Um...What steel is the boot knife?

Z

zippy

Joined
Feb 2, 2005
Messages
20
Um...this maybe the wrong time to ask this,
with the stike and all, but
I recently bought four double edged Camillus boot knives,
and I was wondering what steel they were made of?

Whatever it is, it did seem a bit softer than other
knives I have dulled to make into trainers.

I like the pattern of these knives btw.

TIA,
Zippy
 
I think it is 420 hc but i did read in another thread that they were at one time 440 a or was it c?
 
What I read in the catalogs is 440A steel. As you can tell by my current avatar, I like the knife as well. I've already posted a pic or two here and there in the forum of my customized 77 with the black jet and mop handle.

Phil
 
Thank you for the replies so far. I was guessing 440A, or some type of 420.
But I am far from a steel expert.

In production knives, I have seen few (if any?) small knives with double
hand guards. So, I think Camillus has something in this pattern that few other production makers offer. It would be really nice to see an upgraded version in a better steel, like D2, or M2, and with a very nice handle (perhaps wood with tubing for a lanyard).

I suspect a good M2 version could take a very acute angle edge and hold
it without rolling. This would be a very good thing IMHO, as it would make shearing easier. The knife seems like it was born to stab and shear.

Too, a dedicated trainer would be nice, esp. for a knife so clearly a
fighter. I e-mailed Camillus to this effect several months ago, but to
no avail. I could be wrong, but I think people looking for a self-defense
style knife, also like to see a training version offered. I know I do.

My 2 cents FWIW (I actually know little about knives)
Thanks again,
Zippy
 
Textoothpx,

I fooled around and found a pic of your customized 77 with the white stripes.
A pretty variation on this knife.

As I said, I would like mine to have a fully checkered wooden handle (or the laminated diamond wood) with tubular attachments for a lanyard.

Btw, I like both versions of this knife, the large and small. I carried the smaller version for 6 months daily, and liked it pretty much as well as I liked
the larger version. I wish the smaller version had slightly wider handguards is all.

(As far as the better steel goes, I should have said Camillus's in house tool steel would be fine (!) I have a compeltion that causes me to stab empty cardboard boxes whenever I pass them. I find that this dulls my knife relatively quickly. Perhaps, I should seek "thurpy" ?)

Zippy
 
The thing with boot knives is... being double edged, they are illegal to carry, concealed or sometimes otherwise. They are made for stabbing, not much else. At one time, Camillus sold a great pair-- the 74 and 76, small and big singled edged boot knives. They were not simply dull on one side, whole different blade grind all together. I sold a bunch of them on ebay years ago, found a supply-- but neglected to keep one of each for myself.

A viable alternative to the small single-edge camillus is the Beretta 'Stampede' series boot knife, the model JK702A02. This has a 'real' edge on it, because the grind allows it to be so. It also has a small double guard (brass) and nice wood handles, and the lined wrist thong hole in the handle that you prefer. Pictured in the center of the attached photo.

Here's a few of my boot knives. Not something I seriously collect, but I like the 'lines' of a boot knife. The symetry of them.
The ones to the far right are all older Parker and Parker/Frost folding, singled edged boot knives. As you can see, I had a sheathmaker (and that is his screen name here on the forums-- he is Paul Long of Texas) make me a matching pair of sheaths--- one to carry the knife open, one to tote it closed. Paul is one of those leather workers who will eagerly take on the task of making your own personal sheath idea a reality. I gotta get around to having him make a nice sheath for that customized Camillus of mine.



00000bootknives.jpg
 
Nice collection Phil...thanks for sharing. :thumbup: :thumbup:

I really like the Camillus one customized by Santa Fe Stoneworks.

Bill
 
Yes, that is quite a collection ! Thanks for sharing.

I imagine legal limitations are an impediment to expanding a market for Camillus
in the bootknives. I hadn't thought of that. Fortunately, they are legal in my state, so I can carry them concealed.

The single edged versions are the ones shown on Camillus's website. I would be interested in those, if they were still available, for when traveling out of state. I sometimes go to Texas.

I will check out the Beretta. It looks very nice.

This could become addictive :)

Best,
Zippy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top