Show Us Your Camp Knives, Utility Knives, Scout Knives

[RexRazorX]

Surprise of surprises - this knife wasn't supposed to deliver till Monday - usps is very unpredictable. Ulster Knife Co. with bone scales and carbon steel. I don't think this knife was carried very much. It's so clean it almost looks NOS.
Ulster camp knife by tens339, on Flickr
Ulster camp knife by tens339, on Flickr

 

[Bigfattyt]

It's very coincidental that this thread came up. I've been looking around at quite a few scout knives so I look forward to some pics in this thread.

Also, for the experts, is there a particular "scout" knife that is more collectible or hard to find?

Thanks for the great pics.

Does that mean you are making one?

 

[556hunter]

Surprise of surprises - this knife wasn't supposed to deliver till Monday - usps is very unpredictable. Ulster Knife Co. with bone scales and carbon steel. I don't think this knife was carried very much. It's so clean it almost looks NOS.
Ulster camp knife by tens339, on Flickr
Ulster camp knife by tens339, on Flickr

Rex, that's a beautiful knife!!!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
I love the bone these old scouts. Your right tho, that one looks like it wasn't used much if at all.


Ryan

 

[AreBeeBee]

Surprise of surprises - this knife wasn't supposed to deliver till Monday - usps is very unpredictable. Ulster Knife Co. with bone scales and carbon steel. I don't think this knife was carried very much. It's so clean it almost looks NOS.
Ulster camp knife by tens339, on Flickr
Ulster camp knife by tens339, on Flickr

Indeed, another great knife in outstanding condition. This and the saw-cut delrin Ulster (probably one or two decades newer) are superb finds. Enjoy!

I have a split loyalty in scout-branded knives. My original was an Imperial, but it went lost forever in a pile of leaves one autumn afternoon 50+ years ago in a stupid game of mumbledy-peg. So I got a replacement on ebay in recent years.

But for looks and quality, I'd rate the Ulster significantly ahead of Imperial in looks (& design of the BSA shield) and perhaps ahead also in manufacturing quality. (Others may think differently.) So I treasure both my versions, as my original Imperial has long since gone to rust where it was lost.

Your new Ulster may not be a BSA model — no BSA emblem on it I can see — and it is likely postwar as well. But it's a superb camper model. The design of the can opener points to postwar manufacture, as those "eagle-claw" openers were introduced and widely adoped in early 1945.

Turn it over — are any of the liners (thin layers) made of brass? Brass was a controlled material, which is why wartime (1942-early 45) knives of this pattern were all steel except for the scales. Having any brass liners, plus the can opener design, both suggest a postwar manufacture.

 

[RexRazorX]

AreBeeBee -
Thanks for sharing your story and passion for the scout knife. I lost/broke a few knives to those types of games. Guess that's why my grandpa kept me stocked up with cheapies. I started taking better care of my knives when I saw the value in bartering. Most of my knives went to barter for all kinds of stuff - sling shots, BB guns, fishing reels. Man that was a lot of fun. I still have one knife I won in barter, uncle henry stockman. It stays in my fishing bag to this day.

Regarding age, it does not have any BSA insignia. It does have a brass liner behind the scale. Only stamping is on the main blade, "ulster knife co." I thought this might put it in a specific time period. I don't see many with this stamping.
-Rex

 

[556hunter]

Ryan

 

[AreBeeBee]

Regarding age, it does not have any BSA insignia. It does have a brass liner behind the scale. Only stamping is on the main blade, "ulster knife co." I thought this might put it in a specific time period. I don't see many with this stamping.
-Rex

Rex, the brass liner and the eagle claw can opener indicate 1945 or later for manufacture. One question: Are you sure the scales are really bone and not jigged Delrin plastic colored to resemble bone? The latter material was common after the war, and soon became universal. And as for lacking any BSA shield or other indicia, that means it likely isn't an official BSA knife.

However, the fact is a lot of people have gone to scout camp with camper-pattern knives that were (and are) un-badged as BSA. Plus the pattern has been widely used by people heading for the woods since it was invented, perhaps in the late 1800s. (Anybody know an origin date for the classic 4-blader?)

Anyway, whatever its manufacture date, it's a beauty to enjoy.

 

[Buzzbait]

Okay. Here are a few scouts.

Camillus 99 in stainless steel
Small caplifter/screwdriver, new style awl (pokey sharpened thing), beefier blade, larger claw can opener

Camillus 99 in carbon steel
small caplifter/screwdriver, old style awl, less beefy blade, smaller claw can opener

Camillus WW2 Engineers Knife
old style can opener, small caplifter/screwdriver, old style awl, less beefy blade, steel liners, bone scales

Camillus MIL-K Knife
All Stainless Steel Construction

Camillus Western
Basically a stainless Camillus 99 with pimped out bolsters and long pulls
Nicer finish than a 99, and fantastically realistic jigged delrin scales, old style awl

Camillus Cub Scout Knife
Carbon Steel blades, liner locking old style awl, liner locking small cap lifter/screwdriver
Smaller size than Camillus 99. more like a junior scout size.

Kabar 1152
Basically a carbon steel Camillus 99 with slightly different scales and shield

Remington R-4
Mega-pimped Camillus 99 with saw blade and coping blade, no awl

 

[Buzzbait]

Case Scout
Pretty much a Camillus 99

Western Scout (I think from before their Camillus acquisition)
Very roughly scribed bolsters
Most specimens have broken awls
Has included belt hanger

Case BSA Junior Scout
Smaller than a traditional scout pattern knife
Very nice knife. Great for people who don't like the bulk and weight of a traditional scout

CASE BSA Junior Scout and Case Orange G-10 Junior Scout

Craftsman Bone Handled Scout
Carbon steel blades
Not Swinden Key Construction

Craftsman Scout
Carbon steel blades
Has original belt hanger

Craftsman Scout
big and bulky knife
second blade instead of awl

Ulster BSA Scout
Carbon Steel Blades

 

[Buzzbait]

Imperial Scout
big and bulky knife
second blade instead of awl

Kamp King
shell knife, carbon steel blades

Robeson Shuredge
You don't see these very often!!!!
ATS-34 main blade, stainless steel tools, bone scales
All 4 blades stamped Robeson

Scouts together

 

[556hunter]

HOLY SMOKES!!!!^^^^^^^

That's a great looking collection!!!:thumbup::thumbup:
I hope get a collection going line that one of these days. The scout pattern knife has to be one of my all time favorite patterns. I may stray a little and carry different stuff for a while, but in the end I come back to the scout pattern.
Ryan

 

[Buzzbait]

HOLY SMOKES!!!!^^^^^^^

That's a great looking collection!!!:thumbup::thumbup:
I hope get a collection going line that one of these days. The scout pattern knife has to be one of my all time favorite patterns. I may stray a little and carry different stuff for a while, but in the end I come back to the scout pattern.
Ryan

Same here. My first knife was a Diamond Edge scout. It went everywhere with me. I got my first knife cut with that knife. Now and then, I'll go off on a tangent and carry something different, but I eventually end up with a scout pattern back in my pocket. It was a Vic Pioneer for the last 5 years. Now it's the Remington R-4. Come August, it could likely be a Beer Scout or Soda Scout.

I'm also obsessed with my knife being tethered to me. My favorite traditionals all have bails or keyring attachments. If I can't attach a lanyard to it, it just ends up in a drawer.

 

[RexRazorX]

AreBeeBee-
Thanks for the info. Scales are definitely bone. Another cool detail is the blade stock is about 20% thicker than the stainless version. Tools are more robust as we'll. Such a cool knife. Thank you for getting me interested in old scouts.


Buzzbait - awesome collection. Thanks for sharing.

-Rex

 

[RexRazorX]

Here is my recently acquired Ulster Knife Co. BSA knife. It's around 90 years old, give or take a few.

That's is very cool. Can you imagine what that knife has seen?
-Rex

 

[AreBeeBee]

Wow, Buzzbait! Fantastic collection!

 

[Blake the Blade]

Cheep and cheerful, these Richards Knives were available in hardware stores and newsagents across Britain during the 60's and 70's. The equivalent, I suppose, of an American Imperial.

Untitled by Mark Saunders, on Flickr

 

[556hunter]

Here's my Grail scout I finally got. I absolutely love it!
It's a camillus made WWII scout pattern with bone handles. The F&F on this knife is simply astounding, especially when you consider how old it it





Ryan

 

[Buzzbait]

Here's my Grail scout I finally got. I absolutely love it!
It's a camillus made WWII scout pattern with bone handles. The F&F on this knife is simply astounding, especially when you consider how old it it





Ryan

The Camillus WW2 Engineer's Knives are truly wonderful. It's hard to believe they were so well made, at a time when they were being manufactured at a furious rate. Absolutely bomb-proof knives.

The Camillus name was totally underrated throughout the company's history. They made incredible knives.

 

[AreBeeBee]

The Camillus WW2 Engineer's Knives are truly wonderful. It's hard to believe they were so well made, at a time when they were being manufactured at a furious rate. Absolutely bomb-proof knives.

The Camillus name was totally underrated throughout the company's history. They made incredible knives.

What's also not appreciated, then or even now, is how many knives they made for other labels. As for the WW2 engineer's knife and other versions, they made something like 5 million of them. Between about 1942 and 1945. At the same time they were making "KABAR-pattern" fighting/utility knives in massive quantities. Think about that.

Well, it's not unrelated to the prodigies of manufacturing that created and sent out to battlefields millions of M1 Garands, M1 carbines, M1911A1s, and assorted hardware. When you read that Ford's plant near Detroit was producing one B-24 Liberator every hour — it's hard to envision it, and in any case, few of us are ever likely to own, let alone use, one of those things. (Practically all have been rendered into scrap now, anyway.)

But you or I can own a wartime M1, or a carbine M1, or a 1911 for a reasonable price. That goes double for a humble Camillus Engineer's knife. And you can put it in your pocket every day.

Now I have to say that I personally find the bail/clevis/shackle just gets in the way of carrying the knife in my jeans watch pocket. (No lanyards for me.) Plus there's the chance of dinging the blade edge if the bail isn't out of the way when you close it.

Out of respect for age, origin, and authenticity, I've left the bail on mine. But if it ever works loose and comes off... Well, I won't weep or try to put it back.

 

[AreBeeBee]

A Sunday stroll yesterday in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve; my second Ulster, this one is minus its bail.

(Yes, it was placed and retrieved v-e-r-y carefully.)

And pointing to Piestewa Peak, a walk for a cooler day (you gain 1,200+ feet in 1.2 miles). It's popular: on a nice weekend day, you'll share the Summit Trail with easily a hundred others.