As I see it.

[Mountainwind]

And I could be wrong, have been before. If people bought knives like some are now, trying to get a piece of the action before the desirable pieces are gone, or more expensive in price, Camillus might sill be a working business.
Some are paying twice what knives sold for a few weeks ago. If they had bought those items in the past, paying regular prices, we might not be having this conversation now.
Some people just are not interested in things till their not made anymore.

 

[Codger_64]

Do you really believe that knife collectors and speculators were the bulk of their, or any other cutlery's market? No, IMHO, blaming this group is actually too simplistic. Just as with ISC, the cause list is a page long. And Camillus' real market was much different that most people realize.

Codger

 

[orvet]

When Camillus went on strike last year, I and others I know, went on a Camillus buying spree. I bought the whole Gran'pa series as well as many other pieces. My thought was that maybe if people buy the knives then the workers at Camillus will go back to work. It doesn't seem to have worked in the long run. Maybe more people should have bought then also.

I personally ordered a few more Camillus on Wednesday. They were knives I had wanted and were on my buy list. I merely moved them up to the top of the list.

In reality I am sure there will be new Camillus knives on the market for years to come. Schrade went out of business almost three years ago. A quick search of ebay shows more then 1500 items for sale this afternoon. I don't think buying Schrades or Camillus, or most other knives for that matter, is the wisest of investment strategies. There are far too many variables. I collect for the love of knives and the history that goes with them.

There are no doubt people who will grab up any available Camillus and put it on ebay as RARE, NO LONGER MADE, VINTAGE and all the other words they use to entice the unwary buyer. These people will likely loose money, which really doesn't hurt my feelings. They are the carpetbaggers of the 21st century. :barf:

Just my $.02,
Dale

 

[Bob W]

And I could be wrong, have been before. If people bought knives like some are now, trying to get a piece of the action before the desirable pieces are gone, or more expensive in price, Camillus might sill be a working business.
Some are paying twice what knives sold for a few weeks ago. If they had bought those items in the past, paying regular prices, we might not be having this conversation now.

I don't think it would have mattered. Here's my substitute hypothesese: If all of Camillus' products had been the same quality as the sold-out knives most sought after now... If Camillus had kept up with dealers' orders... If Camillus didn't spend millions each quarter on benefits for people who didn't even work there any longer... If Camillus had been an honest business partner with suppliers, dealers, and design collaborators...

Some people just are not interested in things till their not made anymore.

That's naturally true, especially at a collector-oriented website like this one. If an item is mass-produced by the billions, sold at heavily discounted prices, and available anywhere anytime to anyone, it's not really collectible, is it? No one's collecting plastic ice trays from WalMart, for example. There's certain criteria necessary for an inanimate object to be collectable - no longer in production is one of those criteria.

Best Wishes,
-Bob

 

[Mountainwind]

That's true Bob, but knives should be bought for using, not just collecting.
And by the way, what can I do with these 150 plastic ice trays?

 

[Bob W]

but knives should be bought for using, not just collecting.

I whole-heartedly disagree. I have two knives that are for using; the other 260 are just for lookin' at.

And by the way, what can I do with these 150 plastic ice trays?

Hang onto them. When the factory stops making them, they'll be quite collectible. But only if they're NIB.

- Bob

 

[kevins73cigars]

I learned my lesson with Schrade! I went on a buying spree shortly after the close, 32-LB7s, 15-897UHs, 12-885UHs, etc... I thought I was getting in early and going to make a few bucks in the future when I sold the "mint in the box, new old stock, USA made...whatever..."

To be honest, I didn't really lose any money. I did learn alot and had plenty of fun getting a big collection together, selling most of it and keeping a nice little Schrade collection for myself.

But like I said, I learned my lesson. I did buy a couple (five) of Camillus Boy Scout knives last Tuesday. I would have bought two, but you got free shipping with a $150 order, so I figured 'what the heck'? I don't plan on building a Camillus collection. Just wanted a couple of Scout knives before the prices started getting stupid.