owner acme united corporation website camillus home the camillus cutlery company was one of the oldest knife manufacturers in the united states as its roots date back to 1876 . the company produced millions of knives until it filed for bankruptcy in 2007 due to fierce overseas competition . its brand name and intellectual property rights were purchased by acme united corporation which re launched the camillus brand in may 2009 . contents 1 history 1.1 adolph kastor 1.2 1902 1913 1.3 1914 1945 1.4 1946 2005 2 bankruptcy 3 camillus as acme united brand 4 references 5 external links history edit adolph kastor edit 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 . 1902 1913 edit 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 . 1914 1945 edit 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 . 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 what would become the usmc 1219c2 combat knife otherwise known as the usmc mark 2 combat knife or fighting utility knife . 7 after extensive trials the 1219c2 prototype was recommended for adoption and camillus was awarded the first contract to produce the 1219c2 for the marine corps . 7 camillus made more 1219c2 mark 2 fighting utility knives than any other knife manufacturer producing the model during world war ii . 7 during the war camillus also made many other fighting and 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 . 1946 2005 edit 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 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 bankruptcy edit the camillus cutlery factory in the village of camillus new york c. 2006 . since the turn of the century camillus cutlery saw its revenue decline due to stiff overseas competition and alleged poor management practices . as a result employees implemented a four day workweek after the normal factory shutdown at christmas 2005 . a few months later camillus management proposed large wage and benefit cuts . workers didn t agree and the company was subject to a months long strike . in response management locked the workers out for several months . 13 14 in november 2006 the striking employees ultimately accepted the original contract offer 15 but the company only retained 15 of the 78 union members and laid off the rest . the lock out ultimately took its toll on camillus as customers dried up and the company subsequently filed for bankruptcy and closed its doors on february 28 2007 . 16 on september 18 2007 the product brand names and intellectual property of the company were acquired by acme united corporation in a bankruptcy auction for 200 000 . 17 after the bankruptcy the original camillus factory remained empty until it was partly destroyed by fire on february 11 2013 . 18 the buildings were undergoing conversion to medical offices when a spark caught one of the walls on fire . camillus as acme united brand edit in may 2009 acme united re launched camillus at the 2009 national hardware show in las vegas . 19 the traditional camillus knives were almost entirely replaced by new modern knives with durable handles and titanium carbonitride bonded blades . 20 in december 2011 acme united signed an agreement with les stroud to build and sell camillus survival knives and tools co designed and promoted by the outdoor adventurer known from the tv series survivorman . 21 the les stroud signature line was launched in las vegas at the 2012 shot show and consisted of four knives . since then the les stroud line has grown to 25 knives tools and first aid kits . next to les stroud camillus joined forces with ten other so called pro staffers . 22 the pro staff team consists of former green berets expert hunters special forces adventurers firemen and survival experts . amongst them is grady powell a former u.s. army green beret who is now the host of discovery channel s dual survival . also part of the pro staff is jared ogden a former navy seal who was the star of the national geographic television program ultimate survival alaska . 23 in 2013 camillus re launched its knives in europe and soon attracted distributors for the scandinavian and german speaking countries . in the meanwhile camillus is being distributed in twelve european countries and also in countries like australia south africa and the philippines . during the 2016 shot show camillus introduced many new knives and tools such as the camtrax a 12 3 in 1 hatchet with a hammer and triple edge folding saw ; and the m 13 machete featuring a 13 titanium bonded blade with gut hook . references edit american jewish year book pdf . ajcarchives.org . retrieved on june 3 2009 . major u.s. cutlery wholesalers & importers . cascity.com . retrieved on june 3 2009 . history of camillus cutlery . capitalnews9.com . retrieved on may 30 2009 . george washington commemorative pen knife . celebratelifegifts.com . retrieved on june 4 2009 . 1935 babe ruth quaker oats premium pocket knife . americanmemorabilia.com . retrieved on june 4 2009 . camillus cutlery is carving a niche in central new york . allbusiness.com . retrieved on june 2 2009 . a b c shackleford steve ed . blade s guide to knives and their values 7th ed . iola wi krause publications isbn 978 1 4402 0387 9 p. 387 camillus knives boy scout knives official knives of the boy scouts of america . knivesplus.com . retrieved on june 4 2009 . margery baer irish is an owner of the camillus n.y. cutlery company . nytimes.com . september 27 1987 . retrieved april 28 2010 . retrieved on june 3 2009 . early western knives businessman platts joining boulder county business hall of fame . boulderreport.com . retrieved on june 2 2009 . western brand knives . knifesupply.com . retrieved on june 4 2009 . a b winter butch 2003 collaborations with custom knifemakers sporting knives 2003 154 161 isbn 0 87349 430 x camillus cutlery workers on strike . capitalnews9.com . retrieved on june 3 2009 . camillus cutlery strike continues . capitalnews9.com . retrieved on june 3 2009 . camillus cutlery workers approve contract . capitalnews9.com . retrieved on june 3 2009 . camillus cutlery to close its doors . capitalnews9.com . retrieved on june 3 2009 . acme united corporation acquires camillus cutlery assets . businesswire.com . september 18 2007 . retrieved may 30 2009 . developer plans to move ahead after former camillus cutlery fire . 9wsyr . com . november 2 2013 . retrieved april 23 2013 . camillus knives . heritage firearms.com . retrieved on march 24 2010 10 k 2010 . edgar online.com . retrieved on march 24 2010 . acme united corporation announces agreement with les stroud . phx.corporate ir.net . retrieved on march 12 2012 . camillus pro staff . camillusknives.com . retrieved on september 1 2016 . meet the military team on ultimate survival alaska . undertheradar.military.com . retrieved on december 17 2015 . external links edit acme united company website camillus cutlery company website v t e acme united corporation subsidiaries c thru ruler camillus cutlery company clauss cutlery company pac kit first aid kits physicianscare first aid and medications westcott rule company v t e knives and daggers list of daggers list of blade materials types of knives aircrew survival egress knife athame balisong butterfly ballistic ballpoint pen knife bayonet boline bolo boning boot knife bowie bread knife cane knife cheese knife chef s knife cleaver clip point combat knife commander corvo cqc 6 deba b ch diving knife drop point electric knife fairbairn sykes fighting knife gerber mark ii ginsu grapefruit knife gravity knife gunong hunting knife jacob s ladder karambit k la kirpan kitchen knife kukri laguiole knife machete mandau mezzaluna misericorde mora knife multi tool nakiri b ch navaja neck knife nontron knife opinel knife palette knife pantographic knife parang penknife penny knife pocket knife putty knife puukko rampuri resolza sabatier sami knife santoku 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