SEARS KNIFE WORLD

[SteveC]

Augie, what a beaut !

 

[Campbellclanman]

Very interesting Duncan. I wasn't aware that they were making an imitation Stagalon that early.

Steve my friend how are you? The Handles are just about exact for the Buckhorn with more colouring - Sears had so many descriptions in their Catalogs that were marketed so cleverly, Neal recalls Sears stating they had their "Own Factory" whic wasnt quite the case.

I have seen Schrade market their Old timer Delrin Saw cut handles as Stagalon as well - interesting for sure!

 

[SteveC]

Steve my friend how are you? The Handles are just about exact for the Buckhorn with more colouring - Sears had so many descriptions in their Catalogs that were marketed so cleverly, Neal recalls Sears stating they had their "Own Factory" whic wasnt quite the case.

I have seen Schrade market their Old timer Delrin Saw cut handles as Stagalon as well - interesting for sure!

I'm doing well buddy, trying to beat the heat today. It's over 90° and humid.

 

[Campbellclanman]

Helps that you are such a cool guy Steve lol, Thanks for popping and and I always love your posts - always!

Augie- That's just bloody beautiful, I have a couple of that pattern - one I think is pretty minty as well ( I am planning on bringing that out later ), but your Bone Colouring is darker and that Knife is simply SUPERB throughout! and with the Box - your a lucky dog my friend.
Isn't that just the thing about Sears - having their SFO's, I can just imagine Albert Baers sitting talking with his friend and Business Associate Tom Dunlap discussing different Blade / Tooling options, quantities and such- to me that is extremely intriguing.

With the Sears Knives- often you will see a Knife that is obviously the same Knife- but there will have been a swapping of the blades in different order, or like you say Augie with this amazing Knife of yours- you don't see some examples anywhere else - so an obvious Sear SFO throughout!

 

[Campbellclanman]

Not quite the Knife to follow up with after Augie stuns us with his amazing 5 Blade example....

Dunlap is a Sears owned Brand name, named after Col. Tom Dunlap, who was the Purchasing manager within Sears.

Dunlap being a Camillus made Knife- Camillus made all the Dunlap Knives - even after the Craftsman Brand name took over from the then front runner STA-SHARP ( Sta Sharp being Camillus unique given right Brand name owned by Sears).
Craftsman soon were predominately Ulster made Knives in a very short time - but the Dunlap's continued as a 2nd tier line for quite some time, was this because of Tom Dunlap - or simply huge numbers that were made and contracted to Sears - or discounted to the degree it was a good deal for Sears to continue with this Brand name?


Featured in the 1940 Catalog pages, the Handle material was called "Unbreakable Buckhorn Type Handle" as you can see this knife sports the lovely Camillus Spiral Punch.

 

[echoscout]

Hi everyone

apologies for the gap here....

I had to find some time to take some shots to continue the Composite Handle material run I am doing within this Thread, this was a point of interest of the Sears Magazine article driven so very well by Neal Punchard, who has written some amazing Magazine articles who's knowledge and Authorship is so well known.

What was just very one of the interesting points of investigation into Sears was when Composite Handles started sitting up the very top alongside the Stag and Bone Stag examples - yes there were Plastic handles and all the composites that were available - but these Knives were clearly shown and marketed as the slightly more "economical" options - so hopefully our Traditional friends here can look at these Knives- alongside the stunning bone examples and appreciate just how good some of these "plastic" knives actually were and are.

So coming up are a few composite examples, and we will keep the Thread going so hopefully if you have a Sears Knife- or perhaps you don't quite realise you have one and spot a knife just like yours, I am hoping that this Thread will help you or entertain you. I too am learning as I go down this path, so I hope you can join me, and please show us your Sears Knife - condition just means use - lets see it.

Here is a Stock knife- it's a beautiful Knife that I think is rather cool, this is a STA SHARP so has 100% Camillus DNA running through it's veins.
The number or should I say product codes we see often etched or Stamped on these Knives, this helps the treasure hunt to find out just exactly when these Knives were released in the Sears World- and what helps this search? yes it's those amazing Catalogs that become a Rabbit Warren for the addicted.

So, the number of this Serpentine Stock Knife is 7660, now Camillus was running strong pre 1942 - they sold TONS of knives to Sears who's demands from their Marketing machine screamed for 1st, 2nd and 3rd tier leveled Knives for all of the Sears Customers budget linitations.
I am very sure from my searches this Knife is from the 30's- but just when I haven't quite found exactly, the Stock Knife with a different Number such as 9521 or 9522 show later, but this 7660 is there somewhere, I will find it- but feel safe to say this is around a 1936 Knife....

Another Composite Handled Knife made by Camillus that sports the famous STA SHARP Etch, now folks... this Knife is a early 40's that you will see has the Main featured Etch of CRAFTSMAN - STA SHARP was now a sub Etch under the Craftsman.

When Craftsman came in in very late 1941 - well life was about to change as we have talked about previously in this Thread for Camillus- and now Ulster was pushing and the deal had already been done behind closed doors. 1942 was a game changer.

Stock Knife 9459 features Threaded Bolsters and what I think is very attractive Staglon / Buckhorn Handles, Federal Shield, Polished & cleaned interior Liners, features Camillus's top Tiered Hardware with that gorgeous Spiral Punch and the High Carbon Steel ( a Sears owned Trade Mark unique to Camillus ) Blades with lovely Swage work - so really whats to fault?

Please....... let me know your thoughts on these Knives that were featured as 2nd the second choice - it just shows you the stunning Quality of the top Tiered Knives of that time doesn't it!

Here is the 9459 serpentine Stock Knife with Punch that is slightly larger than the 7660 Stock Knife in the previous post.

One more for today, another Composite and I will break up the Composite run with a nice Bone Stag example now and then to keep interest for those who may not like the mention of Composites- but this is exactly what I am trYing to show is how nice- even 80 years ago the composite knives were.....

One of the many different Composites available was Bonite, yet was described as " Stag Bone Styled" in the winter edition 1948.
This Ulster made Knife has beautiful big beefy Blades, The Craftsman etch is the main etch with " FORGED STEEL" as the sub etch, no Tang stamp on this Knife.
This Cattle knife has led a blessed Knife with big beautifully full Blades. Most typical when you see these Bonite Handles they nearly all gapped away slightly from the Bolsters in time.

I really like the look of this awesome Knife- not sure how you feel about it- but I would love to know either way, so here it is............

Cattle Knife 9469

Three prime examples of good knives Duncan. Thanks for showing them!

This 5 blade is probably my best one, only made for Sears, Camillus did not have the pattern in their catalog.



View attachment 2238392View attachment 2238393

Stunningly awesome!

 

[echoscout]

Duncan I've come to the end of the trail. This last one is a three bladed Cattle Knife. Craftsman Sta-Sharp etch, High Carbon Steel tang stamp.

 

[Campbellclanman]

And THAT my friend is a very nice Cattle Knife!
Those are superbly built knives, I have an example of that one too and very fond of it as I bet you are of yours! Gorgeous Bone

 

[btb01]

Hi everyone

apologies for the gap here....

I had to find some time to take some shots to continue the Composite Handle material run I am doing within this Thread, this was a point of interest of the Sears Magazine article driven so very well by Neal Punchard, who has written some amazing Magazine articles who's knowledge and Authorship is so well known.

What was just very one of the interesting points of investigation into Sears was when Composite Handles started sitting up the very top alongside the Stag and Bone Stag examples - yes there were Plastic handles and all the composites that were available - but these Knives were clearly shown and marketed as the slightly more "economical" options - so hopefully our Traditional friends here can look at these Knives- alongside the stunning bone examples and appreciate just how good some of these "plastic" knives actually were and are.

So coming up are a few composite examples, and we will keep the Thread going so hopefully if you have a Sears Knife- or perhaps you don't quite realise you have one and spot a knife just like yours, I am hoping that this Thread will help you or entertain you. I too am learning as I go down this path, so I hope you can join me, and please show us your Sears Knife - condition just means use - lets see it.

Here is a Stock knife- it's a beautiful Knife that I think is rather cool, this is a STA SHARP so has 100% Camillus DNA running through it's veins.
The number or should I say product codes we see often etched or Stamped on these Knives, this helps the treasure hunt to find out just exactly when these Knives were released in the Sears World- and what helps this search? yes it's those amazing Catalogs that become a Rabbit Warren for the addicted.

So, the number of this Serpentine Stock Knife is 7660, now Camillus was running strong pre 1942 - they sold TONS of knives to Sears who's demands from their Marketing machine screamed for 1st, 2nd and 3rd tier leveled Knives for all of the Sears Customers budget linitations.
I am very sure from my searches this Knife is from the 30's- but just when I haven't quite found exactly, the Stock Knife with a different Number such as 9521 or 9522 show later, but this 7660 is there somewhere, I will find it- but feel safe to say this is around a 1936 Knife....

Very cool looking knife, Duncan! I like the orange — I don’t normally like orange knives, in particular, but something about that one I really like — and the etch is really cool, too.

This 5 blade is probably my best one, only made for Sears, Camillus did not have the pattern in their catalog.



View attachment 2238392View attachment 2238393

What a beauty!

 

[Campbellclanman]

Thank you Barrett matey

 

[Campbellclanman]

Taking a short Break from the Composites, here are a couple of real neat Knives, slight differences between these two that bear the same Sears number 9470 and show just why looking into the Sears Knives is so fascinating, as we mentioned there can be small changes then there can be quite significant changes of the knives that bear the same number- but hail from different years.

Both of these Stockman's have had use, Both sport beautiful Bone, big knives at 4 inches long closed, and of course, Ulster being ulster- wonderfully built.

Both of these sport the Craftsman etch, the Match-strike pull's Etch is very faint- but it comes out in the right angle as does it's number.

The 9470 starts from what I can find in 1948, I cannot make out a Match-strike Pull in the Catalogs as the knife and catalog number repeats itself through the next few years, Normally the Match-strike would appear in the earlier Knives when it came to Schrade having these same differences between the Knives.

 

[black mamba]

Duncan, very unusual to see the rounded spine sheepfoot, and the shorter clip/longer pull on the main. Who do you think made that one?

 

[Campbellclanman]

Hey Jeff
that one is Ulster Sir, I did a bit of a study sometime back - as I couldn't quite get the differences in the blades - such as one of them what you just pointed out, Ulster was the one with that very rounded Sheepsfoot and often the etch along with it " Chrome Vanadium" which is a Sears owned Brand name that was given exclusively to Ulster to use ( much like Sta Sharp was to Camillus).
I will post up the differences and a bit of a blade study either tonight or tomorrow my friend that show it up nicely.

It's funny you point that out with your excellent observation Jeff as I deleted a lot of my blurb about that before I posted that post

Have a great day everyone!

 

[herder]

What a great pleasure it was to co-write an article on Sears knives for "Knife Magazine" with my good friend Duncan.
He added so much information that I didn't have which made the article pretty darn good.
What a treat to see so many of his wonderful Sears knives shown within this thread. And also fantastic to see so many additional knives from others.
Here is an old Wilbert "Hunters Pride" model from around the late teens to early 1920s. Like Duncan, I enjoy really "digging in" to the history of all knives.
While this model was offered by Sears under the Wilbert brand from around 1908 to the early 1920s, this particular model changed slightly from an early to later period.
The example shown is a "later" variation which has a different handle shield and long pull versus a short pull on the secondary pen blade.
Also enclosed are two catalog illustrations from 1914 and 1919 showing the slight differences in basically the same model.
This was a big knife that was call a "Jumbo Jack" which were generally jack knives that were 4 inches or larger. This one is 4-3/8 inches.
Jumbo Jacks are not to be confused with English Jacks which are similar in length, but "beefier" than an English Jack.

 

[tongueriver]

delete

 

[Campbellclanman]

Wow!!! now there goes a couple of outstanding posts- the first by our good friend Herder, Thank you so much for all of your help my friend - it is a pleasure to have been involved with that magazine article- and a Massive learning curve for me, one that has set me on track a fair bit

That Hunters Pride is like you say Beefy - but Oh so Beautiful. Wow what a gorgeous example, it has everything! Gorgeous Jig work- Capped, very nice Swage work, it's really hard to believe that knife is 100 years old! I have a long way to go to have knives like that in my Sears group.
Thank you my friend for sharing that stunner.

 

[Campbellclanman]

Wow!! Cal - what a presentation pack indeed!
I have the Big Bear Skinner with the controversial Sheath coming my way- although the Knife has a fair bit of surface rust, but the Blade is full.

For some time people were scratching their Heads when it came to the A.C.A meaning - and although it isn't splattered everywhere - it's meaning is mentioned by Sears in a few places - nice to see this on the advertising of this pack as well!
Also - interesting to see the use of different Composites- which Herder and myself have talked about a lot- as you see the 165 Handle material is described as Staglon- yet when we mention Staglon we tend to immediately go to the Staglong used on Camillus Knives and the Uncle Henry Knives, when usually the Saw Cut Handles are described as Indestructible saw Cut Delrin etc, I mentioned this with Jeff ^^.
Oh to get my hands on that pack now

Thank you for that informative post Cal - I remember reading that somewhere before- it was in your posts previously - but totally belongs in here as well, thank you matey.

 

[black mamba]

A simply tremendous knife, herder, thanks for showing it and the information about it. Calvin seems to have an inexhaustible resource for the "good ol' stuff" we all like! Duncan, you have done the knife community here on BFC a great service by starting this thread. May it continue for a long time!

 

[Augie]

A couple of Sears Sta-Sharp's.

 

[Amir Fleschwund]

Thank you for starting this thread, Duncan, and thanks to both you and Neal for your research.
I have a few Sears knives, nothing pristine, but I’ve always had a soft spot for them since working for Sears in the hardware dept during high school, and during my years at UI.
This was one of several that I bought new using my employee discount in the ‘70s, and the only one I still have.
I had the 4” version of this as well, but gave it to my son helping him acquire the basics. I also gave him a Camillus TL-29, and a SAK.