I recently learned that Case Knives came out with their first modern folding knives, the Kinzua and Marilla.
The Case Kinzua folding knife features a flipper opening mechanism, frame lock, 3.4″ long tanto-style blade made from S35VN, and an aluminum handle in blue, black, or red.
The Marilla is similar, but with drop point blade shape and G-10 inlay within its aluminum handle, also available in blue, black, or red..
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I reviewed a Case Back Pocket knife nearly a decade ago, and although it was well-made, my use tapered off and I eventually gave it away.
Knife users are spoiled a bit today, myself included, favoring easy and quick one-handed opening knives. Most Case knives require two hands to open, due to their traditional styling and nail-nick-opening blades.
Thus, Case lost quite a bit of visibility with me over the years, until recently when I spotted the new knives. Judging from Case’s marketing materials, they launched the Kinzua and Marilla knives sometime around late-2021.
Flipper-opening knives are definitely a deviation for the iconic brand.
Neither model checks off a lot of boxes for me, mainly on account of their 3.4″ blade sizes, but they definitely have me looking more closely to see what Case will come out with next.
Like other Case knives, the Kinzua and Marilla are made in the USA.
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User reviews so far seem to be mixed, but somewhat positive.
Price: $116 for the Kinzua, $136 for the Marilla
Popgun42
Not at that price. Can get a good knife a lot cheaper.
Stuart
You can get a good knife for less, but a comparable one? USA-made flipper with S35?
Andy
Pretty sure you can get a Delica with S30, which is pretty much indistinguishable from S35
Stuart
The Delica (an awesome EDC knife) is not a flipper, the blade is much smaller, and is made in Japan.
Robm
Kershaw Leek, well made, USA one, hand flipper, none s30 though, but that’s fine. Especially at the $45-55 retail price point. Been carrying a Leek knife every day for over 20 years. Use it nearly every day of the week at work. Side note their warranty service is top notch! Also I carry a leatherman wave.
Mikedt
That’s good steel for that price, especially for USA made. But I’ve become a big fan of thumb stud openers so I’d pass on these for that reason alone.
Nathan
I need a sub 3 in blade but I like the basic idea.
Stuart
That’s easy, if you don’t care about COO. Made in USA? $$$
Nathan
it’s a shame though you’d think some of these knife companies would notice that there is a market need for a sub 3 inch blade and make that.
Oh and I remember someone asked in the other thread – why sub 3 in.
I work at/in the airport which is federally controlled area and as such there are various restrictions. one of which is that I cannot bring a knife to work that is longer than 3 inches. why I’m not honestly sure as it’s not like it’s any less lethal than a 3.2 or 3.4 inch blade. but then again they couldn’t limit us to a 1/2 inch blade either.
and it can’t be any sort of assisted opening or deployment.
Stuart
There are still plenty of 3” blade knives.
I prefer non-assisted openers as well.
You wouldn’t think it, but manual knives tend to be pricier than assisted openers.
I guess that maybe manual knives need better pivots and more care towards a balanced blade shape, whereas a spring mechanism can overcome these things for you.
MM
I agree with Stuart here, 3″ bladed knives are not hard to find at all. Sub-3-inches seems to be a common legal requirement in many areas not just airports.
Knifecenter shows over 2700 folding pocket knives with blades in the 2-3 inch range, with 532 of them being made in the USA. BladeHQ shows over 2100 models in stock, with 324 of those made in the USA.
Bobby
I can’t speak for the build quality having never handled one personally. On paper the specs are good for the price especially compared to other USA made knives. YMMV.
MM
I like that they are USA made, good steel too, but in my opinion the design is very generic. If someone showed me pics of those knives with the Case logo photoshopped out and didn’t provide any information about the steel or location of manufacture I’d have guessed they were generic “gas station” knives. IMHO $125+ for a a knife like this is more into “knife enthusiast” territory rather than “practical EDC choice”, and so I’d be looking for a more interesting design or perhaps an unusually nice action.
My preference would be to either go with something cheaper that I’d care less about getting damaged or lost, or to go with something fancier if I decided to say screw it and gift myself a nice knife.
Jared
I think that’s a good point – there’s nothing “Case” about the looks of the knife, even if it does have good steel and a decent price tag.
What about a “modern” design with some bone scales (or a bone insert at least)? I’d look at that.
That’s what I imagine when I think of Case anyway.
MM
It’s not just that they don’t look like a classic Case; these knives don’t have any sort of interesting styling at all. It’s not that they look bad, they just look generic. The visual design is the sort of thing I’d expect from either the aforementioned gas station knife, or perhaps an advertising giveaway with a company logo etched on the side.
Koko The Talking Ape
Case is an iconic maker of old-school pocketknives, the kind your granddad used for whittling. It’s nice to see them updating their line a little.
These particular knives aren’t particularly appealing to me, because the blade length makes them problematic to carry in many cities, and the aluminum scales are slick, add weight, and aren’t as skin-friendly as FRN, G10, etc. And they look, sorry to say, like any number of cheap Chinese knives. You can’t say that about, for instance, Benchmade or even Spyderco.
But still, good to see Case trying out new designs.
Joe H
These definitely look like a nice gas station knife. They are probably decent but I hate aluminum handles because they are too slick and get cold in the winter. Anything with metal handles gets an automatic pass from me. FRN, G-10 or maybe especially micarta is all I’ll ever use. I prefer sheepsfoot, modified drop point, leaf or especially wharncliffe blade shapes.
JoeM
*Shrug* I’ve seen these on some YouTube channels before, and just wasn’t impressed. Call it “Crazy” or whatever else… but I ended up sold on the Benchmade Crooked Creek, completely blacked out. I haven’t bought it yet, but… it does appear to be the perfect personal defense knife for EDCers in an urban environment.
And, yeah… I know that’s an awfully expensive knife to want for that random reason. But I’m also someone who values hand crafting, and personal craftsmanship. I have a friend who lives a few towns over, and he makes his own knives. Steel plate to razor sharp, any style you choose, whatever grade steel you choose. His lowest price knife (a palmable “Tick” as he calls his micro knuckle-knife.) starts at $300. I’ve seen his work, I’ve held it in my hand, and he insists on making ever single knife capable of acting as a razor when it leaves his workshop. For the amount of work he puts in, I’ve begged him to charge a bit more to cover some bills, but he refuses that part. I see the value in true quality craftsmanship, and the high price that is usually attached to that quality.
FYI… I want to have him make me a fresh, new Kitchen Knife set. Might end up 20-36 piece set of knives @ $300+ CAD a piece. But it would be totally worth it. He’s extremely good at his craft, and I appreciate the work!
Stuart
1) Knives are tools. If you want to discuss any other use, there are plenty of other places, just not here.
2) 20-36 piece kitchen knife set?! That seems a bit much.
MM
I agree, that’s quite the kitchen knife set. I consider myself a pretty serious cook (I have been paid for it at times), and I think I have quite the selection of kitchen knives but I don’t think I can count 20. And I really only use a handful.
70% of the time I use a Glestain 300mm Gyuto.
25% of the time I use a Sugimoto #6 Chinese-style knife, which I suppose many people would call a cleaver but in reality is anything but. It’s under 2mm thick and is so hard it chips on the smallest chicken bone.
The other 5% of the time it might be one of:
Sugimoto #22 heavy Chinese cleaver
Glestain flexible filet knife 250mm
Henckels kudamono paring knife
Victorinox flexible boning knife
Glestain Deba 200mm
That’s pretty much it. I do have a few others: a pair of gigantic Chan Chi Kee s: a pork butcher’s knife and super-heavy cleaver (I think it weighs 6 lbs, the spine is over 1/2″ thick and the blade resembles a billhook), Glestain offset petty knife and Garasuki, a custom made Watanabe Blade Kanisaki Deba. Sugimoto #11, and a massive old French chef’s knife whose maker escapes me at the moment. I count 14. And honestly half of them get used so rarely that they’re really more curiosity pieces than they are anything practical. I would struggle to use a 20..30..pc set.
Though I will be honest, if I had the cash to splash around I’d be very tempted to buy knives I simply thought were interesting, but I doubt they’d ever get used enough to justify their price.
In my opinion it makes the most sense to focus on very good versions of the knives you use the most. I don’t mind splurging on something like that, I see it as an investment in tools that I will use to put food on mine any my family’s plate for years to come.
JoeM
12 to 15 would be steak knives that match. For bigger family functions… Maybe 20 to 24 of them. I’m not certain yet.
A couple sized standard Chef Knife, a standard Slicer and Fork for carving the main dish, bread knife, filet, couple 4-5″ utility style straight blades, a paring knife for fine cuts, a couple lengths of Cleaver, and maybe a Santoku with the divots to easily stop things sticking to the blade while cutting. The rest are a matching steak knife set.
I’m crazy, sure. But not unreasonably so. For someone who cooks like I do? This is the dream tool kit. Sorry for the confusion.
Oh, and, standard 6″ Cleaver blade for Meat, 8″-12″ for Turnip and other hearty tubers that are difficult to cut. Not as crazy as it sounds. But thank you for the reminder to clarify!
As to the Crooked Creek… Nothing against the ones of the Article, I just kinda fell in love with it.. if that makes sense at all?
Ct451
I’m not sure these are the first modern folding knives they released. They had them for a few years but they are now assembled in their own factory. The steel is good but too expensive for edc for me and the craftsmanship is different. Even the logo is etched instead of stamped.
Olegk
I love knives but haven’t heard a single good feedback on this knife as of yet. Most complains are about the quality of the parts, I also heard that the steel quality of the steel is subpar. There is no functioning clip and opening it isn’t easy. There is a reason it costs so cheap, even though it’s made with S35vn…