Seasons greeting everyone!
This is my first major post on this forum so apologies if I get any etiquette wrong or mess up on formatting.
It’s a great pleasure to be bringing this information to you all as we roll into the spooky season. I guess I’ll start by saying I’ve been in the shadows for a while digesting all of the amazing information this community has gathered and like many used it as an invaluable information resource to gather my own screen accurate grail pieces. Shout out to Lamson78, TheGhostlyShape and TheHedge to name just a few, it wouldn’t have been possible to gather this information without their prior research and openness.
So what have I found that hasn’t already been said or discussed about the H1 Knife a million times by this point? I landed on this information a week or so ago while seeking a H1 Knife to add to my collection (very late to the party I know). What I stumbled across took me by surprise hence taking my time to cross reference everything and make sure what I had found was accurate and factual. To the best of my knowledge these 102-12" Knife details have never been disclosed until now or were simply unknown/missed. I’ll be honest I’d be bummed out if it was intentionally withheld but that’s not what this post is about.
What started my search for answers resulted from my curiosity wishing to know what material the H1 Knife were made from. I could see from Lamson78 posted images what ‘THE’ knife should look like, however, the materials were elusive and a guess at best. Having worked in the Arts most of my life I had my gut suspicions but wished to confirm them 100%. I searched this forum numerous times sifting through every post and associated link however only ever came across posts suggesting that the information was out there but no more.
What happens next resulted in an unstoppable desire to find this information and expose it to the community so we can all learn something new, level the playing field and apply this information to our search.
So what did you find Nickel? Well it wasn’t easy but through persistence I found a very reliable source who not only provided me with one case catalogue but ‘ALL’ of the catalogues pertaining to the W.R Case & Sons Cut Co 102-12". These not only clearly state the materials used but also show how it ‘changed’ over time. More on this as we dig into the facts below.
So you can reference and look for yourself, here are the catalogue numbers and associated dates. Feel free to seek these out yourself (very rare and hard to find, some retailing at $150 second hand!) or drop me a line and I’ll happily share a digital PDF with you.
Issue #60 - Circa 1949-1950 - The first visual record of a 102-12 sold by Case
Issue #66 - 1955 - The first visual record of a 102-12 with relevant engravings
Issue #67 - 1957 - Located referenced under professional knives
Issue #68 - 1959 - Located referenced under professional knives
Issue #69 - 1964 - Located referenced under professional knives
Issue #70 - 1969 - Located referenced under professional knives
Issue #71 Onwards - 1974 - 1980 - The 102-12 is discontinued / Professional case knives now only run up to a max of 10" with notably different engraving patterns
So now we have a starting point and an end point to work with confirmed by an undisputable case knife expert.
Up to this point details found in the forum and through associated links matched up pretty well except I didn’t have these dates or access to the catalogues which contained crucial details. It was bugging me that Lamson78 had posted images on his ‘carefully’ chosen 102-12 from a ‘few different variants’ and to my eye his handle was clearly Rosewood and Nickel, however, looking at other 102-12 images collected and shared over the past 8 years (has it really been that long) it was apparent to me that those were different variants with different materials. I think Lamson78 knew this and was an absolute Legend giving the community this heads up, kudos for spotting the differences.
This is where it gets exciting as I was able to start cross referencing the catalogues and answer my burning questions. I present to the community the direct entries from each catalogue.
Issue #60
Issue #66
Issue #67
Issue #68
Issue #69
Issue #70
Issue #71
Issue #77
Issue #81
I knew it! Rosewood was indeed used on the 102-12" however wasn’t introduced until 1964, 14 years before H1 was filmed. What’s more ‘only’ catalogue #70 from 1969 features the 102-12" with ‘Nickel silver’ rivets, every version prior to this uses brass.
For those of you wondering what type of wood Ebonizing is, I’ll explain. It’s not Ebony but it is a treatment that can be applied to ‘any’ wood to make it look like Ebony ,however, for ease of production and consistency its usually applied to a naturally high tannic acid wood such as Oak or Walnut. It just so happens that Case used Walnut commonly on many of their knife sets and as such it makes perfect sense that they would apply an iron oxide solution to these in order to create a darker and unique looking finish for their professional range. It’s also worth noting that ebonizing isn’t superficial, Walnut is porous and as such the solution soaks all the way through ‘permanently’ changing the appearance hence why vintage 102-12’s even in 2024 still have that darkened tone. Walnut is a hardwood however has a lower hardness and durability rating than Rosewood. Rosewood is also a particularly heavy exotic wood which became scarce following deforestation so where it would have been sourced from would have played its part, my guess is most likely Honduran based on factory location coupled with the tonal differences between East Indian, Honduran and Burmese to name a few.
So taking all of this into account, IF the H1 knife aligns with the #70 Catalogue profile then not only have we traced additional details about material differences in the 102-12’s but we’ve also tracked down the ‘exact’ variant and ‘year’ of production! I started gathering all the most accurate details I could from screen and other collector posts over the past 8 years and what I found out from aligning these together was even more exciting. Not only were the materials different in 1969 but Case also made a change to the top of the blade profile resulting it a notable ‘blade’ drop when looked at alongside a ruler. I continued to cross reference and everything started to fall into place aligning perfectly with what Lamson78 was warning the community about 8 years ago. The rear rivet is in a different position to any other variant prior, there’s a subtle handle drop compared to the older designs, a differing blade shape, handle material and rivet material. All of this actually makes it quite easy to distinguish a H1 grail vs one of its older replica counterparts but you need this information to know.
Below are a bunch of carefully overlaid images allowing you to clearly see the differences and comparisons.
#68 vs #70
#69 vs #70
#Lamson78 comparison
Real variant with front blade wear comparison
Onscreen example
What stuck out to me though was the lack of ‘significant’ bend on the handle featured in the movie blade and seen on vintage pieces found online. It’s not featured in the catalogue so what caused this?
Bend example 01
Bend example 02
Bend example 03
This requires us to imagine how these ‘Butcher’ knives where used cutting through large pieces of meat and tough bone on a regular basis. It also wasn’t uncommon to ‘whack’ the rear spine or press upon the spine and handle at the same time as a means of applying greater pressure for cutting. This ‘over time’ would have eventually and subtly created a visual bend/bow in the handle only present on heavily used vintage knife. This level of use would also degrade the wood in areas of greatest exposure e.g. around the beak and exposed ends. This is just a theory beyond blaming it on the production camera lenses however I think it’s a pretty solid explanation as to why the screen used knife had this subtle difference.
Wear example 01
So what about the older variants, pre-1969, how am I so sure it wasn’t any of those. Excluding age alone (which I think is a big factor), the most telling factor is the rear beak and rivet. As a you can see in the gifs only the rear rivet of the 1969 variant matches and that’s without taking into account the other material differences such as the almost white looking Nickel rivets. I honesty think Lamson78 spotted all of this without even knowing about the catalogues. The handle is too dark and lacks the cherry finish, the rivets would have been too yellow in their tarnished/untarnished state and the blade was different having a ‘lesser’ drop. I’d also add that Case used low chrome Vanadium which despite best efforts to oil would naturally darken over time. Remember also that the engraving on the screen used was still very much legible. This all being said unless you were armed with the details listed here it would be easy to think that an older variant was the screen variant especially if you were not aware of issue #70 which has the distinctive red border around the catalogue image.
I noticed Hedge actually posted the image from issue #70 (red border) but then separately claimed that the 102-12 was discontinued from an older issue, #68. You may notice that the engraving in issue#70 is ‘almost’ invisible but you can see in the 100-10" above that it is due to image rendering suffering from the same fading but to a lesser degree. The Chrome Vanadium engraving was still present on the 102-12" in 1969, if you look very closely a hint of it is still there.
This Hedge statement is accurate based on what we have learned however doesn’t align with issue #68 it’s actually issue #70.
So there you have it everyone it’s autumn 2024 and we’ve learnt something new about a H1 grail which will hopefully help others who pride themselves on accuracy seek the correct type. If this topic causes anyone who thought there search was over to regain an uncontrollable itch I sincerely apologize but at least now you know.
I’m fortunate to own a weathered pair of black label tradewears in addition to a pair of '68 Jungle boots alongside an MDF finished 98 proto (special) , thanks to what I learned from this forum (thank you to those still active) and look forward to sharing images of these worn with you all this Halloween. I’m 5’10 and weigh 165lb so will do my very best to be a half decent Nick mannequin.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to no longer being a silent shadow, you may even catch a glimpse of a 1969 variant 102-12" in the not too distant future. 
Happy hunting everyone. Nickel.
