All About Pocket Knives

Going through the camillus models, I think this knife was only made for one year? (1949-1950) Does anybody else own with a long line?

......what's the length on this one??....I have a 4 line that is similar, but the primary blade is a spear................ ..................

carrmillus wrote:......what's the length on this one??....I have a 4 line that is similar, but the primary blade is a spear................ ..................

3 5/8" closed

...the one I have is 3 3/4" closed, and the stamp dates it to 1941-1946......... .........

What does "long line" refer to?

Dennis

.....underneath "Camillus" is a line that extends the full length of the word "Camillus"-1960-1976 marking............. ......................

Thanks carr. So based on your post above you have one with four lines. Must not leave much room on the tang.

I'm traveling, otherwise I'd pull my Goins and check out the various line stamps.

Dennis

Dennis,
Here is the generally accepted dates for these Camillus tang stamps.
However, I must say Tom Williams (the Company Historian for Camillus) maintained until his death that he thought the no line stamp (dated 1946-1956) should have actually predated the short line stamp. I agree in part because as I find a lot more short line stamps than I find no line stamps. It would seem the short line stamps would be scarce as they were only made from 1946-1950 and the no line stamps were used from 1946-1956. It stands to reason a company would make more knives in 10 years than they would make in 4 years.

Tom worked for Camillus for 30 years and his mother worked there 55 years. Several other family members worked there as well, so if Tom didn't know for sure, then there is plenty of room in my mind to question the generally accepted dates of Camillus tang stamps.

As collectors we like to pin down the dates our knives were made, but the fact is that with Camillus and Schrade that is rarely possible.

History of the Camillus 70

In the 1946 catalog the #70 pattern was a 3-5/8" Cattle knife. It was still in the 1948 catalog but by the time the 1954 price list came out, it had been discontinued.
Fast forward to 1972 when a new version of the Camillus 70 was introduced as part of the new Prestige Line. These were Deluxe Quality Indian Stag Knives (Delrin stag, not the real thing), part of the Sword Brand line. At 2-5/8" closed, it was much smaller than the first #70. When introduced they called it the 'Hiker' but it received a name change sometime around 1982 to 'Woodcarver'. Sometime between 1982 & 1984 the #70 disappeared from the catalog.

Camillus 70 (bottom) compared to a Camillus 72

....jerry, what I have may not be a #70, it has a spear master, and only the master has the 4 line stamp, but other than that, they look identical(to the older one, I have the smaller #70 like your picture).................. .......................

Tommy, wouldn't you say your four line is probably from before WWII before they assigned pattern numbers to the knives??

.........I'm beginning to think it is, jerry, but goin's says the 4 line on the master only is 1941-1946. I've never seen another one like this one!!....... .............

orvet wrote:Dennis,
Here is the generally accepted dates for these Camillus tang stamps.

Camillus Tang Stamps.jpg

However, I must say Tom Williams (the Company Historian for Camillus) maintained until his death that he thought the no line stamp (dated 1946-1956) should have actually predated the short line stamp. I agree in part because as I find a lot more short line stamps than I find no line stamps. It would seem the short line stamps would be scarce as they were only made from 1946-1950 and the no line stamps were used from 1946-1956. It stands to reason a company would make more knives in 10 years than they would make in 4 years.

Tom worked for Camillus for 30 years and his mother worked there 55 years. Several other family members worked there as well, so if Tom didn't know for sure, then there is plenty of room in my mind to question the generally accepted dates of Camillus tang stamps.

As collectors we like to pin down the dates our knives were made, but the fact is that with Camillus and Schrade that is rarely possible.

Thanks for posting this Dale, I have never owned a no line Camillus. (I'm on the hunt)

orvet wrote:Dennis,
Here is the generally accepted dates for these Camillus tang stamps.

Camillus Tang Stamps.jpg

However, I must say Tom Williams (the Company Historian for Camillus) maintained until his death that he thought the no line stamp (dated 1946-1956) should have actually predated the short line stamp. I agree in part because as I find a lot more short line stamps than I find no line stamps. It would seem the short line stamps would be scarce as they were only made from 1946-1950 and the no line stamps were used from 1946-1956. It stands to reason a company would make more knives in 10 years than they would make in 4 years.

Tom worked for Camillus for 30 years and his mother worked there 55 years. Several other family members worked there as well, so if Tom didn't know for sure, then there is plenty of room in my mind to question the generally accepted dates of Camillus tang stamps.

As collectors we like to pin down the dates our knives were made, but the fact is that with Camillus and Schrade that is rarely possible.

....dale, right after Camillus closed, I bought a Camillus hat and 2 t'shirts from a lady on ebay. after I paid for them, she sent me an email asking why I was interested in Camillus. I told her about my grandpa, who would never carry anything but a Camillus and got me interested in them and she told me she had worked there over 50 years!!.....I would bet she was tom's mother!!!.............. ....

It could have been her Tommy.

Dale, do you know if she's still alive?

orvet wrote:It could have been her Tommy.

...I'm almost certain that she mentioned that her son also worked there!!!..... .........

Meant to reply earlier.

This is a long underline. It has the dense composite handles similar to the ones Pal Cutlery used.

jerryd6818 wrote:Dale, do you know if she's still alive?

As far as I know she was alive when Tom died.
Tom had mentioned that she was living somewhere she could have some assistance.
I don't remember if that was with one of Tom's siblings or if she was in an assisted living facility.