The News from ElephantToenails.com

Scott, I have attached photos of a Case knife that I have not be able to identify.  The knife is clearly marked CASE BROTHERS - LITTLE VALLEY and also has the XX marking on the blade.  I found this knife in a storage box when my father closed a General Merchandise country store he operated for 50 yrs and been in business in total over 100 yrs.  Any insight into the pattern, date of manufacture, and value would be much appreciated.  Additional photos are available if needed. David 

David, your hunch is correct. It is a 5250 Case Brothers stag handled elephant toenail, some call it a sunfish knife.  CB was from Little Valley, NY. It was made somewhere between around 1900 to like 1911, but you can verify that on my site. www.elephanttoenails.com search in The List for Case Brothers, plus you can see other stag handled ones like this. The XX on the blade was their trademark double stamp that the knife was tested and passed their approval. It was their claim to fame. Later they actually stamped the blade where the XX is with TESTED XX.

My guess is it is probably worth $200- $350, maybe up to $500. It is really hard to say, because some collectors really like knives in “used” original condition, plus it is affordable to a wide range of folks.. The stag handles are the best thing it has going for it. Stag ranks higher than some other handle materials among collectors. Did you take the knife apart? The pin holding the master blade in is sticking up which is not normal and will cause some collectors to question the knife. Don’t try to hammer it down if you are going to sell it just leave it as is. Scott

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 7:55 am and is filed under Toenail Q & A. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.