Les Stroud Camillus Knives- ?!

Heres what Les himself had to say about the knives:

Hi all - I got to thinkin'....there was a press release already, but other than that there have been just a few questions here and there about me releasing a survival knife line.

Firstly - yes - I have already released a BUSHCRAFT knife with the most excellent company: Helle out of Norway. The purpose was to design a high end bushcraft knife that is a one of a kind knife made by hand by the fantastic people at Helle. No two knives in this line are alike. I have even been able to visit the plant myself and sit at some of the machines hand crafting out my own blade. - In fact someone will unknowingly get one of these knives and it will be the one I worked on myself!!! I am very proud of these knives and very proud of working with Helle on them.

Now. That said - Helle and I were not interested in developing a knife line together that was more specific to survival - including some survival attachments. That is where Camillus comes in. I had turned down a number of knife companies who had courted me (including one specific line of knives you could probably guess at - they went with someone else) simply because they would not adhere to my strict quality policy: "If I am going to design a survival knife for you to put in your hands - then it better be quality enough to put in my own". They were all more interested in profit and celebrity. Camillus is fully committed to working with my own designs to develop a line of survival knives you can trust with your life. So if you want that one of a kind bushcrafting knife then please enjoy what I personally designed with Helle....and if you want to outfit yourself with a survival knife designed personally by me and tested by me - then you will see the prototype we will unveil in Vegas at the Shot show in January - I think I will be there at the show on the 18th. ....Camillus had no issues with the fact that I designed a beautiful one of a kind bushcraft knife with Helle and Helle has no issue that I am designing a fully loaded survival knife with Camillus.....

Listen folks - whether I became Survivorman and created a whole new genre of TV or not - I would have eventually tried to write a manual (which I did called Survive!) develop a line of survival knives and develop a survival kit. As an instructor of many years - these three initiatives were always in my heart to do. So now I am able to do so thanks to creating survival for TV - ok fine - buts what's most important to me is that whatever I put my name on - it be of the highest quality. Know this: In my opinion - the survival knife...book...kit that I put on the market will be the best there is. The price point may be a little higher than those who are cashing in on the whole 'survival thing'....but our lives are worth it. For me its not about marketing or cashing in on celebrity....its about survival. Les
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"They were all more interested in profit and celebrity" Of course they were...and Camillus were not. Come one Les...:rolleyes:
 
Gobbo_the_civet said:
There is no reason for a survivor show to have its own knives other than making extra money. There are a ton of knife companies who make great knives without prior tv experience, and I doubt les' woodmanship is a better grantee for quality than twenty years of research and development.
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I disagree. This forum is full of people who have lots of knives that want even more knives. Despite the many designs out there with various shapes, steels, grinds, and sheaths, we still want more. And sometimes when we are lucky, we get something that's very cool. And maybe it even helps to contribute to knives being more acceptable to society at large. Bear Grylls line is a good example. We could say whatever we want to about the craftsmanship of Gerbers China made products. Products that don't even say "made in China", as they somehow snuck around that legal requirement on their China imported knives. I wince at the thought of buying a Gerber knife. But, I cannot deny the cool design of the large fixed blade knife/sheath. It is a far more creative design than I have ever seen from any knife maker/sheath maker on this forum for the price point outside of a select few makers. Many of us have added a firesteel on our sheaths using a ranger band, placed a sharpening stone in a sheath pocket, tied a lanyard on the back, drilled holes in the handle for mounting; But Gerber did it all for a reasonable price that doesn't take up much space or weight. The parang is cool too and worth a mention. Hopefully these Les Stroud knives will make up in design what they may lack in function.
 
PropThePolecat said:
Heres what Les himself had to say about the knives:



"They were all more interested in profit and celebrity" Of course they were...and Camillus were not. Come one Les...:rolleyes:
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Here's how I see it: The revived Camillus didn't come back with any quality designs. They DO seem to be trying to build back up, given that they've recently released a few USA-made knives. I think they're trying to work towards improving their quality over time. And this is probably why they were interested in meeting Les' demands. They have two goals--1) to improve their revenues by increasing their marketability (this is were Les comes in big for them) and 2) to rebuild the brand and restore some degree of quality to it rather than just settling for being a second-rate brand. 1 helps pay for 2.
 
555 said:
LOL :D

I like the idea and I think before someone else reads this, you better apply for a Patent on your Heat Treat method. :D

I would Elaborate, but I received a phone call while reading this and have to go off line.
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You are overcomplicating the "Marcinek Pioneer Knife" concept. The idea is to take a pre-existing knife, make some minor aesthetic changes to it, "sexy" up the name, and "repurpose" it. The Weber treatment is just to give the Pioneer knife that charred, rustic, "pioneer" look. Just like when one takes a knife that's already out there, slaps an orange handle on it, sticks "survival" in the name, and sells it as a "survival" knife. Same thing works for "tactical."
 
stabman said:
Nah.
You must not remember the 80's if you think "survival knives" are going anywhere.;)
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Indeed I do. And that's the beauty part of the current "survival" trend. They took the same word and told us an entirely different type of knife is associated with it! Genius! They didn't even have to come up with a new "sexy" word.

Now that's efficiency.
 
How to sell more knives, class 1A:

Take any ordinary knife, like a classic Mora. It is used in bucketloads by carpenters in Europe and are that cheap they are disposable.
Make the handle Orange and keep the original sheat and sell it as "Bushcraft".
Make the handle and sheath Green and sell it as "Military Issue".
Make the handle and sheath Orange and sell it as "Survival".
Add serrations to the "Survival" and sell it as "Rescue".
Make the handle, sheath and blade Black and sell it as "Tactical".
Make the handle, sheath and blade Sand and sell it as "Desert tactical".
Add serrations and you get the "Tactical rescue".
Did I miss any? You could dull the tip and sell it as "Safety knify".
Spray strange pattern on the "Tactical" and get a "SWAT Special Forces Special".
Soon in a mall or tactical/survival shop near you.
 
I don't understand the people on here who say they don't understand why Les would do this.


To pay the bills! These things will sell like twinkies at a fat man convention. Just like the Bear Gryll's series has. Those are fairly popular shows, and not only members of bladeforums watch them. :p Some of us know better... but there are thousands and thousands of people that will buy these things because it's a knife with Les Stroud on the packaging.
 
Foilist said:
These knives are ridiculous. However if there is anything good about them, it is that they will provide a gateway for more than a few folks into the world of quality edged tools. How many of us started out with goofy, cheapo stuff?
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I would have to agree here. My first knives were garbage aside from my old Shrade.
 
upnorth said:
You get payed for prostitution also, but how do you feel later ? Just more s**t to sell at Walmart.
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True but it's marketing 101 really. They have a brand and are going to make money with it. I'm with you, I wish the world would stop producing cheap and crappy things just to sell but it's the world we live in.

Your avatar is by far the coolest I've ever seen by the way. I get a kick out of seeing it every time. :D
 
Shotgun said:
Your avatar is by far the coolest I've ever seen by the way. I get a kick out of seeing it every time. :D
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Thanks. The dog reminds me of the one that the wife and I tried to adopt. We were in a teaching contract on a remote fly in Indian reserve. The owner was a hump that would rather see the dog starve and die than give it to ''outsiders''. The stories I could tell................................... Anyway, have a good day sir. :thumbup:
 
Would have been a much much better choice had he teamed up with Mora. They at least, know how to make good survival knives for the $$$. Mora would have been perfect, affordable quality. Guess I need to start my own survival series, already picked out the show title, "Running From Danger". Then I'll do my own knife line, and it'll be good. Real good. Totally above average.
 
For the people dissing the highest quality statement, You dont advertise with acceptable quality or its just mediocre; thats just bad business. And as far as the brand Les chose to partner with, some times people on the forum seem to forget that the majority of knife users, outdoorsmen, and viewers of Survivorman are not knife nuts like us. They do not see quality in knives or are unwilling to spend more than X amount of dollars on a knife. That number appears to be 30 for many people and for some its as low as 10. Les is merely marketing to the majority of his fans who are not knife enthusiasts. The knives may not be what we like but I am sure they will be functional to a degree. I don't have a problem with Les' choice of manufacturer. Les' choice of knife in the series also tend to be inexpensive knives from what I have seen.

If I remember correctly Doug Ritter has a knife design sold by CRKT that is inexpensive. Many on this forum do not like CRKT either, but by using a cheaper company Mr. Ritter's knives will get into more hands. I will take this time to note that I am not familiar with the quality of CRKT or Camilus nor with the reason or nature of Mr. Ritter's knife contracts. If anyone has information that contradicts me please feel free to correct.
 
dtownknifekid said:
For the people dissing the highest quality statement, You dont advertise with acceptable quality or its just mediocre; thats just bad business. And as far as the brand Les chose to partner with, some times people on the forum seem to forget that the majority of knife users, outdoorsmen, and viewers of Survivorman are not knife nuts like us. They do not see quality in knives or are unwilling to spend more than X amount of dollars on a knife. That number appears to be 30 for many people and for some its as low as 10. Les is merely marketing to the majority of his fans who are not knife enthusiasts. The knives may not be what we like but I am sure they will be functional to a degree. I don't have a problem with Les' choice of manufacturer. Les' choice of knife in the series also tend to be inexpensive knives from what I have seen.

If I remember correctly Doug Ritter has a knife design sold by CRKT that is inexpensive. Many on this forum do not like CRKT either, but by using a cheaper company Mr. Ritter's knives will get into more hands. I will take this time to note that I am not familiar with the quality of CRKT or Camilus nor with the reason or nature of Mr. Ritter's knife contracts. If anyone has information that contradicts me please feel free to correct.
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He could have teamed up with Mora and been better off as far as economy and quality. I don't think it's the best partnership but hey, that's just me. I think as someone who is a survivalist, he has an obligation to put his name on something that will be worthy of the product and his name. Not sure that this is it. The only thing Camillus that will come from this product imo is the fact that they own the name.
 
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