New USA Made Camillus Line

[B34NS]

I guess the Acme United Corporation Bushcrafter didn't look so hot for branding?

 

[Phil Gibbs]

Aside from the second part of that statement ("union bosses" being at fault) not necessarily being true, what does it have to do with whether "Camillus" is still making knives?

Don't remember you being there to witness the demise & accuse A.G. Russell of lying?

 

[buckthorn]

Phil Gibbs-First, I have great respect for your talents and contribution to the the cutlery industry. I was (and still am) a resident of Onondaga County and followed the activities at Camillus as closely as I could without being part of the company. I believe that unions in America take a lot more blame than they deserve and wonder whether A. G.'s comment wasn't an example of that. I did not accuse him of lying but raised the question of the accuracy of part of his statement. You were there. What is your take about where blame should be assigned, especially regarding the owners' lack of interest in continuing the company's existence? In any case, whether or not A. G.'s assessment is accurate, the main theme of this thread is whether "Camillus" is still making knives. As far as I'm concerned someone who had bought the name may be making knives, but it is not the venerable Camillus that played such an important role in American cutlery history.

 

[Phil Gibbs]

I agree.
The end was not pretty, I do not believe to this day that it had to end the way it did.
The workers were not allowed to vote on a contract because the out of state union bosses were looking for a "win".
The owners were just trying to exit with as many assets & as few liabilities as possible.
A highly viable group that was on the cusp of buying us, & had a significant likelihood of saving The Company, were ignored at the last moment, for a perceived lack of generosity toward the owners.

So much Skill, Talent & Knifemaking experience tossed onto the scrapheap.

Sorry, my post above was rather abrasive. My sincere apologies.

This topic is still my testicular cheese-grater.

 

[buckthorn]

Phil-I hope the moderators will let this run in here for one more round. Thank you for your informative and gracious response. What you say is (unfortunately) completely plausible. When these financial games are so typically played somebody forgets or, more likely, doesn't care, that people's livelihoods and lives are fundamentally affected by "rational" decisions. I drove through Camillus this morning and the whole village looks grim with only the office and part of another structure remaining and a "for lease" sign prominently displayed. If the late nineties I was privileged to be part of a small, very rare, three-hour tour of the factory. It was obvious that we were in a very old factory with less-than modern equipment for the most part. The working conditions seemed less than ideal but struck me was how enthusiastic each of the workers was about describing and demonstrating his or her repetitive tasks in the construction of these objects that are so meaningful to us enthusiasts. One man didn't acknowledge us because he was occupied feeding three automatic blade grinders, continuously rotating his body within the circle defined by the machines. I tried to watch his hand movements but they were so fast that I couldn't figure out what each accomplished. It was exhausting just watching a couple of minutes of his working, let alone an hour, a day, a week, or a lifetime...

The company's demise was, as you've said, an incredible waste of so much accumulated knowledge and talent, not to mention jobs that supported families, however marginally. When the auctions happened, even though I knew there would be interesting knives and good bargains, I couldn't bring myself to drive the fifteen minutes to attend. It would have been too sad and depressing. I'm sure I've not told you anything new here.