The Boy Scouts of America make more than just the iconic Boy Scout Knife!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Blade etch on the current BSA Deluxe Scout. Note the tang stamp.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Be forewarned that this is one of the few Chinese made Boy Scouts of America knives. After the demise of Camillus Cutlery, the Boy Scouts needed to find a new provider for their iconic knives. Bear & Sons eventually landed a contract to make some of the knives, however many including the BSA and Cub Scout utility knives were outsourced for manufacturing in China.

The factory making these knives was most likely the factory that Camillus was contracting with to make "globals" when they went bankrupt. (Yes like many USA companies, Camillus was also going global in an attempt to survive!)

Besides the iconic utility knives several boy scout knives were outsourced to China, Among the outsourced knives were the whittler, lock-back and this knife, Deluxe five blade scout knife.

As the Boy Scouts of America obviously attracts a more patriotic, USA only crowd, I thought it was important to mention these knives are made in China. In fact many items sold in a BSA store are made somewhere other than the United States. They need to do this in order to keep costs down and provide the best possible quality for the lowest price. They hate selling non USA made products as much as you hate buying non-USA made products.

So much for the politics of the knife. Let's talk Fit & Finish!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The BSA Deluxe with tray style box.  The Eagle/Scout shield is very crisp and clean.

-------------------------------------------------------

The BSA took special steps to make sure the quality of the imported knives was up to standards of previously made USA made brands.

If you can get over the place of manufacture, you'll find this to be terrific scout/utility knife. As a collector of official Boy Scouts of America pocket knives, I was able to compare the several Chinese made official BSA knives with similar USA made knives manufactured by Camillus, Imperial and Ulster.

The knife is well made and in the same manner as former US made models.   The Deluxe knife adds a third layer to the standard utility knife which means it is a slightly thicker than the standard utility knife. Looking at the spine of the knife you will notice the knife has three back springs sandwiched between brass liners with each spring also separated by brass spacers.  The handles sport very nice looking pinned on brown jigged bone handles and nickel silver bolsters.  The pins, like the liners are brass.  The fit and finish of the knife is quite nice with flush pins and well fitted bolsters, springs, and spacers.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The closed blades and the spine of the knife. Scale thickness doesn't vary from obverse to reverse.  Spacer and springs are flush.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For those who need to do the light test – the answer is yes.  If you open all the blades up and hold the open knife up to the light you’ll see a little light shine through the gaps.  It is no worse than the light you’ll see on a Case knife.

The knife features a 2.5 inch spear master operating on its own center mounted back spring.   The blade is razor sharp right out of the box!  The etching on the blade is well defined and easy to read. The Boy Scouts have required that the knife blades on their knife be made of a 440a grade Stainless Steel or a stainless steel of a similar grade and quality for several years. They will not accept a better or lower quality steel for their Official knives. (This does not apply to presentation knives or commemoratives.) The only exception to this is the Victorinox made knives.

 Other tools include a can opener and punch/awl as the first layer and a cap-lifter/flathead screwdriver and small Phillips screwdriver as the back layer (More on the Phillips, later) . The spacers between the springs add enough room to prevent blade rub. The only real differences in the Chinese made knives are the use bone for the scales instead of the less expensive Delrin that was used on the last of the USA made knives and the tang stamp.

The Deluxe model is an interesting pattern and while it has been around for some time it was never as popular as the standard utility knife. The principle differences in the Deluxe models are the inclusion of a small in-line Phillips screwdriver and the lack of a bail (lanyard shackle). While the screwdriver doesn't lock in place it is held firmly with a strong back spring.  Still I’ve always liked Phillips screwdrivers that are end mounted.  If you are familiar with Swiss Army Knives, you might be aware that they also offer a few end mounted Phillips screwdrivers in some patterns. The one on the Swiss Army knives tend to be slightly thicker than the one on the BSA Deluxe.  Still both knives will fit many different sizes of Phillips heads screws. However, like any knife mounted screwdrivers, the screwdriver will not be as good as traditional Phillips screwdriver.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Obverse side, showing front punch and can opener.  Note the brass liners. and the color of the bone scales.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My only real complaint about the Deluxe BSA knife is the complaint I’ve always had.   I wish it had a bail.

So much for the way it look -- what about functionality?

Walk & Talk, Stay & Play is the same as any of the USA made Boy Scout knives I own or have owned in the past.  If you assumed the quality would be lacking in the Chinese made knives, you have assumed incorrectly. I know this is hard for some knife collectors to accept this, but the Boy Scout Organization tried hard to make sure the quality of the imported knives was the same as the previously made USA made knives and they succeeded in doing so.

Anyway the current BSA offering of the Deluxe is an excellent knife, very well made and definitely worth the $25-40 you'll pay for it. Of course if you refuse to buy a knife in China, you'll need to wait a while and keep your fingers crossed. My sources cannot confirm if the Bear & Sons contract will include this or the other utility knives and the BSA has no plans at this time to purchase USA scout/utilities until their current stock-pile of quality made Chinese knives is exhausted.

In the end, if you collect BSA knives, then you really need to add the Chinese made knives to your collection in order for your collection to be complete. And if you were weary of buying this knife because you doubt the quality of a knife made in China, then this knife might change that perception.

Of course if you flat out refuse to buy a knife made in China, I can respect your opinion. After all, I've also been there. But you need to be aware that currently the BSA doesn't have plans to produce any new knives in the utility patterns until their China stock is exhausted and Bear & Son is not currently contracted to produce these patterns for the Boy Scout.  The China made BSA knives are destined to be here for some time.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The reverse side of the knife. with the cap lifter and screwdrivers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*   Spring gap light --I don’t put much stock in the gap light test when it comes to a new knife.  I could easily smear a little epoxy over the spine and then sand off the excess on my crappiest knife and the biggest gap would disappear.  I feel the gap light is more important when dealing with older knives.   I would think twice about buying an older Case knife with more gap light than a current production model. It is also handy in determining if your EDC knife is aging well. (For instance if there was very little light showing when you bought the knife but after a couple months of usage you see more light showing through, then the pins may be loosening.)  Obviously, I'm not going to buy a knife with huge visible gaps but I'm also not going to pass up a solid knife that has small amounts of light passing through otherwise unseen gaps.  Just my opinion.