A New OLD Camillus

mbjannusch

mbjannusch

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Apr 1, 2010
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I just pop on this Camillus and know from the thread on date stamps that it was made between 1946-'50, or so I think. I'm a Buck collector. I collect the 300 series knives and recently put a few sets of 100 series knives together. The 300 series are and will always be my first love. As most of you know Camillus Cutlery Co. produced most of the 300s for Buck Knives from the early 70s through there closing in 1998( I think). I have picked up a few Camillus knives over the years and as the title of the thread, I just couldn't resist this one. Enjoy the Picture, I haven't received it yet so you will have to view the auction listing.

Maybe some of you can tell me a bit about this knife.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/11082429347...NX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2648#ht_576wt_1185
 
Very clean looking knife. They have a lot better pictures than you normally see on the bay.
 
Found it in the 1965 Catalog. Called Large Equal End Jack Knife, scales are Grain White Pyroxylin.
 
If you like the 300 series BUCK knives, you will love the 100th anniversary knives made by Camillus in 1976. Models #100 and #200 are patterned after the 300 series BUCK knives.
During the preperation of one of Camillus' mini catalogs, dozens of photos were taken in the Camillus factory to illustrate how knives are made. BUCK knives were everywhere and appeared in most of the photos. Many of the photos had to be retouched to hide the slant bolsters and disguise the BUCK knife style. Camillus began making the 300 series BUCK knives in the late 1960's after Schrade no longer wanted the business..
Tom Williams
 
I'm going to have to disagree with your last comment. The Stockman pattern that Schrade made for Buck was to difficult to repair if it was sent in for warranty work. Schrade used a key lock bolster that was substandard, any side to side tension would ream out the workings inside and the thing would fall apart. Buck decide to cancel the contract and go with Camillus. Buck didn't start contracting with Camilus till '71. I will go back and check my reference material but I believe this is correct.
 
I did re-check my reference material and I was correct. The first Stockman contract knife Camillus made for Buck was in 1971.
 
edbeau said:
Found it in the 1965 Catalog. Called Large Equal End Jack Knife, scales are Grain White Pyroxylin.
Click to expand...

The tang stamp used on this knife was in the thread that showed the years of use and it appeared to be the one dated 1946-'50. It is hard to tell in the photos but you can tell if you look closely. Is it possible that this knife pattern was used during that time period. If the pattern was in the '65 catalog, I'm not sure why it would have such an old tang stamp, unless it was a pattern they held on to for decades.
 
I answered my own question, I looked in old threads and found a link to old catalogs and found my knife in the 1946 catalog, which answers my question about the tang stamp. It is an equal end jack with grain white pyroxylin, like edbeau said,
So, again the pattern must have been used for many years. This may all seem very vanilla for for most of you Camillus folks, but it is interesting to me, being a Buck collector for 17 years.
 
I stated that Camillus started making BUCK knives in the late 1960's. I did not specify if it was a stockman. I did located S-Card #2357 that shows that Camillus was making BUCK knives in 1968. This card was for a 2 blade, #7066 pattern, BUCK model #305 knife. One order for 36,000 knives is recorded on the back of the card.
I get my information about Camillus made BUCK knives from a very reliable source which is the person that handled this account at the Camillus factory who was the contact person for the buyer at BUCK Knives (I remember Ralph White held this position at BUCK). We used to mark the boxes of knives that were shipped to BUCK Knives "Ralph White", because earlier shipments that were marked "BUCK Knives" were frequently broken in to.
The Schrade made BUCK knife that you described is a Swinden construction knife. This design was developed by Mr. Dave Swinden who worked for Schrade and was one of the top people in the knife business. I spoke with Mr. Swinden at the September, 2007 auction at the Camillus factory. He was with Wally Gardiner, formerly the head of Schrade and now with Canal Street Cutlery.
Camillus got the BUCK business after Schrade no longer wanted it. Camillus and Schrade had a very special relationship. Phil Gibbs would know how the BUCK account went from Schrade to Camillus.
Tom Williams
 
Tom,
As I stated in the other thread, your right and the info I have states that as well. The 305 was made by Camillus in '68. Its so interesting hearing the info given by several sources and how it changes. Thank you for posting and giving a bit of enlightenment to the story. When you get info from Buck collectors it has a bit of bias to it. I love to hear the same stories come from the other side. As we all know the truth lies somewhere in between. I would really love to see any written records you could show. The history of Buck/Schrade/Camillus is fascinating. I have over 200 knives made by the collaboration of these three companies.
 
I bought a new Camillus Model 23 in 1953 for $8.00. It was my main pocket knife for many years. I wore it out but have since gotten a replacement. I have seen them called watermelon jacks.
 
I located two more S-Cards for BUCK knives. Camillus began manufacturing the model #301, which is a #78/3 pattern, and the model #303 (#500/3 pattern) in 1969. Both of these knives are stockman knives. The first production run of model #301 (order #6778) is for 12,000 knives. The first run of model #303 knives was also for 12,000 knives (order #6777). Both orders are recorded on the backs of the cards and are dated 2-14-69.
Tom Williams
 
That's very cool. The info I have states that the 301 and 303 didn't start till 71. maybe that when they were available, who knows.
 
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