5 Knife set

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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ken6
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5 Knife set

Post by ken6 »

Picked up this set of Camillus Knives today. All have Crossed Swords with "Sword Brand" Hand Made etched on main blade. #'s on backs are 89, 19, 73, 71, and 70. Tangs read Camillus underlined, New York, U. S. A. Sorry for the pictures. Anyone ever see these before?
IMG_0067.JPG
IMG_0068.JPG
IMG_0071.JPG
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garddogg56
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Re: 5 Knife set

Post by garddogg56 »

Very nice ::tu::
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ken6
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Re: 5 Knife set

Post by ken6 »

Can anyone tell me about the # system on these Camillus knives? And possibly a way to tell their age.
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Re: 5 Knife set

Post by tjmurphy »

I've got a #70, new in the box, identical to yours, and the box reads "Our 99th Year". Whatever year Camillus was founded and add 99 to it. Camillus founded 1876 + 99 = 1975
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orvet
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Re: 5 Knife set

Post by orvet »

Ken,
your set are the Indian Stag knives.
There is a whole thread on them here: http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kni ... 63&t=34974

ken6 wrote:Can anyone tell me about the # system on these Camillus knives? And possibly a way to tell their age.
Not from the numbers alone, nor from the tang stamp either really.
Perhaps Tom (CAMCO) Williams will come on there and address the thorny problem of dating Camillus knives.

I do know there was a change in the numbering system sometime around the end of WWII.
I have a 4-line tang stamp hawk bill pruner with a model #1001.
I have several post-WWII hawk bill pruners with the model #1.
Tom also told me about the numbering system change in that time frame, but I do not know when exactly it was.

As we have discussed in several various threads, the tang stamps alone are not reliable in dating the knives.
Tom maintains one must consider the the tang stamp, the handle material and the method by which the handles are attached to get a rough time frame of when a Camillus knife was made.

I am hoping Tom & I can make connections soon to discuss this. I would like to be able to outline a method of applying those items, tang stamp, handle material & type of attachment, to give us rough formula for dating Camillus knives. But as of this moment no such method exists that I am aware of.
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ken6
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Re: 5 Knife set

Post by ken6 »

Great, thanks for all the info, that helps alot.
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carrmillus
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Re: 5 Knife set

Post by carrmillus »

ken6 wrote:Picked up this set of Camillus Knives today. All have Crossed Swords with "Sword Brand" Hand Made etched on main blade. #'s on backs are 89, 19, 73, 71, and 70. Tangs read Camillus underlined, New York, U. S. A. Sorry for the pictures. Anyone ever see these before?
IMG_0067.JPG
IMG_0068.JPG
IMG_0071.JPG
........great find, ken, all you're missing is a 3 7/8" #78.................. ::tu:: ...................
ken6
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Re: 5 Knife set

Post by ken6 »

I am going to the Central KY Knife Club show in Lexington April 20th - I'll look for a #78 there, thanks.
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Re: 5 Knife set

Post by jerryd6818 »

Showing up for the first time in any catalogs I have access to in 1972 as the "New Prestige Line" of Indian Stag Knives, they were made for somewhere around ten years or so. The Prestige Line of Indian Stag Knives were still in the 1982 catalog but by 1984 had been discontinued.

I have a #70 Hiker (later, sometime before being discontinued, the name was changed to Woodcarver). It's a tiny little thing and cute as a button.
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Camillus Prestige Line of Indian Stag Knives - 1973 Catalog.JPG
Camillus Prestige Line of Indian Stag Knives - 1976 Catalog.JPG
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carrmillus
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Re: 5 Knife set

Post by carrmillus »

.........jerry, i've got one of the #70's too, and it is a sweet little knife!!!..also got a #77 and #48 which are almost identical to the #70, except for the handles!!........i think a good name for them would be little whittlers!!............... ::tu:: ...............
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