The Camillus Saw Scouts

[Buzzbait]

I had to share this with you all. I'm a scout pattern collector at heart, with a definite lean toward Camillus Knives. For the last two or three years, a certain run of Camillus camp knives, made in the early 90's (maybe 1992ish?), has become my obsession. These are a series of what are basically Camillus 99 camp knives with some minor tool variations. All of these knives sport a third layer with a wood saw, as well as a spear blade and combination cap lifter/screwdriver. This run of knives is particularly interesting because of the saw layer, and also the excellent level of fit and finish from the Camillus factory.

I think that I might have finally gotten my hands on them all as a set!!!!

The most common model is the Remington R-4, made on contract by Camillus for Remington. The R-4 has a very nice straight edge sheepsfoot blade, instead of the standard punch/awl, and features a Remington UMC shield.

As far as I can tell, Remington packaged the R-4 in two different ways. It could be obtained in a simple cardboard box, or in a wooden gift box set, with included belt buckle and sharpening steel.

The other model that is readily found on the Internet is the Camillus C4. It's very similar to the Remington R-4, but has a scalloped sheepsfoot blade, "India Stag" Delrin covers, and a 30-06 Springfield cartridge shield. The C4 also uses a philips screwdriver instead of the common can opener. Not unusual for Camillus, it appears that some were etched Camillus on the main blade, and some were left entirely blank.

Note that my copy of the C4 with Camillus main blade stamp has a straight edge sheepsfoot blade. The scallops were ground off by me after the fact.

An interesting and hard to find variation of the C-4 was a short run made for the North American Hunting Club.

The last part of the set that I was able to acquire was this knife, made on contract by Camillus for United Cutlery, who in turn sold the knives to the Sierra Club. This version has beautiful laminated rosewood covers, a Sierra Club shield, and Sierra Club etch on the main blade. The tool selection contains a straight edge sheepsfoot secondary blade, and a philips screwdriver. This knife came in a cardboard box. So minty fresh!!!!!

Last, and most unusual, is a rare Sears Craftsman model. I know precious little about it. The knife features laminated hardwood covers, brass bolsters, and no bail. It has a straight edge sheepsfoot blade.

There could be other variations out there, from this run of saw scouts. But If they're hiding out there, I have yet to witness them.

Here are some pics of the closed knives and their shields, or lack thereof on the part of the Craftsman.

Knives open to main blade.

Here is a common picture from Spork60 that you see on the Internet.

Here is my lackluster recreation with an additional model. I purposefully left out my Camillus etched C4, as it has been modified from its original configuration.

And some misc collection pics.

I still have a Remington R-4 boxed set, without a sharpening steel. If you know of a steel that needs a home, I would very much appreciate a PM.

 

[tongueriver]

What an excellent tutorial and slide show!

 

[Thomas Linton]

Great OP!

 

[Roamad]

Very interesting...did not know about these at all!

 

[Campbellclanman]

Great to see and thank you so much for taking the time to share, one day soon I will contribute as I too have started to collect a few scout Knives/ Cam Knives, some are at my personal North Dakota Post office as we "speak"

 

[MT Damascus]

Great thread, thanks for sharing. Those sharpening stones remind me of the Gerber Sportsmans, made out of O1.

 

[Steely_Gunz]

Those are gorgeous. I love the practicality of the scout pattern. The saw adds one more layer of utility. Incredible collection

 

[Neko2]

That Sierra rosewood one is really nice looking. It stands out against the usual bone and delrin I'm used to.
Nice collection.

 

[Buzzbait]

That Sierra rosewood one is really nice looking. It stands out against the usual bone and delrin I'm used to.
Nice collection.

I agree. I'm having a very hard time not carrying that one. Everything about it is incredibly perfect. I wish I had a second one, so I'd have one to collect and one to carry, but they're rare as hen's teeth. One shows up on the big auction site every couple years. I was fortunate enough to acquire mine, which was not listed with a very good description, for less than twenty bucks.

Great thread, thanks for sharing. Those sharpening stones remind me of the Gerber Sportsmans, made out of O1.

Wow. Those do look close. Given the way that one company contracts with another company, in the traditional knife business, I wouldn't be surprised if Gerber and Remington contracted with the same company for their sharpening steels.

 

[Buzzbait]

I should mention something about the wood covers on the Craftsman and the Sierra Club. Around that time, Camillus was making wood scaled knives, identified as either "laminated rosewood" or "laminated hardwood". I'm pretty sure it's very similar same stuff; resin impregnated hardwood. Same thing as Dymondwood. But if you have better information than my best guess, please feel free to correct me.


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[John A. Larsen]

I have been keeping my eyes open at Gun Shows for one of the Remington R-4's. For a woods knife (for me) a saw is important, and I would rather have a can opener than a Philips head screwdriver. Thanks for showing all the different versions. John

 

[Cambertree]

Great thread, really enjoyed reading that.

Those Saw Scouts have a great selection of blades and tools. I see you ground out the sheepsfoot serrations on your Camillus etch C4. I'd probably do the same in the end, but I'm also curious about how a serrated sheepfoot would cut - probably very well I imagine. You'd lose some fine cutting control, but it would be a beast on rope, clamshell packaging and cardboard, once it was properly sharp.

 

[Jack Black]

Great stuff Buzz :thumbup:

Great thread, thanks for sharing. Those sharpening stones remind me of the Gerber Sportsmans, made out of O1.

Didn't Schrade also make something similar? I've always thought they looked interesting, but never used one. What are they like Kris? :thumbup:

 

[redsparrow]

Excellent presentation 'Buzz! Well put together, well researched discussion of a desirable and useful knife. Certain to be referenced by many in the future. May I ask how often you carry one of your saw scouts? Have you found much use for the saw? Thanks for sharing with us! -James

 

[MT Damascus]

Didn't Schrade also make something similar? I've always thought they looked interesting, but never used one. What are they like Kris? :thumbup:

Schrade did make them too, Honesteel IIRC. They work quite well, O1 steel with a Chromium coating of sorts. The end has a bevel so it can be beat through bone if needed in the field, and the leather holder can be used as a strop, and doubles as a handle.

 

[Wardo46]

I have been keeping my eyes open at Gun Shows for one of the Remington R-4's. For a woods knife (for me) a saw is important, and I would rather have a can opener than a Philips head screwdriver. Thanks for showing all the different versions. John

JAL:

How do you use the saw on your woods knife?

 

[John A. Larsen]

Wardo46. To cut wood. Seriously it comes from my military days, when we would cut into hedge groves to make hide sites, normally at night. Very hard and noisy too, to try and chop your way into a hedge grove with a large knife, plus it tends to leave pointy ends that can stick you, hopefully not in your eye. Once using SAK saws and a couple of pruning shears we cut into a untrimmed nursery grove in Germany, trees about 25-30 feet high, branches all the way to the ground, cut paths and sleeping areas for 22 USAF Security Police, we were training and 10 of us, with hardly any noise. You could walk even at night down the paths we cut to the edge of the nursery to pull guard, no noise, no crashing thru branches, and because we did it right, the German Forest Meisters never got mad at us and turned us in to the OP4. I have also used them successfully to cut right angles into branches that were being used to make snares or dead falls. Making a fire, taking small branches, quick cut with a saw either all the way thru, or just enough to break the branch over the knee to make kindling. John

 

[swaybacksteve]

Buzzbait: Thank you for a pretty thorough tutorial on the sawblade scouts. I have recently been looking over the many scout knives that have been made by various companies. I have managed to get a Remington R4 and a Camillus C4...but totally not aware of the R4 that came with the special presentation goodies and that Sierra Club Camp knife. Luckily the first two are fairly easy to get and often in mint condition, anyone liking the scout patterns owe it to themselves to get one. I myself do like the phillips screwdriver blade...as an edc it is actually very useful for all the electronics that inhabit our world.

 

[Phil in Alabama]

I've got one of the Remington C4's , and it came with a straight edge instead of serrated. The knife dealer had a bunch of them at that time, so I looked at several knives to pick the one that I liked best. Some had the plain sheepfoot blade, some were serrated; I chose the plain edge model. The saw works alright, not near as good as the ones on some SAK's though.

 

[Buzzbait]

Didn't Schrade also make something similar? I've always thought they looked interesting, but never used one. What are they like Kris? :thumbup:

I just happen to have one of the old Shrade USA honesteels. They're awesome. Due to the relatively soft steel on most traditional pocketknives, I find that my edges often deform long before they dull. The honesteel does a good job at realigning the edge, without any removal of steel from the blade.

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