The Old Kamp King American Legendary Pocket Knife

Come along with Bill to a time when pocketknives such as this Kamp King were available for sale most anywhere men gathered. They had cards that held maybe a dozen knives and you could buy one right off that card. The hardware store had them. The barber shop had them. The auto parts store sold them too. They were everywhere! They weren't expensive but they did have excellent blade steel and they performed a variety of functions that made them desirable to boys and men. Having one in your pocket today is a link to a better time in the U.S.A. it is a celebration of manliness and a tool to get things done with. Hammer Brand was a branding used by New York Knife Co. from 1878 until their closing in 1931. These were very well made knives, some of the best ever manufactured in the USA. In 1936-37 Imperial Knife Co. acquired the Hammer Brand name and used it on many of their knives up until 1955. This knife is from 1945-55. There were 3 different stampings for these in which the arm in the logo is slightly different. If a tang stamping is well struck and well preserved, then these differences in the arm can be used to further date the knife within the 1937-55 time period. If you have one stop the video and compare the markings on your tang with the logo chart. These shell handle type knives were never considered to be high tech or top of the line products, quite the opposite. The shell handle knives were for several decades the lowest price point pocket knives of usable quality made in the USA. There were many, often a kids first knife. Inexpensive and easily replaced at any local five and dime. I personally like them very much, as they represent a time in our nation’s history when every American boy was expected to carry a pocket knife and every man did.

[@paulrice8342]

Thanks for the video

[@durango8882]

I have a KK and I found it! Yes, I was in SW, New Mexico literally in the desert at a small range, I was looking for a nice place to plink a few rounds and set up my chair, spinners, sandwich and drink and I see the end of something shining as I looked down. I reach down in the sand and it was a KAMP KING dirty, scratched up. So I immediately put it in my pocket lol. I took it home and cleaned it up sharpened it and think it’s very cool. Funny as a kid I always wanted the legendary KK. It’s worn evidently from the sand and desert sun, heat but it’s a beauty. I keep it just the way it was except for cleaning it and sharpening it. I love it 👍🏻

[@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation]

Sometimes things are sent to us from those who have gone before.

[@durango8882]

@@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation yes sir, I love this KAMP KING

[@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation]

There's a solid chance your next camping trip will involve a six pack and a can of beans, and the last thing you need is to be stranded without a way to open them. The Kamp King knife has a built-in leather punch, bottle opener, screwdriver, and can opener. It's the perfect pocket tool for sitting around the fire, and an ideal companion for any last minute needs on the trail or just your daily life. It's a vintage blade so you can rest easy knowing that it's already proved itself through years of dedicated service, and is ready for lots more. It's designed for that specifically American desire to get lost, get found, and pit yourself against the wilderness.

[@kukuri007]

You’re using the can opener wrong direction.

[@Mister_Ess]

Awesome little tool! I just bought one today, in fair condition, for 50 bucks from an antique mall. I plan to clean it up, oil it, sharpen it and carry it.

[@tac_aichi]

Wow! This is a man's tool!

[@LKS-1976]

I carry a Boker sportsmesser in desert ironwood. Love it.

[@5T3V3N-ns9gg]

I have a vintage kamp king made by the hammer brand in USA. Is mine also made of this amazing high-quality steel that you speak of? Edit: your brazen statement on the dwindling masculinity in this failing society was spot-on! You're an outspoken man of convictions and I respect that!

[@jojojeep1]

P 38 pal, and they had the bigger one which was the P 51

[@yoshinoyajones8924]

Small pocket on Levis is a watch pocket. The can opener which is on the Kamp-King is used just like the P-38 or ( larger P-51 model) can opener.

[@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation]

Have you ever tried shoving a pocket watch in that pocket? The vest and its pockets as well as the button retention device and fob, and countless historic photos make me think otherwise. 1873 - Blue Jeans Are Born Levi Strauss & Co. and Jacob Davis receive a U.S. patent for an "Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings." By adding metal rivets to work pants, and they are worn by working men for whom a pocket Watch is a rare luxury item. In 1914, Henry Ford astonished the industrial world when he practically doubled the wages of his assembly line workers to $5.00 per day (for a six-day week), thus making them nearly the highest-paid hourly workers. Adjusted for inflation an inexpensive pocket watch would be over 700 bucks today.

[@yoshinoyajones8924]

@My Dixie Wrecked🔨 eigo ga wakarimasu ka

[@larrykoroush6995]

My thoughts exactly

[@jerrydineen2827]

You are correct about the pocket being made for a pocket watch and not a pocket knife and you're also correct about the P-38 not P-98

[@sallysisterton5224]

Horse shit… this whole video is a primer on how stupid you sound when you speak authoritatively without knowing what the hell you are saying. If that pocket watch was 700, this pocket knife would be at least 400… prohibitively expensive for anyone then or now… please do the research before you start spewing incorrect information and presenting it as fact

[@scenicdriveways6708]

I go backwards using my can opener. The can opener in our RV broke one morning while opening a can of hash , I pulled out my Magnum by Boker pocket knife and saved breakfast. Nice video. I wish more companies would come back out with the Camp or Boy Scout style pocket knives.

[@desertratedc9596]

I do the same thing, Much easier to open the can rocking back towards yours self. In stead of a newer boker magnum I grew up with a Boker USA 93 61 camp knife from the early 60s that was grandads first knife and he gave it to me as my first.

[@scenicdriveways6708]

@@desertratedc9596 That's awesome. I also have a knife from my grandpa ( one he made ) but it's too big to carry in my pocket. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m56qd6aGrphjh7M

[@281covfefe5]

Wow old school awesome !! Cuz i aint dressing like m sister either !! Thnxs for uploading and sharing !! 👍🏻🇺🇸💯

[@straightpipec6099]

Love it.

[@johnbanco862]

Mine is ahammer brand..i bought in 1970..i was 14..still in my pocket.

[@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation]

John make sure you have plans to pass it on, and all that comes with it. A reminder that once manliness was a virtue and standing for what is right is a good thing. And that having an adventure even if it includes some hardship and difficulty is the stuff of life that makes it a life worth living.

[@johnbanco862]

@@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation yes sir i will..at 65 i pass them on to younger people..cant take em with u...ur a good man..look forward to more vidios..god bless

[@jamesc7277]

I had (still have, but the main blade has become a bit wobbly) that knife, made for SEARS-Craftsman. A great, very useful knife. I used it, probably every day, when I worked as a stage technician - carpenter, electrician, etc.

[@BushcraftWoodsDevil]

Places where "Men" gather...less and less of that. Society trying to emasculate men because of their toxicity. Good vid...keep it up!

[@mwillblade]

Using the can opener wrong.

[@jojojeep1]

I accidentally ran into One today it looks like it was never used so I bought it, couple weeks ago I bought the Roughrider camping which is much better quality even though it’s made in China. The camp king that imperial made was a hollow camp king beautiful just the same

[@ColdHarborOP]

I found your commentary to be upsetting to nancy boys, pansies, and primadonnas...so I liked and subscribed. Well said.

[@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation]

Imperial knives was a manufacturer of affordable American folding knives founded in Rhode Island in 1916. By the 1940s, Imperial knives became the Imperial Knife Associated Companies Group when the company acquired Schrade Cutlery. In 1985, the company became the Imperial Schrade Corporation. In 2004, Imperial Schrade's New York manufacturing plant closed, and all production shifted overseas. Dating the American Imperial knives produced between 1916 and 1988 is relatively simple. After 1988, the Imperial tang stamps were discontinued and replaced by the Schrade name. Open the main blade of the pocket knife completely, and take note of the stamping marked at the base of the blade where it connects with the handle. Imperial used a number of different stampings between 1916 and 1988, but the tangs were always stamped. Check the identification guide. Knives produced between 1916 and 1920 bore tang stamps that read "Imperial Knife Co.," "Imperial Prov.R.I." or "Imperial Made in USA." The script came in several different varieties. Identify Imperial knives produced under the "Hammer brand" by the tang stamp that bears the name as well as the image of a muscled arm bearing a hammer. These knives were produced between 1936 and 1955. From 1946 till 1988, there were only minor changes in tang script design, making the later knives more difficult to distinguish between decades.

[@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation]

@The Empress I invented hearting your own comments, it is bold and brash and displays a rare panache, also the world is often a very dark place with untold misery, would it not make it better to send hearts whenever we can?

[@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation]

@The Empress Even the most splendid cherry blossom has an equal, and yet is not diminished in it's beauty. When we accept darkness as so common, it loses it's vileness, but if we continue to find it repugnant, we will merge into a tranquility that we manifest through our destiny, a destiny forged in the fire of our will. When our spirit crafts our surroundings it becomes a sanctuary and a fortress for our heart. These words I speak are not of me, but the counsel offered by your guardians, accept their counsel and embrace their protection.

[@ofbloodandmaggots2940]

I have an imperial kamp king myself but mine say Ireland beneath the Imperial stamping, it also has a crown above it, any idea when this one may have been produced, i cant seem to find info anywhere.

[@denofearthundertheeverlast5138]

I wish RR would do a satin finish carbon version, I dont mind jigged delrin with the bone look but I prefer jigged bone or antler or stag. The big jumbo camp knives also fit in the jean knife pocket.

[@sallysisterton5224]

Honestly I’m kind of surprised that you explained the bottle opener correctly …

[@Love2Wander]

Very nice knife quest what i have one too kamp king got to find it dig the video

[@donaldboyce7110]

P-38 not P-98!

[@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation]

I know Don, I got tongue tied a little, at least I got the eight part right.

[@andrewc9790]

That little pocket was made for a pocket watch.

[@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation]

Sir with humble intention I don't see how this could be. Simply try to put a pocket watch in that small pocket you can't, Levi Strauss died on September 26, 1902, and was buried in the Home of Peace Cemetery and Emanu-El Mausoleum in Colma, California. He left his company to his four nephews, Jacob, Sigmund, Louis, and Abraham Stern, the sons of his sister Fanny and her husband David Stern. All of these people stated publicly over a 1000 times and spanning well over a hundred years that the pocket was for pocket knives as used on Bavarian Tracten pants in the homeland of Mr. Strauss. But maybe you have new information that you should share. Maybe pocket watches were smaller and shaped different who knows?

[@andrewc9790]

@@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation Uhhh, that's a lot of info. Just Google Levi's watch pocket... it's called a watch pocket, it says on their website its original purpose was for pocket watches. Sure you can put whatever you like in it, but it's a watch pocket.

[@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation]

@@andrewc9790 What it says on their new now made in china website or what I say matters little, What do you believe Andrew? Listen to your heart and mind, trust them both beyond what you read or hear. According to the Levi Strauss & Co. blog, it has taken on several other names in the decades since, including frontier pocket, condom pocket, coin pocket, match pocket, and ticket pocket. The sizing system utilized by American watch companies is derived from the Lancashire Gauge, popularized in the English watchmaking trade and has changed little in all this time. It would be near impossible to shove a pocket watch in that small pocket, and most of the people wearing blue jeans at that time could not afford a pocket watch, those who could, cowboys miners and others carried the pocket watch in their vest pocket with a retention chain affixed to a button hole on the vest. I am an underdog in this, Levi Strauss is a huge mega corporation that wields immense power, I know that and yet still spoke the truth, Please Andrew just question this, I could be crazy or wrong, but what if I am right?

[@andrewc9790]

@@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation if you're right, good for you. If you're crazy I'm right twice. 🙂👍

[@jojojeep1]

Other thing you’re too young to be in the depression my father was in a depression and he’s 83 and he was towards the end of it you lived in the most prosperous time of America 1945 to the 1970s and 80s

[@paulrice8342]

I appreciate your video, but the Jeans pocket was for a pocket watch!

[@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation]

Have you ever tried shoving a pocket watch in that pocket? The vest and its pockets as well as the button retention device and fob, and countless historic photos make me think otherwise. 1873 - Blue Jeans Are Born Levi Strauss & Co. and Jacob Davis receive a U.S. patent for an "Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings." By adding metal rivets to work pants, and they are worn by working men for whom a pocket Watch is a rare luxury item. In 1914, Henry Ford astonished the industrial world when he practically doubled the wages of his assembly line workers to $5.00 per day (for a six-day week), thus making them nearly the highest-paid hourly workers. Adjusted for inflation an inexpensive pocket watch would be over 700 bucks today.

[@firearmsolutions46]

Rolling Rock great beer from Latrobe Brewery in Pennsylvania,

[@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation]

One of the last good things.

[@durango8882]

I’ve been drinking them for YEARS!

[@jesseheilman]

Did you ever figure out how to use the can opener yet

[@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation]

Oh yes, I have but my favorite is the Edlund Jr. #5, I have a bunch of pain in my hands and the cold is making it worse.

[@dedballoons]

"Making cans easier to open was done by the communist party to feminise men" holy shit that is hilarious

[@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation]

Karl Marx never wrote anything directly on education - yet his influence on writers, academics, intellectuals and educators who came after him has been profound. The power of his ideas has changed the way we look at the world. Whether you accept his analysis of society or whether you oppose it, he cannot be ignored, Trotsky invented the term racist, before that the term was prejudice, how widely used is that word today? Words thoughts beliefs are masters of the masses. When expertly crafted the masses will believe their thoughts and opinions belong to them. Those who fail to conform will be denounced or today it is called cancelled.

[@Mister_Ess]

Hi! I did some research on my Kamp King after cleaning it up and sharpening it, and found this information on the knife: HAMMER BRAND, USA P 2391732 KAMP KING I'd be very grateful if you could give me any information as to when, where mine was made.

[@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation]

Imperial and Hammer Brand in most cases were the same knife with different tang stamps. Imperial bought the Hammer Brand in the thirties. About the same time, they licensed the patent for the stamped and crimped steel handles wrapped with a thin cover. I believe the shell handles started about 1936. No matter how sharp your knife is, after a few cuts with elk hair it goes dull quick, but nothing can refresh easier or faster than a Kamp King, the metal recipe for that blade is legendary! This is the one to have in your pocket when it matters, the one to take care of and pass down with pride. I have a red handled super Kamp king that I replaced the shackle on, and never leave it behind, it's the one friend that never lets you down.

[@Mister_Ess]

@@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation so mine could theoretically be as old as the 1930s? Wow!

[@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation]

@@Mister_Ess If not, definitely the same pattern machinery and tooling and steel.1936 until the demise of Imperial/Schrade around 2004 and the death of original Kamp King Knives. The name "Kamp King" was first used by Imperial in 1935 and was filed as a trademark and issued in 1940. Dating the exact year of production is very difficult. Check the identification guide. Knives produced between 1916 and 1920 bore tang stamps that read "Imperial Knife Co.," "Imperial Prov.R.I." or "Imperial Made in USA." The script came in several different varieties. Identify Imperial knives produced under the "Hammer brand" by the tang stamp that bears the name as well as the image of a muscled arm bearing a hammer. These knives were produced between 1936 and 1955. From 1946 till 1988, there were only minor changes in tang script design, making the later knives more difficult to distinguish between decades.

[@Mister_Ess]

@@ChacoteOutdoorRecreation mine has a muscled arm bearing a hammer, so that kinda narrows it down.