Vintage Pocket Knife Values: Case XX, Schrade, Buck, and How to Read a Tang Stamp

Most vintage pocket knives sell for $10–$40, but a clean Case XX, an early Buck 110, or a pre-war Remington can bring $75 to several hundred dollars. Value comes down to three things: the maker and its tang stamp (which dates the knife), the handle material, and how much original blade is left. And because a pocket knife is one of the most common gifts for dads, granddads, and hunters, October through mid-December is when buyers pay the most.

How to Identify a Vintage Pocket Knife

Open the main blade and look at the tang, the flat base of the blade right above the handle. The stamp there tells you who made it and, for many brands, roughly when.

Case tang stamps

• CASE TESTED XX (about 1920–1940): the early mark most collectors want.
• CASE XX (about 1940–1964): strong demand, especially with bone handles.
• CASE XX USA (1965–1969): a transition period with steady prices.
• CASE XX USA with dots (1970s): ten dots for 1970, one dot fewer each year after.
• Later Case: dated by a dot or code system that continues today; mostly user-grade values.

Other makers to know

Schrade Walden, Imperial Schrade, and the USA-made Schrade Old Timer and Uncle Henry lines (production in New York ended in 2004) are the knives most people find in a dad's dresser drawer. Camillus, Ka-Bar, Western, Queen, Ulster, Robeson, and Boker (Solingen made) round out the common American and German names. Remington UMC and Winchester knives made before the early 1940s are the high-dollar finds.

Handle materials, best to worst for value

Genuine stag and jigged bone (with deep, even jigging and natural color) bring the most, followed by pearl, then celluloid (look for shrinking or off-gassing), then Delrin and Sawcut plastic. A Buck 110 should have wood or Micarta handles with brass bolsters.

Patterns that buyers ask for

The shape and number of blades matters almost as much as the brand. The patterns gift shoppers and collectors look for by name are the trapper (two long blades, a clip and a spey), the stockman (three blades, the classic farmer's knife), the canoe, the Texas toothpick, the peanut (small, two blades, popular as a first knife), the copperhead, and the large folding hunter. A big Case trapper or stockman in bone will outsell a small single-blade pen knife from the same decade nearly every time. Scout and camp knives with a can opener and awl are steady $15–$30 sellers because parents buy them for kids.

Case knives also carry a pattern number on the tang. The first digit is the handle material (6 is jigged bone, 5 is stag, 3 is yellow composition, 2 is black composition), the second is the number of blades, and the rest is the pattern. A 6254 is a bone-handled, two-blade trapper; a 5254 is the same knife in stag. Learning these codes lets you price a Case knife in seconds without opening a catalog.

What to Check Before You Price

• Blade wear: a blade sharpened down to a sliver loses half or more of its value.
• Walk and talk: blades should open with a firm pull and snap shut. Weak springs cut value.
• Blade play: side-to-side wobble when open means a loose pivot.
• Cracks and chips: check the handle scales near the pins and bolsters.
• Rust and pitting: light surface rust is fine; deep pitting is a user-grade knife.
• Original box and paper: a 1970s Case or Buck in its box adds 20–40%.

Vintage Pocket Knife Prices (2026 Sold Ranges)

Everyday finds

• Schrade Old Timer (8OT, 34OT), USA made: $18–$45
• Uncle Henry, USA made: $20–$50
• Camillus or Imperial utility/scout knife: $10–$30
• Imported or unmarked folders: $3–$10
• Buck 110 Folding Hunter, 1980s–1990s: $35–$70
• Buck 110, earlier stamp, in sheath: $60–$150

Case knives

• 1970s dotted Case, Delrin or yellow handles: $25–$60
• 1970s dotted Case, bone handles: $45–$110
• CASE XX USA, bone, clean: $70–$175
• CASE XX (1940–1964), bone, strong blades: $90–$300
• CASE TESTED XX in good shape: $150–$600+
• Case trapper or stockman in stag: add 20–50% over bone

Older and collector names

• Remington UMC, pre-1940: $75–$400, with Bullet knives far higher
• Winchester, pre-1942 original: $75–$350
• Ka-Bar folding hunters and dog-head knives: $60–$300
• Pearl-handled watch fob and pen knives: $20–$75
• Mixed drawer lot of 10–20 user knives: $40–$120

Sold prices online run 20–40% above booth prices for the collector-grade knives, but user knives often sell faster and for close to the same money at a flea market, where buyers can open and close them.

When and Where Pocket Knives Sell Best

Knives sell all year, but demand climbs in October with deer season and stays strong through the third week of December as people shop for dads, granddads, and hunters. A locked glass case near the register is the best spot in a booth. Price clearly by the piece, group a few under $25 as stocking stuffers, and keep the higher-end Case and Buck knives on a small easel with the tang stamp visible.

Black Friday and Small Business Saturday bring gift shoppers who do not know knives; a short card saying “1960s Case XX, bone handles” does the selling for you. Do not mark collector knives down in December. A Case knife that did not sell this year is worth the same next deer season.

Reproductions and Common Mistakes

• Winchester and Remington reissues: both names were licensed for new knives starting in the 1980s and 1990s. Many are dated on the tang or packed in collector tins. They sell for $20–$60, not vintage prices.
• Fake Case knives: overseas copies with a crisp CASE XX stamp, cheap bone, and gritty action show up online. Compare the stamp font and shield to a known example.
• Sharpening or buffing before selling: it removes the original grind and etch. Clean with a soft cloth and a drop of oil only.
• Pricing a whole tray at one price: sort first. One Case XX in a tray of $5 knives is a common estate sale giveaway.
• Overvaluing commemoratives: boxed limited-edition knives from the 1980s and 1990s (bicentennial, sports, and NRA editions, plus mail-order collector series) were made in large numbers. Most bring $15–$50 even in the box.

Selling Knives as Gifts

Many buyers in December are not knife people; they want something their dad or grandfather will use and keep. Offer a simple sharpening and cleaning service tag (or sell a small Arkansas stone alongside), and keep a few small gift boxes on hand. A $35 Old Timer in a box with a card that says “USA made, 1980s” reads as a thoughtful gift instead of a used knife. Check your local rules before selling switchblades or assisted-opening knives, and keep fixed blades in a locked case.

Have a drawer of knives to sort? Snap a photo of each tang stamp with PocketPrice and get a price calibrated to your booth or table. For more gift-season ideas, see our Q4 sourcing guide and the tools and hardware price guide.