This knife is a good one and a keeper and will be using it mostly till the hereafter because of its blade design.The up swept blade is great to use and gets the job done effectively when I am skinning deer.The grip has good texture and no slippage when using.Is light and no hand fatigue when cutting above my shoulders.The blade was average sharp and almost failed the paper cut test I give a knife.I had to give it a few minutes lightly on a stone for my personal preference.Sheath is good but because the curve of the blade there is some slack when buttoned up.The blade curve is great but the blade material will not allow to skin and quarter 3 deer before touching up the blade like another knife I own without giving it a touch up.It will do about 2 deer.It however cuts very very good and will make quick work.This knife to be compared to my other knife will have to go up in blade toughness while it can be easily maintained and that may cost an additional 30.00.BUT it don't have the blade geometry I like on this one.It look cheap and it is but it works .

Gift for 15year-old son, and he loves it. Uses it for skinning. So sharp out of the box that when scraping the blade across his thumb, he peeled off a thin layer of his skin, thin enough that he didn't even bleed. Serious knife for a nice price!

Incredible knife. My one "complaint" while field dressing a deer is that it was too sharp and I accidentally poked something I did not intend to pole. I'd call this a user error.
Searching reviews on this knife, about the only complains I found was that the ridges were a little too rough. While field dressing, this was well appreciated. The second complaint was the "full tang" metal seen between the handle is not polished all the way around. These are not worth one less star.
I am impressed by the shape of the blade while dressing the deer. I like the sheath and am glad to see, from what I can gather, a high end leather composition. The blade "clicks" in. I do wish there was a strap/buckle for more security. Not worth a dropped star.
I highly recommend a fixed blade knife for field dressing. Keeping a blade's mechanics is nearly impossible so a fixed blade is quite necessary in my field bag.
Of the fixed blades, I couldn't be happier with the size and overall design of this knife.
I have only used this blade once and cannot speak to the way it retains an edge. If you are a hunter I highly recommend a bone saw for the ribs, which will preserve this dressing/caping knife.

A year and a half after purchasing this knife I couldn't be more pleased. The knife has a very nice wood handle. Specifically, it is a dark brown, rosewood handle with a gloss finish. The sturdy blade came razor sharp and has maintained a great edge. This full tang knife is complimented by a great sheath that is of a quality deserving of the knife. I have purchased two of these knives, one of which I gave as a gift. My sheath came a very dark, oil finished brown. The one I purchased as a gift was much lighter in color, which I would describe as a medium brown. Both looked great, but note there was quite a color variance. What impressed me most about this knife is the quality wood used on the handle and the thick, sturdy spine of the blade. This knife is built to last. I own several American made fixed blade knives and consider this one of the best overall in appearance and quality at this price point.

I hunt and take a lot of small game; beaver, possum, rabbit, raccoon, squirrel etc. I've never owned a skinning knife; I used my pocket knife or my survival knife. Neither of these knives is ideal for the task, the pocket knife being too short and the survival knife too big. So, I decided to fix this problem and buy an actual skinning knife. I wanted a reasonably priced, stainless steel knife that was razor sharp out-of-the-box. I had a friend who collects Case pocket knives and they were the sharpest production blades I had ever tried. After searching the internet and reading dozens of reviews, I decided to purchase this Case Ridgeback (01402). I was not disappointed; the knife was razor sharp out-of-the-box. Indeed, it was sharper than both of my other knives when they were new. I've had the opportunity to put the knife through its paces and a brief stropping with a leather strap brought it back to being razor sharp. This knife is made with quality materials and the workmanship is certainly acceptable. This knife is not a $250 - $500 show piece. It is a production knife and there are some imperfections. The tip of my blade veers 128th of an inch to the right and there are 6 horizontal scratches on the left side. These scratches are only visible if you hold the blade at just the right angle with just the right lighting. These imperfections are minor and do not affect the performance of the knife. The knife fits comfortably in my hand and is easy to control even when my hands are bloody. In part, this is due to the tang which extends slightly below the bottom of the scales which is a good design feature. This Case Ridgeback (01402) is an excellent skinning knife and I'm sure that it will provide many years of good service.