All About Pocket Knives

The knife is a stockman with a clip, spey, and pen blade. The blades are carbon steel. The threaded bolsters and gimp shield are steel. The liner and pins are brass. The jigged plastic scales show a lot of shrinkage. The tang stamp is "Made In U.S.A." The knife measures 3 1/2 inches closed. It apears to be a K-341 Kingston. I don't have any examples for comparison. I was hoping someone with knowledge of the Kingston brands could make an identification. Also, was Kingston known to have an issue with the scales on some models?

Kingston made lots of models but only 2 that were 3.50” closed;

• K-340 - 3 ½" three blade medium size premium stock knife, clip, spey, and punch

• K-341 - 3 ½" three blade medium size premium stock knife, clip, spey, and pen

I would say that you’ve properly identified your knife although the catalog image below has no shield Shrinkage of these synthetic covers was not uncommon.

I believe that your knife was made by Camillus, based on the construction and on the shield. Do you have a catalog photo of the K-341? Kingston knives were made on Ulster patterns, and they are a lot different as compared to Camillus.

This is a Kingston knife, typical of Kingstons of that era:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/116658023659

knifeaholic wrote: ↑Fri Jul 04, 2025 1:31 pm I believe that your knife was made by Camillus,

like these Steve?

Yes, I was thinking the knife might be Camillus. However, I've only seen those exact same bolsters on one other knife and that's an Ulster Multi-Tool. As Kingston knives were made on Ulster patterns it seemed reasonable that it might be a Kingston product. Also, I look at those blades and they seem to match the Kingstons K-341 more closely than the Camillus 70 Cattle Knife. This is what I was thinking.

Also, I was thinking that the "shinkage of the scales issue" might be a clue. I don't think this is a typical problem for Camillus. However, it was noted that it was not uncommon for a Kingston knife. I can't say conclusively but based on the information provided in this discussion, it appears more likely to be a Kingston. Just my thoughts. As always I greatly appreciate all the input from the AAPK participants.

I also noticed that the Camillus frame is 3.625” (3-3/8”) whereas the Kingston is 3.500” (3-1/2”) - are you sure your frame is 3,500”?

Yes, it's definitely 3 1/2 inches closed.