the pics below are of a 3 7/8 in. Camillus muskrat, sold to me as coming from a knife collection, having bone handles and "a tue collectors knife in mint condition". well, it is in mint condition, but i cannot tell if handles are bone or delrin, and unlike all my other Camillus', there is no pattern # stamped on a blade. any thoughts on further IDing this knife will be appreciated; age ?, bone ? end of days knife ? thanks roland
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Muskrat help
- Thread starter rprocter
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- Oct 28, 2006
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I think this is a valid test:
Bone is harder than delrin. If you take a real sharp blade, and lightly scrape it across the surface of the handle an 90 degrees, if it is delrin, it will catch. If it is bone, it will glide. I read this from another post, and tried it. It seems to work.
There are other things I've read about sticking the handle with a fiery hot pin to see if it melts (delrin), but I passed on that test. I would especially resist that test on a celluloid knife handle.
The bone knives I have seem to have a "glassy" finish compared to delrin, which means it polishes shinier. It appears to me if you weigh the same pattern with delrin and bone, bone may be a little heavier.
I'm sure others will chime in.
Oh yeah, that is a dang purty knife, and it looks like it might be red bone or maybe stag, hope so.
Bone is harder than delrin. If you take a real sharp blade, and lightly scrape it across the surface of the handle an 90 degrees, if it is delrin, it will catch. If it is bone, it will glide. I read this from another post, and tried it. It seems to work.
There are other things I've read about sticking the handle with a fiery hot pin to see if it melts (delrin), but I passed on that test. I would especially resist that test on a celluloid knife handle.
The bone knives I have seem to have a "glassy" finish compared to delrin, which means it polishes shinier. It appears to me if you weigh the same pattern with delrin and bone, bone may be a little heavier.
I'm sure others will chime in.
Oh yeah, that is a dang purty knife, and it looks like it might be red bone or maybe stag, hope so.
- Joined
- Nov 11, 1998
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Looks like Delrin.
Look around the shield for any "melt".
Shields are "melted" into delrin handles; shields are glued or riveted (earlier) into bone or stag handles.
Also it has no handle rivets, implying stud construction. (Molded studs on back of delrin handle pass thru 2 holes on lining & are melted or riveted over to secure handle to bolster scale.)
I would guess 70's - early 80's from tang stamp.
Still looks like a nice knife to me!
Look around the shield for any "melt".
Shields are "melted" into delrin handles; shields are glued or riveted (earlier) into bone or stag handles.
Also it has no handle rivets, implying stud construction. (Molded studs on back of delrin handle pass thru 2 holes on lining & are melted or riveted over to secure handle to bolster scale.)
I would guess 70's - early 80's from tang stamp.
Still looks like a nice knife to me!
thank you for the help and pointers on delrin vs. bone. for me, an important part of collecting is having as much accurate information as possible for every knife. that, to me is more important than if it is plastic or bone. so, with this knife, though the handles are v. shiney, the single handle pin, shows it to be plastic. and yes it is a nice knife; strong springs, no play, sharp, and relatively slim (i.e. not bulky for pocket carry). i may make it one of my users, but that's a hard decision on a mint (or near) knife; pocket carry it once and you change it forever. roland
GreatScout
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A better test for learning how to determine bone from Delrin is to just look at knives. Look at and handle any knife you can. A knife show or cutlery shop is great for this. In particular, study known examples of bone and delrin from a single manufacturer and then move on to the next one. Camillus used a good bone, well finished.
yes for sure handling and examing closely (4x loupe and 10x mag. glass) is how to learn first hand. i have about 200 knives (~ 20 Camillus) but with this found it hard to decide. i thought (but lacked conviction) delrin, but "knowledgeable" seller said bone. being a novice (this class should last at least 2 years IMO) i have almost everything to learn, and i do appreciate all who take time to post replies. this is my main school. roland