Gerber and Camillus: What kind of companies were they?

D

Dan57

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Apr 8, 2012
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I only got into knives a few years ago, after Gerber was bought out and Camillus went bankrupt. I know that both these brands are still around today, but for all intents and purposes, they're not nearly the same companies they used to be. So, my question is: What were Gerber and Camillus like, back in their golden days? How was the quality, customer service, e.t.c? What present-day knife companies were they most comparable to? And how'd the knife world react to their departure? I've read up on the history of both companies, but still don't really have any idea of what they were really like.
 
Gerber used to make some of the best production knives in the world until the sold to fiskars in the mid-80's - Fit and finish was awesome and they used top quality materials. I am lucky enough to stilll have a couple of mint condition Gerber folders I bought back in the 70's. Most of what they put out now is a disgrace compared to what they made in the pre-Fiskars days.
 
Camillus made some good quality knives back in the day. They had a couple of Simonich fixed blade collaborations that they made back then, that I still wish that I owned to this day...
 
I havent owned a Gerber for many years (20?)...But i picked this up at garage sale recently....It appears well made with a nice grind line...........FES

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gerber and camillus knives were/ are some of my favorite knives in my collection. The new camillus is nowhere near it's former self. The newest camillus knives I have heard of, may be a step in the right direction with user patterns and being made domestically. Gerber tried to be to inexpensive. It hurt their following in the knife community. I believe there are still good gerbers out there. Such as the gerber ez out, bmf2 and some of thier higher priced knives. I still like Gerber. I want to like camillus. They still have to work for my business. The names don't guarantee quality anymore.
 
The old Camillus made new Becker BK7 knives for $55 and high quality. The new Camillus is just a retread name. Gerber was better years ago. I now only buy Gerber made in Portland blades. They can keep the rest.
 
I own a few Gerber blades. 1981 Mk2 survival, Freeman folder w/pear wood handles, & 2 Metolius fixed blades. I like them all. REALLY like the Freeman folder & the Metolius fixed blade. They are certainly not HD knives, but they take a razors edge & have performed awesome everytime i have used them.

Buy what you like. Period.
 
I met a rep for Camillus at the OKCA show in Eugene. It was the last show they did. The next year at the show, I went to the table, and the Camillus name was on the tag, but nobody was there. I asked around, and nobody seemed to know why they didn't show up...
He was a great guy. I talked to him for about an hour. He told me it was a great company, and that the people who worked there really loved their jobs, and took pride in the knives they made. He said there wer equite a few workers that had been with the company for over 30 years, and that there were quite a few second generation workers.

Much like Schrade, it was really sad when they closed
 
From what I had heard, and I may be totally wrong, Camillus' employees went on strike for higher pay, and with the way things were financially at the time the company couldn't afford to do it. Talks stalled, and during that time no knives were being made and sold, which drove the company under.

This was what I heard at the time of their disappearance, but it could have been rumor. A shame, regardless of reason, as they were a phenomenal company that had "ghost" produced knives for many companies. They did all of Cold Steel's Carbon V models, and that's the reason it's not offered anymore and they no longer have models made in the US.
 
Forty - AFAIR you are right.
And we have to remember that OVB and BKT were only a little, little part of Camillus production. They produced massive amount of knives. Most of them much simpler and cheaper than ovb/cuda/bkt.
 
Prior to the early 80's Gerber was almost what we might today call a "mid tech" knife maker in many ways. The early Mark 1 and Mark II's had forged and hand ground blades made from L6. Even when they stopped forging them in the early to mid 70's, they still hand ground them from L6 until maybe 1980. I still have an old forged MArk II from around 1970-71 and one of the little brass and rosewood handled stainless folders from the pre-Fiskars days. BIG difference compared to what came later.
 
Gerber made first rate knives in the old days. I have a couple of their Sportsman pocket knives. I used the Sportsmen II for cleaning fish - it was in 440C. I also have some of their kitchen knives, in 440C and M2.
They made hunting knives in M2 plated with hard chrome. The steel wouldn't rust, because of the chrome plating. The M2 steel took and held a great edge. I have a few of their hunting knives, including the 425 and their Flayer, a skinner. The handles with cast aluminum with a textured vinyl finish. I have used their fishing kives a bit.
They were a first rate operation.
 
As jdm and arty said, Gerber used tool steels that no other large maker used at the time. I sure regret selling/trading/gifting all those old ones away, thinking I could replace them if I wanted to.
 
I picked up a Gerber Commando Knife MkII back in 1980 at Ft. Bragg. While I never used it, the knife was very well made.
 
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