Camillus R17 folding hunter

V

Vit_213

Joined
Feb 4, 2011
Messages
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Sometimes I see an auction that knife.
Description: 8 3/4" total length, 5" closed, 3 3/4" blade. The handle is delrin, with a shield made from cartridge, marked: "C.C.C. / .30-06 SPRB". Nickel silver bolster.

Tell us about it. Why is it not present in the catalogs? When it was made?
 
The Cutlery never seemed to throw anything away, even mistakes. Which is probably what the R17 you refer to is. Or it is a 'put together' from parts left over. When Camillus crashed and burned and the remaining stuff was auctioned off, all sorts of these things entered the market. The original CCC 30.06 was a five bladed camper, as shown in my pic. The R17 you refer to, also shown here, is one of the 'put togethers' or mistakes, or whatever. Was not meant to be marketed, so of course it is not in the catalog.

I have picked up several of the Toothpick, 7mm mauser knives in the CCC series, and all of them have the .30-06 headstamp sheild. Just kinda interesting. I see no real collector value in any of these things, but in the future, who knows?

3006ClassicCartridge5BladeScout.jpg


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Let me add this: Read some of the other recent threads here and you'll see there is much discussion and controversy concerning odd-ball Camillus knives.

And if Phil Gibbs makes a comment on this thread, even perhaps disputing my input, trust what he writes as if it were the gospel of Camillus. For it is.
 
Thank you. In the second photo the knife, about which I asked.
Sorry, but my English is very bad, and I can not be understood correctly.
Do you think that Camillus had never made R17? This is a fake?
 
Camillus manufactured many knives that are not listed in the catalogs. Sometimes available parts were assembled for "special customers" and sold at a discounted price.
In later years, it was a common practice to grind a brand name off the tang and etch the "CAMILLUS" name on the tang. You frequently find this on Sears and other special customer's knives.
The model number "R17" may be a Remington model number. After the names were ground off the tang and "CAMILLUS" was etched on the blade, the original model numbers were left on the back of the tang.

Tom Williams
 
Vit, your english is way better than all our Russian.

Camco has given you a good answer. He is a former employee of Camillus, and was the company Historian.
 
Thank you, Tom.
If I understand you correctly, Camillus did not make this model for myself, but could do for others.

Thank you OldKnie007.
Google helps me with my English :)
I'm a fan of Camillus few years. I study his history and know who they are Tom Williams and Phil Gibbs ;)

Another question: where can I get catalogs (pdf or jpg) from 1997 to 2001? (site "Collectors of Camillus" I learned)
 
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I have what appears to be the same knife pictured above but am having trouble finding any info on it. Can you help me? It is the exact same knife as the folder from camillus, however it says remington on the handle, and is stamped with the circle logo saying Remington Made In U.S.A. I have pics of it but don't know how to insert them into a posting.
 
robdillpdx,
Your Remington knife looks like it was assembled from parts used in a double lock back knife. The handles have two notches for two lock levers. Phil can comment on this because he is most knowledgeable about the double lock back knife. I have seen many knives that came from Camillus that had a single blade, but were assembled from parts from double lock back knives.
Tom Williams
 
Vit_213,
The Camillus knife that you showed the link to may have been a knife made by Camillus. I recognize many of the parts that were used on other knives. We used handles, a blade and a shield like the ones used on that knife. Note the "CamilluS" etch on the blade. I say etch because it is not a stamp. This was a common practice in later years at the Camillus factory. A brand name was ground off the tang and Camillus was etched in its place. We made all kinds of unique knives from available parts especially for Smoky Mountain Knife Works. Even though the knife is a single blade it is made from parts from a double lock back. As I mentioned in a previous post the handles have two notches for two lock levers. Phil Gibbs invented the double lock back knife and it is best that we wait for his comments. In my opinion the knife was made at the Camillus factory or the very least made from Camillus parts.
In the last days of Camillus all kinds of unique knives were made. These knives were never shown in Camillus catalogs. The company had great difficulty getting raw materials like steel, brass, nickel silver, etc. because vendors were owed substantial amounts of money by Camillus. Whatever parts were on hand were used. My good friend Tom Liggett, who worked for Camillus for 38 years, told me many times that knives were assembled from whatever parts were available. Look at some of the later knives with the etched "CamilluS" on the blade and it is most likely a blade from a Remington, Schrade or other brand knife. Remember nothing was thrown away at Camillus. Many large trappers were made from parts left over from the Sears 100th anniversary knife like the second Buford Pusser knife.
Vit_213-My email address is camco@live.com. Feel free to contact me at any time.
Tom Williams
 
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Thanks Camco, that's already way more info than I had. I will wait for Phil to fill in the rest, hehe....
 
I have the same knife. CamilluS R-17. Has the CCC 30.06 shield. I bought it from the Camillus web page back in the early 2000's for $20 under the discontinued link. Wish I had bought more then one for that price. It is my favorite camp knife for going with my sons on boyscout camping trips. Looks exactly like Oldknife007's picture.
 
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