Something old, but new to me

W

waltmc

Joined
Dec 10, 2012
Messages
261
Howdy, neighbors!

I just got something new and thought I would share--partly because it's a neat little knife, and partly to see if the collective wisdom here knows anything about this old blade.
At first blush, it's a pretty straightforward old Imperial Kamp King. Just a basic scout/camp/utility pattern knife. I admit that I don't know much about the whole offering of Imperial cutlery, but it has some things I've not seen before in a Kamp King.

It's moderately old, but it pretty good condition, and has the old style can opener.
kampking1.JPG


Wearing the "Imperial Prov. R.I." tang stamp, suggesting it dates from 1936-1952. You can see that it has solid (but thin) bolsters. Whoever "WH" was, he didn't seem to carry this much.
kampking2.JPG


It has a beautiful swedge and long pull. It almost seems to wear the original edge. At least, it hasn't been sharpened much or thrown at a grinder as a lot of these were.
kampking3.JPG


And is really pretty thin:
kampking4.JPG


Overall, I am really surprised at how thin and light it is. For comparison, it's almost exactly the same thickness as my Case swayback jack. So, it's really pocketable an will definitely hop into the rotation. The blade end has a little wobble, but not enough to lose any sleep over. A judicious application of pressure might tighten it up, but it'll stay as-is for the time being. The awl is clearly broken, but that should be an easy fix. All in all, it's nice to find a knife of this age that is ready to drop in the pocket.

Has anyone else seen one like this? I've dug around to see if I could find any comparable specimens and have come up empty handed. Whatever the case, it's a keeper!

Thanks for looking!
Walt.
 
Very nice old scout knife, Walt!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Those scouts bring back a lot of memories for me, as it was the typical pocket knife of the era I grew up in. The most common pocket knives were the little serpentine two blade jacks of one make or another, but the second place knife of the 1950's was the scout. As you noted, those old scouts were not that thick, and offered a lot of utility in a small package that carried easy in a pants pocket. That awl can be brought back, even if it's a bit short, and that great old carbon blade has many years of service left in it. Use it well.:thumbup:

Carl.
 
That is a nice one! You're certainly right, it looks like a nice, slim package.

-Dan
 
That's a nice piece! The older solid-bolster ones are not as common. Before Imperial went to stamped shell construction.
 
jackknife said:
Very nice old scout knife, Walt!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Those scouts bring back a lot of memories for me... Use it well.:thumbup:
Carl.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Carl! The scout pattern is near and dear to me, too, and I think this one really fits the bill. I just got a Cub Scout knife in the mail, though, so this one might have some competition. :)

Parke1 said:
That is a nice one! You're certainly right, it looks like a nice, slim package.
-Dan
Click to expand...

Thanks, Dan!

glennbad said:
That's a nice piece! The older solid-bolster ones are not as common. Before Imperial went to stamped shell construction.
Click to expand...

That's what I though, Glenn. I've not seen another exactly like this. Pretty cool...
I should send you a PM about an old Camillus camp knife that needs some TLC. It's almost as cool as this one.
 
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