Camillus Boy Scout Knife

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okBookGuy

Joined
Dec 29, 2005
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I'm real interested in obtaining a good Boy Scout knife. This one is from
Camillus: http://www.camillusknives.com/1mainframe.htm

The description says it has High Carbon Stainless Steel.

Question: Does anyone know if this is a good steel? Its over $40 so I gotta think its not just another beater.

What do you say?

Edited to add: Blade Steel:: 420 HC Stainless. What experience does anyone have with 420 HC ?? Thanks again.
 
I think you get a lot better knife and a better deal on the Victorinox Soldier.
 
+1 for just about any Vic pocket knife. You could almost get 2 Victorinox knives for the MSRP of the Camillus Camp knife. The Vic Alox series knives are nice and have slightly thicker main blades than the standard plastic handled knives (I know the Farmer has a thincker main blade, anyways).
 
I have one. Its an ok knife. Not great, not horrible. 420HC isn't bad with a decent heat treat. It is not a high end steel, but will work for most people. Schrade used it before they went under and did a very good job with it.*

AG Russell has a very nice one. Its also much more exspensive.

Vic Soilders are nice knives. Metal handels are very traditional too. I'd go with one of them before the Camillus.

Check eBay too. You might be able to find an older one at a good price.

Leo
 
Good advice from all. I looked into several boy scout style knives before ending up with a Vic Soldier and a Bantam Alox for less than the Camillus. The Vics don't have the same "scout knife" look. If you really like that style, check out the AG Russel premium scout. Really nice looking, really good steel. IIRC it was also pretty expensive and a lot heavier than a Vic.

Short answer: if you want a relatively cheaper scout style knife, go with the Vic. If you want to upgrade to premium, get the AG Russel.

But then again, if you really want the Camillus style one, that's what you will be happy with. I'm sure its a decent knife.
 
I recently picked up the Camillus Cub Scout knife with the blue jigged scales for my son. First, it is identical to my first knife. 2nd: It comes with a bail. This is a feature that many knives use to have but very few still do. I happen to like it.

One thing to note. If you are interested in a "scout" knife consider getting an official version as licensed by BSA. Camillus, Victorinox, Wenger, and others all have licensed patterns for sale. The extra money going to BSA is much appreciated by this old Eagle Scout. Thank You
 
I noticed on the cub scout model that there are liner locks on both the punch and the screw driver. Its also 3 3/8" which is going to be easier to
carry.

DOES VIC MAKE A SOLDIER's TYPE KNIFE IN THE MORE CONVENIENT 84mm (that would roughly make it 3 1/4" and very pocketable)?
 
Tourist, Recruit, Tinker (comes in both 84mm and 91mm), Waiter all come to mind as Vic 84mm. Remember that on some of their models Vic replaced the seperate can opener and bottle opener blades with a single combo tool. It makes for a more compact package.

You mentioned the liner lock. The was the only disappointment with the one I purchased. Although it seems plenty strong for this type of knife, on the one I received it will not automatically engage when I open the blade. It requires a little nudge. I believe this in NOT the case with this model in general. I think I just got a bad example.
 
I don't believe any of those models are equipped like the Soldier are they? i.e. single blade, punch, cap lifter, can opener? Alox scales would be great too.
 
You are correct. None have the exact same layout as the Soldier. I just listed a few that are quite similar in tool selection.
 
okBookGuy said:
DOES VIC MAKE A SOLDIER's TYPE KNIFE IN THE MORE CONVENIENT 84mm (that would roughly make it 3 1/4" and very pocketable)?
Click to expand...

The Cadet is the closest to what you are looking for. As the name implies, it's like a junior Soldier, thin with alox handles, but it has a nail file instead of the punch. Years ago they had a small blade. IMO either a small blade or a punch would be a much better choice, but it's still a nice knife.

iSaur
 
I just bought a Camillus Boy Scout Knife 2 weeks ago for under $30 at a scout shop. Overall quility was just ok, blade did not "walk and talk" with any snap and there where still plastic shavings around where they drilled the handle. The tip on the can opener was chipped(yes out of the box) I bought it just to get one in case they stopped making them.
 
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