A new (to me) TL-29 and a "what the heck is this??"

B

Brian.Evans

Registered Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2011
Messages
3,267
I interviewed for a part time job at a pawn shop today. On the way out I stopped by the knife case. One of my buddies works there and gave me a great deal on an TL-29 and an old wood scaled, iron bolster/liner knife thing. Both for $13, out the door! How can I lose?!

Here's the ChannelLock branded Camillus. The screwdriver is a real nail breaker, so I'll have to remedy that, but I love these knives.

IMAGE_1000001141.JPG


That orange is my shirt reflecting in the screw blade, not rust.

It has a nice patina going, and the original etching is still there. Very cool.
IMAGE_1000001144.JPG




Now for something completely different. This thing caught my eye, but I really don't know what it is/who made it. I figured a $13 TL-29 with a free mystery knife was still a good deal! Haha. :)
IMAGE_1000001146.JPG


IMAGE_1000001148.JPG


IMAGE_1000001153.JPG

I have to file the kick a bit to drop the point, rekrink the blade to get it off the liner, and clean it up, but all in all I like it a lot. It speaks to me. But what is it?

Ps, no one say "a knife.". :)
 
Last edited:
was it you that recommended relieving the handle near the nick of the driver blade or someone else? :confused:
Well, nice score. Hope you get the job.
 
That was indeed me. I will have to do it to this one too. I have wimpy nails I guess.
 
Why do you say that?

Also, while I have you here, have you shipped the Kamp King? I'm really looking forward to showing that cheap little piece of wonderful off here. :)
 
medicevans said:
Why do you say that?

Also, while I have you here, have you shipped the Kamp King? I'm really looking forward to showing that cheap little piece of wonderful off here. :)
Click to expand...

It is the typical style, the blade/cork screw combination.
As per the Kamp King, I've had it packaged for a week but you never returned my message. You never gave me your name/address. :confused:
 
Just address it to medicevans c/o moron, Stupid way, Idiotville, USA. *facepalm*. I'll send you an email. Sorry. Hey, at least I already paid you! Lol. Now back to your regularly scheduled forum.
 
Medicevans,
I can't believe it! This is so surreal.. or some kind of knife collector fate. Thing is, I just picked up a TL-29 knife myself. I spotted it in one of the cases of an antiques store, and I just had to have it! I love it. I took it home and did a large amount of research on the knife. It was made by Camillus (the Camillus, a big contributor to the armed forces for many generations & different wars) in NY, during WWII, specifically for the US Army Signal Corps. Through my (relatively obsessive) online research, I learned that the TL-29 was orginally produced as a "set" including the knife, a pair of folding pliers, and a leather sheath to hold the two tools. Fascinating piece of history! Great find!
Kindest,
Annabell
 
medicevans said:
Just address it to medicevans c/o moron, Stupid way, Idiotville, USA. *facepalm*. I'll send you an email. Sorry. Hey, at least I already paid you! Lol. Now back to your regularly scheduled forum.
Click to expand...

Haha alright.
Once you remove the rust on the second one it will be great. And the secondary on the TL-29 will loosen up after a while.
 
Anabell, they are really cool knives. I have examples of two different tang stamps, the most recent two. Now I need an older one. Mine are users, they are the "hard use" knives of the slipjoint world. Thick stock, heavy springs and they come with a built in pry bar/scraper/screwdriver to keep you from doing what you know you shouldn't with your main blade. I fell in love with this pattern hard!

I bought a Rough Rider version of the electrician's knife. It is a nice knock about knife. I tore it apart for a pattern. :D lol
 
medicevans said:
Just address it to medicevans c/o moron, Stupid way, Idiotville, USA. *facepalm*. I'll send you an email. Sorry. Hey, at least I already paid you! Lol. Now back to your regularly scheduled forum.
Click to expand...

Now that's funny! I bought something from a guy off another forum, and when he sent me his address for mailing payment he did not give me his name. I addressed the package to his forum name with his mailing address, and just before I sent it, reminded him that he hadn't given me his actual name.

He found it amusing and said, "I'd like to see the look on the postal clerk's face when that envelope came in."
 
medicevans said:
Anabell, they are really cool knives. I have examples of two different tang stamps, the most recent two. Now I need an older one. Mine are users, they are the "hard use" knives of the slipjoint world. Thick stock, heavy springs and they come with a built in pry bar/scraper/screwdriver to keep you from doing what you know you shouldn't with your main blade. I fell in love with this pattern hard!

I bought a Rough Rider version of the electrician's knife. It is a nice knock about knife. I tore it apart for a pattern. :D lol
Click to expand...

Omg! I could never imagine tearing apart ANY knife.. *might start hyper-venthillating* Lol. But, I have only been in the knife-collecting world for less than a year. I guess it will be a first milestone for me when I tear down one knife to mend/create another.

I didn't understand what you meant by "I have examples of two different tang stamps." Do you mean you have a second TL-29 knife with different tang stamps? And yes, I love this old TL-29 style/construction as well. The second, er, "blade" is definitely a great multi-use tool. I suppose the US Army Signal Corps was effectively the Army's official "gang of electrians" and what not.

However, I must sadly (i.e. jealously) admit that my TL-29 is beat up quite a bit more than yours. The master blade has obviously been sharpened many many times. The carbon steel on the blade has a pretty descernable inward scoop (not exactly convex, but I don't know quite how to explain it) on the bottom half of the sharpened side. Also, it's pretty obvious that the blade had previously experienced a period of relatively heavy rust. As carbon steel is wont to do, there are some very noticable diagonal scratches across the master blade, and the ever-so-brilliant previous owner seems to have gone to town with some coarse grain sandpaper. Ouuuch. :( I don't care - too much. I still love this knife!

Annabell
 
Medicevans,
Oh! One other question on your TL-29.. Can you discern what the blade etching says? I can't quite make it out in the pictures you posted. As I stated in my previous post, the master blade on mine has been sharpened and scuffed to near beyond-recognition. No blade etching what-so-ever remains.
Annabell
 
Annabell,
The inward curve is called a recurve and is noted often on older knives a a result of many sharpenings, as you noted.

There are many versions of Camillus tang stamps, just like a lot [most] companies. Tang stamps reveal an approximate age of the knife. Google "date Camillus tang stamps"
 
annabellz82 said:
Medicevans,
Oh! One other question on your TL-29.. Can you discern what the blade etching says? I can't quite make it out in the pictures you posted. As I stated in my previous post, the master blade on mine has been sharpened and scuffed to near beyond-recognition. No blade etching what-so-ever remains.
Annabell
Click to expand...

It apparently was a ChannelLock branded version made by Camillus. It says:

ChannelLock #11
Meadville PA U.S.A.
 
medicevans said:
Annabell,
The inward curve is called a recurve and is noted often on older knives a a result of many sharpenings, as you noted.

There are many versions of Camillus tang stamps, just like a lot [most] companies. Tang stamps reveal an approximate age of the knife. Google "date Camillus tang stamps"
Click to expand...

Ohhh, "recurve"! Got it. I've heard the word bandied about, but I wasn't sure what it meant. Thank you! And I will Google the Camillus phrase you provided. Thank you!
 
medicevans said:
It apparently was a ChannelLock branded version made by Camillus. It says:

ChannelLock #11
Meadville PA U.S.A.
Click to expand...

ChannelLock..? Is the brass-looking hump up near the base of the blades? It locks the screwdriver half of the knife, correct? Why does the etching say "Meadville PA"? I thought Camillus was from NY..?

Annabell

P.S. I apologize for peppering you with questions. I'm really new to the forum and less than a year into knife-collecting in general. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. Truly. Thank you. :)
 
annabellz82 said:
ChannelLock..? Is the brass-looking hump up near the base of the blades? It locks the screwdriver half of the knife, correct? Why does the etching say "Meadville PA"? I thought Camillus was from NY..?

Annabell

P.S. I apologize for peppering you with questions. I'm really new to the forum and less than a year into knife-collecting in general. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. Truly. Thank you. :)
Click to expand...

Ok, we'll start from the bottom up. You don't have to apologize for asking questions, especially not in this sub-forum. The trad forum is made up of people who are drawn to old-world craftsmanship and a slower pace in knives. Generally, everyone here are some of the nicest, most generous people you'll ever meet.

Yes, the brass hump is the liner lock that locks the screwdriver. That has nothing to do with the blade etch. It was and is very common for knife makers to sell their knives to a company for a promotion. In this case, ChannelLock, an American tool manufacturer bought a bunch of Camillus made TL-29s and etched their logo on them. Case does it a bunch with John Deere, just for example. The knife says Meadville PA because that's where ChannelLock is located (I assume). The tang stamp still says NY. :) Clear as mud?
 
800px-440Tongue%2Band%2BGroovePliers.JPG


Channellock pliers with the classic blue girps. On a side note, I don't suggest you use pliers on the shutoff valves under your sink or toilet. Their normally plastic inside and they break easily if you use pliers to tighten them.
 
Howdy Medi.
That wooden handled knife( which I think is a nice knife ) is a bit of a mystery...Vanguard could have it-but looking at the knife, I dont know about it being German, quite often the German made knives used different metal for their pins in the bolster - immediately identifiable , but also note the actual style of the corkscrew, its relatively plain, and the German corkscrews were a lot more defined in their shape...this one has one thick bodied corkscrew with no fancy fuller type of groove cut that you usually see in the German knives.
Im going to say its French.....Could you please put this on Bernards Forum?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top