Holy guacamole Hal! That is just over the moon. None of my first Gen 72s are even close to that condition. I'm slack jawed in awe.
Anyway, my original intent was to respond to Lee's post stating that "some" refer to the 1946 version as the "First Generation" #72. I may be the "some" he is referring to because I think I was the first person to call it that.
I've long maintained that the Camillus #72 was first introduced to the market, shortly after WWII in 1946. That may not be true because I acquired a High Carbon Steel STA-SHARP Wood Carver 9511 (Camillus made) which the Kastor List claims was made during the years 1927-1940. (really?) I also have an Empire - W. Winsted CT but it may or may not be a counterfeit. That said, I have to admit pre-WWII Carpenters & Whittlers may exist. It's difficult to tell.
I still consider Camillus the original so lets run down the history of the pattern. As was mentioned the Camillus #72 Carpenters & Whittlers knife was first in the 1946 catalog with a note at the end saying the coping blade had been moved to pair with the main blade and the pen blade had been discontinued in favor of the small clip blade at the bottom of the frame. The date attached to this announcement was May 1, 1947. This configurations lasted until the early 2000's.
As everyone knows (or should know) dating a Camillus knife using the tang stamp is a fools errand and will only get you within a decade or so. Handle material will get you closer and even that is just a guess. So that said............
Camillus used a black synthetic (or maybe two different formulas) from the 1920's or maybe 1930's up into the early/mid 1950's. Handles were held on to the knife with little triangles punched through from the inside of the line. That method had been used since the 1930s. They also used bone up until approximately 1956.
Sometime in the early 1950s they stopped saber grinding both sides of the main blade and went to a flat grind on the pile side. The mark side saber grind was discontinued in 1992 and all the 72s after that had both sides of the main blade flat ground.
In 1957 (or so) they introduced a brown synthetic they called "Brownstag". This material was much more stable than the black stuff that proceeded it. It didn't shrink much and it didn't shrivel up like a "Shrinky Dink" (you older fellas may remember that child's toy). The Brownstag handles were pinned on.
Dupont® commenced production their new Delrin® factory in West Virginia in 1960 and Camillus switched to Delrin® handles in the mid to late 1960s. Delrin® in different shades of bone color plus yellow (the Yello-Jaket knives) was used from then until close of business in 2007.
In about 1976 Camillus stopped pinning the handles on the #72 and went to a post construction. A hole (appx. 3/16" Just a guess) was drilled in the liners on each end of the handle and a post was molded into the cover that went through the hole. Check your newer Camillus knives that have no handle pins. It's easy to see.
The #5 was made from 1999 until 2003. It was really a 72 with plain wood handles, plain long pull and brass bolsters. The handles were pinned on of course.
Camillus made some collectors editions during the last two or three decades before they went bankrupt and several SFOs for stamps such as Remington (R14), Harley-Davidson (HD-21), Olsen, McGrew, Rigid (RG70), Keen Kutter (786 & J30), Moor Man's, Montgomery Wards Powr-Kraft (84-11) and Stanley (SL6).
The Camillus Boy Scout version of the 72 is called a 1047.
Schrade (1953-1980) made the 863 for themselves and for Sears (9494). Ulster made the 63 and Imperial made a Boy Scout edition.
Other tang stamps that made a 72 clone were Lamplough (#52 - Germany), Trustworthy Hardware (#36810 made by Schrade) and York Cutlery (Germany).
I may have missed one or two but in my defense, I have 15 pounds of Camillus 72s and their clones. It may be an obsession.
