Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on June 15, 2015 at 20:48

I agree Syd!  Focus on those 35 or so.  Thats not too many and should be fun to find

Permalink Reply by Syd Carr on June 15, 2015 at 21:19

I just passed up a Schrade-made 301 on feebay that had no model stamp, (60's), and had brass handle pins. Those made by Schrade also had a distinctive shape(s) to the master blade, so that's another one of the "tells" of just who made it. It quickly went over $50, so my budget just wouldn't allow me to keep bidding on it. Maybe another will show up one of these days. There are guys out there who have all or most of the variations, but that's after years of targeted collecting. I'll just confine myself to the Camillus-made, and keep my eye open for the occasional "variant".

Jan Carter said:

I agree Syd!  Focus on those 35 or so.  Thats not too many and should be fun to find

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on June 17, 2015 at 20:39

Darn!  But one will show up within your budget, half the fun is in the search

Permalink Reply by Syd Carr on June 17, 2015 at 21:49

It's hard with ebay just a mouse click away. The ones I need to find now are also the most expensive, (315 Marlin Spike, 317 Trail Blazer, 321 Bird Knife). I got REALLY lucky and found both my 307 & the 301 on the bay at better than swap meet prices, but you have to be constantly looking & comparing to find a good deal, and then be Johnny-on-the-spot to snap them up before someone else does, (you also have to know what you are looking at to avoid getting hosed). It's like having a bowl of your favorite candy at your fingertips, but disciplining yourself to NOT eat any; it's tortuous.

I don't expect to find each and every Camillus-made 300 series knife ever made either, but I'm trying to get the basic "set" shown in the catalog photo above. They also made model numbers few of us have ever seen, or even heard of, like models 302, 310, or a 314 Trapper, (Camillus made those too). Those are harder to find, plus there were other special order models available that are almost never seen. That's why it would take years to get all 35+ Camillus-made knives, some had very low production runs. 300bucks, and a couple of other fanatical Buck collectors over on AAPK do have all of them, I can only ever hope to collect the basic set. If it weren't for guys like that we wouldn't even know about some of those seldom seen Bucks.

Jan Carter said:

Darn!  But one will show up within your budget, half the fun is in the search

Permalink Reply by David L. Packham on June 18, 2015 at 11:35

Syd, your post from the catalog is -awesome- . Brings back memories

Syd Carr said:

This thread could use a boost, and I have some 300 series to show, so here goes.

I'm working on obtaining all of the Camillus-made 300 series knives, including all the different versions, (there are three or four versions of each model believe it or not), but this is what I have so far. All but two of these were made by Camillus, except the two on the ends, (305 & 309 both Buck-made, still seeking Camillus-made versions of those). I've had the 313 Muskrat the longest, having purchased it new in the mid 70's. The others I picked up here and there, mostly on ebay, but a few came from swaps/yard sales. The 313 has been my favorite fishing knife since I bought it, so I have used it the most. Currently I rotate all of these as EDC knives, but I would have to say that the 311 & 307 are my faves of the group, (but I do like the 301 & 313 a lot too). All of the Camillus-made in this photo have carbon springs, so those are most likely pre 1980 knives, some as early as 1972. I'm always looking for my next 300 series, and I have a Camillus-made 319 Rancher coming soon, I'll post a pic of that one when it arrives.

I'll also post a pic that I use for inspiration while I'm looking for these, an old catalog page of the 300 series. After I finish collecting the Camillus versions, I'll start looking for the Schrade-made versions. So, the search continues.....

From left to right: 305, 311, 313, 307, 301, 303, 309

Permalink Reply by Syd Carr on June 18, 2015 at 13:46

300bucks on AAPK posted that photo on a thread of mine on AAPK, he also gave me the spreadsheet I attached earlier of his 300 series historical data. Any thanks for this info should go to 300bucks, he and a couple of others did all of the leg work of researching this series, I for one appreciate their work, and I hope you do too. I kick myself each day for not buying one each of these models when they were new.....if we only knew then what we know today. I think I'll invite him to join us here on IKC, we would all benefit from his experience and knowledge.

I still have a few models to find to have one of each of those pictured, but I'm getting there. I look forward to being able to hand down a full set of 300 series Bucks to my grandson.

David L. Packham said:

Syd, your post from the catalog is -awesome- . Brings back memories

Permalink Reply by Syd Carr on July 8, 2015 at 23:30

This one truly is my favorite 300, (at least at the moment), a kinda rare #322 Congress, (Camillus-made for SMKW in '95). Recently obtained to go with the collection above. I described it in a post on the Congress Group here if you're interested in the history. Already had an appropriate genuine Buck sheath to put it in, so it's now my daily companion. It's in great condition and fits my hand well, I suspect it will be one of my favorite EDC's for some time to come.....nuthin' fancy, just a cool, very well made knife, likin' it a LOT!

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on July 9, 2015 at 9:15

LOL Nothing fancy.  I love that Syd.  A 20 year old knife in fantastic shape and going to work everyday!  I call that something special, even if not fancy

Permalink Reply by Syd Carr on July 9, 2015 at 12:54

Hi Jan. Not fancy in that it has no etching, scrolling, or anything custom, just a plain 'ol pocket knife....but a very cool pocket knife. I won't be able to buy any more knives for a while because I blew my budget on this one, but that's ok. I was amazed to find it in the first place, it was like no one else even noticed it but me. The probability of my finding another is pretty slim, so I thought I better grab it while I could; I'm oh so glad that I did.

Jan Carter said:

LOL Nothing fancy.  I love that Syd.  A 20 year old knife in fantastic shape and going to work everyday!  I call that something special, even if not fancy

Permalink Reply by Syd Carr on August 31, 2015 at 18:10

Today's favorite, a #317 Trail Blazer, anonymously gifted to me today to help me in my quest for one of each of the Camillus-made 300 series. That leaves me just two models left to complete a basic set of that series, #315 Yachtsman, & #321 Bird Knife. This appears to be a pre-1980 knife as it has "patina" on the springs, (indicates carbon springs which were phased out by 1980). 5 1/4" closed, a big handful of a knife....lovin' it!

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on August 31, 2015 at 18:39

WOOOHOOO!  Score from a wonderfully anonymous person!  Seriously nice addition to the quest!

Permalink Reply by Syd Carr on August 31, 2015 at 19:30

You betcha Jan, definitely a score. It would have been months or even years before I could squirrel away the funds to buy one of these nowadays. They routinely go for $70-$80 and much more on the ether, so it is a very nice gift.......from a person I have never even met in person, one I only conversed with online a few times. It's an indication of the caliber of persons who reside on these various knife collector forums. That makes it more than just another knife to me.

Jan Carter said:

WOOOHOOO!  Score from a wonderfully anonymous person!  Seriously nice addition to the quest!

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