Section 03

Handle materials

Case built the same patterns in dozens of handle materials over the decades. The material and color are often the fastest way to place a knife within a general era, before you even check the tang stamp.

Common materials

colors approximated — growing weekly

Amber Bone

Honey-to-caramel jigged bone, one of Case's longest-running and most recognizable colors, still produced today.

Introduced ~1970s — current

Red Bone

A deep, dyed red-brown jigged bone that darkens further with age and handling — heavily collected in its vintage form.

Common ~1920s–1970s

Chestnut Bone

A warm mid-brown jigged bone, sitting between Amber and Rogers in tone — a frequent, understated choice across many patterns.

Widely used, mid-century onward

Rogers Bone

A very dark, near-black jigged bone with a distinctive rough jigging pattern — one of the more sought-after vintage bone colors.

Vintage, largely discontinued

Genuine Stag

Real deer antler, prized for its natural texture and mottled cream-to-brown coloring — no two handles are quite alike.

Used across most eras

Second-Cut Stag

Stag taken from a different section of antler, giving a smoother, less deeply textured surface than genuine first-cut stag.

Used across most eras

Mother of Pearl

Iridescent natural shell, mostly reserved for dress and gift-line knives rather than everyday carry patterns.

Special/limited runs

Synthetic (Delrin/Zytel)

Durable modern synthetics used on working and budget lines — consistent color and grain, unlike natural materials.

~1960s onward

A note on accuracy: swatch colors here are approximations for quick visual reference, not calibrated to real specimens. As photos of catalog pages and verified knives are added, each material page will carry its own true-color reference images.