Camillius Electricians Knife 1960-76?

[Metalhead]

Found this with my grandfather's old tools years ago; he had retired from the Exxon refinery in the mid 70's. From what I can tell from the tang stamps referenced in this forum, this knife appears to date from 1960-76 (there is "USA" at the base, but the liner covers it). Does anyone have any more insight or corrections to the date? It is solid as a rock, easy to get razor sharp, exceptional snap, and screwdriver locks up tight with no wobble. I am guessing these were built like tanks. It is a lot of fun getting this out and putting it back to work every once in a while.

[jerryd6818]

Definitely 1976 or before. You can't rely on tang stamps with Camillus knives but changes in the knives are pretty solid. They changed the position of the bail between 1976 and 1977. In '65 the handles were Rosewood. Do those handles look like wood?

As an aside, I suggest you scrub down the handles with a rag and some household oil (3-In-One oil or equivalent). It won't hurt them and it will get rid of that "Delrin haze" (my name for the white frosting on the handles) and let the true color shine through. If it doesn't work then I've misdiagnosed the problem but it still won't hurt the handles.

[Metalhead]

I don't think I had ever even cleaned the covers. Definitely not rosewood. Here it is with the "derlin haze" knocked off.

[jerryd6818]

Brown Delrin® handles. 1965 was Rosewood handles so definitely late '60s-'76. You can't get much closer to the age on a Camillus than that. The clean up made it look good.

[Captain O]

I don't think I had ever even cleaned the covers. Definitely not rosewood. Here it is with the "derlin haze" knocked off. IMG_1230.JPGIMG_1231.JPG

Does that knife have the 0170-6C blades? If they take a quick patina, I'd bet that they are.