- Joined
- Oct 3, 2004
- Messages
- 4,553
I was given this knife yesterday by a good friend. The story that came with it is that these were purchased in some quantity when his older brothers entered the Scouts and that this one and a few others were left over, unused and left on a shelf. And the knife does appear unused to me, or at least used very lightly. Also, it does feel and appear exceptionally well made- though I'm sure this does not come as a surprise to any of you long time Camillus collectors. 
Anyway, I have used what resources I could, LG4 and the internet, in an attempt to roughly date this knife and have come up short. When did Camillus begin to use the Camillus Stainless USA mark? The only conjecture that I've arrived at, and I believe it is a decent one, is that it was used in the same time frame as the other 3 line Camillus New York USA marking with "stainless" used simply to designate that it was not made with the more traditional carbon steel. Also, I've managed to find here that age can often be approximated by studying the design of the bail and the bottle opener so I've included photos of those as well. Can anyone give me an idea, even an estimation, of when this knife was made?
The information available on the internet about these knives, at least what I have been able to find, seems incomplete and it is my hope that those who know about these things might discuss them so that I and others can benefit from a little education.
I know that these knives have no extraordinary monetary value, which does not concern me. I hope only to get a little background on the one that I've acquired.
Lastly, I was hoping that this might be a place where others can share their various Camillus scout and utility knife patterns as I like them very much.
Edited to add: For what it's worth, there are no other markings on either side of any of the tangs. I mention this because I've seen reference to markings, especially numerical, on the reverse side of the master blade's tang.
Anyway, I have used what resources I could, LG4 and the internet, in an attempt to roughly date this knife and have come up short. When did Camillus begin to use the Camillus Stainless USA mark? The only conjecture that I've arrived at, and I believe it is a decent one, is that it was used in the same time frame as the other 3 line Camillus New York USA marking with "stainless" used simply to designate that it was not made with the more traditional carbon steel. Also, I've managed to find here that age can often be approximated by studying the design of the bail and the bottle opener so I've included photos of those as well. Can anyone give me an idea, even an estimation, of when this knife was made?
The information available on the internet about these knives, at least what I have been able to find, seems incomplete and it is my hope that those who know about these things might discuss them so that I and others can benefit from a little education.
I know that these knives have no extraordinary monetary value, which does not concern me. I hope only to get a little background on the one that I've acquired.
Lastly, I was hoping that this might be a place where others can share their various Camillus scout and utility knife patterns as I like them very much.
Edited to add: For what it's worth, there are no other markings on either side of any of the tangs. I mention this because I've seen reference to markings, especially numerical, on the reverse side of the master blade's tang.
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