Case’s Highly-Retro USA-Made EDC Knife Is Rooted in Medical History

Emerging from the brand’s vault for 2025, this compact tool harkens to a time when a folding knife was an essential doctor’s tool.

By Sean Tirman

Published March 13, 2025

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Founded in 1889, Case is one of the longest-operating knifemaking brands in the USA. As such, the outfit is steeped in rich history, as are its many offerings.

One such offering has just been released from the brand’s vault for 2025. Called the Case Baby Doc, this design has direct ties to the history of medicine and is a useful EDC tool.

Case Baby Doc knife on log next to keys and change — The handle comes in various classic materials, including bone and wood.

Medical marvel

The Case Baby Doc is a fairly straightforward gentleman’s knife with a straight handle and simple blade. However, its secondary edgeless spatula blade helps set it apart from its brethren.

The pair of blades come together to create a tool that harkens to a time when medical professionals used to make house calls. In fact, it’s based on an original (now-defunct) Doctor’s Knife that was made explicitly as EDC for MDs.

A doctor might use the sharp-edge blade to cut sutures or bandages, whereas the edgeless, rectangular spatula blade could crush pills or mix medicines in liquid. It could even feasibly be used as a tongue depressor in a pinch (given that it was properly sterilized).

This version, made in the brand’s Bradford, PA facility, was originally released in 2004/2005. However, it’s been removed from the vault and re-released for the 2025 calendar year.

Case Baby Doc knife on blurred background — The Baby Doc has two blades, one for cutting tasks and another without an edge for various medical purposes — like crushing pills or mixing tonics.

An everyday carry classic

Along with its historical silhouette, this knife boasts a lot of classic materials and mechanisms (as is so often the case with Case offerings).

All eight versions come with the brand’s signature Tru-Sharp surgical steel as their base — especially poignant considering the connection to the medical world. They all also have nail nick deployments and non-locking slipjoint mechanisms.

However, their handle material varies. Four are made from bone, three are synthetic and the most opulent is made of curly oak wood handle scales.

They also all have the same overall silhouette and specs. Regardless of their materials, all the handles measure 2.88 inches. Similarly, the blades measure 2.2 and 2.5 inches. That makes for a compact, albeit still very useful, everyday carry tool.

Case Baby Doc on wood block next to keys and change on desk next to wallet, sunglasses and lamp — This knife is positively tiny, but it is also extremely useful and steeped in rich history.

Available now

All eight versions of Case’s Baby Doc are now available on the brand’s site. Depending on their materials and availability, they range in price from $64 to $92.

However, the knife won’t be around forever. After 2025, the brand plans to put it back in the vault. Grab one of these historical folders while you can.