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Camillus Cutlery Company

The Camillus Cutlery Company was one of the oldest knife manufacturers in the United States. The company was founded in 1873, produced knives during World War I and II. Camillus filed for bankruptcy in 2006. Its brand name and intellectual property rights were purchased in 2007 by Acme United Corporation in 2007.

History

The company was started by a German immigrant named Adolph Kastor. Kastor moved to New York in 1870 and worked for his uncle Aaron Kastor in his hardware supply business, Bodenheim, Meyer, & Company, where he was put in charge of cow chains and later moved into the firearms and cutlery department. In 1873, the company restructured as Meyer & Kastor. In September, 1876, the company closed due to poor sales, but the next month, Adolph Kastor started his own company, Adolph Kastor & Bros. on Canal Street in New York City, where he imported and distributed German-made knives. In 1897, when the Dingley Tariff was enacted, the knives became too expensive to import, so Kastor sought a domestic manufacturer. In 1902 Kastor purchased a small knife manufacturer in Camillus, New York, and assumed control from Charles Sherwood. The company then had 20 cutlers who produced about 15 different knife patterns.

By 1910, after adding new machinery, such as steam driven drop forge hammers and fly presses, and adopting new techniques, like using alumina grinding wheels, the Camillus Cutlery Company had about 200 employees, many of them German immigrants, and was producing close to a million knives a year. The company even built a dormitory to house their German workers.

During World War I, the company shifted production to support the American, British, Canadian and Dutch forces. The company produced such products as marlinspikes, surgical scalpels, and a folding knife/spoon combination for the Red Cross.

In the 1920s the company introduced stainless steel to their production, and started making collectible character knives, which honored such famous people as George Washington, Babe Ruth, and Buck Rogers. They also began producing products for private labels such as Sears Craftsman, F.W. Woolworth and many others.

During World War II, between 1942 and 1945, Camillus shipped 15 million knives of various styles to the allied forces. These included large fixed-blade fighting knives, machetes, multi-blade camp style knives, electrician's knives, and sailor's marlin spikes.

In 1947, Camillus began to manufacture a full line of official folding knives for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), which the company continued to produce until its closure.

Bankruptcy

During 2006, the company was the subject of a months long strike by employees due to the company's proposed contract which included, among other things, steep wage cuts and reduced vacation allowances. The company stated that the reductions were necessary to face stiff overseas competition. Although the striking workers ultimately accepted the original contract offer in November 2006, the company only retained a small number of the original employees and laid off the rest. The company subsequently filed for bankruptcy and closed its doors on February 28, 2007.

On September 18, 2007, the product brand names and intellectual property of the company were acquired by Acme United Corporation in a bankruptcy action for $200,000.