Camillus Question

[Aimus Moses]

Does anyone know what type steel was used in the very first Camillus Yellow Jaket series knives? I have a Yellow Jaket trapper that looks like the Case 54 pattern trapper with it's yellow composite handles. It has a Yellow Jaket etch on the main blade, and a nickle silver shield that has Camillus on it. It has (440-? 420 HC?) stainless blades. I also have an older Yellow Jaket trapper that has yellow with red color grooves on the handles that sort of resembles simulated red stag. It has a Yellow Jaket etch on the main blade, and the shield on it is round with a picture of a Yellow Jaket bee under it's clear see through, what I think is enamel(?) bubble shield. This knife's blades seem to be non-stainless steel. They are 1095 carbon or carbon 5 steel, I think. The blades on the older Yellow Jaket are beginning to get a patina on them, just like other carbon steel blades do. Can anyone tell me what type of steel Camillus used in making this knife? Thanks.

Aimus

[orvet]

I would think they used 1095.
I don't know for sure, but maybe Phil can tell us.

Dale

[derf red bone]

The type of steel used in the Camillus Yellow Jacket was 154 CM
Sorry I jumped the gun !! 154CM was used in the 1990s..my guess is 1095 in the early years

[Aimus Moses]

The Yellow Jaket trapper with what I think are carbon steel blades is pre-1990. I bought it in 1988 or 89. I thought Tom Williams (camco) noted the early 1990 Yellow Jaket knives as having 440 (A?) stainless blades? Didn't Camillus switched to 420 HC stainless for their blade steel on production knives before they closed? I have several 1990 era Yellow Jaket knives and I looked them over, I can't find a 154 CM mark on them or anything in the paper work stating they are 154 CM. derf red bone can you point me in the direction of where you got the 154 CM blade steel information? Thanks.

Aimus

[derf red bone]

tom williams is the man that would know for sure about camillus blade steel. i know camillus made a edc knife with 154 cm, and i swear the 'older; yellow jacket knives had 154 cm. thats why they were more costly. im a big camillus fan. i have always thought they were the rodney dangerfield of cuttlery, they never got the respect other knife co. got. im always ready to say im wrong, so mabey we could do a little more research. keep on the memory of a great old American knife co.

[orvet]

Hopefully Phil Gibbs will see this.
I am sure he would know as well.

Dale

[FRJ]

Hi, this may be old news by now. Aimus asked about the steel in Camillus Yellow Jacket knives. Well, I had to dig, but I found my old Smokey Mountain catalog from where I bought my nice folder; and took a few pictures. purchased: Jan. 91

[Aimus Moses]

Cute baby FRJ. I have the yellow jaket knives in different patterns like the yellow handled double locker you have pictured. Thanks for the pict. and info on the steel used in them. The older yellow jaket trapper I have is not made like either of the knives you have pictured. It's handles are yellow with what looks similar to worm grooves in the handles that are red in color. It doesn't have a metal shield, it is a clear round shield with a small pict. of a yellow jacket bee inside it. The blades are carbon steel of some kind (1095, carbon 5, or ?) or they are the worst stainless steel blades ever made to rust and get a patina like carbon blades do. They sharpen like carbon steel blades do, being easier than stainless steel to sharpen and getting very, very sharp. The Camillus yellow jaket knives (like those pictured) having been made with stainless steel blades is what threw me and made me question the early ones being done with carbon steel. I personally think the Camillus yellow jaket knives are of good quality and under rated by lots of people. When I EDC'ed a couple of those yellow jakets made in the 90's, the most mistaken comment I would hear is "that's a nice yellow handled Case knife you have there". When I showed those making the comment that the knife was a Camillus the second most mistaken comment I heard was "I didn't know Case made knives for Camillus". Believe it or not, some of those people could not or would not believe that Case didn't make the knives and in reality their comment was backward, Camillus made knives for Case. What else can you say to prove it to them?

Aimus

[orvet]

I searched the Camillus catalogs I have and I don't see the term Yellow Jacket used in the catalogs prior to about 1990. Remember Camillus didn't put out a catalog each year so it could have been a year or two sooner that the Yellow Jacket line actually came out.

Camillus did make a number of knives with yellow handles that they called Maize Pyroxylin in the 1950s, their name for yellow celluloid. By the 1970s they just called them Maize. By then the handles were Delrin.

There were a large number of yellow handled Camillus knives made before 1990 in both carbon steel and stainless steel that were not part of the Yellow Jacket line per se. Apparently the yellow handled knives were successful enough that Camillus decided to make them a line of their own.

The Yellow Jacket line is apparently quite popular with collectors as they now sell on ebay for two or three times the 2007 suggested retail price.

Dale

[FRJ]

I'm just glad I bought that knife when I did. I never kept close track of it, but it seemed to me that it wasn't available for too long after I purchased it. It is a great solid knife. I really like it a lot. I went to those yellow handles for a couple reasons. That I had the option of avoiding plastic stag made me giddy, and my dad who passed away years ago favored yellow, so in rememberance of him............

Joe

[Aimus Moses]

Orvet, the time frames you mention sounds right because I bought the older yellow jaket trapper knife in 88 or 89. It's a yellow jaket knife though, it has the yellow jacket pictured bee shield and it has yellow jaket etched on the main blade. The blade etch is not like the newer 90's yellow jaket knives though. I've only seen 1 knife like it before and it was on Fee-bay. The seller didn't have any info about the knife and had bought it where all Ebay knives seem to come from, an estate auction. He had it listed as just Camillus Yellow Jaket trapper knife. The blades on that knife were darker than the blades on my knife. I thought it had to have carbon steel blades as well. I'd like to find more info on the early yellow jaket knives.

Aimus

[orvet]

It sounds like they did make some before the 1990 catalog.
I will have to talk to Tom about it next time we talk.
I really feel like I am only just learning a very little bit about Camillus knives.
There is so much to learn about a company that made knives for over 130 years.
We are fortunate the Tom likes to share his info so freely with everyone.

I wish I had more time to devote to pure research and writing,
but it seems the older I get the more complex life gets and the more demands it makes on my time.

I will share the bits and pieces I get with y'all.

Dale