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Thrift store find!

Finally a new, (to me), knife to report, a genuine Camillus TL-29 found at one of my honey hole local thrift stores. Hardwood handle, stamped with the model number and in pretty good condition, (shown as found, uncleaned). Glad to be collecting again, at least for the time being.. They were having a half off sale today so I got out the door for under $10, not too bad for a Tuesday. Anyone have an idea of it's age?

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Comment by Jan Carter on July 14, 2019 at 15:16: Syd,

Good to see you out and about and checking those thrift stores again. Like JJ, I don't look as often as I should just because there is rarely anything in the thrift stores. I do watch the tables at estate and garage sales, never know when your just going to get lucky :)

Comment by Syd Carr on July 13, 2019 at 15:14: Surprisingly I have had occasional good luck at finding collectible knives around here. I found the BSA Folding Hunter I posted in a previous blog post at the same place I found this TL-29, so I check that place whenever I'm in the neighborhood. They also had a nice black SAK in the same showcase as the TL-29, but were asking a bit too much for it in my view so I passed on that one. I also recently ran across three Colonial fish knives all together at another local thrift, the point being you never find if you don't take the time to look. I've done reasonably well at local yard sales too, having found a Robeson Barlow at one and a Camillus #96 Marlin Spike at another. Local antique shops here often have collectible knives too, but those are usually priced higher than I want to pay. I'm just happy to have what I have, more to pass on in the family and each with it's own story.

Comment by J.J. Smith III on July 13, 2019 at 2:09: Doing good, Syd. Only things in thrift stores, around here, is junk.

Comment by Syd Carr on July 12, 2019 at 23:45: Update. I remember now that Tobias told me once that Camillus Electrician's Knives with TL-29 stamped on the handles were military issues. According to one source on the Camillus Collectors FB group, CC stopped using wood on the handles around 1951, and started using Phenolic handles after that, but according to him the tang stamp on mine looks to him to be from a later period, (60's-70's). Of course I want to think it is an earlier version, but who to believe? Perhaps Tobias can check the photos and pipe in with his opinion, (an opinion I trust BTW).

I also got a good mail call today, snagged a Buck #315 Yachtsman nautical knife off of ebay for a really good price. It was one of those listings that featured all the faults of the knife, so most collectors just ignored it. I saw the knife's potential and I got it for under $30, which is a great price for this model in any condition. It has some rust on the spring, and some patina & dings on the bolsters & blade, but the blade is near full and the handles, though having obvious pocket wear, are also crack free and in otherwise good condition. That's why it pays to know what you are looking at when collecting on ebay. I knew the knife would clean up very nicely so I took a chance and won the auction for a pittance. I'll take some before photos tomorrow, and will post those here when I do. After that I will either clean it up myself or send it back to Buck for one of their famous spa treatments. The example of this model I currently have in my 300 Series collection is in far worse shape than this one, so this "new" one will fill that slot in the collection quite nicely. Stay tuned for those photos.

Well, two new collectible knives in as many weeks makes me actually fell like a collector again, so live is good!