an elder Case brother) and “Russ” Case (John Russell, the son) are two different men a generation apart. The son founded the company and named it for the father. With that straight, the spine is clear:
- 1886Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. forms at Little Valley, N.Y. — J.B.F. Champlin (brother-in-law of the Case brothers) with W.R., Jean, John D. and Andrew Case. The seedbed; the brothers had worked as Champlin's salesmen. ~ S21
- ca. 1898Case Brothers Cutlery Co. (Jean, John D. & Andrew) sets up at Little Valley and stamps “Tested XX” — the mark that would define pre-war Case, born at this sibling firm. Marker, verbatim: “…FACTORY AND OFFICE EST. HERE CA. 1898. ‘TESTED XX’ TRADEMARK STAMPED ON KNIVES. FIRE DESTROYED FACTORY 1912.” ✓ primary · S6
- 1902W.R. Case & Son (singular) founded at Little Valley by Russ Case, named for his father. The surviving company's original name. ~ S18
- 1905Becomes W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. and moves to Bradford, Pa., via a merger with C. Platts' Sons Cutlery (the plural “Sons” marks brother-in-law H.N. Platts joining). The company that survives today. ~ S21
- 1914Case Brothers fails after its fires (Little Valley 1912 → Springville 1913); its “Tested XX” mark passes to W.R. Case & Sons. (A “$1,500” purchase price is collector lore, unconfirmed.) ~ S19
- 1917–18WWI: Case supplies 80,000+ jackknives to U.S. servicemen. ~ S21
- 1935U.S. Patent 2,018,603 to J. Russell Case & A.H. Pneuman, Bradford — the founder-son active in the mid-1930s (above). ✓ primary · S1
- 1942–45WWII: Case makes military knives — the M3 Fighting Knife and the V-42 stiletto (First Special Service Force) — narrowing genuinely pre-war civilian output to a ~1940–41 window. ~ S21
- 1993Acquired by Zippo Mfg. Co. of Bradford (post-war; noted for completeness). ~ S21
The pattern number — the collector's decoder ring
A Case pattern number is a code that decodes the knife. Reading left to right:
6 = bone handle 2 = two blades 54 = Trapper frame → a bone-handled two-blade Trapper
1st digit = handle material · 2nd digit = number of blades · remaining digits = the factory pattern (frame/shape); a leading zero marks a frame variation (050 ≠ 50). More decodes: 6265 = bone · 2 · 65 Folding Hunter; 6347 = bone · 3 · 47 large Stockman; 5378 = stag · 3 · 78. ~ S16/S17
The first-digit handle-material key (the classic / pre-war key — not the modern one)
| Digit | Material (classic era) | Pre-war note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walnut / solid hardwood | the cheap, rugged work-knife handle |
| 2 | Black composition / “slick black” | documented Case use “prior to 1940” |
| 3 | Yellow composition | more mid-century; lower confidence pre-1940 |
| 4 | White / cream composition | vintage; dropped mid-1970s |
| 5 | Genuine stag (incl. second-cut) | premium; from antler |
| 6 | Bone — jigged, any color | the heart of pre-war Case (see caveat) |
| 7 | Imitation tortoise (celluloid) | pre-1940; modern Case reassigned 7 to woods |
| 8 | Genuine mother-of-pearl | top-tier premium, esp. pen knives |
| 9 | Imitation pearl / “cracked ice” | fancy celluloid |
- Bone color is not in the code. Green, red, and “rough black” bone are all “6.” The prized green-vs-red distinction is read from the knife and stamp, never from the number.
- Pre-1949 knives carry no stamped pattern number. Before 1949 the number is a system you derive — date a pre-war knife by its tang stamp, not a number that was never there.
- The modern published key differs. Today Case lists “6” as bone/synthetic/laminated wood and “7” as wood; letter codes (R, GS, CT…) are largely modern (1979+) cataloging, applied backward. Don't read a 1930s knife with the modern key.
Handle materials of the pre-war era — what dates a handle to before 1940
A green-bone handle under a Tested XX stamp, or a fancy celluloid, are the classic “this is pre-1940” tells. Two families dominate. ~ S16
- Bone (code 6) — green bone (jigged shinbone with a greenish cast) is the hallmark of the 1920–1940 Tested era and the most-prized pre-war handle; red bone and “rough black” are its siblings. All code 6.
- Fancy celluloid (~1920–1945) — “Christmas tree,” cracked ice / imitation pearl, imitation onyx, red-mottled, candy-stripe. Celluloid was largely dropped after the war, so intact examples read pre-war and are prized. (“Waterfall” and “goldstone” celluloids are collector-named but their pre-war dating is unresolved ⚑ flagged.)
- Premium naturals — genuine stag (5) and mother-of-pearl (8), throughout the era.
- Utility — slick black (2) and walnut (1), the plain work knives.
Notable patterns of the Tested era — what a collector hunts
| Pattern | Name | What it is | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6250 | Sunfish / “Elephant Toenail” | fat ~4⅜″ double-end jack | the signature pre-war showpiece; a 1920 green-bone Tested Sunfish is documented |
| 6265 | Folding Hunter | ~5¼–5½″ coke-bottle folder | the classic big Case folder; the frame is Tested-era |
| 6250(050) | “Big Coke Bottle” | swell-center folding hunter | leading-zero 050 = a frame variation (≠ 50) |
| 6225 | “Coke Bottle” (small) | 3″ swell-center jack | “goes back to the early years of Case” |
| 72 | Clasp — “Buffalo” / “Bulldog” | ~5½″ clasp knife, arced bolster | first made 1920–40; “largely discontinued prior to 1940.” The 5172 stag “Bulldog” is the 1960s revival |
| 100 | Saddlehorn | swell-center single-blade | early 100s “last made during the Tested era — rare finds” (reissue is 110) |
| 6308 | Whittler | 3¼″ three-blade, split-back | “an old pattern dating back to the early years” |
| 68 / 88 | Congress | multi-blade, curved frame | old American pattern Case made pre-war ~ not pinned to a Tested cut |
| 05 | Barlow (“one-arm man”) | long right-bolster work jack | the quintessential old work pattern |
~ corroborated Frames per the AAPK factory-pattern reference; pre-war association per collector consensus. Remember: on a pre-1949 knife the number is derived, not stamped.
Dating a knife by its tang stamp — the pre-war chronology
The front-tang stamp is the tool. Every range below is a corroborated collector estimate (Case kept no register), anchored on the trademark records where it can be. Read the stamp with corroborating tells — shield shape, bone/jigging, hafting.
| The stamp reads… | Date | The tell |
|---|---|---|
| W.R. CASE & SON (singular) | 1902–1905 | Singular SON, never SONS. Brokerage era, contract-made — scarce. |
| W.R. CASE & SONS / BRADFORD, PA. | 1905–1914 | Plural SONS; “Bradford, Pa.” spelled out; no circle/oval. |
| CASE XX TESTED / CASE TESTED XX in a circle/oval | 1914–1920 | Words sit inside a cartouche — the decisive early tell. |
| CASE (long-tail C) over TESTED XX | 1920–1940 | The collectible pre-war Case. Long-tail “Circle-C”; no “USA,” no dots. Tighter sub-variant 1932–40. |
| CASE over XX (long-tail C) | 1940–1964 | No “TESTED,” no “USA.” Pre-war slice only ~1940–41. Back tang: no pattern no. = 1940–48; present = 1948–64. |
The trademark anchors (read directly from USPTO TSDR)
- TESTED XX — Reg. 64,130, filed Oct. 7 1905, registered July 23 1907. The one truly-early primary. ✓ S2
- CASE TESTED XX (Reg. 541,917) and CASE XX (Reg. 541,284) — both filed the same day, Mar. 26 1948, as housekeeping re-registrations. Not stamp-era dates — a trap this page refuses. ✓ S3/S4
- All three claim a Feb. 1 1895 first use — a legal assertion predating the 1902 company (resting on earlier Case-family use), presented as a claim, not proof. No pre-war shield/oval design mark was found. ⚑ open
What a knife cost — market context (no Case price list survives)
Case sold through traveling salesmen carrying sample knives, not mass-printed priced catalogs, so no digitized pre-1945 Case price list exists — the dated, cited prices below are the nearest named-brand market context: Keen Kutter (E.C. Simmons), a premium brand in Case's tier, priced to the dozen and read off the page scan.
| Knife (1917 Keen Kutter) | Handle | Per dozen | ≈ each |
|---|---|---|---|
| K329 | pearl, four blades | $39.00 | $3.25 |
| K4063 | pearl, four blades | $38.00 | $3.17 |
| K9734 | pearl, three blades | $37.00 | $3.08 |
| K90103 | pearl, two blades, 3″ | $34.00 | $2.83 |
| K0108 | pearl, two blades, 2″ | $28.00 | $2.33 |
| K0588 | pearl, two blades, 2⅝″ | $24.00 | $2.00 |
✓ primary 1917 Keen Kutter / E.C. Simmons catalog, pp. 2315–2319, image-verified (S5). Every knife on these leaves is pearl (top tier); bone lines ran cheaper. For a floor: Sears house knives ran 4¢–45¢ each (1897–1902, S7/S8) and the H.S.B. “OVB” pearl jacks $13–30/dozen (1916, S9). A bone-handled Case is put at ~$2 in the early 1940s — but that figure is collector recollection, not a primary page. ~ S24
In period print
Case sold through traveling salesmen, not big national campaigns — so it lived in small-town hardware columns from Texas to Idaho as “the Celebrated W. R. Case Sons’ Cutlery,” years before the famous “Tested XX” stamp. Each quote was read on the original page; all are public-domain newspapers.
“made good in the factory to ‘make good’ to the user.”
A full retail column for Case pocket knives — priced 75c to $1.60, satisfaction guaranteed.
Evening Capital News, Boise, Idaho · Nov. 9, 1919. Library of Congress →
“Makers of the Only Cutlery that Will Stand the Test.”
A front-page roster with a proto-‘Tested’ slogan — years before the “Tested XX” tang stamp.
The Beaver Herald, Okla. · Mar. 30, 1911. Library of Congress →
“the Celebrated W. R. Case Sons’ Cutlery.”
Knives, razors and shears “guaranteed by the manufacturer” — the earliest find.
The Weekly Herald, Amarillo, Tex. · May 16, 1907. Library of Congress →
“A Sample line from W. R. Case Son, Bradford, Pa.”
The Bradford address pins it to the maker collectors chase — “so well and favorably known.”
Arizona Republican, Phoenix · July 28, 1907. Library of Congress →
“plain and fancy pearl handle knives.”
Case’s pocket-knife line, on sale “at a big reduction.”
The Twin Falls Times, Idaho · Nov. 14, 1911. Library of Congress →
“given by W. R. Case Sons.”
A county-fair prize from Case — the brand’s standing outside of paid advertising.
Putnam County Herald, Cookeville, Tenn. · Oct. 7, 1920. Library of Congress →
Sources
Primary sources are documents read directly; secondary are reliable leads. Full metadata (identifiers, URLs, quotes) lives in data/case.json.
- U.S. Patent 2,018,603, “Combination knife and axe,” J. Russell Case & A.H. Pneuman (Bradford, Pa.), granted Oct. 22 1935. Google Patents US2018603A · public domain · opened & quoted. ✓ S1
- USPTO TSDR — TESTED XX, Reg. 64,130 / Ser. 71013405 (filed 1905, reg. 1907). Read directly. Public record. ✓ S2
- USPTO TSDR — CASE TESTED XX (Reg. 541,917) & CASE XX (Reg. 541,284), both filed Mar. 26 1948. ✓ S3/S4
- Walden Knife Co. / E.C. Simmons “Keen Kutter” catalog, 1917. Internet Archive keen-kutter-knives-1917 · PD · prices image-verified (pp. 2315–19). ✓ S5
- Case Brothers historic marker, Little Valley, N.Y. (Wm. G. Pomeroy Foundation, 2019) — inscription quoted verbatim. ✓ S6
- Sears, Roebuck Cat. 104 (1897, searsroebuckandcocatno1041897tools) & Cat. 112 (1902) · Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett Cat. 61 (1916, “OVB”) — priced market context, PD. ✓ S7/S8/S9
- Era patents (PD, opened): Platts “Tool” US 1,967,479 (1934); Schrade pocket-knife US 1,931,360 (1933) & US 1,185,725 (1916); Watson blade-lock US 825,093 (1906). ✓ S10–S13
- Secondary / leads: Case Collectors Club & caseknives.com (the maker's own tang-stamp & pattern guidance); AllAboutPocketKnives & casexx.com (pattern-number key, handle-material dating); Historic Path of Cattaraugus County, Knife Talk, Cutlery News Journal, Wikipedia; and the standard books — Brad Lockwood, Tested XX: The Case Cutlery Dynasty, and Dean E. Case, Kinfolks Knives. ~ S14–S24