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What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 9:35 pm
by orvet
One of my favorite topics in the Schrade forum is
What is Your Latest Old Schrade?
It occurs to me that we should have a What is Your Latest Old Camillus? I suppose it might be helpful to define old by pre-1960, roughly.
I will started out by posting a Camillus Coke Bottle Hunter that I picked up recently.
The tang stamp is CAMILLUS/CUTLERY CO./NEW-YORK
Goins' dates this tang stamp as circa 1915-1918 with serif letters, which this stamp has. The tang stamp is light, but with a magnifying glass it is pretty clear. This knife has steel beautiful big shield is nickel silver. I love the double swedge grind on both sides of this blade, clear down to the match striker pull. The blade is about 1/4" short but it has good snap on opening and closing, and at the half stop. The wood appears to be ebony.
I hope you enjoy the pictures and I hope to see your
Latest Old Camillus posted soon!
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 10:02 pm
by Eye Brand Man
Nice!
Love these big ole folding hunters and that bid shield with ebony is classy.
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 10:24 pm
by kennedy knives
Nice
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 10:39 pm
by gsmith7158
Here's the last one I picked up. A Sword Brand lockback. It's a little rough around the edges but still a sold old swing guard.
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 10:47 pm
by KnifeSlinger#81
Beautiful old coke bottle Dale
I'd say a good cutoff time period for knives in this thread would be any camillus with pre-delrin era handles. That's sort of of the unspoken criteria in the schrade thread at least, but schrade also switched over to swinden at that time which was a bigger change than just switching to delrin alone.
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 11:00 pm
by FRJ
Beautiful old Hunter, Dale.
Love that silver and Ebony.
Here is a swell center, swing guard, lock back. 4 5/8".
A four line Camillus. 1919-1941
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 11:03 pm
by FRJ
Gee, that's a good lookin' knife, Greg.
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 11:05 pm
by gsmith7158
FRJ wrote:Gee, that's a good lookin' knife, Greg.
I was going to say the same about yours Joe!
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 11:13 pm
by KnifeSlinger#81
You boys sure have some nice ones. I find myself needing to know the plural of camillus. Would it be camilli, camilluses...?
Here's one of mine, a sawcut bone 51.
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 11:14 pm
by doglegg
KnifeSlinger#81 wrote:You boys sure have some nice ones. I find myself needing to know the plural of camillus. Would it be camilli, camilluses...?
Here's one of mine, a sawcut bone 51.
IMG_5253.JPG
You a funny man, with a nice Camillus.
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 11:22 pm
by FRJ
Nice Barlow, Paul.
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 1:59 am
by FRJ
Here's a neat old Congress 92 with some black jigged composite covers. 4 1/8" closed.
It's got that easy, smooth Camillus action.
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 5:20 am
by orvet
KnifeSlinger#81 wrote:Beautiful old coke bottle Dale
I'd say a good cutoff time period for knives in this thread would be any camillus with pre-delrin era handles. That's sort of of the unspoken criteria in the schrade thread at least, but schrade also switched over to swinden at that time which was a bigger change than just switching to delrin alone.
Agreed. That's why I chose the 1960-ish date, because it was shortly after that time that Camillus began using Delrin. I think Schrade may have started using Delrin a year or two before Camillus but it was the early 1960s when Camillus began using Delrin. I may have a more precise date than that somewhere in my interview notes with Tom Williams, but as I recall he was not 100% certain, his date was an approximate time.
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 5:34 am
by orvet
This is a new model to me. I have a few Camillus Granddaddy Barlow #9s but this is the only Sword Brand model #1000 that I recall seeing. I am reasonably certain it predates World War II and though I'm not sure by how many years.
This knife has bear trap snap open, closing and at half stop. As much leverage as the forward placement of that nail that gives you, you want to take care of your thumbnail when opening this knife! The color of the bone is interesting also, it appears to be just a surface coat of dye that was applied to handles and then partially removed when the knife was hafted. Holding this knife in my hand and feeling the weight of it reminds me that this was a pattern created for hard work!
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 5:58 am
by KnifeSlinger#81
Dale that one is sweet.
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 11:47 am
by Meridian_Mike
Nice Sword Brand Dale.
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 4:27 pm
by carrmillus
orvet wrote:One of my favorite topics in the Schrade forum is What is Your Latest Old Schrade?
It occurs to me that we should have a What is Your Latest Old Camillus? I suppose it might be helpful to define old by pre-1960, roughly.
I will started out by posting a Camillus Coke Bottle Hunter that I picked up recently.
The tang stamp is CAMILLUS/CUTLERY CO./NEW-YORK
Goins' dates this tang stamp as circa 1915-1918 with serif letters, which this stamp has. The tang stamp is light, but with a magnifying glass it is pretty clear. This knife has steel beautiful big shield is nickel silver. I love the double swedge grind on both sides of this blade, clear down to the match striker pull. The blade is about 1/4" short but it has good snap on opening and closing, and at the half stop. The wood appears to be ebony.
Camillus Coke Bottle a.jpg
Camillus Coke Bottle b.jpg
Camillus Coke Bottle c.jpg
Camillus Coke Bottle d.jpg
Camillus Coke Bottle e.jpg
I hope you enjoy the pictures and I hope to see your Latest Old Camillus posted soon!
..dale, that is a keeper!!..that's one Camillus that I don't have in my collection!!!...great old knife!!!......
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Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2018 6:31 am
by orvet
Here is another old Camillus fixed blade.
Tom Williams told me that these were an existing pattern at the start of World War II and that they were among the first patterns that the government bought because Camillus had inventoried in them.
This is one I just put in my store because believe it or not I actually got an example that is slightly better so I am upgrading my collection and hoping to sell the old example I had this pattern.
I don't think this knife has been sharpened, though I think it's probably been lightly used. The blades are staying and have minor surface pitting. Although I am not inclined to do so, I think this blade could actually be polished if someone decided to do that.
I hope you enjoy the pictures.
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2018 1:59 pm
by carrmillus
..........dale, this is one of my favorite Camillus knives, I have 2, 1 in a display and one in my old tacklebox. both mine are in very good condition, but the sheaths aren't-love this one!!!..........
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Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 4:46 am
by orvet
I am really excited about this one, I just won the auction tonight on eBay.
It is the earlier version of the TL-29 and it is stamped Sword Brand on the mark side of the spear blade.
It has the Camillus four-line tang stamp on the pile side tang.
I like the nice bowtie shield.
These are the sellers pictures.
- Sword Brand TL-29 a.jpg (65.81 KiB) Viewed 6798 times
- Sword Brand TL-29 b.jpg (70.54 KiB) Viewed 6798 times
- Sword Brand TL-29 c.jpg (56.89 KiB) Viewed 6798 times
I'll post some better pictures when I get the knife in hand.
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 12:34 pm
by carrmillus
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Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 4:14 pm
by FRJ
You're showing some real beauties, Dale. Love that fixed blade!
A well known (and well used) Camillus model.
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 4:41 pm
by carrmillus
....that's a winner!!!!...........
...........
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 12:40 am
by FRJ
Here's a two blade, four line Congress. 3 1/8"
Re: What is Your Latest Old Camillus? (pre-1960)
Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 12:44 am
by FRJ
Here is a four line Pearl Stockman. 3 7/8"
Lovely old knife.