ATTN: All Camillus collectors...

C

camillus advocate

Joined
Oct 10, 2008
Messages
6
I am the editor of The Advocate, a weekly newspaper covering the Camillus area in Central New York. Now that it has been more than a year since the last inventory auction Camillus Cutlery, I am working on a story about the collectors of Camillus knives and I need your help.
I would like to talk with anyone who collects Camillus knives, particularly about why they do so, and I am especially interested in talking with people who live in the Camillus area and may have worked at the Cutlery or had family who did, etc. and who now collect the knives. If this sounds like you, or someone you know, please do not hesitate to contact me at your convenience. I know the Cutlery was a large part of the community identity for a long time, and I do not want this part of the village and town's history to be lost simply because the factory has closed.

Thank you, I look forward to hearing from you --


Ami Olson

Editor
The Advocate

Eagle Newspapers
5910 Firestone Drive
Syracuse, NY 13206
advocate@cnylink.com
315.434.8889 x335
315.380.0983 cell
 
I would like to talk with anyone who collects Camillus knives, particularly about why they do so,
Click to expand...
1)My 1st knife was a Camillus Cub Scout knife when I was 9 years old
2)The company history is fascinating to me
3)The role Camillus played in providing knives to the military during WWII
4)The QUALITY of the knives are top notch :thumbup:

If you do an article make sure you put a link to Irv's page!!!====>
http://www.collectors-of-camillus.us/

If you need any pictures for your article, I have a few you can use....







Welcome to BF!!!
Do YOU have any Camillus knives??
If not, you SHOULD!!!!!:eek::cool::mad:
 
Camillus knives were an excellent value for the money. Solid, dependable, affordable and a wonderful selection. My first real pocket knife was a camillus.
Was my grandpa's and i still have it (pict below) managed to hang on to it for 21 years and it will be handed down to my son. Knives are like any sentimental keepsake only more functional:D
I dont have a vast collection but Camillus is the name i seek out the most.
ivan
camillus26.jpg
 
I don't live in the Camillus area, in fact I live across the US in Oregon, however I collect Camillus knives.

There are many reasons I collect them but quality is one of the main ones.
I was issued a Camillus TL-29, military electrician's knife, when I was in the Marine Corps. I was impressed with the way the knife took a razor's edge & kept it. The knife was my daily companion and most used tool while working on aviation equipment. I carried it through a tour in Vietnam, on the med-evac flight home and still have that knife to this day.

My collecting has led to becoming friends with people across the USA, including some who worked for Camillus. I collect, repair & customize Camillus knives. When I hold a Camillus in my hand I am holding a piece of American cutlery history.

Too bad that Camillus is no longer in business.

Dale
 
I suppose it could be said that I collect the History more than the knives. The knives are collected as examples illustrating the history. I find that researching the people (principals and workers) and their contributions to Camillus to be very interesting and challenging, and a very poignant example of the blending of cultures which has defined our own society from the mid-1800's thru the turn of this century. Who were these men and women and what drove them to come to this country, to Charles Sherwood's converted grain mill, a small factory on a tiny creek outside Camillus, N.Y., from Wattenheim Germany (Rhenish Bavaria), Hungary, Austria, England and all over Europe?

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And why did their children, grand and great grandchildren continue to work there generation after generation?

Codger
 
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My first Camillus was a S1760 stainless steel knife issued to me in Vietnam in 1967. I still have the knife and is still in excellent condition.
Tom
 
I grew up in Syracuse and had many relatives that lived and had businesses in Camillus. My uncle Phil was a supervisor at the cutlery in the 70's. We bowled at the alleys behind the cutlery, we fished and explored Nine Mile creek from there out to Marcellus, hunted and fished the old brickyard pits in Warners, and scavenged from the cast off lots at the cutlery when we could get away with it to keep us in extra knife parts.

As a young man I worked at some of the farms and businesses in the area, and always had a Camillus knife in my pocket from an early age. That's a habit that I have to this day. I'd rather forget my wallet on my dresser than my knife!

Over the years the people I grew up with used all the patterns at one time or another. We appreciated them as tools, and used them hard. New York state laws being what they were, those of us with connections, we thought pretty highly of ourselves when we got a hold of an orange paratrooper auto.

I moved my family away from Central NY in the early 90's. But every visit home, I find myself taking a ride through the hills of Camillus, and making note of all the growth and changes.

Now that I look back, I wish I had put some of those knives aside. What I did was use them, in the very way I think they were designed to be used. To get the work done. It might be to fillet a fish, gut a deer, lay some carpet, or cut up an apple. It never crossed my mind to collect them for the elegance of design, or with the historic nature of "the cutlery" in mind. I could always get more when I needed them. The cutlery was right there.

So now, as I fondly remember my youth I use the small collection I have (and add to occasionally) as a tool to help me keep the memories alive, and relay them accurately to others. Sadly, I believe fewer young persons these days are allowed to experience and explore their world in a way that requires a stout knife, and self determination...but provides so much reward for the effort. Thanks for the memories Camillus Cutlery.
 
I collect Camillus, and related knives because they are of good quality, especially the older ones, and because I have a history in the area. I attended Lemoyne College 1962-1966, and, born and raised in Buffalo, used to motorcycle and road trip throughout the region including the Finger Lakes. Got a speeding ticket in Camillus<G>!
Here's a pic of some of my collection, and of a contract knife my father had Camillus (under Syracuse branding) make to advertise our family's business!
DSC02331.jpg

CampagnaSons-1.jpg

RIP Camillus Cutlery
 
waynorth said:
I collect Camillus, and related knives because they are of good quality, especially the older ones, and because I have a history in the area. I attended Lemoyne College 1962-1966, and, born and raised in Buffalo, used to motorcycle and road trip throughout the region including the Finger Lakes. Got a speeding ticket in Camillus<G>!
Here's a pic of some of my collection, and of a contract knife my father had Camillus (under Syracuse branding) make to advertise our family's business!
DSC02331.jpg

CampagnaSons-1.jpg

RIP Camillus Cutlery
Click to expand...

That is a serious Camillus GIMP SHIELD collection!!!:thumbup: ;)

Does the life boat knife have the 1944-XX type stamp??

Jim Clark===>
It's stories like yours that make Camillus collecting fun
It must have been nice having a knife made in your home town as a kid
That would have been way cool!!

What is in the building now?
That would be a shame if the wrecking ball it
Is it in the "working man's" part of town?
I bet they will be selling the DIRT from the factory parking lot on EBAY one day:eek:
 
waynorth said:
I collect Camillus, and related knives because they are of good quality, especially the older ones, and because I have a history in the area. I attended Lemoyne College 1962-1966, and, born and raised in Buffalo, used to motorcycle and road trip throughout the region including the Finger Lakes. Got a speeding ticket in Camillus<G>!
Here's a pic of some of my collection, and of a contract knife my father had Camillus (under Syracuse branding) make to advertise our family's business!
DSC02331.jpg

CampagnaSons-1.jpg

RIP Camillus Cutlery
Click to expand...

i'm coming over to your house:D
i'm more than a little envious
OFF topic: is your fishermans luck stainless or carbon?
Surprised to find mine was carbon (ASSumed it might be stainless:confused:)
And mine is without the clover, i see more with than without, dunno
Cheers
Ivan
 
I am based in England and I got my first Camillus slipjoint about 20 years ago in a flea market. About 3 years ago I got the collecting bug and decided to concentrate on Camillus, I now have over 100 (it's an obsession). My favourites are bone handled, in particular those made during WW2. It is sad to see a company with so may years history close. Although I've never been there I would imagine that the village of Camillus will never be the same.

Malcolm
 
Malcolm, please post some pictures for us!! 100 knives:eek:!:thumbup:

Everyone, I'll try and answer your questions tomorrow night
 
Finally got around to these questions;
Q) [Does the life boat knife have the 1944-XX type stamp?? (Trent Rock)]
A) It has the 4-line stamp;
Camillus
CutleryCo.
Camillus,N.Y.
U.S.A.

Q) [OFF topic: is your fishermans luck stainless or carbon?
Surprised to find mine was carbon (ASSumed it might be stainless)
And mine is without the clover, i see more with than without, dunno
Cheers
Ivan]
A) I think the blade is plated! Where it's chipped at the edges, it has turned black. It has the clover stamped on the handle.
 
I sold all of my YeloJaket knives a while back. I still have a few odds and ends. This is a newer one, but a nice pattern, a 3 1/4" stockman.

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A 165 pattern SS, with a razor edge.
 
First time I've seen that crossed sword Shield. Cool knife Hal!
 
You guys have all been really great with your replies - thank you! If anyone knows of someone not on the forum who may live in the Syracuse area please let me know about them, as I would love to meet some collectors personally and chat with them... I will post again when the piece is finished...

Ami Olson

Editor
The Advocate

Eagle Newspapers
5910 Firestone Drive
Syracuse, NY 13206
advocate@cnylink.com
315.434.8889 x335
315.380.0983 cell
 
I live in Syracuse, actually.

I own a few Camillus knives but don't really consider myself a Camillus collector, as such. They had a few models I simply found met my needs and tastes for "using" knives. The very first locking folding knife I ever bought, however, was a Camillus, purchased in a hardware store in Newark, NY, in the late 1980s or very early 1990s (I don't remember exactly).

I had the good fortune of attending the first-and-only sale Camillus ever held in the hallways of the Camillus factory, which I think was the year before they closed (I'm fuzzy on the scheduling). I remember they had for sale a couple of the Cold Steel knives they made on contract, and I was surprised to learn they made some of Cold Steel's knives for them.

The loss of Camillus is both a blow to the knife industry as a whole, and a grievous loss to Central New York. I was always very pleased to live in the area that housed one of America's better cutlery houses, and I always stopped at the little Camillus table they used to have at the State Fair every year.
 
I've owned a few Camillus knives, but my tastes sort of went in one direction.

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