334 Large Trapper vs 317

[PatriotX]

Hi folks,

I lucked into a 334 Large Trapper, one of the late Camillus knives made for Buck. With a name like “LARGE TRAPPER” I fully expected this thing to be the Indominus Rex of the Buck slip joint hierarchy.

Is it?



BEEFY!



Uh-oh…


Dang…317 is massive…



I guess we now know, 317 is still Heavyweight Champion.

Thanks for looking !

 

[jbmonkey]

great find on that 334. also great example of the 317 ya got there.

these two models were some of David Martins (R.I.P.) favorites. seeing these two models brought back memories of his like for these knives. he did an article on the 334 for bcci newsletter.....in memory of him heres the link....

David Martin article in BCCI....

I hope this is okay to post for the fellas here who arent bcci members.......if not let me know and ill remove it. well done Sir. Great article David......enjoyed it immensely.....

www.bladeforums.com

 

[eveled]

Nice knives. Great comparison.

Those 2 blade hunting knives like the 317 were made by everyone. I have my Dads and my grandfathers and a KABAR I bought. Great knives. They fell out of favor when the 110 folding Hunter was introduced.

 

[DeSotoSky]

Nice knives. Great comparison.

Those 2 blade hunting knives like the 317 were made by everyone. I have my Dads and my grandfathers and a KABAR I bought. Great knives. They fell out of favor when the 110 folding Hunter was introduced.

Made by everyone or was it made for everyone?
Someone jump me if I'm wrong but pretty sure Camillus made them for Kabar also.

addendum... googled and couldn't find supporting evidence but still think they did

 

[jbmonkey]

Made by everyone or was it made for everyone?
Someone jump me if I'm wrong but pretty sure Camillus made them for Kabar also.

my memory leans that way too, but im no expert on these. so ill let the experts clear that question up one way or the other.

 

[bertl]

Made by everyone or was it made for everyone?
Someone jump me if I'm wrong but pretty sure Camillus made them for Kabar also.

I pretty much agree with Roger. The 317 TrailBlazer was made by Camillus and is essentially the Camillus #26 BigJack. I just posted on the Camillus forum ( https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/camillus-26-big-jack.1807955/ ) and asked for opinions. For those interested, check that thread. NOTE: The Camillus forum isn't quite as active as this forum so it might take a while to get responses.

Bert

 

[DeSotoSky]

I've seen Camillus referred to as the knifemakers knifemaker.

 

[DeSotoSky]

P PatriotX You are the new guy here and your pictures are pretty good.
Hope you hang around.

 

[eveled]

While I certainly understand what you are saying, and totally agree Camillus made knives for everyone.

The 3 I have are different enough that I am certain they weren’t all made by the same company.

My dads is a Western my grandfather’s a Frontier (Imperial) mine is a KABAR.

 

[PatriotX]

Thanks for the kind words, folks…they’re appreciated.

Camillus made some of my all-time my fave Cold Steel and Becker knives, as well as a few of their own unique offerings.

 

[pjsjr]

Someone jump me if I'm wrong but pretty sure Camillus made them for Kabar also.

Here's some of the 120 year history of the company that carried the KA-BAR knife and name.

KA-BAR: About Us

Visit the online KA-BAR knife store to buy knives for hunting, outdoor knives and all-purpose utility knives. Learn about KA-BAR history and the iconic USMC KA-BAR knife.

www.kabar.com

 

[Bruce Allen]

The Buck 317 pattern was made by Camillus, and they made their own slightly different version, also Queen, Kabar, Schrade etc also made their versions. So yes, everybody made them. Great Knives all.

 

[Old Hunter]

I have a Craftsman that is virtually identical to my Buck 317, I know its a Camillus. I also own a modern Case, it was made by Case. The Kabar’s could have been made in house by Kabar or contracted out to Camillus in the later years. Those were the Folding Hunters of the generations previous to the Buck 110 and its many, many clones. I think the 317 style were manufactured and marketed as big game hunters knives while the heavy duty trappers were oriented to the fur/trapping trade in addition to hunters. Fascinating knives for sure - both types. OH

 

[Old Hunter]

 

[PatriotX]

It’s interesting that each offering had its own scale pin configuration.

Thanks for sharing, the knowledge base here is amazing.

 

[eveled]

My paternal Grandfathers Frontier with his fathers razorMy dad’s Western with his other outdoor tools

 

[eveled]

Here are my 3 “2 blade hunting knives”. In the spirit of the OP it’s a comparison shot with my largest Trapper.

Thanks for tolerating the thread drift into non Buck land.

 

[Makael]

Old KaBar version I believe.

 

[eveled]

Nice one Mike! Is it a family heirloom knife?

AFAIK, All capital letters KA-BAR is from before 1952.

I think the USA underneath makes it 1930 to 1940. G gunsil would know for sure.

 

[Lesknife]

After seeing the super jumbo two blade trappers I have a hankering to get one as a novelty. looks like they’re about 9 inches closed with 8+ inch blades, probably the only knife I would display just for show. I know my grandkids would be in awe of it.