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Case Tested XX Trapper Real or Fake?

Hello,

I just picked up this knife on ebay and am looking for second opinions on it. I am a young knife collector and still learning the ropes. My suspitions were that it was a counterfeit but was hoping it was just reconditioned. Once I got it in my hands it seemed clear that it was the former but I am looking for some opinions from experts.

My concerns are:

Both blades are stamped, which is extremely rare or never done from what I have read.

The middle line on the E is not crossed on the end. Are they ever stamped that way.

Frame bolster looks like the XX frame to me but I haven't seen enough to know for sure.

And lastly, what to do with it if it is a counterfeit. Keep it and remove it from circulation or return it. I paid just over 200 for it.

Thanks for you help and I look forward to your responses,

Marcus

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on October 18, 2014 at 20:18

Marcus,

A few questions. Did you buy this form a reputable dealer on ebay? Have you been able to match examples?

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on October 18, 2014 at 20:32

Marcus-- I am by no means an expert on authenticating knives, but like you I have some problems with this knife-- Not totally unheard of to find a Case with both blade stamped- However, I like you, question the lack of the cross piece in the "E' of Case-- I am even more troubled by the fact that the flowing line in the long tail C is not smooth, but has a bump in it along the way.The shield with the open C is correct for early Case Tested knives, but I am not convinced-- My suggestions, try http://www.knifedb.com/- knife db com requires registration which takes about 30 seconds, and I believe is used only for adding content or information to the site. They have examples of just about every tang stamp Case ever made-- Unfortunately, the site is currently down for maintenance-- Other suggestion, send some pics off to Case, and see what they have to say about it.--- If indeed, it is a counterfeit, I would contact the seller-- Honest sellers on Ebay will make it right-- If that fails, Ebay itself offers some protection about this--- I, personally, would not put it back into circulation, unless it was clearly identified as a countereit, if that should be the case. Just my 2 cents of oponion--

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Permalink Reply by peter force on October 18, 2014 at 20:34

hi im pete. i could be wrong..this is IMO..my opinion. IF IM WRONG PLEASE CORRECT ME!!!

HEY I REALLY RAMBLED HERE...i hope you can pull some things out of it..im tired..shoot me a friend request.. im also oon FB ectect.. if i repeat thigs below..forgive me...also misspellings..lol

this knife is indeed fake/fixed whatever words suits you as the subject can be touchy.. as some folks just put parts knives together to make a few bux..and then their are those WHO RIP YOU TRULY OFF with FAKED KNIVES..so many things to learn in the FAKE KNIFE WORLD.. like this knife it actually makes me made!!! as im sure this came from a "respected ebayer"..again a guess...?

if so i would really like to know who..and am willing to share a few very heavy names with you..to add another to the list.. whats really weird is you start to see most of the fakes all start to sell out of one small portion of the country..

thank you for the closeup of the stamp. first off..the tang line or strike ..where the blade meets the body of the knife.. why is it not STRAIGHT like on the other blades.{and like it should be when it was first striked!! when it was made???}

. when it was made at the factory it didn't all of a sudden make a turn upwards..that is buffed metal would be my guess.. then new stamp applied.. again i could be 100% wrong but i doubt it.. just looks like they did a good job buffing afterwards.. as lots of knives if you look very close you can see the different sand markings in different directions..

oh and lets not forget those last 2 XX in that stamp..UGH they are just smooshed together...and you can tell STRIKEN by a different tool or something..single strikes ..not how this knife was made in the factory. would have been stamped all at once..that stamp is all over the place.

i could go on and love to... as far as what to do.. getting burned wth a fake knife is a moral dilemma ..i will always buy a fake knife but at a very steap discount ..you could alwys etch into the blade FAKE but carry it if yaa want.. hold it as a lesson learned.. OR GET YOUR MONEY BACK IF YOU CAN..but know that he will only sell it again.. BUT ..you also took your chance..got burnt..and now are learning... i keep my fakes-mark em with a dremel.. but i also have yet to get 200$ burned. if EBAY BU i would get it return and still leave a HUGE negative abut it being a fake knife.{years ago before ebay was setup the way it is now..i cold ttalk to bidders before hand and they would get out of the deal right away..now i cant even write anyone at all... these thieves make lots of money for eBay.

MORE WITH STAMP..letters are floating ..the C and A smash together ..the XX SMOOSH.. the XX looks like it was applied altogether with a different tool them the rest of strikes...TESTED and some other letters have the same pettern of thin at the top and get fatter as the letter heads downwards...this is again from single strikes.. no FACTORY STIKE DOES THAT. ..the T in TESTED is like a mushroom cap sorta..NOT STRAIGHT ..that entire stamp is just bad... EVEN THE S..the very small top and very fat bottom.. IT ONLY TAKES ONE JUST ONE OF THESE SIGNS TO WALK AWAY..but multiples is always better..if i could see the knife entirely i could tell you more i'm sure..but with that MAIN TANG STAMP if you are looking for a 100% real knife ..then that IS NOT WHAT YOU GOT. the stamp is enough {production proof} to walk away from this one.

study the production process of knives.. if you shop eBay.. their are so many names to NOT buy from .. and so many TRICKS.. like even TILTED PICTURES of the TANG STAMP./.. TILT YOUR HEAD AND LOOK AND YOU WILL SEE SINGLE STRIKE FLOATERS! but there are 12 pics and everyone just slants... AVOID RED BACKDROPS...AVOID BRAND NEW KNIVES EVEN WITH MATCHING BOX -THE CATCH IS- it doesn't have its number on the box like it should if it were truly all new.. if it is suppose to like CASE or CAMMILLUS knives.. UNLESS you want 20$ BASEMENT MADE CAMMY KNIFE{as their not bad EDC's}.

FAKES is a world epidemic- from food to PHARMAS!!! ..imagine you go for you inhaler and its FAKE!!!

it costs thousands and thousands of jobs worldwide yearly..it makes the real product worth less and less and less,...eventually with some knives..folks just give up collecting them as their are so many fakes it just becomes a hassle! THATS JUST SAD!!

anyway ii havent said much lately but i know i just said a lot... OH -- AND BE YOUR OWN EXPERT!- buy way less knives and ..well only a few books..first one less then 20$ and you will be SO FAR AHEAD OF THE GAME!!.. ALSO REMEMBER THOUGH..- if you already have a collection going.-. once you start to learn..- you will find others in your collection that have been worked or faked or restamped etc.-. just remember its all part of this hobby.--also remember not all knives are meant to be fakes as well..so are just knives a fella or mam fixed up to keep a good tool working!

DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT.. last but not least i would like full size pics .. i couldn't see everything.. HEY IF YOU READ ALL OF THIS THANK YOU..

IF IM WRONG ANYONE PLEASE TELL ME WHERE AND WHY..IF I'M WRONG I NEED TO KNOW!...THIS IS ALWAYS ONGOING!

REMEMBER TO ITS SUPPOSE TO BE FUN..BEING YOUR OWN EXPERT MAKES IT THAT MUCH FUUNNIERRRR!..LOL!!! IF I BORED ANYONE IM SORRY.. and again if im wrong i need to know.-peter

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on October 18, 2014 at 20:47

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on October 18, 2014 at 20:47

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on October 18, 2014 at 20:48

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on October 18, 2014 at 20:55

Steve, never noticed the difference in the 2 "E's in Case on the two blades--- IMHO, One blade was possibly replaced, at the very least-- One blade has the cross mark at the end of the E, the other doesn't not-- I can not imagine why a legitimate factory Case knife would have 2 different Case stamps like that---

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Permalink Reply by peter force on October 18, 2014 at 21:00

hey sorry if i repeated anything already written ..i was busy writing i guess before the other replies came in.. i had to open my fat mouth again!

the reputable dealer thing s is good.. BUT ALSO A HUGE LESSON TO BE LEARNED!!

i personally have certain dealers i will only buy certain knives from and it has just stayed that way.most of your dealers OFF EBAY ..tend to be great folks!

BUT THIS IS THE EXACT REASON I SAY BE YOUR OWN EXPERT.{or at least one of the} as i know and see daily "reputable dealers "sell fakes. MOSTLY ON EBAY. these are folks that have been known in the knife business for years and years but wont come off eBay as it gives them a place to hide and anyone who questions their knives they call insane and just block you. FORGET THEM YOU DON'T NEED THEM!!

if it is fake and no way you can get money back..keep it and mark it FAKE.. somehwere and start a fake collection..LESSON LEARNED..if you can get your money back.. GET IT BACK..like i said he will only beat soeone else with it..but thats the way the cookie crumbles...

also i saw the reccomendation of contacting CASE ..ALWAYS A GREAT THING TO DO..CASE IS AWESOME!!

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Permalink Reply by peter force on October 18, 2014 at 21:16

why does the TANG STRIKE on the seconday STRAIGHT back to the blades back..dead strike!..and the main blade ..curve upwards.. and doesnt even make it to the back of the blade??

THEIR IS ONLY ONE REASON FOR THIS... and it ddnt happen at the factory when the knife was made...

STEVE THANX FOR BIOWING PICS UP ..ill have another look tomorrow and will like to see what others say.!!

Steve Hanner said:

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Permalink Reply by Marcus Anderson on October 19, 2014 at 17:50

Thank you for all your replies and welcome to the site. Just for arguements sake, aren't all of these stamps hand made by many many different companies and wouldn't it be really difficult to distinguish what is real or not. I have the advantage of holding it in my hand and am fairly confident that the stamp is not something that was done in someones garage. It is does have some flaws, which you would see from these hand made stamps but they are very uniform in depth and do appear to be professionally done in my opinion.

I am more concerned about other aspects of the knife. Specifically with the frame. I am not sure that it is the correct frame for the tested era but I haven't seen enough to know the difference and don't have a XX trapper to compare it to. Also I just noticed the nail pull on the spey blade is opposite the clip blade. Other examples I have seen the nail pull is on the same side. Wondering if this is significant. I can live with this knife if the frame is correct. I don't consider it to be a fake or counterfeit knife if repairs or replacement parts have been added. Reconditioned is quite alright with me. But trying to pass a tested knife on a XX or XX USA frame is something else.

The person I bought it from does not appear to be any kind of dealer. He had no other knife or related sales or purchases in his ebay history so either he didn't know anything about knives, as he claimed, or he is passing it on because he knew it wasn't right. I will never know.

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Permalink Reply by Carl Bradshaw on November 27, 2014 at 8:40

Marcus, yes you are correct that many different companies made the stamp tools, however I don't think Case would have overlooked such a bad stamp and passed it through. Missing the cross on the E is a big deal. Also, these stamps were used on thousands of blades before they were replaced. I have never once seen a tested stamp with an E missing the cross on the center.