Codger_64
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For those of you not familiar with the Schrade/Camillus connection:
1876: Predecessor to Camillus Knife Company founded by 20 year old Adolph Kastor on Canal Street in New York City as Adolph Kastor & Bros., an importer. The Dingly tariff act of 1879 made importing knives too expensive.
1902: The Camillus NY., factory owned by Charles Sherwood with 20 employees turning out 15 patterns of penknives, was bought by Adolph Kastor, a former importer of German knives, and renamed Camillus Cutlery Company. Eight years after Kastor took the helm of the company, production numbers reached 902,976 knives.
1910: Camillus Knife Company had 200 employees and was producing over 900,000 knives per year. Many German cutlers came to the company and Camillus built a dormitory for them and assisted them in bringing their families to the US if they proved to be good and productive workers.
1914: Camillus Cutlery began making military knives for British, Canadian, and U.S. Navies, the Red Cross, and for the Dutch. German foreman Carl Tillman and his crew quit in protest in 1915.
1916: Camillus, during World War One supplied over 470,000 knives to the US, Canada, England and Holland. These included such diverse items as marlin spike knives, surgical scalpels, and a folding knife/spoon combination for the Red Cross to distribute to US troops.
1922: Albert M. Baer, grandson of Henry Bodenheim,(J. J. H. Hill, Bodenheim, Meyer & Co., 149 Duane and 9 Thomas street, New York) went to work for Adolph Kastor at Kastor Bros., as a salesman when he was 16.
1923: Camillus salesman Albert Baer, 17, acquires the Sears Roebuck & CO., account. Camillus uses Sta-Sharp, Dunlap, and Kwik-Kut brands on Sears knives.
1930: Albert Baer signed George Herman Babe Ruth to endorse autographed baseball bat figural knife for Camillus, first of many endorsemants.
1932: August Kastor retired from Camillus and sold his shares in Kastor Bros. To Albert Baer.
1936:Camillus adds Stream Line, Camco, Syracuse Knife Co., Mumbly Peg, and High Carbon Steel U.S.A> trademarks. Camillus becomes the leading U.S. supplier of private brand knives.
1938. Albert Baer leaves Kastor Bros. but retains a major stake in the firm, acquired from August Kastor..
1947. Kastor Bros. name is finally dropped in favor of Camillus. Camillus began to manufacture a full line of official folding knives for the Boy Scouts of America.
1963. Death of Alfred Kastor. Ownership of Camillus passes to Albert M. Baer's two daughters.
(Albert Baer had two daughters. Betsy B. Kaufman was the Dean of Students at Queens College when she died of Cancer in Stamford Connecticut at age 54 in 1986. She began working with Queens College in 1965 as a lecturer in the department of secondary eductaion. She became Dean of Students in 1981. She was also the chairman of the student personnel department and an associate professor of secondary education. She and her husband, John Kaufman (director of Camillus Cutlery upon his death in 1998), had a daughter, Gail Kaufman Furgal of Manhattan, and a son, J, Gilbert Kaufman of Manhattan. The second daughter is Margery Irish of Stamford. Margery Baer Irish is an owner of the Camillus Cutlery Company, and has a daughter, Elizabeth Rucker.
You will note that the current President of Camillus is Jim Furgal.
1991: Camillus acquires Western Boulder of Boulder, Colorado, begins producing Western knives shortly thereafter. Western had been manufacturing knives since 1896.
1997: Albert M. Baer died on Oct. 26 at his home in Rapidan, VA., at age 92. Karla B. Baer, widow of Albert M. Baer, becomes chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Imperial Schrade.
mperial Schrade made knives for Camillus, and Camillus made knives for Imperial Schrade. It is a little known fact that the "outsider" turnaround specialist brought in to save Schrade was also given the same task at Camillus. He failed miserably at one and was retired from the other.
Codger
For those of you not familiar with the Schrade/Camillus connection:
1876: Predecessor to Camillus Knife Company founded by 20 year old Adolph Kastor on Canal Street in New York City as Adolph Kastor & Bros., an importer. The Dingly tariff act of 1879 made importing knives too expensive.
1902: The Camillus NY., factory owned by Charles Sherwood with 20 employees turning out 15 patterns of penknives, was bought by Adolph Kastor, a former importer of German knives, and renamed Camillus Cutlery Company. Eight years after Kastor took the helm of the company, production numbers reached 902,976 knives.
1910: Camillus Knife Company had 200 employees and was producing over 900,000 knives per year. Many German cutlers came to the company and Camillus built a dormitory for them and assisted them in bringing their families to the US if they proved to be good and productive workers.
1914: Camillus Cutlery began making military knives for British, Canadian, and U.S. Navies, the Red Cross, and for the Dutch. German foreman Carl Tillman and his crew quit in protest in 1915.
1916: Camillus, during World War One supplied over 470,000 knives to the US, Canada, England and Holland. These included such diverse items as marlin spike knives, surgical scalpels, and a folding knife/spoon combination for the Red Cross to distribute to US troops.
1922: Albert M. Baer, grandson of Henry Bodenheim,(J. J. H. Hill, Bodenheim, Meyer & Co., 149 Duane and 9 Thomas street, New York) went to work for Adolph Kastor at Kastor Bros., as a salesman when he was 16.
1923: Camillus salesman Albert Baer, 17, acquires the Sears Roebuck & CO., account. Camillus uses Sta-Sharp, Dunlap, and Kwik-Kut brands on Sears knives.
1930: Albert Baer signed George Herman Babe Ruth to endorse autographed baseball bat figural knife for Camillus, first of many endorsemants.
1932: August Kastor retired from Camillus and sold his shares in Kastor Bros. To Albert Baer.
1936:Camillus adds Stream Line, Camco, Syracuse Knife Co., Mumbly Peg, and High Carbon Steel U.S.A> trademarks. Camillus becomes the leading U.S. supplier of private brand knives.
1938. Albert Baer leaves Kastor Bros. but retains a major stake in the firm, acquired from August Kastor..
1947. Kastor Bros. name is finally dropped in favor of Camillus. Camillus began to manufacture a full line of official folding knives for the Boy Scouts of America.
1963. Death of Alfred Kastor. Ownership of Camillus passes to Albert M. Baer's two daughters.
(Albert Baer had two daughters. Betsy B. Kaufman was the Dean of Students at Queens College when she died of Cancer in Stamford Connecticut at age 54 in 1986. She began working with Queens College in 1965 as a lecturer in the department of secondary eductaion. She became Dean of Students in 1981. She was also the chairman of the student personnel department and an associate professor of secondary education. She and her husband, John Kaufman (director of Camillus Cutlery upon his death in 1998), had a daughter, Gail Kaufman Furgal of Manhattan, and a son, J, Gilbert Kaufman of Manhattan. The second daughter is Margery Irish of Stamford. Margery Baer Irish is an owner of the Camillus Cutlery Company, and has a daughter, Elizabeth Rucker.
You will note that the current President of Camillus is Jim Furgal.
1991: Camillus acquires Western Boulder of Boulder, Colorado, begins producing Western knives shortly thereafter. Western had been manufacturing knives since 1896.
1997: Albert M. Baer died on Oct. 26 at his home in Rapidan, VA., at age 92. Karla B. Baer, widow of Albert M. Baer, becomes chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Imperial Schrade.
mperial Schrade made knives for Camillus, and Camillus made knives for Imperial Schrade. It is a little known fact that the "outsider" turnaround specialist brought in to save Schrade was also given the same task at Camillus. He failed miserably at one and was retired from the other.
Codger
