I have camillus 884 that hoffritz kn the blade and swords

The Camillus Cutlery Company was one of the oldest knife manufacturers in the United States with roots dating back to 1876. The company manufactured Camillus branded knives and was a prolific contractor for other knife brands up until its last days in 2007 when the company filed for bankruptcy.
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Lakelife
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I have camillus 884 that hoffritz kn the blade and swords

Post by Lakelife »

I have camillus 884 with hoffritz on blade and small swords . I looked up hoffritz and see a bunch of knives with hoffritz on them. It has light colored wood . My other new 884 has very dark wood ? How can you date these knives ? My 45-70 knife probably 1991 . On the one box it has numbers 110 02211. So I'm guessing with all my knives I got from dad the range 1983 to 2005 . I'm going to guess 90's kn the 884's
Any ideas?
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Mumbleypeg
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Re: I have camillus 884 that hoffritz kn the blade and swords

Post by Mumbleypeg »

Hoffritz was a retailer and importer of cutlery. They had stores in some shopping malls and sold knives made by numerous makers, some stamped or etched with the Hoffritz name on them. Like a special factory order.

Do a search here on AAPK for Hoffritz to find more examples.

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cody6268
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Re: I have camillus 884 that hoffritz kn the blade and swords

Post by cody6268 »

Gotta be the first Camillus I have seen with Hoffritz on it. Most I've seen were Swiss Army Knives.
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Eye Brand Man
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Re: I have camillus 884 that hoffritz kn the blade and swords

Post by Eye Brand Man »

I have seen Schrade 25OT and other Schrades with the Hoffritz etch as well as many German made fixed blades.
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Lakelife
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Re: I have camillus 884 that hoffritz kn the blade and swords

Post by Lakelife »

::tu:: thank you guys I appreciate your help
kootenay joe
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Re: I have camillus 884 that hoffritz kn the blade and swords

Post by kootenay joe »

The wood handled Camillus knives 881 to 887 (or 886 ?) were called the "Woodcraft Series". There were 2 'runs' a couple of years apart. The first series is considered more desirable, has handle pins. The second run had glued on handles. Came out in late 1980's or early 1990's.
kj
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Lakelife
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Re: I have camillus 884 that hoffritz kn the blade and swords

Post by Lakelife »

::tu:: thank you
Vit_213
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Re: I have camillus 884 that hoffritz kn the blade and swords

Post by Vit_213 »

kootenay joe wrote:The first series is considered more desirable, has handle pins. The second run had glued on handles.
The opposite is true.
The Woodcraft series (#881-887) was produced approximately from 1988 to 1999 (excluding #885). The first run had handles without pins and crossed swords tang stamp (perhaps the #887 is an exception, since I have never seen it with crossed swords tang stamp). In 1990-1991, pins appeared and crossed swords were replaced with a standard tang stamp. In my opinion, the knife shown in the first photo is a transitional model made just during this period.
By the way, welcome to my site http://www.camillusknives.ru :wink:
kootenay joe
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Re: I have camillus 884 that hoffritz kn the blade and swords

Post by kootenay joe »

It was Phil Gibbs who told me handle pins were first and the more desirable. Maybe the information you have became 'mixed up' when translated ?
kj
Edit: if someone here is also a BF member a search of "Woodcraft" in either the Traditional forum or the BRL forum you might be able to find the post by Phil Gibbs, the former 'manager' at Camillus.
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Re: I have camillus 884 that hoffritz kn the blade and swords

Post by Vit_213 »

I talk with Phil in the forums and via e-mail for many years and appreciate his knowledge, but he is the same person as all of us, and could also 'mixed up' something. It is enough to compare the catalogs of 1990 and 1992 (and later), and then read the last page of 1991, then you can have your own opinion on this. 8) :mrgreen:
Catalogs can be viewed here http://www.collectors-of-camillus.us/Ca ... talogs.htm
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