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Modoc ED wrote:Camillus didn't copy Buck. Camillus made many of the early Buck slipjoints.
Would it be more accurate to say that Camillus copied the design they had previously made for Buck? There are design features intended to reinforce the brand identity and then to imitate that closely enough to "encourage" sales to those with a predilection for the Buck product rather than the usual Camillus jigged bone or plastic handle product is, to my way of thinking "copying Buck".
As to telling who made what as Fred mentioned above, now that would be interesting. I'd have to see if I could tell on any of the Buck knives I might still have.
Sincerely,
Hobie
"We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find in our travels is an honest friend." Robert Louis Stevenson
There is a fellow at www.allaboutpocketknives.com that goes by the user name "300Bucks". He is THE AUTHORITY on Buck 300 series knives. You might contact him.
Quite a few companies (such as Buck) that got into the slipjoint knife game looked around and picked a particular knife they liked being made by another company (such as Camillus) and had that company make that knife for them but with their name on it. It was and still is a common practice.
Many companies make knives that are badged with another company's name (i.e., Great Eastern Cutlery (GEC) made knives with the Bulldog Brand tang tamp etc.).
The Camillus is almost an exact copy of an old Old Timer I have, even down to the serrated edge on the sheepsfoot blade.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
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D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
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D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
Here is a larger picture to see the Old Timer a little better.
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D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
About 20 years ago I worked for a security company that had the contract at Camillus. I got the opportunity to work there a couple times and walked the whole plant. It was like going back in time, they never really "modernized" all that much. It was very neat, pathways worn in the wood floors from the feet of the dedicated employees, carefully organized work stations with tools worn to the nub and finger grooves worn in the handles, the smell of the oil and steel from a hundred years was wonderful. I'm glad I was able to see it and it is a shame that it is no more.
Welcome Dan, thanks for the info and insight - I bought my first one, a Model 51 in the 50s. Subsequently stolen in Davenport, Ia across the street from the Quality Inn where I worked in while I went to Chiropractic college there. Last year I finally got an exact replacement. Certainly would like to have seen what you saw there.
In the High Desert of Southern Calif. ..."on the cutting edge of going back in time"...
Queen Cutlery Titusville has held on with specialty knives - they make their line of Schatt Morgan knives, the Moore Maker limited edition knives, and Great Eastern knives (Tidoute Cutlery)
not quite the blue collar knives they once made.
My blue collar knives include some nice old Soligen-made hardware store knives, including Shapleighs, Simmons, and HSB&Co
Dan May wrote:About 20 years ago I worked for a security company that had the contract at Camillus. I got the opportunity to work there a couple times and walked the whole plant. It was like going back in time, they never really "modernized" all that much. It was very neat, pathways worn in the wood floors from the feet of the dedicated employees, carefully organized work stations with tools worn to the nub and finger grooves worn in the handles, the smell of the oil and steel from a hundred years was wonderful. I'm glad I was able to see it and it is a shame that it is no more.
Welcome Dan !!
Your post fits right in with what I've heard , read , and believe to be true about the downfall of Camillus Cutlery.
It was not that the greedy steel workers wanted to keep their pay over the ten - eleven dollar mark , it was the grand kids of the original owners that just kept any profits for themselves and refused to upgrade machinery or re-invest the money back into the company in any way.
Wish I had the opportunity to walk the floors there just once .
The stone building is still there . The factory building is gone now.
Our neighbor's wife growing up worked at the factory for years. She used to bring home seconds that didn't make the quality control cut and shared a few with me and my dad. He carried a little wood scaled lockback that had a broken tip for many years. He reshaped the tip and sharpened it, it was an awesome knife and I still have it. It is just as tight today as the day it was made.
Some of the best trout fishing in the area is right across the street from the factory in Nine Mile Creek.
Modoc ED wrote:Camillus didn't copy Buck. Camillus made many of the early Buck slipjoints.
being born, raised and in Camillus, NY...and having friends and relatives work at Camillus Cutlery
I know for a fact that they made knives for Buck and allot of other folks too... :)
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You can also read some of that history on the Blade Magazine Camillus collectors section. I like the steels they used as well as the knives themselves. Sad they are gone.
In the High Desert of Southern Calif. ..."on the cutting edge of going back in time"...
30wcf was kind enough to send me the Camillus US knife and 1894 sent me the Bird knife also a very kind gesture during my recovery. Both much appreciated.
In the High Desert of Southern Calif. ..."on the cutting edge of going back in time"...