The Case Bridgeline Series: Modern EDC Knives with a Classic Style

 

Case Knives is one of the oldest knife companies in the United States.They’re well known for their traditional slip joint pattern knives. While they have a well-deserved reputation for their work in classic designs, that isn’t all that they make. Case has a number of modern designs as well, and the new Bridgeline Series is a great example of modern design and practicality, without losing the traditional feel that Case is known for.

The Bridgelines

Case released their Bridgeline series at the 2024 SHOT Show, and I had a chance to first check them out there. I was impressed with both the design and construction. They were a different style than either Case’s traditional slipjoint lines, or their other modern folders such as the Marilla or Kinzua. They had a clean, classy look all their own, but fit well with the Case mindset. I knew I’d want to check them out better firsthand, but it took a while to get a pair in hand for review. They were selling out as fast as Case could make them, which didn’t surprise me. I did finally manage to get an example of both models in the Bridgeline series, the Longhouse and the Highbanks.

The Longhouse and Highbanks

Both knives share some core features like overall size and materials. They use 2.87 inch stonewash finished blades of premium CPM-20 CV stainless steel. The Longhouse has a clip point shape with a high flat grind. The Longhouse has a modified Wharncliffe profile with a full flat grind and a slot for opening, rather than a nail nick. The Longhouse weighs 3.3 ounces and the Highbanks a touch less at 2.6 ounces.

The knives use screwed together aluminum frames and bolsters with a satin finish, and a variety of handle materials are available. Both knives can be had with scales of brown Rosewood, black burlap micarta, or OD green canvas micarta. Both are fitted with a low profile, deep carry pocket clip set up for right hand, tip up carry. The Highbanks also has a lanyard hole present at the butt of the knife.

Where they differ, aside from blade shape, is in their opening and locking mechanism. The Longhouse uses a front flipper and a steel ball bearing pivot. It’s extremely smooth to operate and lock up is by means of a stainless steel liner lock. The Highbanks is a slipjoint with a half stop position. It’s a two handed opening knife, using the slotted blade hole. Both knives are very lightweight.

Fit and finish on the Bridgelines is excellent. The knives are made from premium materials, and fit between the scales and frame and scales to bolster were excellent. Blades are evenly ground and come with an excellent factory edge. They have sort of a beefed up Barlow pattern styling to them that gives them a classic look.

I like that the finishes on the Bridgelines are subtle and subdued. They aren’t tactical by any means, but they have a discrete matte finish to them which I appreciate. I’m not one for much flash and bling to begin with. The Bridgelines clean lines and material choices give them a classy but subtle look. Plus, I think matte and satin finishes are easier to maintain.

Long-term Carry and EDC Use

The knives are perfectly sized for EDC carry and use. They aren’t monstrous folders intended as fighting knives, nor are they tiny knives suitable only for opening up boxes. They hit that sweet spot of being small enough to carry comfortably, but big enough to be useful for most any common task. They have a well-designed deep carry pocket clip that allows the knife to ride low and securely in your pocket. If you’re old school and would rather just drop the knife in your pocket, the clip is removable.

The Longhouse is the front flipper model and that’s the primary way to open the knife. Although you can pinch the spine of the blade and manually open the knife with two hands if you like. I’m honestly not always very good at opening front flippers but I found the Longhouse to be one of the easier ones I’ve used. It’s fast and intuitive. Lock up is by means of a liner lock, and its positive locking the blade open with no obvious blade play. The lock is set up for typical right hand use, and releases easily. With that said, it’s tucked away in the frame deep enough that you aren’t going to release it inadvertently during use.

The  Highbanks is a slipjoint folder, meaning that there is no locking mechanism. In lieu of a nail nick, the blade has a slot in the blade that gives you something to grab to open the knife. I found this a lot easier to use than most nail nicks. While here is no lock, there is a positive stop when the knife is open. It’s a nice option for folks who like traditional slipjoints, but appreciate something a bit more updated. It’s also a nice option for folks who live in restricted environments with regulations against locking blades.

Hands On

I added the Case Bridgelines to my EDC rotation and carried both models off and on over the past 8 months. The knives carry very well in the pocket. They’re a comfortable size and the light weight makes them easy to forget about. The edges are well rounded too so there’s nothing that wears on your clothing, or digs into your hand if you reach into your pocket for your keys.

A folders pocket clip is as important as a fixed blades sheath in my opinion. If either of them doesn’t work well, you aren’t going to carry the knife. I have drawers full of knives that don’t get much use, either because I didn’t feel they could be carried securely, or they were too hard to draw when I wanted to use them. I was happy to see that Case’s clip on the Bridgeline didn’t relegate itself to the drawer. The clip positions the knife deep in the pocket so the knife is discreetly carried. It has enough tension that it isn’t going anywhere, but not so much that I have to fight to draw the knife, or that it tears up the pocket edge from pulling it in and out.

The knives themselves are comfortable to use. They have similar sized and shaped handles. They’re fat enough that I felt I could get a solid grip on them, even on cutting tasks where I had to bear down and put pressure on the blade. They definitely didn’t feel too chunky though, and weren’t so thick that they were awkward to carry. I mentioned that the edges were all smoothed out and didn’t wear on clothing, and that holds true in hand as well. There were no hard angles that caused hotspots or discomfort during use. They’re comfortable in hand, in a variety of grips.

The CPM-20CV steel came with a good factory edge and held it well during use. I did all of your typical EDC tasks while carrying them, which included cutting a lot of tape and boxes open. This can be rough on the blade edge sometimes, but both knives held up well. The most I did maintenance wise was to clean some gunk off the blades now and then, and touch them up on my JRE Industries Stropbat. I can’t even say the edge needed to be touched up, but it’s more of a habit that if I’m cleaning a knife I tend to touch it up while I’m working with it.

If I had to pick between the two, I’d probably give the nod to the Longhouse with its flipper opening system and liner lock. That’s mainly because I’m used to having a one hand opening folder with a lock, so that’s my comfort zone. One of my buddies is a dedicated slipjoint guy though so he comes down on the side of the Highbanks. I will say though that if I were going somewhere that restricted flippers or locking blades, the Highbanks would be one of my top picks for an EDC.

Wrap Up

If you like a knife with modern materials and practical design, but with a more traditional styling, then the Case Longhorn and Highbanks Bridegline series should definitely be something you check out. They’re made from top quality materials, and are very well executed. They’re also made in the USA at Case’s factory in Bradford, Pennsylvania. While I tend to like knives of all stripes and colors, there is something to be said for buying an American made knife from one of the oldest names in the business.

For more information check out the Case Knives website.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

6 thoughts on “The Case Bridgeline Series: Modern EDC Knives with a Classic Style”

  1. Ghost of Peegee

    I like these, and the fact that they’re made in the U.S.A. is a major factor. I recently visited an elderly friend of our family who lives in another State (he’s going to turn 90 this year), and he gifted me a vintage Case mini pocket knife estimated to have been made in the 1960s. I now carry it in addition to my main EDC knife.

    Several years ago, Buck (knife company) was having a sale, so I bought one online. Seeing as Buck was founded as an American company and is located in Idaho of all places, I assumed I was getting something manufactured here in the U.S.A. After all, their website loudly touts “Made in America”, right? Upon receiving my knife and opening up the blade, it was etched with “Made in China”. I gave it away to a friend and have never considered a Buck knife again.

    1. nowadays it pays to research origins. buck, gerber, kershaw, spyderco and many other (u.s.) knife companies have chicom models.

    2. Ok, here’s the thing about “Made in America” …. it doesn’t always mean “Made in America” (or “Made in U.S.A.”) (or “American Made”).

      According to the FTC, to label a product like this it must be: all or virtually all of the product must be made in the United States. However, if more than a negligible amount of the product is made elsewhere, it must comply with FTC rules and carry a supplemental line such as “with global components.”

      Sounds good, right? I mean ya would think if a company advertises their products are “Made in America” they are in compliance with the FTC requirements, right?

      Well, they are but there are also ‘legal’ loopholes – then there is ‘legal’ truth and ‘factual truth’ and the two are not required to be the same thing. Its a kinda long explanation and I’ve posted it before over at TTAG with all the details but I’m going to do a very short condensed version here

      The very short condensed version: A company can legally advertise their products (i.e. on containers. packaging, websites, printed materials, marketing language, etc…) are “Made in America” in a general sense without disclosing that general sense use.

      They can do this if either some or all of their products/parts/material are “Made in America” OR IF the item/part/materiel can be sourced from a U.S. based company (i.e. part supplier, importer, foreign OEM entity with a U.S. based presence or as a ’employee contractor contract’) AND any part of a product final ‘assembly’ is done in the US and this includes a range of things from packaging the product made outside the US to simply shipping the product (from the ‘supply source in the US) or in other words if the US company selling the product does any ‘work’ to prepare or send the product for market they can claim “Made in America” — if any of this they can use the legal loop-holes and thus the ‘legal truth’ to claim “Made in America” (or “Made in U.S.A.”) (or “American Made”). Sometimes such ‘things’ are marked some place to indicate its actual foreign origin, but its not always required. This also includes those ‘things’ from foreign contracted OEM company’s with a ‘contracted employee’ type of contract with the U.S. based company or company entity.

      For example, using a knife company example: The U.S. knife company contracts with a China OEM in such a manner making the China OEM an ‘contracted employee’ of the U.S. knife company thus legally the OEM is an ’employee’ of the knife company thus the ‘work’ of the China OEM is the knife company ‘property’ as if it the ‘work’ was done in the US thus they can claim “Made in America” for their products generally using (loop hole) ‘legal truth’ when the ‘factual truth’ is the whole product (or parts-of-the-product) was physically made in China by a China OEM company. Advertising, marketing hype, etc… is only required to be ‘legal truth’ not ‘factual truth’.

      So there is more to it than this, lots of details and ins-n-outs but this is the overall very short condensed version.

      1. Another example: Swampfox optics.

        Up until about 2022 Swampfox optics use to advertise their products were made in the U.S.A. by claiming ‘Swampfox Optics’ are manufactured in the United States of America. Well. that was ‘legally’ true because the use of the term ‘Swampfox Optics’. They kinda stopped doing that mostly in marketing, but you still see it sometimes.

        ‘Swampfox Optics’ is a U.S. company, but the ‘Swampfox Optics’ ‘sights’ are made by a China OEM called ‘Shanghai Changhong Optoelectric’ who also actually makes the firearms optics for other well known companies, for example, some Vortex optics. But the ‘Swampfox’ brand name is actually the American distribution ‘direct-to-consumer concept’ brand name for ‘Shanghai Changhong Optoelectric’.

        So here is how this relationship works to claim ‘made in America’ (by using ‘manufactured in the United States of America’): ‘SwampFox Optics’ company in the U.S. designers come up with the design for a sight and send it to ‘Shanghai Changhong Optoelectric’ who approves the design or might ‘tweak it’ some, then makes the sight in China. Then the finished sights are shipped back to the U.S. to be marketed under the ‘Shanghai Changhong Optoelectric’ brand name ‘Swampfox’. So even though the ‘factual truth’ is that ‘SwampFox Optics’ are made in China, the ‘legal’ truth is they are Made in America because the designers at ‘SwampFox Optics’ U.S. company did ‘work’ to prepare or send the product for market.

        Like I said, there are lots of ins-n-outs to the ‘made in America’ thing.

        1. China OEM’s are all over the ‘firearms’ product spectrum. For example: Shenzhen Aimbond is an OEM in Shenzhen, China, they make sights/scopes and magnifiers for Bushnell, Primary Arms, and Vortex (although some Vortex sights are made by Shanghai Changhong Optoelectric).

          There is not a one of you out there with a firearm optic (yes, including scopes) made in the last 30 years that does not have some ‘made in china’ in it.

  2. only morons have their blades close on them in use. that said, i no longer buy slipjoints, although that modded wharny/ sheepsfoot is my favorite blade shape, esp. with the near full flat grind. i hate clip point blades, but like front flipper and liner lock. so, for me, they couldn’t have done them any wronger. eh, la.
    they look beautiful, i get along well with 20cv (m390, 204p), green micarta is fun and, very importantly, there is no exposed tang.

Scroll to Top