Did the 'boy' doom the scout knife?

I grew up in Florida in the 70s and even then the same dynamic was in place: Scout knives are for kids, whereas MEN carried a stockman or jack or pen knife (if he worked in an office) or a Buck 110 on his belt. Interestingly, here in Europe, most any man who carries a knife carries a SAK. Once in awhile you might see a modern, single-blade folder or multi-tool, but I've NEVER seen anyone with a stockman or trapper or jack. And I've lived here on and off since 1993.

-- Mark
 
It's too bad some of you had the first knife be such a piece of junk. Yes, the later Imperial stuff was not too good, but I remember when they used real bone for the scales on our old scout knives, and they were pretty darn good knives. All the kids who had a Camillus scout were loyal to them, the Camillus seemed to be built like the tanks that the famed TL-29's were.

Thinking about it, that could be some of the debit side of the scout knife, the fact that so many young scouts got a really cheap Kampking or something, that they got a "real" knife when they grew up. They never got the nice experience of having a Camillus or Schrade, or even one of the old time bone handle Imperials or PAL's.

Carl.
 
mnblade said:
I grew up in Florida in the 70s and even then the same dynamic was in place: Scout knives are for kids, whereas MEN carried a stockman or jack or pen knife (if he worked in an office) or a Buck 110 on his belt. Interestingly, here in Europe, most any man who carries a knife carries a SAK. Once in awhile you might see a modern, single-blade folder or multi-tool, but I've NEVER seen anyone with a stockman or trapper or jack. And I've lived here on and off since 1993.

-- Mark
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Mark, I could do a whole separate post on THAT subject!

All the times I was stationed someplace in England or the European continent, the only pocket knives I ever saw with more than one cutting blade, were in the hands of American GI's like myself.

Hmmm, not a bad idea. Thank you Mark!

Carl.
 
When I first became interested in knives, about 10 years ago, I bought a scout knife offered by A.G. Russell: master blade was 154CM, black linen micarta scales, an all around quality piece. Recently I presented it to my scouting nephew in the presence of his parents. Taught him how to use it safely, preserve it and respect it. It was a special moment for the boy judging by his beaming smile. No less special for me.
 
I think that the "boy" connotation, the quality issue, and the bulk all have played a role in reducing popularity of the utility knife. However, if you know what to look for, some of them are of outstanding quality, and of course some of the old ones are worth a lot of money. Here is one that is in my edc rotation, and it has come in handy. It is not pretty but the quality is excellent. It is made to take it.

utility001-1.jpg
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Most of the scout knives I've seen have not been of the best manufacture ;). Kamp King comes to mind. However, I have three, one being a well used and well rusted Kamp King someone gave to me. The other two are my John Primble model with matchstriker pull, and a Remington Camillus repro from the 80's. Both are great knives, and the Remington was my main knife for a while (now a black alox Vic Pioneer). I've had the opportunity to buy scout knives with the Boy Scouts shield, but passed on them. Nothing wrong with the scouts, I just didn't like the shield on there.

There were a lot of high quality scout knives out there however, back in the day, Remington and Utica come to mind.

I would imagine that someone with a little bit of money would have bought these knives. Could it have just been kids, and a few parents willing to buy more than a pen knife for their kids? I have seen quite a few collectors at gun and knife shows, with a corner of a table filled with scout knives. There is a demand out there for them now. That demand is mainly nostalgia. The kids that carried them, are now men who want that knife again. Are they as well used as the stockman, or trapper, or jack? Nope, but they are seeing a resurgence. The Case Jr Scout, AG Russells Scout, and a few other recent manufactured pieces.
 
It want scare off this old timer! There's a Bear MGC Boy Scout at my local outdoor shop now calling my name and it's only 20 bucks!
 
I too remember the old BSA knives, and used to have one of the cheapies when I was a kid, and in Scouts. Right now I have at least a half-dozen in my modest knife collection. A couple are well made and the rest just so-so. I usually grab one for picnics or for a hiking day. Of course I still have my trusty stockman in my pocket. Good thread though.
Paul
 
Hi,

I can't remember seeing many Scout patterns as a youngster. Adults certainly never carried them. And like most of you, it was the young kids that toted them. And we didn't have any Boy Scouts.

Except for my Dad, who carried those KampKings for many years. I wrote about him and his KampKings not too long ago here. He really used the carp out of them and wreaked or lost everyone he had. But he always got another. And when he couldn't get them anymore he pretty much stopped carrying a knife. Like your Mr. Van, my Father just seemed to do somethings a bit differently than the other men.

Dale
 
Growing up as a Scout in the 80s, my path was slightly different. I had several cheap utility knives while waiting to get my "official" scout knife. When I did get it, it was a Wenger SAK. That was my real knife until I entered the service. While there, I was issued a demo knife. At the time, I thought it was junk and couldn't wait to replace it with my Sak or a 110. Wish I still had it now. I never lost my faith in Saks but didn't trust other brands. Can't really say why.
 
A friend of mine turned over his old scout knife for me to sharpen. I loaned him my Victorinox Pioneer for something to carry in the interim. My Victorinox Farmer came out of my bag, and didn't take to my pocket very well. I've gotten my Primble scout knife out of the knife roll and carry that now.
 
I carried an Ulster Scout knife when I was a Boy Scout back in the late 60's. It was a pretty nice knife, well built with a carbon steel blade. I still carry it in the woods.

One of the reasons I quit carrying it when I hit my teens was it lacked the coolness factor of a Buck knife. It had that fat butter knife looking blade and all those little kid tools.

As I travel through my 50's and begin to enjoy my second childhood where I'm a lot less concerned with coolness, that Boy Scout knife from all those years ago has found a home in my pocket once again. I'm a lot less of a fan of clip points and much prefer drop and spear points these days.

It's a little chunky for EDC but when I'm back in the woods sitting in front of a campfire I like the memories it evokes while I carve little sticks into littler sticks. :D
 
guitarSteve said:
I agree. When I was in the Boy Scouts I didn't have an "Official BSA" knife. It was a look-a-like I think I bought at a drug store for cheap.
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Same here, mine may have been a Kamp King with faux black bone scales. Still love that look to this day though.

I think the fact that the scout/utility style knife was adopted by the boy scouts and the size (width) may have put people off. Good to have around the shop, but not always comfortable in the pocket.

The Vic Pioneer/Soldier was quite an improvement for me. More compact, great quality, and useful tools.
 
The Victorinox company got around it by calling theirs the Soldier, of which I have in my pocket every day. I love the Scout pattern, and wish I could find a "real" one (meaning fat-scaled, hand filling) with high carbon tools. I have two old Kamp Kings but they are in terrible shape. There was a recent thread over on General started by AG Russell regarding a high-end Scout with good steel. He was seeking input on the design.
 
I certainly can't speak for everyone, but I thi k I'm in agreement with a lot of people around here. My mother gave me a pretty nice scout knife when I was eight I think, and entered scouts. I honestly don't remember liking it all that much, but it's obvious when you see it that I carried it and practiced my sharpening skills on it. I can only assume that it wasn't my favorite then for the same reason it's not today... it's very heavy and bulky. I frequently carry a vic tinker, and a farmer lives in my pack, but my old scout knife doesn't get much love. I don't remember thinking it was a boy's knife at any point. It's simply a matter of the vics giving me the same or more utility, in a more compact and lighter package. Not sure why that's important to me since I'll load my pockets down with 3 or 4 folders without blinking an eye.
 
Zip top cans and screw off bottle caps. I like the old scout type knives, but these two tools are rarely if ever used anymore. Same thing for corkscrews on a knife, at least in the USA; corked bottles are extremely rare.
 
While it wasn't a scout knife, my first knife was a SAK clone that I found on a river bank while fishing with my dad at the age of 9 or 10. Owning Victorinox knives now, I realize that it was a piece of crap, but the blade stayed decently sharp and the tools served their purpose. Haven't seen it in at least a year...but I remember that the layers were beginning to separate. I doubt I'd carry it, or even a Vic of the same size with me now...my Vic Sportsman II is always in my pockets now along with whatever larger folders I decide to stick in my pockets.

When I first got into knives a few years ago, I never really considered the utility of SAK style knives. I was, and for the most part still am, a fan of the more "tactical" or EDC folders. However, I have come to love carrying the Sportsman on me when I sing a concert. Not really any place for a large Spyderco in a tux...
 
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