- Joined
- Oct 11, 2005
- Messages
- 1,771
Most of you are aware of the catalog research I have posted on the Schrade patterns. http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/schrade_knives/index.php
Many of you are also aware that I am currently engaged in a project, with Tom Williams, (CAMCO), to do the same thing with Camillus patterns. As many of you know, Tom worked for Camillus for over 30 years and his mother worked for Camillus for over 50 years. Tom was the company historian for Camillus. Because of this connection Tom has a great deal of literature from the Camillus factory. This is a great asset in doing this sort of research. As Tom copies catalogs and sends them to me, I keep a copy for my research and then send them to Larry Vickery so that he can put them on his website: http://www.collectors-of-camillus.us/ it is a collaborative effort.
In this process Tom has sent me information from Camillus that relates directly to their relationship with Schrade.
I spoke with Tom via telephone yesterday and we discussed the collaboration between Schrade and Camillus. I was interested to establish at least in my own mind when/how that relationship evolved.
When Albert Baer left Camillus, there was naturally not a great deal of cooperation between Ulster and Camillus. Albert had been their top salesman and was responsible for some of their best accounts, namely Sears. Albert was apparently a very good and convincing salesman. He seemed to be able to inspire the loyalty of his customers to him as their salesman. As Albert developed Ulster, and after World War II purchased Schrade, more and more of the Sears business went to Albert and less to Camillus. This loss of business to Camillus quite naturally created distance between the companies. Albert however retained his stock that he had purchased in the Camillus and later on became the sole owner of Camillus.
Tom said based on his recollection, Schrade begins to send some of their work to Camillus in the 70s, but the bulk of the collaboration between Schrade and Camillus was in the 1980s and 1990s. He also said that he thought Camillus got more work from Schrade after Albert Baer bought out his other partners from Imperial (circa 1983). I believe it was at this point that he was sole owner of Schrade and Camillus.
I hope I haven't put anyone to sleep with all this background information. Here is one of those pieces of paper from the Camillus factory that shows the collaboration between the two companies. It is in order form from Schrade to Camillus for the grinding of a total of 180,000 knife blades, just a little order.
As I find more of this information I will post it here if anyone is interested.
Dale
Many of you are also aware that I am currently engaged in a project, with Tom Williams, (CAMCO), to do the same thing with Camillus patterns. As many of you know, Tom worked for Camillus for over 30 years and his mother worked for Camillus for over 50 years. Tom was the company historian for Camillus. Because of this connection Tom has a great deal of literature from the Camillus factory. This is a great asset in doing this sort of research. As Tom copies catalogs and sends them to me, I keep a copy for my research and then send them to Larry Vickery so that he can put them on his website: http://www.collectors-of-camillus.us/ it is a collaborative effort.
In this process Tom has sent me information from Camillus that relates directly to their relationship with Schrade.
I spoke with Tom via telephone yesterday and we discussed the collaboration between Schrade and Camillus. I was interested to establish at least in my own mind when/how that relationship evolved.
When Albert Baer left Camillus, there was naturally not a great deal of cooperation between Ulster and Camillus. Albert had been their top salesman and was responsible for some of their best accounts, namely Sears. Albert was apparently a very good and convincing salesman. He seemed to be able to inspire the loyalty of his customers to him as their salesman. As Albert developed Ulster, and after World War II purchased Schrade, more and more of the Sears business went to Albert and less to Camillus. This loss of business to Camillus quite naturally created distance between the companies. Albert however retained his stock that he had purchased in the Camillus and later on became the sole owner of Camillus.
Tom said based on his recollection, Schrade begins to send some of their work to Camillus in the 70s, but the bulk of the collaboration between Schrade and Camillus was in the 1980s and 1990s. He also said that he thought Camillus got more work from Schrade after Albert Baer bought out his other partners from Imperial (circa 1983). I believe it was at this point that he was sole owner of Schrade and Camillus.
I hope I haven't put anyone to sleep with all this background information. Here is one of those pieces of paper from the Camillus factory that shows the collaboration between the two companies. It is in order form from Schrade to Camillus for the grinding of a total of 180,000 knife blades, just a little order.
As I find more of this information I will post it here if anyone is interested.
Dale
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