My First Camillus 72! But... Hmmmm... Darn!

V

VESPASIAN

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Dec 8, 2013
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Reeled this in from the bay the other day and my utterly stunning mail-lady punted it into my box today. Looked like a kinda nice patina online but when I cracked the package open I realized that this poor thing has had a tough life. What I thought was a neat patina is actually what you get after someone takes a wire wheel to the blades in a real nasty like fashion in an attempt to remove the layers of RUST:grumpy:. That also explains why all the blade edges were as sharp as a bag of wet mice. I lol'ed when I ran my thumb over them.

It's all ok though because I didn't pay much and I'll have some fun trying to clean it up.

I've started on the main blade, chased out most of the pitting and put an bit of an edge on it.
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All of the blades are pitted rather badly, just like the tang... Hey, at least they didn't grind the stamp off!
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What is left of the small clip...
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This one not as bad? The blade edge is actually curled up due to the galactic forces exerted by previous owners love of high horsepower wire wheels.:D
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Anyway, I think it is a great classic knife and one I won't be afraid to use a lot for sure.

If you have a pic of a nice one, please post it so I can see what I'm missing!

Cheers, Ed

1982
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Welcome aboard!

Well, she isn't pristine, but it looks like there's plenty of steel left for a second life.
 
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You did a great job cleaning her up. That is a nice whittler. Those Camillus folks sure did put out a well designed knife. (And I'm not just saying that because some of them wander in visiting every so often.)
 
Frank, this thing is absolutely solid, springs are crazy strong - wants to snap right out of your hand. I wish it had half-stops though...

Cheers, Ed
 
Yeah, I restore vintage chronograph watches and antique clocks - giving stuff a second life is a lot of fun.
 
It really turned out nice!!! Great work. What is the tool set its sitting on in the first picture?

Also, I wish I lived close by so I could apprentice with you. I have recently become interested in old watch restoration.
 
Gevonovich said:
It really turned out nice!!! Great work. What is the tool set its sitting on in the first picture?

Also, I wish I lived close by so I could apprentice with you. I have recently become interested in old watch restoration.
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That is what is called a staking set and is a must have tool for watchmakers as is a very small lathe. Vintage watchmaking tools are usually very finely made, high quality and command good money today. Having and using such tools is a great pleasure for me. Of course, using tools to make other tools is a lot of fun too.

If you are interested in learning about watchmaking check out some of the watchmaking forums on the internet. Just like Bladeforums, there are very experienced and educated folks who participate and help others. These are incredible sources of information that not so very long ago, weren't available at all - back when we had to go to the library hoping they had the materials we needed. We live in truly incredible times with massive amounts of information available to us right at our fingertips.

If you get a set of watchmakers screwdrivers, a fine set of watchmakers tweezers, an eye loupe and an old cheap but ticking pocket watch, you can start experimenting by taking it apart and putting it back together again - This is the way to start.

Early chronograph pocket watch that has been restored with all steel parts and screwheads refinished.

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Thanks for the kind words, have fun,

Cheers, Ed
 
When I saw your first "before" pics I actually thought to myself ("that's in good shape for such an old knife"). I could see it's potential and that it was a very nice knife. You certainly brought it back to it's glory that's for sure. You have admirable skills to take it up to this level - great job!
 
edbeau said:
Knife looks great now and that watch is a real beauty for sure!!
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Thanks Ed - yeah folks are crazy about vintage watches. There was a time when every man had a good watch, a pocket knife and a hat and didn't leave home without them. Today, there are smart phones - though no knife program that I am aware of yet.

Cheers, Ed
 
arizonaranchman said:
When I saw your first "before" pics I actually thought to myself ("that's in good shape for such an old knife"). I could see it's potential and that it was a very nice knife. You certainly brought it back to it's glory that's for sure. You have admirable skills to take it up to this level - great job!
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Yes, overall the knife was in good shape, had not been used as a hammer, scales were good and the blades had a lot of meat on 'em. The only real issue was the really deep pitting. As you can see, I didn't chase it all out - didn't want to remove too much metal. I didn't cut the pins either, the knife is super tight, no wobble in the blades at all and the snap is super. I thought it was best to not go in all the way.

I think maybe it just wasn't used all that much, but had been left in a poor environment for a long time.

Should look pretty good when it starts getting a new patina.

Thanks for the kind words,

Cheers, Ed
 
That Camillus pattern is one of their best patterns, IMO. I have a couple of them, including this one they made for Remington for the 2001 Shot Show:

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Ed J
 
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