Camillus WWII and before!

The Camillus Cutlery Company was one of the oldest knife manufacturers in the United States with roots dating back to 1876. The company manufactured Camillus branded knives and was a prolific contractor for other knife brands up until its last days in 2007 when the company filed for bankruptcy.
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garddogg56
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by garddogg56 »

Thanx Bull ya gut to love them electrician knives ::tu::
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by garddogg56 »

Here's that TL-29 cleaned up.
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by 268bull »

Looki' real good there Garddogg ::nod:: . Seems as though in spite of how plain they are, I'll always pick one up! ::tu:: Bull
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by garddogg56 »

Right on bull;normally I won't carry one (reminds me of work) but I put it in a sheath then on to a belt EDC for a while :lol:
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orvet
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by orvet »

Nice finds guys!
Bull, I love those bone handled TL-29s!
They are pretty!
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by 268bull »

Thanks Dale. Could that bone, on the knife I pictured, perhaps be Rogers bone ? Bull
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by orvet »

I think that is Rogers Bone that has not been worn down from carrying it.
If a guy was to artificially wear it (by sanding it down) it would look more like the Rogers Bone seen on most of the WWII knives.

Dimitri, is the expert on Rogers- What do you think Dimitri?
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by 268bull »

For all general purposes Dale, I don't see any use of the knife at all. There was a little rust on the surface of the blades, however, a scotch brite pad and a little breakfree CLP, they cleaned right up . It's as though the owner was issued the knife, they threw it in there ditty bag and forgot about it. I plan on bringing it to the knife show, so you'll be able to se it then. ::tu:: Dale ( aka; Bull )
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by orvet »

I am looking forward to seeing it!
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by marcellusW »

Found in a bargain box! probably due to someone buffed the poo out of the tang, dealer didn't know the brand
Can read 2nd & 3rd lines with 10X well, slight hint of 1st & 4th lines on the main blade
Otherwise in very good shape, both blades snap, no wobble, bone not cracked, etc
Image

Image
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by orvet »

Here is a 4 line easy opener I got this week.
Aside from the grooves in the bone toward the front (both sides) and a pin crack, it is in really good condition. Blades are full and not a lot of wear on the handles. I am not sure the reason for the groove on each side, but it is far more noticeable in the pics than it is in my hand. It still has hard snap……………….it may get some pocket time.
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Camillus ez open a.jpg
Camillus ez open b.jpg
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by tjmurphy »

Nice knives Marcellus and Dale. Some of my favorites. What do you reckon the grooves in the handle are from??
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by smokepole »

Marcellus, Orvet, both very nice finds!! Dale (Orvet) you just have to love that spear with the swedge and the long pull - an absolute classic!

TJ, my guess is that knife was worn from a belt or some piece of kit, dangling by the lanyard bail and over time something like a rivet in a jean or some such wore a little groove in it.
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by orvet »

::dang:: ::dang:: ::dang:: ::dang:: ::dang::
No one has posted to this thread in nearly 2 months!
That is just WRONG!!! :x


Here is one that came today-
Streamline Camillus before a.jpg

I love this blade etch!
Streamline Camillus blade before.jpg
This is the Sword Brand tang stamp-
Streamline Camillus before mark side tang.jpg
Streamline Camillus before mark side tang.jpg (44.27 KiB) Viewed 2973 times
This is the 4-line tang stamp on the pile side-
Streamline Camillus before pile side tang.jpg
Streamline Camillus before pile side tang.jpg (45.65 KiB) Viewed 2973 times


Think it is worth a few hours of my time to restore it? ::shrug::
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by jerryd6818 »

marcellusW & Dale -- I'm a sucker for the EZ-Opens and those are both beauties.

Dale -- I'm going with some dog marking his territory on you EZ-Open. I think those marks were put there on purpose as a mark of ownership.

That's a sweet Sword Brand Streamline. The sabre ground clip blade is my favorite clip profile. The swedge and long pull make it a classic. It's a shame it isn't used more on modern knives.
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orvet
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by orvet »

jerryd6818 wrote:.

The sabre ground clip blade is my favorite clip profile. The swedge and long pull make it a classic. It's a shame it isn't used more on modern knives.

Absolutely!
I agree 110%! ::tu:: ::tu::
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by orvet »

I picked this up off fleabay for very little.
I think it will look nice when I get finished working on it.

As you can see both blades have the 4-line tang stamp.
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Camillus 4 line pen a.jpg
Camillus 4 line pen b.jpg
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by msteele6 »

Here's an old Camilllus serpentine jack that I picked up off the 'bay.
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by orvet »

That is a true beauty & a pattern I really like! ::tu:: ::tu::

And that bone........... Image
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by msteele6 »

Thanks for the kind words.

I saw this one going so cheaply I thought I'd better pick it up.
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by orvet »

I really like the serpentine jack pattern. Image
Here are a couple more I picked up recently.

The top one has the textured celluloid or early plastic & is attached with the prong method. You can see the prongs showing through at the cracks near the bolsters.

The bottom knife is older I think. The cracked ice celluloid is attached with pins. I think someone used the pen blade as a small screwdriver; the only serious flaw with the knife. Both blades have good snap.

Both master blades have the Sword Brand crossed swords tang stamp on the mark side.
The top knife has the 4-line tang stamp on the pile side of the master blade, which is pretty common of the knives made around WWII.

The second knife has a blank tang on the pile side of the master, but has the 4-line tang stamp on the mark side of the secondary blade. This is more like the tang stamps seen in the WWI & before eras, when they used two different tang stamps on the master & secondary blades. This probably means (in my guesstimation) that this is the older of the two knives; probably made shortly after WWI or in the early 1920s. The pin method of attaching the handles also predates the prong method used in the first knife.

The second knife has a bar type escutcheon on each side. The mark side reads; “The Everstick Anchor Co.” The pile side reads; “The Anchor of Merit.”

I found this about the Everstick Anchor Co. using Yahoo Search:

“In 1907 Jasper and Margaret Blackburn settled in the St. Louis, Missouri area. He was an inventor and took out over 100 patents. He formed a corporation, the Everstick Anchor Company, which manufactured various types of earth anchors for the electrical industry. In 1928, he retired, selling the company to an Iowa firm. By 1932 he had become bored with retirement and formed the Jasper Blackburn Corporation for the manufacture of electrical connectors. In 1968, as the result of a merger with International Telephone amd Telegraph Corporation, the name became I.T.T. Blackburn. Here they design, manufacture and market a broad line of distribution connectors, grounding devices and switch gear for the electric power industry.”
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/us ... -0049.html

Jasper Blackburn was born in 1869 & died in 1944.
I think the dates of Jasper Blackburn & the Everstick Anchor Co. support my guesstimation of the 1920s (or before), for the dating of manufacture on the Everstick knife shown above.
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Camillus 4 line jacks a.jpg
Camillus 4 line jacks b.jpg
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by msteele6 »

Nice old Sword Brand's, it's really tough finding those imitation stag handles that aren't cracked through the pins, which is a shame since they don't seem to have any of the problems of many of the other composition handles and have a great look.
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by orvet »

This one arrived today.
It is a 4 line with "TL-29" engraved on the shield.
Probably issued in WWII or shortly before.
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Camillus 4 line TL-29 a.jpg
Camillus 4 line TL-29 b.jpg
Camillus 4 line TL-29 c.jpg
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by floridian1 »

I found these 2 cleaning out my grandfathers garage. The first one is stamped Camilluss Cutlery Co NY w/ Camilluss in an arc. WWI era? The second is stamped on the large blade Camilluss New York USA on one side and 18 on the other. I don't collect knives but should I clean/polish them up or are they worth more in as is condition? Thanks

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orvet
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Re: Camillus WWII and before!

Post by orvet »

::welcome:: to AAPK! ::tu::

I would clean off the active rust so it does no more damage, then I think I would leave them as they are after wiping them down with mineral oil.

I would oil the sheath with a good leather preservative several times over the course of a couple months to get some moisture back into it. I would use that on the leather handle of the fixed blade as well.
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