Case xx going Modern

[dks]

Interesting to me.

http://www.wrcase.com/pressroom/articles/52/1/Case-Unveils-New-Modern-High-tech-Collection/Page1.html

I have seen the other models too, through a link a Case email subscriber shared in another, _lesser  , forum. (I do not think it would be right to post his link here as it shows his name in it)

To me they look like SRM models (actually, there is no mention of them being US made ), but I assume they will be made in the USA. 

I like Case slipjoints a lot but I am not that impressed with these, lookswise. They do not seem to offer something unique, something that would scream "Case xx" to make me want to buy them.
Hopefully the quality will be as good as their slipjoints

EDIT:
I managed to get the picture!

[enki_ck]

Interesting to me.

To me they look like SRM models (actually, there is no mention of them being US made ), but I assume they will be made in the USA. 

That was the first thing I thought of when I saw the picture. the 2 and 3 look very much like the Sanrenmu 723 family of knives. But they made that one for Buck (Buck Nobleman). Very strange.

http://www.exduct.com/SRM-Knife-Gifts/723FS-723-Family-Set.html

[AimlessWanderer]

....actually, there is no mention of them being US made ), but I assume they will be made in the USA.....

That's the thing that struck me too. 

You would have thought that if these were going to be continued to be produced in the US they would be shouting that "loud and proud", whereas once you read it noticing that ain't there the writing comes over as a little ambiguous - to me anyway 

Is Case still owned by Zippo? Are they all produced on US soil?
(I could look it up, but it's easier to ask  )

[nuphoria]

Hmm... don't like it... there's nothing Casey about it!

[sawman]

Hmm... don't like it... there's nothing Casey about it!

It looks like a P.O.S.... I'll stick with my SAKs!

[Sazabi]

Case tried an imported line at some point in the 80s or so, because I've seen a German SAK-clone marked Case Imported Line at a flea market a while back; will their regular knives still be made in the US, or is this a sign of things to come? :/

[Jmora]

 if you are going to compete with other modern folder companies, you'd better have something special, otherwise its a waste of time. The knife does not look special to me.   

[jzmtl]

Yeah, not appealing. Note it doesn't even have case name on it, shows you how much confidence they are putting in it.

[jekostas]

To me they look like SRM models (actually, there is no mention of them being US made ), but I assume they will be made in the USA. 

Not going to be US made knives.  AUS-8 steel is almost a dead giveaway.  If they were going to be US made it would've been a 400 series stainless or one of the newer steels from Carpenter like BD-1 at the price points they're targeting. 

I would expect either a Taiwanese maker like Taichung (similar to Kabar's AUS-8 Taiwanese knives) or SRM and they're just labelling 8Cr13MoV as AUS-8 (which is reasonable to me as the steels are almost identical).

I'm wondering how much trouble Case is in if this is the route they're going.

Edit:  Checked BF, they're saying Chinese made.  SRM or Tekut are the likely candidates, then.

[AimlessWanderer]

To me they look like SRM models (actually, there is no mention of them being US made ), but I assume they will be made in the USA. 

Not going to be US made knives.  AUS-8 steel is almost a dead giveaway.  If they were going to be US made it would've been a 400 series stainless or one of the newer steels from Carpenter like BD-1 at the price points they're targeting. 

I would expect either a Taiwanese maker like Taichung (similar to Kabar's AUS-8 Taiwanese knives) or SRM and they're just labelling 8Cr13MoV as AUS-8 (which is reasonable to me as the steels are almost identical).

I'm wondering how much trouble Case is in if this is the route they're going.

Has 2xTap stopped buying slippies? 

As for the rest of it J, I think you might be right mate. The way it's worder is as if that new stuff is to be a different line under a different brand so as to "protect" the good name of Case should the new stuff not take off. I'll not be buying though, I don't go for that style of knife and much prefer their usual offerings.

[Ashley]

Case should stick to what they are good at and that's slippies. Sad news

[jekostas]

Case should stick to what they are good at and that's slippies. Sad news

Reminds of Schrade putting out those awful X-Timer knives a few years before they eventually went under.  Like I said, this move has got me wondering just how bad off Case is right now.  Considering the competition in the modern locking folder department I doubt this move was made lightly.

Or... it's a low-cost Walmart/Target entry knife. 

[dks]

I do buy my fair share of Case xx slipjoints/locking knives, as I do with SRM (assuming they collaborate) and I believe that whatever they produce will be of a quite good quality.
Assuming Case requests a good quality product they will get a good quality product. Seeing how my CRKT drifter, though made by SRM, feels even better than the usual SRM knives (which are very good) gives me the feeling that what I said previously is valid.

Without knowing sales figures, I would assume that Case has seen Buck do well with their Chinese line of “modern” knives, without having their name tarnished in any way, despite selling these under their own name and want a piece of the pie. The Buck Nobleman, for example is a good knife and much cheaper than the 110 (the boss).

What I find interesting is that, actually, Case (and Buck) have been making “modernish” looking lockbacks in the US for some years and selling them at competitive prices (cheap knives), like the Case 225, 147, 059 models, so I do not see them as pretending to be a premium only brand; not for quite some time.
This, however, brings up the question of why to have their new line made outside the US, if they already have the needed equipment to produce a lower price product in the US.

Looking at the knives they intend to bring out it seems to me that far from actually designing anything they just asked a Chinese maker to put the Tec-x name on an existing knife design and build it according to Case specifications.
Copout? Clever move?

The next step, the way I see it, would be to start making some of their traditional knives in China. Let’s not forget that SRM makes slipjoints too and that the factory producing Rough Rider, Buck, Colt etc. has shown it can make a good, lower cost (the prices appear to be going up), product.

[jekostas]

This, however, brings up the question of why to have their new line made outside the US, if they already have the needed equipment to produce a lower price product in the US.

Couple of points here.  First and foremost, it's a matter of expertise.  Case lacks the expertise in designing and mass production of liner and frame lock knives.  The design issues are far different from lockback knives and there are more mating surfaces to worry about.  Pivot, stop pin, tang area, spring tempering, liners, blade centering, lock wear, mating surface interaction etc.  This kind of expertise doesn't spring up over night, and it's tough to simply "hire" someone with design expertise and somehow install them in to your factory.

Secondly, entirely different machining setup and equipment.  Lockbacks and slipjoints are a heckuva lot closer mechanically than they are to frame or liner locks.

Looking at the knives they intend to bring out it seems to me that far from actually designing anything they just asked a Chinese maker to put the Tec-x name on an existing knife design and build it according to Case specifications.
Copout? Clever move?

There's a big issue here in that at the prices they're targeting (AUS-8 steel linerlocks aren't exactly a high-cost, high-margin product) they're gonna run smack in to a bunch of other companies with design expertise and foreign business experience way, way beyond them.  Kabar.  CRKT.  Spyderco.  Kershaw.  SOG.  Gerber.  Even Benchmade is resurrecting many of their Red Class imported knives under the Harley-Davidson label.  Buck has a ton of stuff in the low to mid-range tier, both foreign (nobleman line) and US made (Bantams).

Add to that the other "low end" lines with some name recognition or set supply chains through big-box stores (Wal-Mart, Lowes etc) like Smith and Wesson, Colt, Primos (Schrade/Taylor), United Cutlery and Coast.

Besides removing the "Case" name from the product line and packaging (good idea, really good idea) there's nothing at all that makes these products stand out from *anything* already on the market from many very well-established makers/brands.

If this keeps the doors open for Case in the short term, good for them.  The long term prospects of a move like this aren't exactly rosy, though.  Schrade tried this and it didn't work.  Camillus tried this and didn't work.  Buck tried it and it worked, Kabar tried it and it worked but only after new ownership.