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KnifeMaker

Case Tested XX Sunfish 1920 to 1925

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KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Paul S on December 20, 2020 at 15:46

Case Tested XX knives were manufactured1920 to 1940. The raised letter bowtie shield was used for a few W.R. Case era knives and a few early Tested XX knives between 1915 and about 1925 ("Counterfeiting Antique Cutlery" by Gerald Witcher). This means that this knife was made between 1920 to 1925. I don't know what the scales are made of. Not being a Case expert it looks brown to me. If it was aa green bone that would make it more valuable. Great workmanship.

The knife is in great shape for being 100 years old and was just added to my antique Sunfish collection.

Paul S

from Maine on one of the shortest winter days of the year

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KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Paul S on December 20, 2020 at 15:50

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8 Case Tested XX Sunfish open Display Side Paul S 2020.jpg, 168 KB

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Permalink Reply by Beth Medeiros on December 20, 2020 at 20:12

Nice knife! I have been adding to my Sunfish collection but have not found anything this nice yet.

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KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Paul S on December 21, 2020 at 6:25

Thanks Beth. I have two Sunfish collections, Antique Sunfish and Contemporary Sunfish. In the Antique Sunfish category are the Tested XX, two Case Brothers, and a CASE MFG. CO c1898-1899 Little Valley N.Y. The Case Manufacturing Company one is particularly rare. Other sunfish are of other brands including Napanoch, Robeson, Depose, Henry Sears and Sons, etc.

The really good stuff is expensive and your best bet is to work with dealers who are known to be more expensive and attend many other shows. Shows are difficult for me to attend as Maine is far away from many big shows. Some of the best stuff is never is in the shows I go to but bought through dealers. When you are younger cost is difficult.

There are more Sunfish in my pictures file. You can search "I Knife Collector" in the search box. It is in the thin white long line at the very top of the page, easy to overlook! They are a good resource.

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Permalink Reply by Beth Medeiros on December 21, 2020 at 18:23

I have not been able to bring myself to pay for the expensive stuff YET (I will eventually). Most of the ones I have bought have been from the 90s. My best so far are from Ka-Bar, Queen (Oil Commemorative) and Schatt & Morgan (Keystone Series and File & Wire).

What is your opinion of Bull Dog knives?

Beth

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KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Paul S on December 26, 2020 at 15:11

Your 90s collection sounds like a great start.

I bought a bunch of Bull Dogs in the 90s and early 2000s, still have them. Bulldogs with stag and bone handles are well made and beautifully designed. Bulldog Celluloids (and some other well known brands) have incredible bright colors but stay away as they definitely have handles that off-gas and corrode the blades of other knives near them. Around 2006 another company Great Eastern Knives in the USA made Bulldogs (a few years?). They made a wonderful pink abalone handle I have that is a beauty and had to find.

Bulldog was then made in a foreign country and those are not collectible as resale values show.

Jim Parker a legendary and controversial character imported Bulldogs from Germany and sold them off a mail order list prior to eBay. My experiences were good but some others talked not so nice about him. I treasure my Mammoth year 2000 Display size (large) bough from him for $200 pictured in my pictures here on IKC.

There are a lot of Bulldogs and the resale prices are lower because of that. Both Bulldog and Weidmannsheil knives in the late 90s and early 2000s were made through Jim Parker's knife business. Both are excellent knives but prices stay somewhat lower because of volumes made.

I carried a Bulldog Christmas celluloid user knife for ten years and the colors were exceptional. After a while the blade corroded and the clear celluloid became yellowish. Celluloids should not be stored in the same safe, box, or room as other knives.

The Smith and Weston Sunfish made in the USA and resold on eBay are inexpensive. I have a stag, also what looks like a turquoise inlay stone worked S&W Sunfish. I look for the ones made in the USA.