All About Pocket Knives

Found this for sale on eBay. Didn't know Bear and Sons had made a copy of the 72; or more accurately in this case, the 1047 since it is a Boy Scout model. Given I have never seen another, I suspect this was the only version of this pattern they did. Pretty sure this was done post-2008.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Bear-MGC- ... Sw~BtdL~AJ

And why haven't they used this pattern lately? Would be a good thing to see today if Bear actually did make the pattern, and still has the tooling. I'm sure Bear would sell a lot of them if they did a carpenter's whittler and at least put a halfway decent effort into its quality and workmanship. And they can; the Remingtons I have owned were pretty good. On par with most Camillus that I own.

First one of those 1047 clones I’ve seen.

My experience with the Remington Boy Scout copies from Bear & Son is considerably different. All those I have seen have pitiful fit and finish and in no way resemble the Camillus-made Remingtons, which are high quality knives befitting the Remington name.

Ken

Mumbleypeg wrote:First one of those 1047 clones I’ve seen.

My experience with the Remington Boy Scout copies from Bear & Son is considerably different. All those I have seen have pitiful fit and finish and in no way resemble the Camillus-made Remingtons, which are high quality knives befitting the Remington name.

Ken

Yet again, their really irregular QC. I have a Craftsman 45201 (rebranded Bear Jaws) that is sort of rough around the edges, but fine and I carry it occasionally. My two locking blade Bear Jaws are so poorly made, and unsafe, they're a safety hazard. Bought two "Sideliners" with gut hooks. Lock failed on my friend's within a week (and I thought I'd given him the better of the two), and mine took hours with a sharpening stone being run against the lock bar to even make it work.

That’s my experience, sad to say. Here is an old thread bemoaning the same. viewtopic.php?f=4&t=47847&p=495141&hilit=Bear#p495045

I haven’t bought any Bears lately so hopefully they’ve improved.

Ken

I have one of the 1047's made by Bear & Son. It's pretty pitiful. I called them to discus the poor quality of their work and was told it was a second that had somehow gotten out the door in spite of all the security measures they have in place to avoid that. RIIGGGHHT. I think I was told they only made them for a short while.

You can read about my experience with the Remington Scout knife they made in the post linked by Ken.

This has nothing to do with the 72 but it was made by Bear. And I believe I've shown this knife here somewhere before but I just feel like dumping on Bear this morning. I think the Colonel Coon trademark is, or was, valuable enough that the owner wouldn't risk it on Bear's reputation for quality. But I haven't seen any financial statements or such so I really don't know what I'm talking about in that respect. Just pure speculation.

The second photo shows a groove in the bolster that wasn't completed & the third photo speaks for itself. I'd like to see Bear make good knives, consistently, in the USA. I hope, that if they do, enough people are willing & able to pay for that but this is my first experience with Bear & it will be hard for me to take a second chance.

cody6268 wrote:Found this for sale on eBay. Didn't know Bear and Sons had made a copy of the 72; or more accurately in this case, the 1047 since it is a Boy Scout model. Given I have never seen another, I suspect this was the only version of this pattern they did. Pretty sure this was done post-2008.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Bear-MGC- ... Sw~BtdL~AJ

And why haven't they used this pattern lately? Would be a good thing to see today if Bear actually did make the pattern, and still has the tooling. I'm sure Bear would sell a lot of them if they did a carpenter's whittler and at least put a halfway decent effort into its quality and workmanship. And they can; the Remingtons I have owned were pretty good. On par with most Camillus that I own.

s-l1600_BBSASK.jpg

I see that it sold. Did you get it? I was watching it, but forgot all about it.

New_Windsor_NY wrote:

cody6268 wrote:Found this for sale on eBay. Didn't know Bear and Sons had made a copy of the 72; or more accurately in this case, the 1047 since it is a Boy Scout model. Given I have never seen another, I suspect this was the only version of this pattern they did. Pretty sure this was done post-2008.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Bear-MGC- ... Sw~BtdL~AJ

And why haven't they used this pattern lately? Would be a good thing to see today if Bear actually did make the pattern, and still has the tooling. I'm sure Bear would sell a lot of them if they did a carpenter's whittler and at least put a halfway decent effort into its quality and workmanship. And they can; the Remingtons I have owned were pretty good. On par with most Camillus that I own.

s-l1600_BBSASK.jpg

I see that it sold. Did you get it? I was watching it, but forgot all about it.

No sir. A bit expensive for my tastes, especially given how irregular the quality is on Bear and Sons products. I felt the seller probably wouldn't even accept a $40 offer; which was still high. I only gave $15 for my Camillus 1047. Honestly, I felt the knife was worth no more than $20-25.

And I got an email from Mr. Griffey last night about it after I filled out a contact form on the website. He said they started making them right after Camillus went under and made them for a total of three years. So, 2009-11?

I got that one, I made an offer and to my surprise he agreed. Not getting it for a quality knife but as an example.

cody6268 wrote:

New_Windsor_NY wrote:

cody6268 wrote:Found this for sale on eBay. Didn't know Bear and Sons had made a copy of the 72; or more accurately in this case, the 1047 since it is a Boy Scout model. Given I have never seen another, I suspect this was the only version of this pattern they did. Pretty sure this was done post-2008.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Bear-MGC- ... Sw~BtdL~AJ

And why haven't they used this pattern lately? Would be a good thing to see today if Bear actually did make the pattern, and still has the tooling. I'm sure Bear would sell a lot of them if they did a carpenter's whittler and at least put a halfway decent effort into its quality and workmanship. And they can; the Remingtons I have owned were pretty good. On par with most Camillus that I own.

s-l1600_BBSASK.jpg

I see that it sold. Did you get it? I was watching it, but forgot all about it.

No sir. A bit expensive for my tastes, especially given how irregular the quality is on Bear and Sons products. I felt the seller probably wouldn't even accept a $40 offer; which was still high. I only gave $15 for my Camillus 1047. Honestly, I felt the knife was worth no more than $20-25.

And I got an email from Mr. Griffey last night about it after I filled out a contact form on the website. He said they started making them right after Camillus went under and made them for a total of three years. So, 2009-11?

***** They closed up shop in 2007. *****

doglegg wrote:I got that one, I made an offer and to my surprise he agreed. Not getting it for a quality knife but as an example.

That's what I wanted it for. Just another example of a Camillus 72 variation. I'm glad that you got it.
If you ever get completely "disgusted" with it, you know who to contact.

Thanks N W NY I will keep you in mind and that isn't idle talk. Enjoy the addiction.

doglegg wrote:Thanks N W NY I will keep you in mind and that isn't idle talk. Enjoy the addiction.

Ohhhhhhh you know I am!

New_Windsor_NY wrote:

cody6268 wrote:

New_Windsor_NY wrote:
I see that it sold. Did you get it? I was watching it, but forgot all about it.

No sir. A bit expensive for my tastes, especially given how irregular the quality is on Bear and Sons products. I felt the seller probably wouldn't even accept a $40 offer; which was still high. I only gave $15 for my Camillus 1047. Honestly, I felt the knife was worth no more than $20-25.

And I got an email from Mr. Griffey last night about it after I filled out a contact form on the website. He said they started making them right after Camillus went under and made them for a total of three years. So, 2009-11?

***** They closed up shop in 2007. *****

You're right. I was a year off. That time frame fits in better (2008-10) with the time I was in the BSA (2007-2010) and was finding the Bear BSA knives in my Scout Stuff Catalog. In retrospect, I should have bought a couple back then.

Just a thought, but I seem to remember Bear and Sons bought a lot of equipment from the Camillus auction. The knife in the op’s photo is much to polished and the matchstrike pull to clean in relation to the springs and delrin...I think bear might have purchased a lot of blank blades and parts in that auction and fitted them as best they could to sell