Hey guys. I finally got one of these all stainless steel "demo" knives I've been hearing a lot about, and I figured I'd post my initial reaction to it.
I've heard a lot of bad things about these knives, about how the springs weren't very good, they broke often, they made the blades nail breakers to open, the finish was rough, etc.
Well, I will say this. The finish IS rough. It is definitely not a Vic Soldier or Wenger SI. However, this knife is a tank. I have alot of hefty, tough knives, but this one feels like you can through it at a train that's comin at you and it will stop the train!! LOL. Of course I exaggerate, but you get the point. Not the heaviest of knives, but just feels rock solid. I guess it's what you'd expect from an all steel knife.
Now, I know Camillus went out of business, but this one says Camillus 2006 on the main blade. Other then the US on the scale, there are no other marks on the knife. Wasn't Camillus out of business by 2006?
As I said, it is a rough knife. The metal scales are not sharp, but not smooth either, like a Vic or Wenger. Plus, the grinds at the ends of the springs aren't exactly even, and the liners are not polished, but I guess since it was made for the Military, strength and durability are more important then style and finesse. However, there is no space between the scales, springs or liners, and the springs all match up evenly. The walk and talk on this knife is fine. Not too strong, not too weak. Almost to Vic standards, which surprised me as most spoke about how hard it was to open the blades, specially the can opener. Mine are good. The can opener says "can opener" on it, as is customary on these knives, but the blade is not sharp and pointy, like on a Wenger. However, it will still do the job. The bottle opener is the standard "scout knife" bottle opener, with the long flat head screw driver end. The Awl has been modified, however. The tip has been ground down and flattened to make it a small flat head screwdriver head, capable of working phillips head screws!! This is interesting. This knife apparently has never been used, as the blade is untouched and there really are no scratches anywhere else on this entire knife. It looks like this si the way it came out of the factory. Granted, someone some where might have modified it, but I actually like it. I use the drivers more day to day then I would an awl, and since these blades are sooo solid, I could use this as a small pry bar too. There is a small bit of wobble on the main blad,e but not too bad, and the other blades are pretty solid. The bail is different from the bail on the Wenger SI, in that it is attached to the pin that goes through the body of the knife. This bail is going nowhere. Tough as the rest of the knife. Not sure of the edge retention ability of this steel, so I can't comment on this yet, but over all I like this knife. Definitely a workhorse, and believe it or not, probably the toughest of all my slippies, SAKs or not. I used to think my SI or Case Sodbuster were my toughest go to knives, but wow. Like I said, this is a tank.
Just thought I'd tell ya'll about my recent purchase, since I know scout knives are posted about alot on here. I finally have one.
I've heard a lot of bad things about these knives, about how the springs weren't very good, they broke often, they made the blades nail breakers to open, the finish was rough, etc.
Well, I will say this. The finish IS rough. It is definitely not a Vic Soldier or Wenger SI. However, this knife is a tank. I have alot of hefty, tough knives, but this one feels like you can through it at a train that's comin at you and it will stop the train!! LOL. Of course I exaggerate, but you get the point. Not the heaviest of knives, but just feels rock solid. I guess it's what you'd expect from an all steel knife.
Now, I know Camillus went out of business, but this one says Camillus 2006 on the main blade. Other then the US on the scale, there are no other marks on the knife. Wasn't Camillus out of business by 2006?
As I said, it is a rough knife. The metal scales are not sharp, but not smooth either, like a Vic or Wenger. Plus, the grinds at the ends of the springs aren't exactly even, and the liners are not polished, but I guess since it was made for the Military, strength and durability are more important then style and finesse. However, there is no space between the scales, springs or liners, and the springs all match up evenly. The walk and talk on this knife is fine. Not too strong, not too weak. Almost to Vic standards, which surprised me as most spoke about how hard it was to open the blades, specially the can opener. Mine are good. The can opener says "can opener" on it, as is customary on these knives, but the blade is not sharp and pointy, like on a Wenger. However, it will still do the job. The bottle opener is the standard "scout knife" bottle opener, with the long flat head screw driver end. The Awl has been modified, however. The tip has been ground down and flattened to make it a small flat head screwdriver head, capable of working phillips head screws!! This is interesting. This knife apparently has never been used, as the blade is untouched and there really are no scratches anywhere else on this entire knife. It looks like this si the way it came out of the factory. Granted, someone some where might have modified it, but I actually like it. I use the drivers more day to day then I would an awl, and since these blades are sooo solid, I could use this as a small pry bar too. There is a small bit of wobble on the main blad,e but not too bad, and the other blades are pretty solid. The bail is different from the bail on the Wenger SI, in that it is attached to the pin that goes through the body of the knife. This bail is going nowhere. Tough as the rest of the knife. Not sure of the edge retention ability of this steel, so I can't comment on this yet, but over all I like this knife. Definitely a workhorse, and believe it or not, probably the toughest of all my slippies, SAKs or not. I used to think my SI or Case Sodbuster were my toughest go to knives, but wow. Like I said, this is a tank.
Just thought I'd tell ya'll about my recent purchase, since I know scout knives are posted about alot on here. I finally have one.
