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Case Tear Drop Pocketknife By Gary Zinn  Image courtesy of KnifeDepot. My wife keeps borrowing my Case Mini Trapper pocket knife. This generally occurs when she has to cut plastic seals off of bottles, remove things from blister packs, or open small packages. My Mini Trapper has a Wharncliffe secondary blade and I noticed that this was the blade she used for opening things. She also mentioned that the knife handle was of a size that fit her hand well. I do not mind sharing my knives, but I thought she might like to have a similar knife of her own, just in case mine was not at hand when she needed to open something. After doing some browsing, I decided to get her a Case Tear Drop, with Wharncliffe blade and Smooth Antique Bone handle scales. Specifications
There are few surprises when one buys a slip joint folding knife made by Case. Most models feature Case's Tru-Sharp stainless steel blades, with brass liners, pins and nickel silver bolsters. The bolsters on this knife are fluted, a detail that adds an attractive cosmetic touch. Case uses a variety of natural and synthetic materials for handle scales, with dyed and jigged Zebu cattle bone being the most common. This particular Tear Drop model has smooth bone handle scales, dyed golden brown, which gives an aged or antique look to the knife handle. The handle is 3-1/2 inches long, 11/16 inches wide at its widest point and about 5/16 inches thick. Thus, the handle is large enough to make for a firm grip, but svelte enough to carry well in a pocket. The light weight (1.55 ounces on my digital postal scale) makes for easy carry. A Wharncliffe blade is excellent for opening letters and packages, removing plastic packaging seals and cutting open those blasted blister packs. However, the Tear Drop is available with other blade options. All together, Case currently lists 34 specific Tear Drop models. Fifteen of these have a single spear blade, eleven have two blades (spear and pen), seven have a single Wharncliffe blade and one comes with a Wharncliffe and pen blade combo. There are a variety of natural and synthetic handle scale options among these models. The fit and finish of the knife is what I expect from Case, i.e., very good. All parts fit together tightly and smoothly with no irregularities. Regarding function, the parked blade has a large enough nail nick and is sufficiently exposed enough to open easily. The blade opens and closes firmly, but the back spring is not so strong that opening or closing the knife is difficult. I appreciate that the blade has a half stop. A half century and more ago, slip joint knives with tangs milled to half stop were the norm, but then that feature mostly disappeared for a long time. Lately, pocket knives with the half stop function have made a comeback. I like this, and not only for nostalgic reasons. The half stop feature on a folding knife adds a measure of control and safety, particularly when closing the blade. I am pleased with this handy pocket knife. More importantly, my wife likes it very much. Those security seals and blister packs are toast. |
