Scouting knives

pinnah · Jan 19, 2012

Well... since we're sharing knives based on the scout/camper pattern....

I've had an Ulster BSA or Camper since I was 8. Here's the current one. One day, I may try to pick up a Camillus. The Ulsters aren't the most robust knives ever made, but I do love the blade shape. Just perfect.

camper-leaves by Pinnah, on Flickr

meako · Jan 19, 2012

thatotherguy · Jan 19, 2012

zippofan said:
Ugh...
Our Council camp has a prohibition on sheath knives, but that's it. Our Troop has no prohibition, leaving it to the common sense of the Scouts and their parents. Of course, the guys can't carry unless I know they have their Totin' Chip. We have a yearly "refresher" course on knife, blade and tool safety as well.

We only had one instance of trouble, during a Christmas gift exchange one of the guys got another a machete as a joke. After ensuring that the Scout's parents had possession of the machete we had a little conversation about what was and wasn't appropriate for a Scout. There hasn't been any such tomfoolery since.

I'll point this out:

The Boy Scouts of America does not encourage the use of large sheath knives. They can be heavy and awkward to carry and are unnecessary for most camp chores

Page 403 in the 2009 Handbook. They say nothing about "no sheath knives at all", and nothing about small neck/ sharpfinger type knives.

newadventure · Jan 19, 2012

thatotherguy said:
False advertising...
No Colonial for me, until I find out where they are actually made.
most of the boys in our troop don't carry knives because one of the leaders thinks (quote) "knives have no purpose in modern society outside of camp, and even then you should use a pair of scissors." (end quote)
*CACKLE*

Sad. Very sad. Unbelievable viewpoint, actually. Give him a nice steak and a pair of scissors....

Who knew that if one took a pair of scissors apart that one would end up with two knives? Not sayin', just sayin'...

thatotherguy · Jan 19, 2012

Well, there's still hope. One leader is ex- Marines, so very pro knife, and one that is quite pro knife (not techically a leader, but the boys look up to) is the one who taught the totin' chip class, myself.

zippofan · Jan 20, 2012

thatotherguy said:
I'll point this out:

Page 403 in the 2009 Handbook. They say nothing about "no sheath knives at all", and nothing about small neck/ sharpfinger type knives.

Oh I know that, that's why our Troop doesn't prohibit fixed blades in general. The machete was a little much, and like I said it was sort of a joke gift. From time to time I have a Helle Speiderkniven on my belt at a meeting, or a Mora. One of these days I'm gonna spring for a Nessmuk style and wear that to meetings. Since most of the boys know who Nessmuk is (we have camped at Pine Creek Gorge), they should know about his suggestions for outdoor tools :thumbup:

thatotherguy · Jan 20, 2012

Good idea!
IMO a sharpfinger style knife is more useful in a camp setting, it's easier to get to and it doesn't have to be folded to put it away every time.

messer454 · Jan 21, 2012

I'm an Eagle Scout and 39 years old. I was in a troop that did not allow sheath knives. Thankfully all of my scout masters encouraged pocket knives and were collectors of pocket knives themselves. I was in at a time when BSA had a contract with Buck knives and Victorinox and I collected all of them as well as some old ones I could find. Here are a few that were easy to get to. I will never get rid of my BSA knives....too many fond memories. Thanks to the OP for the thread. Sorry I'm not much of a photographer.

zippofan · Jan 21, 2012

Holy cow, that's an awesome collection!!!

Speaking of Buck, they do a custom 500 for Eagles, it's not advertised and you need to call them. They engrave the Eagle emblem, Scout's name, Troop and date on the bolsters. I got one for my son for his birthday, 40 bucks shipped :thumbup:

Halfneck · Jan 21, 2012

Those Kabar Scout knives look great.

Thomas Linton · Jan 24, 2012

pinnah said:
Well... since we're sharing knives based on the scout/camper pattern....

I've had an Ulster BSA or Camper since I was 8. Here's the current one. One day, I may try to pick up a Camillus. The Ulsters aren't the most robust knives ever made, but I do love the blade shape. Just perfect.

camper-leaves by Pinnah, on Flickr

You mean Ulster U.S.A., I guess, not the original Ulster from before WW II. Ulster U.S.A. made the first SS "Scout" pattern for B.S.A. Strangely, considering the regular carbon steel model, the SS was quite good. At least as good as the Camillus knives that were around until Camillus went under.

Bob W · Jan 28, 2012

messer454 said:
I'm an Eagle Scout and 39 years old. I was in a troop that did not allow sheath knives. Thankfully all of my scout masters encouraged pocket knives and were collectors of pocket knives themselves. I was in at a time when BSA had a contract with Buck knives and Victorinox and I collected all of them as well as some old ones I could find. Here are a few that were easy to get to. I will never get rid of my BSA knives....too many fond memories. Thanks to the OP for the thread. Sorry I'm not much of a photographer.

View attachment 253571 View attachment 253573 View attachment 253572 View attachment 253570 View attachment 253569

Those are in better condition than most of the knives in the Scouting Museum! There also, so far, hasn't been a Buck in the entire museum collection. Hmmm...

Congratulations on a nice collection, and thank you for sharing.

--------
Down in the Schrade Collectors forum I've started a topic for some of the Schrade and Imperial knives from the museum. Check it out if you're interested:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/920440-Geo-Schrade-utensil-set