Why does Camillus gets a bad rap?

[LDF Knives]

Have been pondering about this, for a while, the Knife making company Camillus, under contract with many companies over the decades and they Made it right here in The U S A! What I've learned they made for some examples, Remington's, Crosman's, other reproductions for well known named Knife Companies? Even Case's! Maybe I'm not well informed enough of what materials they use? I'm pretty sure they don't use anything from China? pre 2000 or even before that. Fill me in!

[doglegg]

LDF, I have always been kind of partial to Camillus knives. But then again I drive a Subaru and not a Land Rover. I think of them as the everyman knife, nothing too fancy but great to slip into your pocket. They never seem to have the SVBD19k897 steel or the Himalayan goat horn handles but mostly just old serviceable Delrin (I do have a few with wonderful bone handles though). I respect the company president but I always make sure I know the janitors name. Great serviceable knives.

[RobesonsRme.com]

The Kastor Brothers obtained the old Sherwood/Bingham cutlery works in Camillus, New York, from Millard Robeson circa 1900. From just about that point forward, they made knives for dozens of local or regional hardware firms as well as several brand name cutlery companies.

There are hundreds of thousands of Camillus made knives in knife collections and the collectors are generally unaware of what they have.

During WWII, I suspect Camillus made more knives for the U.S. Government than any other cutlery.

It is a crying shame they could not survive.

Charlie Noyes

[eveled]

The only problem I have with Camillus is them going out of business. That was a sad day.

I wish a company like Buck could have stepped in and made an intervention of some sort. To save the legacy.

[hardman]

I like Camillus knives. I wish the brand was still produced in New York. They made a sturdy as heck Rigger's Knife w/marlinspike for themselves and for Case. They made some real nice Remington reproductions for the post-1982 Bullet Knives. And, the Camillus Classic Cartridge Series were a favorite collecting target for me during the 1990's. The later were very similar to the Remington Reproductions but featured genuine bone handles instead of Delrin. There was also a nice Firefighter series. I often carry a Camillus Lockback (similar to a Buck 110) in the field. Camillus made some great Scout/Utility knives, too. (Some with a Case badge.) And, while I don't own any, their Yellow Delrin (Yellow Jacket?) knives always warranted a second look.

Camillus USA knives don't get a bad rap from me. As was stated above, the only problem I have with them is that they went out of business. I even understand their old factory burned to the ground a few years after their bankruptcy.

[Steve Warden]

Any examples of these "bad raps"? I don't recall hearing any.*
I have a Camillus 179 my sister-in-law gave me back in the late 80s.
Great knife. I have no qualms about slipping it into my pocket at any time.

*But then again, I don't read every single post on this site.

[Doc B]

I agree, I don't really recall Camillus "Getting a bad rap". I've always thought of them as a well-made, decent knife at an affordable price. Although I have a couple of older ones, with bone...it seems the majority were made with Delrin.

[carrmillus]

..my grandfather thought the sun rose and went down on CAMILLUS, he would never carry anything but a CAMILLUS, and that's why I'm such a fan of them!!!...I would give anything if I had one of the ones he carried!!...... ........

[edge213]

I agree with what others are saying.
Where does American made Camillus get a bad rap?

[KLJ77]

I have several GREAT Camillus knives...one of which is the 80's riggers knife w/marlin spike. The others I have, I've carried as EDC's and they always performed in an exquisite manner to the tasks given. Even today, I would not shy away from a Camillus branded knife, depending on what I desired. I've never heard of any modern day Camillus branded knife being of poor quality. If there is, I've never come across one. During my Navy days, I sold many Camillus "U.S." silver/SS knives through the ships store for $5.00 / knife. Usually ran out within a week when we got them in.

[orvet]

15 years or so ago there was a group of pocket knife Enthusiast to met at a used tool store here in Salem Oregon. The fellow name Tedrow what's the local knife repair men who repaired knives for most of the guys who sold at the gun shows. He could take an old beat-up knife and make it look shiny by buffing The Living Daylights out of it. But that was what sold at the time, and that's what the guys paid money for.

One day while we were drinking coffee, eating Donuts and passing around knives I passed around a really nice Camillus. The response was "Oh, that is nice." And kind of brushed It Off. The next knife that came around was a Case version of TL-29. At this the conversation stopped the guys were oohing and awing over the Case TL-29.
they were going on and on about how much better a knife the Case was and how it was a real knife as compared to the Camillus.
I said, "isn't that amazing that is so much better quality but it came from the fence same Factory and was made by the same hands is that Camillus."

They were kind of at a loss for words after that.

[Mumbleypeg]

Nothing but respect for Camillus here. They made some fine knives, and no bad ones that I’m aware of. It’s a real shame they’re out of business.

I see two significant differences between Camillus and Case, neither related to the quality of the knives. In hindsight, Case made two significant decisions that made the difference between staying relative, and going out of business. When others dropped or significantly reduced the use of natural materials (bone, stag, etc.) in favor of Delrin, Case continued using those natural materials. They used Delrin too, but as an alternate, not their primary line. And Case was probably the first to recognize and capitalize on the collector market, catering to what interested collectors. Those are major reasons Case is successful today.

Camillus catered to collectors also but in a different way, by making reproductions for Remington for example. Those were quality knives, arguably better than what Case was producing at that time. But most at the time didn’t know they were made by Camillus. In fact the paperwork shipped with those knives referred customers to Remington. Camillus didn’t get the brand name credit and recognition.

JMO

Ken

[Modern Slip Joints]

First, I enjoy my little collection of Camillus and Camillus made Remington knives and have carried a couple of the Remingtons more than other knives the last few years. However, I do not even want to look at the very inexpensive Camillus knives Wal-Mart sells. There is a good chance that they are from China but, like I wrote, I have not looked at the packaging. Is the original poster asking why the old U.S. made Camillus knives get a bad rap or is he asking why the current Camillus knives get a bad rap?

[RobesonsRme.com]

I took the original post to be a reference to the apparent lack of enthusiasm in collecting Camillus as a brand name collection.

I see them in pattern collections and handle material collections and they had a master cutler that did unbelievable file work on the backsprings of pearl handled knives for multiple companies.

But, I do not believe I have ever seen a collection displayed as purely Camillus.

Doesn't mean there hasn't been such, just that I've never seen one and I've been to a lot of knife shows.

Charlie Noyes

[Steve Warden]

My 179 I mentioned. In my pocket as I type.

[New_Windsor_NY]

Why isn't this posted in the Camillus forum?

[bighomer]

Well I like'm, got one in the mail somewhere.

[KLJ77]

Why isn't this posted in the Camillus forum?

Maybe because it also meets the criteria of "General Knife Discussion". Just because the name "Camillus" is in the title and Camillus is the main topic, doesn't mean it "has" to be in the Camillus forum...does it? I mean...the OP obviously wanted exposure for his question, and it appears he got just that by posting it in this forum. I don't see the issue.

There are tons of topics that have been posted in various different forums and cussed & discussed that could be brought into 'question'. I get that there are 'specific' forums for 'specific' knives, topics, discussions, etc., etc., but is it a major issue? I don't see it...and it's nothing to really get a headache over.

Just sayin...

[Steve Warden]

Why isn't this posted in the Camillus forum?

Maybe because it also meets the criteria of "General Knife Discussion". Just because the name "Camillus" is in the title and Camillus is the main topic, doesn't mean it "has" to be in the Camillus forum...does it? I mean...the OP obviously wanted exposure for his question, and it appears he got just that by posting it in this forum. I don't see the issue.

There are tons of topics that have been posted in various different forums and cussed & discussed that could be brought into 'question'. I get that there are 'specific' forums for 'specific' knives, topics, discussions, etc., etc., but is it a major issue? I don't see it...and it's nothing to really get a headache over.

Just sayin...

I agree.
Nothing to get one's knickers in a knot.

[Gunsil]

I think the knives made by Camillus before WW 1 were made as well as any knife made in America at the time, they are gorgeous knives albeit hard to find in good collectible condition these days. Camillus went under due to management refusing to meet the demands of it's union employees. Case is just hanging on by a thread, they are not making a lot of money. Camillus did suffer after WW2 as their quality post war was not as good as their pre-war knives. I should have said not as well made as their pre WW2 knives, and most companies had the same problem. Here in the northeast those early Camillus knives are highly sought after, probably more so than Case knives. I have carried those Camillus Mil-K utility knives, they are not so great, wore them out in about two years but that is about all they were meant to last, one tour of duty. If any of you ever get to Camillus, NY there is a knife shop there with a fantastic collection of early Camillus knives on display and you can see some really fine knives there. The old factory still stands although it has been converted into apartments. Dunno why the photos are upside down, click to get them properly oriented.

[Steve Warden]

uhh.... Jerry?

[jerryd6818]

uhh.... Jerry?

Yes dear. (mumble grumble not doing anything here that anyone else couldn't do)

[TPK]

Thanks Jerry!

[Waukonda]

I very seldom see any pre WW2 Camillus, I agree that they are very well made knives.

On the other hand, here is a Camillus Barlow from the 60s with Delrin handles, and it is absolutely priceless....to me. This is the knife that my Dad carried for the last several years of his life.

[Steve Warden]

Thanks Jerry