Let's see your Camillus knives!

Very nice Phil! Ivory celluloid? I have quite a few of the A.K.& Bros., Wadsworths, Germanias, and Morleys in my own collection. They were, afterall, an important part of the foundation of Camillus. And the workmanship of most of them is exquisit! No wonder Kastor brought the cutlers here from all over Europe! I like the "cork borer" on that champaigne knife. If I understand correctly, it was not intended to pull a cork, but to bore a hole through it leaving the cork in place. Is that right?

Michael
 
Not sure about that Michael.
I always thought that the "auger" style of corkscrew engaged better in the cork ensuring a better pull, especially in old or dry corks.
I could be wrong though.
I will try it this weekend. I am confident a couple of glasses of wine will assist with all the unpacking!
What wine do you think goes best with cardboard & bubble wrap?? :D
 
Let's see I know I have an old Camillus in here somewhere:

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Ahh here it is, an old Equal End with NS Shield, Tip Bolsters and brass pins, bought this one for 50 cents at a yard sale, it's razor sharp and walks and talks like a dream.

I had to make it an EDC, I mean for half a buck how could ya go wrong?

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Phil Gibbs said:
Although a German made knife, I count this as part of my Camillus Collection!
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Looks like that pup could tug out the stubbornest of wine corks, or bore a pilot hole in a telephone pole. Nice piece Phil!
 
Codger_64 said:
The Becker line of Camillus knives are nice. Designed by Ethan Becker (and at least one of them by Jerry Fisk, if memory serves), I still can't bring myself to buy one knowing that the designers did not receive the royalties owed by contract from this line of knives (or the Fisk OVB knives). Shameful business ethics on the part of Camillus' last owners, in my opinion.

Michael
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Two ways to look at it... Yes, Camillus should pay its designers what it owes. If memory serves, Ethan is engaged in litigation right now over what is owed. I hope Jerry and Phil are as well. And one way to show support is simply not to buy the knives. I think that kind of misses the point of supporting the designer though.

The ultimate compliment to a designer is that people buy the designs, no matter what the finances look like. If *no one* bought a Becker or a Fisk designed knife because the manufacturer was screwing the designers on royalties, it sure wouldn't bode well for their careers as knife makers. It's because of the popularity of the Becker line that Ethan is going to be able to take his designs to another manufacturer without having to "sell" their appeal.

Again, Camillus should pay its debts. But you could just as easily say, "I'm going to boycott all Camillus products because of its poor business practices." Kind of a moot point, now that most Becker knives are coming via the secondary market. It's hard to find an actual merchant with any left. So maybe the solution for you, Michael, is to get one second party. The "damage" has already been done. You haven't been able to get a Fisk-designed Magnum Camp from a retailer in quite a while.

I like the Becker (and Fisk) designs and will buy them in whatever future form they take. Hopefully, Ethan will get out of the Camillus quagmire soon and find another manufacturer.

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Kind of a shame the Camillus forum didn't see this much interest (a six page thread with lots of pics) lately. I'm going to continue to post over there until there's officially a sea change here at BF--either a total closure of the Camillus forum and/or an official change to the "Schrade and Camillus Collector's Forum".
 
I started the thread in hopes it would show some of the Schrade faithful were interested in Camillus as well (plus I love seeing everyone elses collections). Hoped it would show some support of combining the forums. Best kind of threads to me. Lots of pictures is good. Real nice turnout.
 
I've already posted several patterns of the Sears Dunlap knives, but here is another, a two blade jack, Sears number 9494. These knives were made for a short while (c. 1938-1942 Goins). The handle material, while giving a great stag-like appearance, is highly flammable, likely a "pyroline" celluloid composition. I have been told that the flammability was the chief reason Sears (Dunlap) discontinued them. They described the material as "Unbreakable buck horn-type."

These knives are not real consistant in their markings. Some have a descriptive text stamped shield with a Dunlap tang stamp. This one has a Dunlap shield with High Carbon Steel USA stamp. The Sears number is not marked on the knife. It comes from the 1939 Sears Cutlery Sales Training manual. In that publication they called this a "Two-blade Jack", and also a "mechanic's Special".


Michael
 
If ayone has any pictures of a 718 yello-jaket, please post it, as I have never saw one, and am trying to finish my collection of them. The only picture I have found online, looks like the 711, and am not sure the picture is correct.
 
That is a nice one! I like these Dunlap knives, knowing the story behind them. Not all of them had the stagged cell handles and shields. Here are four of mine together so you can see the different styles and materials. Again, they were only made for a short time.



The 1939 Sears Cutlery Sales Training manual shows illustrations of nine patterns, two of which have "unbreakable agate-type handles". The stagged knife like mine isn't shown and all are shielded. The "outing knife" has the forbidden "SCOUT KNIFE" stamped on the shield in the illustration rather than the Dunlap shield like my example.





Michael
 
Here are some knives I posted a while back in the Camillus forum. One might be a repeat on this thread, if so, just overlook it.



You folks who live in the Northeast might recognize the town names Fairmount, Camillus, Syracuse.

Here is another Syracuse Knife Company, Syracuse, NY. also from the late 1930's.


And an A.W. Wadsworth & Sons Germany DRP.

This one dates from before 1915, according to Mr. Levine.

Michael
 
Another A.W.Wadsworth & Sons Germany D. R. P.

A.W. Wadsworth & Sons was a trade neme for Adolph Kastor & Brothers imported cutlery pre 1938.

The D.R. P. is, Mr. Levine tells us, Deutsches Reichspatent (German Empire Patent), refering to the second Reich (Empire) of Germany which ended when the Kaiser abdicated at the end of WWI. But as I have mentioned, the British blocked imports and exports to and from the U.S. and Germany in the spring of 1915.



The shield stamped "SCOUT" is likely in imitation of the Official Boy Scout knife, and the Boy Scouts began circa 1911. So this knife is circa 1911-1915. It has hollow stamped plated and painted steel handles, steel liners, an odd pattern master blade, the screwdriver/bottle opener blade and.... a glass cutter blade.

Michael
 
Here is the latest Dunlap I found, "Farmer's Stock Knife" boldly stamped into the master blade. Given the short timespan in which Dunlap knives were produced, I find the variations very interesting. The blade stamp on this one reminds me of the "STREAMLINE" deep stamp on the Camillus Sword Brand knives of the same era. Stockman pattern knives were one of the few exceptions to production limitations on civillian pocket knives during WWII. Since Goins lists the Dunlap (actually, he mis-identifies it as "Dunlop") mark as active from 1938-1942, I have to wonder if this knife might have been marked so as to bolster it's acceptance during wartime civillian cutlery restrictions. Sears had to keep selling knives, if they could. Anyway, other than the blade stamp, this one is like the other stockman I previously posted.





Hmmm... now that I look at it, not only are the blades rearranged, but the bolsters have changed.

Michael
 
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