Show Us Your Camillus Knives!

[travman]

Thanks Guys Ill try to get better tang stamp pics
Here is a couple more to show

[FRJ]

Can any one tell me about this 716. I bought it in January of 91, out of Smokey Mountain Knife Works. I assume Camillus stoped making them soon after that. They must have been expensive to make. Does any one else have one. It is one of my favorite knives.

[orvet]

Joe,
I see the #716Y, Double Lock-Back Trapper, appearing as recently as the 1994 catalog.
I do not see it after that.

I spoke with one of the workers from Camillus who said that offset double lock-back mechanism saw a real pain. It was very difficult to get them work properly. I have one with the Kraton handle, #893B, that is a real pain in the fingers to disengage the locks.
Not one of my favorite Camillus patterns.

Your 716 looks like it would work much more smoothly.
I imagine it was more expensive to make.

Dale

[FRJ]

Dale,
thank you for that information. I didn't know of the difficulty in the lock.
Mine locks up like a dream, and is real smooth.
It's odd to think of a Camillus with a stiff or rough action. Even with my old ones, they're always smooth, sometimes to a fault, in that they don't always have a strong snap. But always acceptable snap.

[orvet]

Well, in all fairness to Camillus I think the one I got was a leftover after the factory closed.
For all I know, it was probably in a reject bin to be adjusted or even scrapped.

I know for a fact that the work in progress knives were sold along with the completed knives and even the rejects from QC.
I had one fellow send me over 125 pieces to grind the backsprings, buff, polish, adjust and in some cases to even repair. Some were covered in oil & grease and in about every state of completion (or incompletion).
Some could be finished in 20 minutes, others took hours, especially when they needed to be repaired.
He didn't want to pay enough to make it worth my time, so I only did one batch for him. But I know that there were a lot of knives in rough condition or incomplete ones made their way onto the market (esp. ebay) after the factory auction. I think that is where my 893 came from. I don't think mine was ever adjusted properly. I have no doubt that yours works flawlessly. I would expect it in fact.

Dale

[vikingdog]

A nice camp knife, new in the box.

[travman]

This thread has been too quiet lately....time to share some more knives
Here is a 4-line dogleg pen both blades are marked
and here is a #17 jack spear blade dont see it listed after the 1946 catalog it has the short underline
the third knife is a #16 jack clip blade with the short underline

[orvet]

This thread has been too quiet lately....time to share some more knives
Here is a 4-line dogleg pen both blades are marked

I agree Trav!
I have been so busy lately I have not even had much time online.

Nice pen knife Trav!
That is a stunner.

Dale

[travman]

Thanks Dale ..that pen knife is in great shape the bone is clean and sharp and the blade snap is very crisp
Here is couple more of the pen and the tang stamps

[Just Plain Dave]

That pen kniife is sure a Honey!

[travman]

Here is a Camillus Sword Brand, would this be considered a swell center or sleeveboard jack??
Its got a cool propeller shield and is 3-1/2" long

[msteele6]

-

I think that that style is called a swell end or maybe a regular jack.

Love that propeller shield. Those old Camillus propeller shields are absolutely distinctive.

-

[travman]

Here is a similar jack with the propeller shield
Sword brand 4 line tang stamp
Maize pyroxylin scales 3-1/2" long The main blade is a little worn but still great snap in both blades

[travman]

Here is a bone scaled four line easy open jack with a bail
the blades seem to be full size

[orvet]

Here is a bone scaled four line easy open jack with a bail
the blades seem to be full size

Trav,
Did you buy the knife new?
It appears to me to be a mid 1970s box with a knife circa WWII or a bit before.

I am asking because one way to date knives is by the box they come in.
However this doesn't always work when you buy from ebay......often the box is not right for the knife.
I was just wondering the association of that knife to that box.

Thanks,
Dale

[travman]

Dale
No the knife did not come in the box, I just liked the box as background color..sorrry for misleading anyone
I agree with you about the age of the knife ww2 or maybe just prior ??
As for the box , it is the 100 year anniversary box. Do you know if it was used for more than just 1976
Thanks Trav

[orvet]

No problem Trav.
Yes I know they used the same box design for 2 or 3 years, perhaps longer.

That 4 line stamp was used during WWII and for a few years before the war according to what I have been able to find out.

Dale

[trail]

Keith started this thread with a 165 and we have seen several. Here is another one. I got this for a bargain price off ebay. It and a 41 were sold together and I think maybe the vague description put some people off. But I figured I would risk a few bucks and it paid off. The 165 is practically mint and the 41 is in decent shape. I think Dale is giving us good advice when he says pick up Camillus knives now because the good ones are going away. Just this thread shows the respect and affection that collectors have for the brand and in a few years they will all be squirrelled away into people's collections.

[trail]

And here is the 41 that came with the 165. Once I cleaned it up I found it was quite a nice little knife. It has a single very strong backspring, good snap in both blades and little wear. Perfect size for me to carry to work.

[gino]

Here is my latest C pickup
1996 Camillus -USA N.Rockwell boyscout knife

[gino]

here is a couple more I came across

[Just Plain Dave]

I call first dibs if you ever wish to divest yourself of that 41!!!! SWEET!

[orvet]

Nice ones guys!
I have been very busy the last week or so. I have picked up several knives and some are Camillus'.
I will try and get some pics up here in the next 2 or 3 days.

Keep up the hunt. It seems to me that prices on Camillus are going up while overall knife prices on ebay seem to be down. I definitely believe now is the time to build a collection or to make significant additions to your knife collections.

Dale

[travman]

Dale you are so right about the prices of the Camillus knives going up seems as thou they are picking up intrest very quickly
even the knives from the late 70s and 80s
Here for show today is a couple of # 70s one in black and one in bone
The Bone from about1946-56 and the black from 1960-76 or somwhere in that time frame
The cattle knife is a great pattern a very stout knife

[orvet]

Nice ones Trav!

Here is a new 165 Camillus Sword Brand I got this week.
From the looks of the box I think it was made in the late 1970s.

Very nice knife even the blade etch is still legible.

Dale