How Things Went Wrong At Camillus.

[jerryd6818]

I think I'm putting this in the right place. While wandering about the Internet, I ran on to this article and thought there might be some interest in reading it. I did a search and didn't find where anyone else had posted it so decided to put it out there for your reading pleasure or displeasure as the case may be.

The article is titled -- How Things Went Wrong at Camillus -- and it was written in March of 2007, shortly after their bankruptcy. It's in .pdf format so you'll need a PDF reader on your PC.

The article left me echoing Kevin Pipes question, "What did they do with the $12 million?".

[TripleF]

Great read. Thanks for posting Jerry!!

[theblindog]

thanks for sharing this!

[dcgm4]

Really interesting read. Thanks, Jerry.

[tjmurphy]

Sounds to me like Camillus cut its own throat. Refused help from everybody

[philco]

Jerry thank you for posting this. Very interesting information.

Phil

[smokepole]

Such a sad, sad thing. Especially as it looks like there were several avenues by which the company could have survived......

[Vit_213]

This is a long time here:
http://www.collectors-of-camillus.us/Ar ... ticles.htm
Thank you Larry

[jerryd6818]

This is a long time here:
http://www.collectors-of-camillus.us/Ar ... ticles.htm
Thank you Larry

Look, Dale's famous. This is an excerpt from an article on that site -- "Camillus name a giant among cutlery collectors"
Ami Olson 11/12/2008


As one of the oldest knife manufacturers in American history, some collectors choose
knives that illustrate the history of both the Camillus name and knife making in general.
"When I hold a Camillus in my hand, I am holding a piece of American cutlery history,"
said forum member Dale, of Oregon. He was issued a TL-29, a military electrician's
knife, when he entered the Marine Corps. "I carried it through a tour in Vietnam, on the
med-evac flight home and still have that knife to this day."

[chetr1200c]

congrats dale, that was a very nice piece, also jerry"s topic is a sad part of american cutlery history. one thing is good about the entire read. they did cut their own throats, but, at least they didn't do the china route.

now for my question here. if and when, { and it does look like it is going to be a reality}, camillus resuscitates itself from the ashes of their own anvils. does this mean, with his $12 million dollar investmwnt, that kevin pipes, of smkw, will own a big chunk if not all of the new camillus line?
if this is true, i would think, the path kevin pipes is taking with his own knives, that once smkw gets established with this newly regrouped camillus knife company and gets a feel of the market, he will eventually turn operations over to his china counterparts.

i sincerely hope i am wrong in this assumption....

[chetr1200c]

i just the read the other post from a member and dales response that camco is already doing china made camillus but trying to open the market with usa camillus. thanks dale for that answer to my previuos question. i have not done anything with camillus new line since they shut down years ago. except of course to buy old camillus knives...

[Vit_213]

Jerry D.
Maybe I'm stupid, but I do not understand what your two posts are related.
I read both articles about two years ago on the site of Larry Vickery (collectors-of-camillus.us).
My English is very bad, so I use Google translate. Unfortunately, he makes it often incorrect. If not difficult, then explain to me more simple sentences.
Thanks in advance.

[orvet]

The demise of Camillus is a long and sad story. I think it is prudent to remember when reading any article of the decline and fall of Camillus Cutlery Company you are getting only the writers point of view, and that goes for what I may write as well.

We live in the age of spin. This is especially true in journalism where political matters are concerned. Depending on the writer, the depth of his/her research and the slant they wish to put on the subject matter, any article can be spun to support the writers’ preconceived notions or agenda. With the importation of so many knives from China, the cutlery industry itself has become very politicized, and therefore one needs to be aware of (or look for) the biases of the writer of any given piece.

There are so many differing points of view about the demise of Camillus and the causes behind it that I personally doubt we will ever know THE reason behind the closure of Camillus. Personally I don’t think there is a single reason, but a myriad of factors both great and small, (including 9/11), that took too great a toll on the resources of Camillus for them to recover.




As regards the new owner of the Camillus name-

The Camillus Cutlery Company we all knew and loved ended in 2007. It was the end of an era. That company will never exist again. Acme United Corporation purchased the intellectual property i.e.; the brand name Camillus, Camco and others. I know of no connection between Acme United and SMKW. I do believe different people own them.

As I recall it was Camillus that invested in SMKW in the 1980s. This did give them a ready market for many of their products, so in some ways it was a natural thing for a manufacturer to invest in a retail outlet. I am unaware of any inappropriate activities by the folks at SMKW or those at Camillus in this matter. To the best of my knowledge it was, at the time, a win-win relationship for both companies.

[Vit_213]

Thank you Dale.
James Furgal probably could tell a lot about it , but I think he will never do it.
By the way, what is now his business?

[orvet]

Thank you Dale.
James Furgal probably could tell a lot about it , but I think he will never do it.
By the way, what is now his business?

I do not know where he is or what he is doing.