out of the closet

R

rprocter

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i won 3 ebay knives all described with history as follows: "This was from a hardware sales man's estate. He retired in the 50's and this was among his samples stored in a closet. This was actually in sales promotion box. I will list that soon."
it seems incredible that 50 year old mint knives still show up. and in the closet of a man, who if he died recently must have been over 100 years old.
the knives: Camillus bone handled penknife 3 1/8 in., tang: CAMILLUS (underlined)/NEW YORK (cannot see USA, i think it is behind bolster)
Camillus bone handled whittler(?) 2 3/4 in. tang: CAMILLUS (underlined)/ NEW YORK/U S A , with 77 on opposite side of tang
Imperial bone handled penknife 2 7/8 in. tang: STAINLESS/IMPERIAL/PROV. U.S.A., and on opposite side tang of smaller blade: Imperial (with crown over i)/STAINLESS/U.S.A.
i have only 1 other Camillus, a Remington Bullet moose repro. so know v. little about these knives. any 50 yr. old mint knife is of interest, but any comments or possible info relating to these 3 would be appreciated.
 
Post some pictures and you will get more meaningful comments.

If the line under Camillus goes the full length, they aren't 50 years old yet. That marking started around 1960. If it is only a half line, then it could be older, maybe 60+ years. I think having 77 on the whittler probabaly also dates it sooner, but I'm guessing about that.
 
yes, i will post pics. when knives arrive, usually about 3 weeks after purchase up here in Canada. just did not want to wait that long for any interesting info. thanks.
 
Then post the eBay link or auction number and we'll do our best from the seller's pictures for now.

Codger
 
thanks Codger, that's very generous of you. the first 3 are the knives i am posting about. the 4th is an older Camillus; 5th a really nice older KA-BAR; and 6th an old Imperial cattleman (my response to a 36OT going for $201.05).
i don't expect you to comment on them all (however, i always read and learn from your encyclopedic posts); more, i am sharing my joy !
sorry; my 6 links did not work (server too busy), so
1)320116610966
2)320116612800
3)320166607426
4)170115490522
5)250116393834
6)250116433725
i think these item numbers will work even though auction is over. i don't really have the hang of ebay pricing yet, but i think i bought some very nice knives for really very little each. thanks again, roland
 


All seem to have been purchased at a decent price, though value is really up to the collector. Some nice examples there of knives both vintage and antique. I'll leave it to the other members to I.D. them for you. I'll help a bit after an interval. All in all, a nice group of knives.:thumbup:

Codger
 
perhaps it's my age, i seem to be making an undue amount of errors.
correct #3) 320116607426 (i also have a 20 mo. old "helping" me).
yes they do look very interesting. i don't collect to ever make money, just to spend it. i buy knives for the love of it.
it's just been the last 6 months that i have started to collect with intention; basically after discovering Bladeforum. plus ebay is great for stimulating interest and broadening horizons. see an interesting knife, then search around for all one can learn about that knife and company. Schrade is such fun this way as there are all kinds of little details and variations, making some knives more unique than others. so now, without abandoning Schrade, i am beginning to appreciate Camillus.
 
As I say all the time, Schrade and Camillus were sister companies. Camillus was owned after the early sixties by the Baer children and grandchildren, but really only on paper until after his passing in October of 1997. Oh, yes, there were uniquely skilled workers and intellegent managers inhouse, but it was still a Baer operation and he kept his hand in there. I don't see any conflict in loyalty there at all in collecting both Camillus and Schrade.

By the way, I believe your Imperial above, from what I can see in the photos, is a Jackmaster N-405KP, KP being the handle material "simulated pearl", sometimes derisivly called "toilet seat cell". It is a "Cattle Knife" pattern, and is listed in my 1959 Imperial catalog. The wholesale price then was $6.00 per dozen and were generally either sold bulk packed, or mounted on a nice "view window" cardboard counter display of a dozen. I can't tell you when they began or ended production however.


A Jackmaster Slimline. Not sure of the date, but probably between 1960-75.

Codger
 
I can't add much, since I don't know anything about those Camillus patterns, other than to confirm that they are not older than 1960. As noted above, the marking with the full underline started c. 1960; I know from Goins that there was a similar, but slightly different font marking that began in 1976. I'm not sure I can tell the difference, although knife #1 (upper left in Codger's pic) looks different than the others to me, but I'm not sure if that is a function of wear/stamping differences or whether it's a different font. I do know there is also an underlined mark in a slanted font from the 70s plus that would be older than these.
 
thank you gentlemen for this help. Codger, how do you have time for work ?
i have noticed that many ebay sellers take liberties when describing a knife. it's important to me to know as much history of each knife i own as possible. so this info is noted. i'll learn more Camillus with lots of forum visits. i will post pics. of the beginnings of my Camillus collection when i have enough to make it interesting. roland
 
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