Federal Knife Co. Syracuse, NY (Camillus made)

[jujigatame]

Since Federal is one of the many, many brands put out by Kastor/Camillus I thought maybe it would be more useful to prune this off from the other thread I had made and let it be its own discussion. There doesn't seem to be one extant in this section that I can find.

For the purpose of clarification this is a separate brand/maker than the Federal Knife Co. out of Rhode Island that made knives stamped Thornton or Johnston.

Anyway, the knife itself. 3 3/8" bullet end jack (maybe not quite as pointy as other bullet ends I've seen but it's closer to that than anything else I think), federal shield, nice dark blue and yellow covers. Both blades have the same four line stamp reading FEDERAL KNIFE COMPANY SYRACUSE N.Y. Still has nice snap. Edge are ground pretty thin so it should sharpen up without much effort. From my limited reading so far I understand these were made by Camillus as a less expensive brand. While it's not as nice as my mid-30s/40s swell end from Camillus it feels a notch or two above the Kent jack I got a few months back in terms of heft and quality. The Syracuse mark was also a selling point for me since I attended college there.

 

[jujigatame]

I took some more pictures today of the Federal with the Camillus and Kent jacks that I have. Seeing them together makes me wonder if maybe I've found a particular niche to focus on - Camillus made jacks, around 3 1/2", from the 20s(?) through the 50s. Given there were so many different brands and price levels in their day it would make for a large pool to work in, ranging from really nice to plain and cheap. The three shown here all appeal to me for varying reasons but the underlying connection of being from the same place has its own significance that could be the base upon which to build a collection.

If you have anything from Federal (Camillus) and would like to share it I'd be happy to see it and learn more about them,

 

[Gevonovich]

Nate, these knives made by Camillus for others do indeed have a quaility and a heft a step above those other "inexpensive" offerings. I really like the look of your Federal and can see its quality. When I find any of the Camillus derivatives I snatch them up. And boy, do they take a wicked edge.

Congrats on your find.

 

[lambertiana]

Nice Federal. In fact, I like all three of those...even with the rougher finish on the Kent.

 

[mike Berkovitch]

The three shown here all appeal to me for varying reasons but the underlying connection of being from the same place has its own significance that could be the base upon which to build a collection.

I can see what you mean. It will be LARGE collection.

all those three are very appealing.

Mike

 

[jujigatame]

When I find any of the Camillus derivatives I snatch them up. And boy, do they take a wicked edge.

You're not kidding. The edges on these three are all ground similarly thin. The Federal got screaming sharp in a few minutes on medium ceramics. Fine rods weren't even necessary...but I used them anyway. Spent about 15 minutes slicing newsprint just to see how thin a strip I could get.

I can see what you mean. It will be LARGE collection.

Yes it could be although I'm thinking small at the moment. When I was at the show on Sunday there were many old knives to look through. The Federal stood out at first because of the colorful covers but I kept coming back to it. Didn't really think about the other two jacks until I got home and started some digging on the brand. After I put them all side by side the light bulb started to come on about how it probably wasn't just coincidence that I picked the knife I did.

EDIT: While combing through the Levine forum for mentions of Federal and Syracuse I found someone had posted pictures of a pen knife marked Syracuse Knife Co. which had covers that look the same as my jack.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/685597-Syracuse-and-Norvell?