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Possibly Camillus??

Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2025 4:29 pm
by KaminskiJL
Hello,

Once again I find myself in a dilemma and am turning to the experts for help. I bought this old knife. I bought it mostly because it had beautiful aged jigged bone handle covers, which almost fell apart in my hands when I received it. There is no evidence of a shield ever having been installed on this knife. The knife is 3 15/16 inches (call it 4 inches) long when closed. The main blade has been broken off, but the stub remained. Once I cleaned all of the rust and crap off of it it had the infamous "Made in USA" tang stamp. The configuration of the missing main blade is unknown, but it's length is likely 2 3/4 to 3 inches based on the length of the well. The secondary blades appear to be a small pen blade (1 13/16 inches long from tip to ricasso), and a small clip blade (1 3/4 inches long from tip to the ricasso). Neither of these two blades appear to have been re-profiled from something else, so I believe tht they are original configuration. My research seems to be pointing me in the direction of a 1930's Camillus-built knife for the Sears and Roebuck Company, but that includes a lot of supposition on my part.

Can anybody tell me if the knife is actually a Camillus-Built knife? Is there an equivalent knife built by the manufacturer that I cn compare the knife to? And finally, is it possible to come up with a brand/model number that this knife would have been sold under?

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

Re: Possibly Camillus??

Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2025 10:27 pm
by doglegg
It's my understanding that Camillus made those for Sears with the MadeinUSA tang stamp.

Re: Possibly Camillus??

Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2025 12:39 am
by KaminskiJL
Thanks! I thought that it was a Camillus-made knife. Do you have any idea if Camillus marketed a similar model? Does anybody know how Sears marketed this knife? I'm trying to determine what the main blade was, and if the secondary blades have been modified. When I got the knife I found a peened nail in the spring pivot so I know that someone was in the knife (probably also accounting for the broken bone covers). I would love to find a description of the knife as it was originally sold...either by Sears or Camillus.

Re: Possibly Camillus??

Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2025 1:01 am
by Ripster
KaminskiJL wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2025 12:39 am Thanks! I thought that it was a Camillus-made knife. Do you have any idea if Camillus marketed a similar model? Does anybody know how Sears marketed this knife? I'm trying to determine what the main blade was, and if the secondary blades have been modified. When I got the knife I found a peened nail in the spring pivot so I know that someone was in the knife (probably also accounting for the broken bone covers). I would love to find a description of the knife as it was originally sold...either by Sears or Camillus.
As Floyd stated Camillus did make knives for Sears. With several tang stamps . With that said am not sure yet that’s a Camillus frame you have. Believe Schrade and Ulster also were contracted to make knives for Sears . If you go to Camillus r us website you can do some research thru the old catalogs there .
Good luck .

Re: Possibly Camillus??

Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2025 1:46 pm
by OLDE CUTLER
Wow, that one is really beat. What are you going to do in regard to the broken blade (find replacement or make a new one)? And the "beautiful aged jigged bone handle covers" need replacement.

Re: Possibly Camillus??

Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2025 6:23 pm
by KaminskiJL
Yeah, the bone covers looked great in the pictures he sent me. Little did I know that they had been "puzzle-pieced" together. The pictures made them look pristine. I suppose I could re- handle the knife with some new jigged bone scales. If I can identify the make/model of the knife I can try to find a replacement for the main blade. As a last result I can either make one or install a pre-made blade with no tang stamp.