Tom Williams: about knives, about Camillus, about himself

[Vit_213]

February 8, 2014

Vit,
***
Camillus made two 100th anniversary knives that were the models #100 and #200. These knives had ivory colored handles, slant bolsters, special blade etching and a serial number engraved on the bolster. Approximately 10,000 of each model were produced. I remember selling many of these knives and I believe that there were still some of these knives left over when the company closed in 2007. I have attached a scan of the catalog sheet showing these knives.
***

Tom

 

[Vit_213]

February 17, 2014

Hello Vitaly,
***

I was organizing some of my knives today and I took several photos of my WWII Camillus U.S.M.C. Raider Stiletto. I have had this Stiletto for many years and it is the nicest one that I have owned. The first and second photos show the Stiletto and sheath in an oak display case. The third photo shows the "USMC" scroll blade etching. The etching on these knives are usually very light and tend to fade over time. Please excuse the poor quality of the photograph that has a reflection. The fourth photo shows a reproduction Marine Raider patch that I acquired to display with the Stiletto. These knives were primarily issued to the Carlson and Eddson Raiders. Some of the Stilettos were covered with a black parkerized finish and issued to the Canadian Airbourne.

I have the original manufacturing records for the Marine Raider Stiletto and I have attached a scan of them for you to see. The Stiletto has been one of my all time favorite knives made by Camillus. I worked on the project in the late 1980's when Camillus made a reproduction that was called the MRS1. At that time I found a movie made during WWII called "GUNG HO" that showed several scenes with the Marine Raider Stiletto. I went to a local video rental store and they special ordered a copy of the movie that we had at the Camillus factory.

Tom

 

[Vit_213]

February 20, 2014

Vitaly,
***

After Camillus closed my friend, Tom Liggett, and myself started repairing and selling knives. We mostly deal in knives that were made by Camillus and we sell and repair most knife brands. We have accumulated a large inventory of knife parts and we can repair most folding knives. Sometimes we do not have a replacement part so we either make or modify a part to repair a knife. Wallace Rockwell has manufactured parts for us when we do not have the correct replacement part. We have a customer in the U.S. that we have repaired more than 1,000 knives since 2008. He sends us unfinished or broken knives and we repair them and we ship them back to him or sometimes he picks them up at my house. We recently received approximately 300 knives from him that we are repairing. We fix as many of the knives as possible and the knives that can not be repaired we use for parts.

I have attached photos of some of the knives that we recently repaired for a knife dealer. The knives include a Camillus MC-1, Ulster 4 blade camp/utility knife, Camillus model #S1760 knife and a PRESTO switchblade. Most of the knives we had the replacement parts, but we had to make a spring for the PRESTO knife. This knife was in very poor condition and it did not operate when we received it. We installed a new spring and cleaned up the knife. When we work on an older knife like this we do not over restore the knife and try not to make it look like new. It is an older knife and should like one. We leave the character and history in the knife.

The other knife that we repaired is a Camillus model #C-1 Cartridge knife. We replaced the broken spring and it works properly now. When I return the knife to the customer I also send him the broken parts and I pack the knife in a new Camillus box. We have fixed knives for this customer in the past.

I have attached our business card that we give to our customers and I usually include a card with any knife that we sell or repair. At this time we have several knives and parts listed on Ebay. The MC-1 parts are very popular and we sold 10 pairs of handles in the last week.

If you need any knives repaired or finished let me know. If you find any unfinished knives on Ebay we can complete the knife so it looks like new. We knock off the pins on the bolsters, haft the back of the knife, sharpen the blade and buff the knife. We have repaired several dozens of the Camillus and Imperial (MIL-K) stainless steel 4 blade camp/utility knives. These knives frequently have broken springs. I have approximately 400 new springs and nickel silver pins for this model that came from the Camillus factory. Tom and I bought thousands of parts and some of equipment from the Camillus factory at the 2007 auction. I have also found a lot of items that people bought at the auction that they wanted to sell. Yesterday I bought $200.00 of MC-1 knife parts. Two years ago Wallace and I found a large quantity of knives and parts at a pawn shop that we purchased. I bought all the MC-1 knives for $400.00 that gave us a large supply of replacement parts. The knives had been scrapped by Camillus many years ago and had most of the blades and shroud cutters removed.

Tom

 

[Vit_213]

February 23, 2014

Vitaly,
I was looking at this knife today and I thought you would enjoy seeing it. This is a Camillus 18-XRAY knife that Camillus started making shortly before the company closed. Darrell Ralph designed this knife and it was being sold to the U.S. Military. This knife would replace the MC-1 paratrooper knife.

Camillus was receiving a large amount of orders during the final months that Camillus was operating. At one time I checked the orders and Camillus had unfilled orders for approximately $250,000 for this new knife. Mr. Ralph not only designed this knife, but he also provided Camillus with some of the parts required to manufacture this model. During the last months that Camillus was open for business orders for this new knife could not be filled due to the company's financial problems. Camillus did not have any cash and was unable to pay the vendors that supplied parts and materials needed for manufacturing. Mr. Ralph was owed a considerable amount of money and stopped shipping the parts that he made for this knife. I believe that he made four of the parts that were used in the 18-XRAY knife.

Shortly before Camillus closed I had a conversation with Dave Chapman who was the Plant Manager at that time. The operation of the company had been taken over by the bank that Camillus owed a substantial amount of money and the bank's manager decided which orders were filled. Dave Chapman told me that we had enough parts to assemble 30 18-XRAY knives and then that would be the end. I had to get permission from Gilbert Kaufman, who was the president of Camillus during the last days that the company was open to buy the last 30 knives. I wanted to buy the remainder of the inventory but the bank's manager did not want to make the knives. I never learned why he would not accept my offer to buy the last of these knives.

In total, only 750 18-XRAY knives were produced. Two versions were offered that included a straight blade or a serrated blade. I did not buy any of these knives while Camillus was still open, but I have been able to find and purchase 6 of these knives after February of 2007. These knives are very rare and the production totals are very low for a military knife. I still have 4 of these knives and I have not seen any of the Camillus made ones offered for sale in several years. I believe that Darrell Ralph is making his own version that would not have the Camillus markings.

The 18-XRAY is a well designed knife and a big improvement over the old outdated MC-1 knife.

Tom

 

[Vit_213]

March 6, 2014

Hello Vit,
***

When I started working in the sales department at Camillus in 1979 I remember selling the last Office knives (model #295) when they were discontinued. In those days knives were usually packed 6 knives per box (the knives were in the older red boxes) and I had 1 box left and eventually the last Office knife was sold. The model #295 Office knife was made by Camillus for many years until they were discontinued. Camillus probably made this knife for many other companies and this was a very popular knife in the past. The handles were hot stamped on a machine that had a die with the Office knife design. The knife was placed in a fixture, the heated die was mounted above and then brought down over a colored ribbon and the stamping was put in the handle. We stopped using the hot stamping machine several years before Camillus closed and I remember seeing that machine in a wooden crate at the auction.

Tom

 

[Vit_213]

March 19, 2014

Vit,
***

Last week I received a Buford Pusser knife that you bought. I want to tell you the history of this knife. Camillus first made the Buford Pusser knife in the 1970's and a second version was made about 2003.

Mr. Fred Robertson of Finger, Tennessee placed an order with Camillus to make 5,000 commemorative knives honoring Buford Pusser who was a Sheriff in McNairy County. This knife was a large Camillus 2 blade trapper pattern knife with brown Delrin handles and a special Buford Pusser shield. Each knife had a serial number engraved on the bolster and came packed in a special brown Buford Pusser knife box. A #9380 sharpening steel was packed in the box with each knife. The original order was for 5,000 knives but not all of the knives were made. Approximately 3,500 knives were made and shipped to Mr. Robertson. The customer would call and place an order when he wanted some of the knives and usually he would take 100 or 200 knives at a time. Not all the knives were made so some serial numbers were never used.

Buford Pusser became very famous when he was the Sheriff and several movies, such as "Walking Tall", were made about his life story. He was killed while he was a Sheriff and his daughter owned the rights to the "Buford Pusser" name so she granted r. Robertson permission to use her father's name on this knife. She was paid a fee for the use of the name. His daughter most likely trademarked the "Buford Pusser" name so if anyone used the name on a product she could collect a royalty.

In 2003 Camillus made the second version of the Buford Pusser knife for Smoky Mountain Knife Works. At that time Kevin Pipes owned 50% of SMKW and the owners of Camillus were partners in the company and owned 50%. The second version had a red/yellow handle with a Buford Pusser shield. The blade was etched "Buford Pusser" and there was no serial number engraved on the knife.

***

Tom

 

[Vit_213]

March 19, 2014

Vitaly,
I found more information about the first Buford Pusser knife made by Camillus in the 1970's. The first scan shows a memo that has the details about the knife and how the customer, Mr. Fred Robertson, wanted the knives delivered. Please note the initials "a s w" in the lower corner and those stand for Angie S. Williams who is my mother. She received all the information about the knife and typed this note that was given to the president, plant manager, purchasing agent, etc. so everyone knew what they had to make or order for this project. My mother worked for Camillus from 1947-2000 and handled the special customers that Camillus made knives for. I will talk to her tomorrow and I will ask her about this knife and she may have additional information.

***

Tom

 

[Vit_213]

March 31, 2014

Vit,
I found this art work for the Remington 175th Anniversary knife and I thought you would enjoy seeing it. These were the drawings that were made for the knife design of the handle and the advertising. Do you have one of these knives?

Tom

 

[Vit_213]

April 5, 2014

Hello Vit,
***
Today I received a Camillus model #3 lock back knife for you. I noticed it is one of the early style knives that has the separate brass linings and bolsters. Camillus made the knife this way when it was introduced in the 1970's and later made this knife with a 1 piece sintered or powdered metal combination lining and bolster.
I remember when the first model #3 lock back knives were made at the Camillus factory. The foreman from the buffing department came to see me and had a cloth holding the first model #3 knives and he laid them out on my desk to show me. I worked in the sales department at that time in the 1970's and we were waiting for the lock back knives to be made at Camillus. All the other companies, like BUCK had the model #110 lock back knife, and Camillus needed a lock back knife to sell to our customers. This style knife became very popular in the 1970's and that was what the customers wanted to buy. Camillus did offer locking knives like the model #7 CAM-LOK and model #88 LOK-RANCHER knives that used a sliding lock in the handle but our customers wanted lock back style knives. My mother, Angie Williams, worked at Camillus for 53 years and she invented the trademark "CAM-LOK" that was registered by the company.
In a previous email you asked me why Camillus spelled "lock" differently on some of the knife boxes. Camillus called several of the knives "LOK-BACK" or "CAM-LOK" and left out the letter "K" from the word lock to be different than the other knife companies. Camillus started spelling lock this way when the "CAM-LOK" knife was first introduced and continued to do this when the lock back style knives were introduced later. I remember meeting with Mr. Steve Powers who did the advertising for Camillus and we frequently used the name "LOK" in the ads and on the knife boxes. Some knife collectors believe that it is a misspelling, but it was done intentionally.
***

Tom

 

[Vit_213]

April 15, 2014 at 7:55 am (Moscow time)

Hello Vit,
I am happy to help you with your knife collection. I am amazed at all the great knives that you have found and purchased for your collection. Every day I go to the mail box and get to see the new knives that you bought on eBay. You must have a wonderful knife collection. I admire you for the quality and variety of the knives that you acquire. I usually buy and collect just Camillus knives so I get to see a wide variety of knives through your knife purchases that I would not normally get to see and enjoy.

***

I am going to the hospital tomorrow morning to have the surgery and I may be away from the computer for several days. Please let me know if any of the packages are delivered to you. I will get back to you by email as soon as I am able. I hope to be back to normal in a few weeks and I can resume sending the knives to you.

***

Tom

 

[Vit_213]

June 12, 2014

Hello Vit,
Today I got home from a month and a half stay in the hospital. In the beginning of May my family had not heard from me in quite a while so my brother's wife came to my house to check on me. She found me on a Sunday unconscious laying in my bed. She called an ambulance and had me taken to the hospital. I do not know how long I had been unconscious, but he doctors in the emergency room said that if she did not find me that day and get me some medical help I only had a day or two left before I would have passed away. When I got to the hospital the doctors told my family that I had a 50/50 chance of surviving. I was in a coma for five days and when I woke up I did not know where I was or how I got there. I have no memory of the first week in May and when I woke up I started to steadily improve and the chance of recovery looked good. I slowly got better and everyone at the hospital was amazed at my progress. I went through several medical treatments, lots of medications, needles, tests and several weeks of physical therapy. I still take a lot of pills and I have a tube in the left side of my chest but I am happy to be home again. I saw the doctor on Monday and if I keep improving he will remove the chest tube in two weeks. I need to gain back the weight that I lost and recover my strength. I have been eating a healthy high calorie diet and I exercise and lift weights everyday. It will take time but I will fully recover.

***

Tom

 

[Vit_213]

After that, there were a few more emails intended only for me.
July 27, 2014 at 1:02 am (Moscow time), I received from Tom two empty emails. Perhaps he was trying to tell me something but could not do it. And these were the last emails I received from Tom.
The end.

I believe that the members of this forum who do not know Tom, now realize how wonderful person he was.

 

[zzyzzogeton]

Vit,

Thank you for passing this information on to the rest of us.

Tom had a wealth of information and was a very unique, valuable member of our community. He will be missed by many.

 

[Jackrabbit Slim]

This is a fascinating read, Vit! Thank you so much for posting and sharing the details of your communication and correspondence. There's such a wealth of knowledge and so much history here! Since I didn't know Tom, I especially liked the parts where you included your side of the communication because it made what Tom had to share all the more personable and enjoyable.

I'd be curious as to how Tom's mother Angie is doing and any further details from her end, but I'm guessing you weren't able to communicate directly with her. Thanks again for sharing such an amazing glimpse into the world of Tom Williams and Camillus.

 

[Vit_213]

Have already passed two years...
I still miss Tom.

 

[Thomas Linton]

"This agreement entered into this 17th day of January, 1941 by and between Remington Arms Company, Inc., a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, having a principal office at Bridgeport, Connecticut, hereinafter referred to as "the seller" and Joseph L. Mailman, Besse M. Kraus, Otto E. Kraus, Mary Langner, citizens and residents of the State of New York and Abraham L. Mailman, a citizen and resident of Montreal, Canada, all doing business as partners under the firm name of PAL BLADE COMPANY, having a principal office at New York, N.Y., and hereinafter referred to as " the buyer", ..."

 

[deltaboy]

Thanks for this wonderful information.

 

[Vit_213]

It's been three years ...

 

[Vit_213]

4 years ...

 

[zzyzzogeton]

It's kinda hard to believe that it has been that long.