Camillus Cutlery Company

Adolph Kastor

The 14-year-old Adolph Kastor (1856–1946), son of a Jewish family from Wattenheim, Germany, immigrated to New York in 1870[1] where he started to work for his uncle Aaron Kastor in his hardware supply business, Bodenheim, Meyer & Company. He was first put in charge of cow chains but gradually worked his way up to the firearms and cutlery department.

In 1873, Bodenheim, Meyer & Company lost one of its founders and restructured as Meyer & Kastor. Due to poor sales figures, Meyer & Kastor had to close doors in September 1876. Only a few weeks later, Adolph Kastor started his own company, Adolph Kastor & Bros. on Canal Street in New York City, where he imported and distributed German-made knives.[2]

In 1897, when the Dingley Tariff was enacted, the knives became too expensive to import. The only solution Kastor saw was to manufacture knives domestically. Eventually, his search led him to Charles Sherwood and his small knife manufacturing business in Camillus.

With Adolph Kastor in the driver’s seat, the company started to expand. They bought new machinery, such as steam driven drop forge hammers and fly presses and they adopted new techniques, like using alumina grinding wheels. By 1910, the Camillus Cutlery Company was producing close to a million knives a year and had about 200 employees,[3] many of them German immigrants. The company even built a dormitory to house its German workers.

During World War I, Camillus shifted production to support the Allied forces. The company also manufactured marlinspikes, surgical scalpels, and a folding knife/spoon combination for the Red Cross in those years.

In the 1920s, the knife manufacturer introduced stainless steel to its production, and started making collectible character knives, which honored famous people such as George Washington,[4] Babe Ruth,[5] and Buck Rogers. It also began manufacturing private label products for Sears, Craftsman, Woolworth and many others.

USMC KA-BAR Fighting Utility Knife

During World War II, Camillus shipped more than 13 million knives of various styles to the Allied troops.[6] In 1942, U.S. Marine Corps officers Colonel John M. Davis and Major Howard E. America working in conjunction with cutlery technicians at Camillus developed the KA-BAR Fighting Utility Knife.[7] After extensive trials, the KA-BAR prototype was recommended for adoption, and Camillus was awarded the first contract to produce the KA-BAR for the Marine Corps.[7] Camillus made more KA-BARs than any other knife manufacturer producing the model during World War II.[7] During the war, Camillus also made the M3 fighting knives, the M4 bayonets and many other utility knives for U.S. forces, including machetes, multi-blade utility knives, TL-29 Signal Corps pocket knives for signalmen, electrician's mates, and linesmen, and combination knife/marlinspike pocket knives for use by the U.S. Navy in cutting and splicing lines.

Camillus pilot Survival Knife

After World War II, Camillus was quick to shift back to civilian production. It introduced many new products, and in 1947, Camillus began manufacturing a full line of official folding knives for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).[8]

During the Vietnam War, Camillus again manufactured a large number of knives for the armed forces, for instance a pilot survival knife, a USMC KA-BAR combat knife and a four bladed utility knife. After the Vietnam War, the company continued its growth by adding more new pieces to their already wide product range. In the 1960s, Camillus was sold to the Baer family of New York City.[9]

In 1991, Camillus acquired Western Cutlery Company.[10] This Boulder, Colorado company had been making knives since 1896.[11]

In 2001, Camillus collaborated with custom Knifemaker Jerry Fisk, the only Knifemaker to be declared a Living National Treasure, to produce a Bowie knife.[12] That same year, Camillus began a partnership with custom Knifemaker Darryl Ralph to produce a line of titanium framed tactical folding knives.[12]