Case Knives

Case Creates a Winner: Modern EDC Knives Made in Bradford

Mark Zalesky
Case Knives
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Case Creates a Winner: Modern EDC Knives Made in Bradford
by Mark D. Zalesky

Perhaps you have read the news online, or have seen the ads inside our front cover about the new knives from W.R. Case & Sons. Call them what you will: EDC (Every Day Carry) folders, flippers, tactical knives, or as Case prefers, Modern EDC (MEDC) knives; these new knives from Case are the result of many years of planning, experimentation, and testing. That effort has resulted in Case receiving the “American Made Knife of the Year” (TM) honor at June’s Blade Show.
Even to knife enthusiasts, the significance of these new knives may not be immediately apparent. They’re not the first knives Case has made that open and close with one hand, so what makes these different? And what makes them so good that they’ve won this award over many companies who specialize in making knives of this type?
As we like to do here at Knife Magazine, let’s take a closer look.

This article appears in the October 2021 issue of KNIFE Magazine. Click the blue button below to launch a pdf flipbook and read the whole thing.

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6 Responses

  1. I am old-fashioned when it comes to slipjoints and Case made and continues to make some of the finest ones. Their foray into “MEDC” is logical from an economic point-of-view. I do not see much difference in the initial offerings, e.g.. Marilla, than those of manufacturers of similarly designed folders. I see these knives as “cookie cutter” by automation, i.e. CNC, water-jet, and the finished product with aluminum handles, studs, liner-lock and S35VN blade does not set them apart from the competition.

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  2. Thank you! Makes sense.
    Selling all you can make is a good problem for Case to have! I look forward to their next step on this journey.

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  3. Well, waterjet etc. could be used on their slipjoints, but then you’re back to reducing production capacity and pushing costs up dramatically, making it an exclusive and expensive product. While the technology used was a little different, that’s the basic approach of the Case – Tony Bose knives that delivered custom quality at what in recent years has been in the ballpark of $500 apiece MSRP. Those knives are absolutely fantastic, but they weren’t cheap.
    While up at Case, I was asking questions about how they might use the new in-house capabilities with their slipjoints. I don’t doubt that they will, eventually, but for now the new EDCs are selling like hotcakes and Case is focused on taking the next step in that segment of the market.

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  4. I agree these new ones look interesting I wonder if the precision of the water jet would “improve” the assembly of their slip joints. Perhaps doing away with the need for “magic” in their assembly?

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  5. i have a thumb stud liner lock red bone centennial case from, well, whenever they’re 100anno was. it locks up much tighter than either my tribal or russ locks.
    these new ones look nice. i’d want to handle one in person though.

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    1. These are a completely different animal than the previous thumb stud, liner lock knives made in Bradford. I would encourage you to seek out the opportunity to handle one in person. That might be difficult for a while as the initial orders are exceeding production capacity.

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