When Matthew Billings misses his hometown of Bradford, all he has to do is pull out a Case knife from his collection.

The knives remind him of home.

The Shippensburg man and his family came out on Friday to celebrate the 125th anniversary of W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. at the Zippo-Case Museum. 

Collectors and spectators throughout the United States and from as far away as South Africa milled about, browsing the knives in the display cases and talking with workers.

Billings said he has 12 Case knives in his collection, some of which he uses. Others are for show.

When he and his family visit Bradford, a must-see is the Zippo-Case Museum, he said. Billings said his family was in the area visiting his mother, who lives in Bradford.

His nephew, 10-year-old Carson Orlando of North Carolina, is following in his footsteps.

“I like tools, so I just like knives,” he said. “Case knives are pretty handy, I think.”

He owns about two or three Case knives. He added a TecX Case knife to his collection on Friday.

“We are so proud to host the Case 125th Anniversary Celebration this weekend,” Kathy Jones, Zippo retail marketing manager, said in a prepared statement. “It is wonderful to see the appreciation consumers have for our American icons; Case knives and Zippo lighters. Today (Friday), hundreds of visitors enjoyed touring the Museum and learning about Case’s 125 year history and Zippo’s more than 80 year history.”

W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co.’s celebration continues today at the museum.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Case historian Katie Shonts Saar will be available. Case artisan Brian Jones will offer free shining and sharpening of customers’ knives during that same time Saturday.

People will also be able to get their special Case lockback knives engraved. 

“We started the day (Friday) with Case enthusiasts lined up at the door waiting to purchase their exclusive Case 125th anniversary knives and other commemorative merchandise,” Kyle Kleiderlein, assistant manager of the museum store, said in a prepared statement. “We are sold out of some of the merchandise but still have a few of the 125th Anniversary Case Trapper knives made exclusively for this Case Anniversary celebration at the Museum.”

Inside the museum Friday, Gary Stephens of Ransomville, N.Y., looked at several knives in a display case. Three of them caught his attention, including one with a white handle and a knife with a black handle.

He said he likes the bone handles, and he admires the curves and just the design of the knives.

“I like them. They’re beautiful knives,” he said.

As a child he had knives handed down by his grandfather. But they were stolen when he was 13 or 14, along with his father’s Case knives and other items.

He remembers chipping away at wood with Case knives long ago and the blades being built sturdy.

Stephens hopes to once again have his own collection of knives. Over the next few years, he plans on getting some Case knives.

One Case collector who wished not to be named said he looks at Case knives like women eye jewelry. He declined to be identified for fear that someone would ransack his home because of his large Case knife collection.

He admires the artistry of the knives. He has been adding knives to his collection for 40 years.

“My wife cringes every time I bring home another knife,” he said.

He said that he goes crazy for Case knives.

“She’s afraid we’re going to have to put another room on the house or something,” he said.

Case dates back 1889 when four brothers — William Russell (W.R.), Jean, John, and Andrew Case (a.k.a. “The Case Brothers”) — started making knives and selling them along a wagon trail in upstate New York. W.R.’s son, John Russell (Russ) Case, a former salesman for the Case Brothers brand, launched W.R. Case & Sons around the turn of the 20th century, according to information from Case.

In the 1990s, Zippo Manufacturing Co. bought Case.

The knife company’s original knife concepts and manufacturing methods have been recognized with awards and features from major print publications, international trade organizations and events, broadcast television shows and major motion pictures.

For more information on Case knives, see www.wrcase.com