W.R. Case & Son Cutlery
Founded by Russ and W.R. Case
Little Valley, New York
1902-1905
Another spinoff from Case Brothers, Russ Case got into a feud with his uncles over commissions owed, resulting in his departure in 1902. Aided by his father W.R., the oldest of the Case brothers, and using his birth-year for smart marketing – “Since 1847” – Russ launched the jobber W.R. Case & Son Cutlery Company. Note that there is not an “s” at the end of “son” at this time… Located above Sweetland’s Grocery on the corner of Fair Oak and Mill Street in Little Valley, Russ sourced most of his product from C. Platts & Sons and Napanoch Knife Company, and redoubled his sales efforts, oftentimes confusing the same retailers he had visited the year prior while representing Case Brothers. This led to major feuds between Case Brothers and the upstart W.R. Case & Son, even dragging Russ’s grandfather Job into the fray, with both companies using his bearded likeness in advertisements. By 1905, wealthy oilmen attracted Russ to Bradford, Pennsylvania, financing the construction of W.R. Case & Son’s first factory on Bank Street. Serendipitously, Russ’s brother-in-law H.N. Platts soon left his own brothers at C. Platts’ & Sons to join Russ in Bradford – adding the “s” to W.R. Case & Sons – and this remains the final cutlery company to bear the vaunted Case surname, still hand-crafting quality pocket-, jack- and hunting knives in Bradford, Pennsylvania.
Information and photo provided by Brad Lockwood and Dean E. Case.