TL-29 Electricians Knives

[justold52]

WOW I see so many.

I think I can add this one.

She is a SOG Kilowatt EL-01 Electrician Tool AUS 8 Steel.

I find her realy handy even to cut copper wire.

[smiling-knife]

Interesting aside on that IXL advert:It appears that the blades are stamped on the reverse side of what most knives usually are.As it is not a photograph but rather a rendering,I wonder if they did that to balance out the picture with the copy.

Just an artist's rendition I suspect. Many of the knives have Wostenholm on the blade in the catalogue but do not for real. s-k

[knfmn]

Here is an old Schrade Cutlery.

[philco]

Nice one Knfmn. That old Schrade looks to be in wonderful condition.

[orvet]

In July 4th I received an email from Mr. Gary Cunningham. He had been reading 2008 TL-29 thread here on AAPK and said that I had posted that I needed an Empire TL-29 for my collection. He said; “Don't know if you have found an Empire since, but if not, I have one that I would sell. Not in the best condition, some pitting, blade has been sharpened and has lost a little form, but not horrible either.”

He offered it to me at what I thought was a very reasonable price. PayPal was sent and I received a very nice Empire TL-29 in the mail today.

This is the old style TL-29, of WWI vintage.
The release for the screwdriver blade is activated by pushing down on the spear blade.

Thank you Gary!

Gary is the author of “American Military Bayonets of the 20th Century.”
He is also a contributor to Frank Trzaska's U. S. Military Knives website.
He has a lot of very good info there entitled “Bayonet Points.” - http://www.usmilitaryknives.com/bayonet_points.htm
If you are a bayonet collector or just interested in bayonets, it is well worth the read!
Lastly he is a moderator on http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ ... howforum=8
They have an entire forum there devoted to military knives.

Nor only did I get an great old Empire for my TL-29 collection, but I also got a membership in another forum!

Thanks again Gary. I hope you will also join AAPK and bless us with your knowledge.

There are at least two more TL-29s I need for my collection, a Winchester and a Schatt & Morgan.
Does anyone know if Walden Knife Co. or New York Knife Co. made TL-29s?

Dale

[BuckeyeSchatt]

Here's two, one is a 1976 Queen and the other is a 1980's Craftsman.

[testcase]

Heres a rare Remington electricians knife. Its a R43 with aluminum handles and a internal spring lock for the screwdriver blade.

Electrician knife with ALUMINIUM handle.... shocking Seriously sounds like a bad idea

[cbnutt]

were the old camillius TL-29,s carbon blades ? id like to mabe find a decent one and have it reahandled and file worked, some id seen on ebay were listed as stainless ?

[orvet]

Yes, most of the Camillus I have seen are carbon steel.

They are a fun knife for me to do conversions on.
Here are some of the variations I have made from a Camillus TL-29.


This is a linerlock blade with desert ironwood made from a Camillus TL-29.

This is also a linerlock conversion of a TL-29 with stag handles.

This also started as a TL-29. I put long brass bolsters on it and did crown file work on them.
File work on the backspring and the blade.
The handles are camel bone.

The TL-29 holds a special place in my collection.
I enjoy collecting the many different brands made here in the USA. At this point I have about 44 different brands. Camillus probably made more of them than any other company.

As you can see I also enjoy working on the Tl-29 as well.
There is so much you can do with such a solid and basic pattern.

Dale

[cbnutt]

nice dale ! ill have to watch ebay a bit, id say theres a lot out there, i guess the main thing would be to find one with tight blades, and little wear for a good canidate to rework.

[orvet]

I bought a bunch before they got hard to get.
I still have a few that were bulk packed in the plastic bags with the grease (or heavy oil) still on them.

The nice thing is that you can get one that has been well used, even abused.
As long as the blade is decent I have enough parts and parts TLs that I can petty much build one from left over parts. In fact & even have a few new blades for them.

There are so many millions of TL-29 in the world that there shouldn't be a shortage of parts in my life time, at least for the Camillus and those brands made by Camillus, Schrade, Case, Craftsman, Proto, M. Klein, Boker, Holub, etc.
All the ones made to MIL Spec will probably have parts that are interchangeable. If not directly interchangeable, they should be close enough that they could be modified to fit.


Dale

[caddyman1973]

As Dale said, you can do alot with this pattern. I made on easy open pattern out of this one. Added a rear bolster, red spacers and sea cow bone handles.

[jerryd6818]

As Dale said, you can do alot with this pattern. I made on easy open pattern out of this one. Added a rear bolster, red spacers and sea cow bone handles.

Dads TL-29 001.jpg

I like that. If you hadn't told me, I never would have guessed it's parentage. Good job.

Thanks to this thread, I'm gaining new respect and a whole different perspective for the plain and plentiful TL-29.

[robinetn]

The most notorious use for the Case electricians knife is to use the master blade for a "replacement" of the spear blade on a 6488 congress pattern .

Bob R. (RIDGEWOOD CUTLERY)

[ea42]

That's some beautiful customizing work Dale and Caddyman!

Eric

[orvet]

Thanks Eric.

I like caddy's rear bolster idea. I will have to try that someday.

Dale

[elbertson]

Quality practically guaranteed!

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-Pack-Stainless-St ... 3f010a7dcf

[Another Knife Collector]

There's some beautiful work on those custom TL-29s! As long as everyone is showing off here's one I made a while back
http://allaboutpocketknives.com/knife_f ... it=+custom

[jerryd6818]

Quality practically guaranteed!

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-Pack-Stainless-St ... 3f010a7dcf

Ouch! Pakistani cutlery is bottom shelf stuff.

[elbertson]

2, count them,2 knives shipped to your door for 5 bucks total...knives themselves must be what...$.75 each? If that doesn't reek of quality, I don't know what does. From glorious Pakistan, no less...the home of mysterious, magical steel that practically slices through stuff just by being in the same room. I hope we all don't miss out on this one!

[Aimus Moses]

The most notorious use for the Case electricians knife is to use the master blade for a "replacement" of the spear blade on a 6488 congress pattern .

Bob R. (RIDGEWOOD CUTLERY)

Yep, and I've seen the 54 pattern trapper with the 75 pattern main clip blade traded out. I would think the 75 stockman or moose would look a little weird with the 54 trapper main blade in it.

Aimus

[orvet]

There's some beautiful work on those custom TL-29s! As long as everyone is showing off here's one I made a while back
http://allaboutpocketknives.com/knife_f ... it=+custom

Very nice, especially for your first attempt at reworking a knife.

Dale

[mtds]

A few days ago I created a post titled "Camillus electrican's knife variations" on the Camillus Cutlery Collectors' sub-forum. The knives I addressed weren't strictly TL-29's because none of them were marked that way, but the pattern is the same and they were often distributed via the same channels.

Anyway, here's a link to the post: http://allaboutpocketknives.com/knife_f ... 63&t=19139

[orvet]

I found a new TL-29 on ebay. A brand I had not seen before, thanks to an alert AAPK member who emailed me about the ebay listing.

It is stamped A.E. FULLER/U.S.A.

The etch on the screwdriver blade is mostly visavle.
The odd thing is the type of bail on the knife.
It looks like a bail on a cheap camper pattern.

What do you think?
Has anyone ever heard of them?

Dale

[coffeecup]

I found a new TL-29 on ebay. A brand I had not seen before, thanks to an alert AAPK member who emailed me about the ebay listing.

It is stamped A.E. FULLER/U.S.A.

The etch on the screwdriver blade is mostly visavle.
The odd thing is the type of bail on the knife.
It looks like a bail on a cheap camper pattern.

What do you think?
Has anyone ever heard of them?

Dale

Dale, I've got one here, somewhere. . . . Not in as good condition as yours, and missing the bail. I found mine under an old school about 15 years ago, while helping prep the building for demolition.

I've always wondered if they were made during the Great Depression/pre-WWII years. Mine is reasonably well-made, but the bail suggests an attempt to lower costs.

Jim