Some help from the experts, please.

[dkonopinski]

This Camillus folder arrived in the mail today. These old American dowagers are underrated here in the UK which is sad, but means I can occasionally pick one up cheaply. A bit of TLC and this one's walking and talking well. The screwdriver blade has a liner lock, but that's lost it's springiness and doesn't do thee job any more.

The previous owner thinks he bought it in the US about 30 years ago and it wasn't new then. He believes it was a US Navy issue. The scales appear to be horn, but could easily be synthetic.

So, any info on the knife, scale & blade materials, age etc will be very much appreciated.

Thank-you.

David

[msteele6]

If memory serves the long underline "Camillus" marking was introduced in the 1970's (maybe late '60's?). The handle material on that knife is like hard rubber or plastic.

Edit: after consulting my trusty Goins' it appears that this tang stamping was introduced in 1960, so the knife might be as old as that. Just goes to prove the old adage, "A short pencil is better than a long memory"

[Owd Wullie]

Those were called TL-29's when I was in the Navy.

I recall tossing several of those into the South China Sea when that damned liner lock got stupid. I was a 3rd class Petty Officer (Aviation Ordnanceman/redshirt/bb Stacker/PARTY ANIMAL) in VA-82 aboard the USS AMERICA. We were issued those things and could get all we wanted at the time. The first one I was issued closed up on my right index finger when I was attempting to get a stubborn dzus fastener to lock on a panel on an A-7C CORSAIR II. It cut the HELL out of my finger. I ground the sharp edge off on every one I got after that and tossed em when they got stupid.

I STILL hate those damn things and do NOT trust that type of lock on any knife.

I think it was ORVET that took one and made a really neat single blade jack out of one. THAT was cool.

[orvet]

I think it was ORVET that took one and made a really neat single blade jack out of one. THAT was cool.

That 1960s date sounds good on the TL-29.
Here is the tang stamp of the TL-29 I was issued in the Marine Corps in 1971.
It is the same as yours, you just can’t see the bottom line of the stamp in this pic.
It probably sat in a warehouse for years before being issued is why I think it was made in the 1960s.

Camillus TL-29 -Mine -tang stamp.jpg (45.62 KiB) Viewed 3976 times

Hey Willie,
I have made a few TL-29 reworks.

Stag and lengthened bolsters-

Camel Bone, with new brass bolsters and crown filework-

Desert Ironwood and converted to a liner lock-

The TL-29 is a very versatile knife when it comes to rebuilding. You can lengthen the bolsters like a Barlow, convert it to a liner lock or make a single blade jackknife, even an easy opener if you like. Lots of conversions can be made with a TL-29.
One of my favorite knives, despite what Willie says about them.

[knives-are-quiet]

Aren't these types of knives known as an electricians knife?
The sharp edge on the screw driver blade is for striping wire?
I have one stashed away somewhere not made by Camillus but another company.
If I can find it I'll post a picture of it.

J W

[knives-are-quiet]

I think it was ORVET that took one and made a really neat single blade jack out of one. THAT was cool.

That 1960s date sounds good on the TL-29.
Here is the tang stamp of the TL-29 I was issued in the Marine Corps in 1971.
It is the same as yours, you just can’t see the bottom line of the stamp in this pic.
It probably sat in a warehouse for years before being issued is why I think it was made in the 1960s.

Camillus TL-29 -Mine -tang stamp.jpg

Hey Willie,
I have made a few TL-29 reworks.

Stag and lengthened bolsters-

With name stamp.jpg

Camel Bone, with new brass bolsters and crown filework-

Mark side open.jpg

Desert Ironwood and converted to a liner lock-

Camillus locking TL conversion 1 ironwood.jpg

The TL-29 is a very versatile knife when it comes to rebuilding. You can lengthen the bolsters like a Barlow, convert it to a liner lock or make a single blade jackknife, even an easy opener if you like. Lots of conversions can be made with a TL-29.
One of my favorite knives, despite what Willie says about them.

Dale,
The knife with the stag and Barlow type bolsters is quite exceptional.
What a sweet knife.
Nice conversions on all of them.


J W

[Owd Wullie]

40 years later, I still have a good reminder.



Dale, your conversions are awesome.

[orvet]

Thanks guys, glad you like them.
Camillus made the TL-29 style electrician knives for most of the US companies, as well as many of the rope knives and Marlin Spike knives.

Camillus made solid knives and because they are so solid, it makes them easy to convert to something else.

[knives-are-quiet]

Aren't these types of knives known as an electricians knife?
The sharp edge on the screw driver blade is for striping wire?
I have one stashed away somewhere not made by Camillus but another company.
If I can find it I'll post a picture of it.

J W

Here is the knife in question.
It is made by Xcelite.
I picked it out of the trash about 15 years ago as I can't pass a pile of trash without rummaging through it. The knife did and still does have a few issues.
I fixed the bail which was all twisted up and cleaned up the knife by removing a lot of big scratches in the blade and handle material..
But the main problem is an enormous amount of vertical play with the main blade.
The front of the butt spring and run up on the blade are worn probably from poor maintenance and or abuse.
Other than the issues in question the knife looks to be well built with quality materials.
Does anyone know the history of this company?

This post and Dale has given me an idea for my next conversion.
Maybe make this knife a single blade liner lock jack.
I can switch the spring from the screw driver blade to replace the worn one as it has no ware at all.
I was thinking of using stag like Dale did for his knife and maybe also those Barlow type bolsters but in brass or maybe even copper.

What do you think?


J W

[orvet]

Sounds like a fun project JW.
BTW, I am 99% sure the Xcelite is a Camillus made knife too.
I think I have an S-card on these as well.

[Owd Wullie]

Stag and copper sounds very interesting. Especially if you could find some reddish colored stag.

[knives-are-quiet]

Reddish stag…with copper bolsters…
Hey that’s not a bad idea.
Thanks for the suggestion.

I only used copper for bolsters once before.
I have an old Imperial Barlow I had as a kid.
It sat in my dresser drawer for thirty years or so with those snap on type bolster / scales falling off.
Plus the pivot pin was worn.
This knife was one of my first and brings back many memories.
So I decide it deserved and needed an upgrade and overhaul.
I have lots of scraps left over from previous rebuilds and restores that I saved.
So I used all leftovers and anything else I could find laying around to rebuild this knife.

The copper for the bolsters are from an old electrical service panel and was part of the main ground bar from the inner workings of the electrical box.

The scales are leftover pieces of black palm wood from a previous knife build.

The mosaic bolster and pivot pins are cut offs from a previous build also.

The other copper pins are made from heavy gage electrical wire.

I also forced a patina on the blade using vinegar after taking out some nicks in the blades and cleaning up the metal plus sharpening the blade.

Copper has only one downfall when working with it.
It heats up very quickly and holds the heat for a very long time.
I had to grind then cool in water and over and over again which took most of the time with this rebuild.

This knife turned out better than I thought it would and has become one of my favorite users.
I am waiting for the copper to get that patina on it’s own to give the knife that antique look.

What do you think?

J W




knife before#1


knife before#2


liners and bolsters#1

Knife after rebuild:

[Owd Wullie]

I like it.

I used some red bronze for a hilt on a fixed blade years back. It was pretty brassy but aged nicely over time. I put copper spacers between the brass and the burl walnut scales. Made the blade from L-6 and tempered it in a coal fire. Carried it on my hip for a lot of years when I was trucking. Was fixing some wiring on the headlight of an old Pete one afternoon and left it sitting on the steering tire. When I moved the truck I ran over it and broke the scales all to HELL and back. Need to get off my rear end and put some on it. I've got some pretty desert ironwood ( stinkwood when you grind and polish it ) that would look good on it.

Probably just have carry that thing to get the copper to where you like it.

Might get real crazy and make some "mokume". That would be a lot of work though.

[knives-are-quiet]

I like it.

I used some red bronze for a hilt on a fixed blade years back. It was pretty brassy but aged nicely over time. I put copper spacers between the brass and the burl walnut scales. Made the blade from L-6 and tempered it in a coal fire. Carried it on my hip for a lot of years when I was trucking. Was fixing some wiring on the headlight of an old Pete one afternoon and left it sitting on the steering tire. When I moved the truck I ran over it and broke the scales all to HELL and back. Need to get off my rear end and put some on it. I've got some pretty desert ironwood ( stinkwood when you grind and polish it ) that would look good on it.

Probably just have carry that thing to get the copper to where you like it.

Might get real crazy and make some "mokume". That would be a lot of work though.

Yea'
I use the knife when I can.
The pictures I posted are months old.
When not in use I have been leaving the knife on my bedroom window sill.
The copper has already darkened up somewhat.

You gotta' get that old fixed blade back in action.
Whatever you do to it I'm sure it will be well worth it to you.
Bringing a part of your past back to life sure feels fine.


Mokume-Gane?
I'd just use some Damascus stock instead of all that work if I had a mind to.

JW