"Old Knives"

DirtDawg said:
Please pardon my ignorance, but I must ask... "How old does an old knife need be to fit in this thread?"
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I too think of that a lot - I kind of work on what you call Vintage that then goes to Antique- and people have many different variances of the borders of time in those fields as well.
So I consider Vintage around 60 years old- Antique to be around the late 90 to 100 years old.
So I would think a knife from the 40’s or 50’s would belong here.
 
tongueriver said:
Here is another Camillus for Sears.
View attachment 2021504
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Cal my friend, gorgeous examples.

Studying Sears and the knives and Brand names Sears marketed their knives from many different manufacturers can lead into a wee bit of a Rabbit Warren.

I started a while ago looking at the brand names used - and started to pick out the Sheepsfoot blade on an Ulster made Knife compared to the Camillus - the Ulster’s Sheepsfoot had a broader and more “ elongated “ Spine curvature from the flat of the Spine to the tip - compared than the Camillus Sheepsfoot which has a sharper more “ squared” drop from the Spine to the tip.

I went through literally hundreds of online photos of non Sears Ulster and Camillus knives and also comparisons within my collection.

Yes- there was a remarkable
difference I found……. Finding differences between the Ulster and Camillus can be next to impossible if these small differences are missed.

So under the Craftsman brand name came Schrade, Camillus as well as Ulster - plus other smaller makes here and there but mainly the main big three mentioned.

The etchings also told a huge tale, if you see your etchings - “ Chrome Vanadium” this was an Ulster unique Brand name - for example like Sta-Sharp is for Camillus.

This was agreed upon and showed how strong Albert Baer’ relationship with Dunlap was when Albert Baer took over Ulster after leaving Camillus and basically took over from Camillus’s mass production for Sears.

Oh man Cal - it’s funny because after probably about 4 months of looking at this and finding these differences- I spent so many hours looking, documenting and then I found a post from Codger stating exactly this about the CHROME VANADIUM Etch!! 😧😧
I couldn’t believe I spent all that time looking at this - but was extremely happy I was correct with the findings.

So those two stunners are Ulsters and not Camillus. You will note on the Sheepsfoot the slight difference I mentioned as well when compared to the Camillus.

I remember posting a comparison study - I think it was here of the difference between the blades here in this amazing thread.
I will try to find a photo of the different Sheepsfoot between the two and post it up again.

All this was part of a long time researching for Neal Punchard and my shared article in the Knife magazine about Sears Knives. 😊👍
 
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Here is what I was trying to say about the slight differences between the Camillus and Ulster Sheepsfoot, as well another photo showing small differences between the Spey Blades as well.
Top Knife is a Sears Ulster with the Chrome Vanadium Etch compared to a Stay Sharp Sears ( bottom knife).

oGJcJA3.jpg



Mt5ynjP.jpg
 
Campbellclanman said:
A bit of an Old Ugly wee Beast here, but... when I look at the Bone- I really like it- there's lots going on- and the colour of the Bone is Great!

Used but not abused, I bought the Knife for the Stamping, not for the hope that it would be an elusive Sears Stamp for Sears & Roebuck, but I want to find out more about it- so it goes in line with ALL the other Knives I purchased for the "I'm going to really look into that one day" box/es.

STAYSHARP Cut Co. is the Tang Stamp.... Staysharp being the Sears owned Brand name for some of the Camillus Knives SFO'd for Sears, I just found it really interesting.
The close up photo makes the Tang Stamp look individually struck and all up the Creek- but in fact it's not- weird...I wasn't having a good photo day that day.

7ZRJkEq.jpg


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7KgjLs8.jpg


Ay4Qqr2.jpg
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tongueriver said:
Camillus 69 for Sears.
View attachment 2021506
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tongueriver said:
Schrade Walden 881 for Sears. The covers are NOT Delrin. This one came from Roland.
View attachment 2021509View attachment 2021510View attachment 2021511
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Campbellclanman said:
Cal my friend, gorgeous examples.

Studying Sears and the knives and Brand names Sears marketed their knives from many different manufacturers can lead into a wee bit of a Rabbit Warren.

I started a while ago looking at the brand names used - and started to pick out the Sheepsfoot blade on an Ulster made Knife compared to the Camillus - the Ulster’s Sheepsfoot had a broader and more “ elongated “ Spine curvature from the flat of the Spine to the tip - compared than the Camillus Sheepsfoot which has a sharper more “ squared” drop from the Spine to the tip.

I went through literally hundreds of online photos of non Sears Ulster and Camillus knives and also comparisons within my collection.

Yes- there was a remarkable
difference I found……. Finding differences between the Ulster and Camillus can be next to impossible if these small differences are missed.

So under the Craftsman brand name came Schrade, Camillus as well as Ulster - plus other smaller makes here and there but mainly the main big three mentioned.

The etchings also told a huge tale, if you see your etchings - “ Chrome Vanadium” this was an Ulster unique Brand name - for example like Sta-Sharp is for Camillus.

This was agreed upon and showed how strong Albert Baer’ relationship with Dunlap was when Albert Baer took over Ulster after leaving Camillus and basically took over from Camillus’s mass production for Sears.

Oh man Cal - it’s funny because after probably about 4 months of looking at this and finding these differences- I spent so many hours looking, documenting and then I found a post from Codger stating exactly this about the CHRIME VANADIUM Etch!! 😧😧
I couldn’t believe I spent all that time looking at this - but was extremely happy I was correct with the findings.

So those two stunners are Ulsters and not Camillus. You will note on the Sheepsfoot the slight difference I mentioned as well when compared to the Camillus.

I remember posting a comparison study - I think it was here of the difference between the blades here in this amazing thread.
I will try to find a photo of the different Sheepsfoot between the two and post it up again.

All this was part of a long time researching for Neal Punchard and my shared article in the Knife magazine about Sears Knives. 😊👍
Click to expand...

Such enjoyable reads and photos gentlemen! I really enjoy all the Craftsman/Sears discussions!
 
Very nice example of Craftsman knives, Cal. I really like the Herder as well.
Great Ulster/Camillus comparison shots, Duncan. Those are some very slight differences that would have escaped my eye.
Nice Western whittler, Steve.
 
danno50 said:
Very nice example of Craftsman knives, Cal. I really like the Herder as well.
Great Ulster/Camillus comparison shots, Duncan. Those are some very slight differences that would have escaped my eye.
Nice Western whittler, Steve.
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Thanks matey those slight variances work hand in hand with the different Tang Stamps and if the Blades have etches?you see the different etches and what branding is within them - you can then roll it all up and make a safe call ( most times 🤣 )
 
Great sears knives Cal, I like how they are not crow magnets.

I like that pattern a lot Steve, it started me collecting farmer jacks.

Great info Duncan. I remember when it was undetermined if Camillus made knives for Sears. I pretty much knew they did, because these Wibert farmer jacks are Camillus made. Farmer jacks appear at a glance almost identical, upon scrutiny we see the subtle differences in frames and construction, most apparent at the small bolster. Camillus and Wilbert match everywhere, specifically in the heavy liners, not seen in other farmer jacks, except the shadow Schrades introduced 20 years after the Camillus made knives. The shape of the Camillus budding blade shows on these Wilberts.


Wilbert 1115.jpgWilbert rooster 534.jpg




Showing the differences in liners. L-R Schrade, Camillus, Camillus, Wilbert, Utica, and A Fields (Camillus).


Rooster blade comparison T-B Utica Camillus Cutsure Wilbert Schrade A fields938.jpg
 

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wlfryjr said:
Great sears knives Cal, I like how they are not crow magnets.

I like that pattern a lot Steve, it started me collecting farmer jacks.

Great info Duncan. I remember when it was undetermined if Camillus made knives for Sears. I pretty much knew they did, because these Wibert farmer jacks are Camillus made. Farmer jacks appear at a glance almost identical, upon scrutiny we see the subtle differences in frames and construction, most apparent at the small bolster. Camillus and Wilbert match everywhere, specifically in the heavy liners, not seen in other farmer jacks, except the shadow Schrades introduced 20 years after the Camillus made knives. The shape of the Camillus budding blade shows on these Wilberts.


View attachment 2022825View attachment 2022826




Showing the differences in liners. L-R Schrade, Camillus, Camillus, Wilbert, Utica, and A Fields (Camillus).


View attachment 2022830
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We wouldn't know anything about FJs, if it weren't for your studies, Lyle!!
You could probably do a thesis, and get your Doctorate in FJ history!!! :cool:
 
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