# Les Stroud knives by Camillus



## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

Camillus is a well know name in knives and have been around a while, they have teamed up with Les Stroud to produce a line of Les Stroud designed survival knives....

Camillus

Shop for Benchmade, Spyderco, ESEE & major brand knives at Knifeworks.com - Camillus Knives

These knives are very new to the market. So what do you think. Good bad or otherwise...

I have a habit (quirk) of looking for the little US flag or the made in the USA logo...it's not there...lol

I recently bought a Condor Bushlore and really like it and it's not US made and I like the Mora knive line as well. So not seeing the little flag or logo is not a deal breaker..

The question, how well do you think the Les Stroud line will stack up against say the Mora Clipper, Robust, HD etc. or the Condor line of knives?


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## Verteidiger (Nov 16, 2012)

I like the Les Stroud Mountain Survival Knife - looks like a decent knife with some well thought out extra features.

I think it would be worth owning, but I strongly believe you need a really good "you bet your life on it" knife as well. I don't think that these knives fit into that extreme duty category, but for a basic survival knife they look pretty good.

I don't get too hung up on USA steel products anymore. Some of the best steel is coming from Japan and Taiwan nowadays given the rise in their industrial sectors. AUS 8 is great steel, and it is Japanese, and Camillus uses it. So does SOG, and SOG makes bet your life knives.

For around $60 I think that I would buy one, based on what I saw on the web. I prefer to handle knives before buying, to see how they feel in my hands. But that Mountain knife looks pretty worthy, from my point of view.


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## Leon (Jan 30, 2012)

Verteidiger said:


> I like the Les Stroud Mountain Survival Knife - looks like a decent knife with some well thought out extra features.
> 
> I think it would be worth owning, but I strongly believe you need a really good "you bet your life on it" knife as well. I don't think that these knives fit into that extreme duty category, but for a basic survival knife they look pretty good.
> 
> ...


what do you think of the camillus carnivore?


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## Verteidiger (Nov 16, 2012)

Leon said:


> what do you think of the camillus carnivore?


Hey, Leon!

I think the Carnivore machete is a very nice machete. 440 Stainless Steel blade, 18" length with 12" blade, chisel point, wire cutting capability that can also clear concertina or barbed wire out of your pathway, titanium bonded finish to help with cleaning, sawtooth edge, and you can even dig with it if you had to.

I think that is a very capable machete for the deep woods. And for the price, it is a real bargain.

I own six machetes already, but if I was in the market, I would buy the Carnivore.


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## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

The carnivore looks like a good machete, the 23" has serrations for rope, and it looks like Camillus has put some thought into the handle ergonomics. 

I have two Ontario machetes an SP8 with a kraton handle and a blued 18" machete marked US. The Carnivore is similar to the SP8 but does not look to be as wide. 

In a way, the fixed bladed Les strouds kind of remind me of Helle knives. The come with firesteels built into the sheath and the folder has one built into the knife. Thats really a nice touch since I find myself buying and adding fire steels to my knives anyway. Camillus has taken care of that need by design. That bit of forward thinking is a plus.


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## Leon (Jan 30, 2012)

Seneca said:


> The carnivore looks like a good machete, the 23" has serrations for rope, and it looks like Camillus has put some thought into the handle ergonomics.
> 
> I have two Ontario machetes an SP8 with a kraton handle and a blued 18" machete marked US. The Carnivore is similar to the SP8 but does not look to be as wide.
> 
> In a way, the fixed bladed Les strouds kind of remind me of Helle knives. The come with firesteels built into the sheath and the folder has one built into the knife. Thats really a nice touch since I find myself buying and adding fire steels to my knives anyway. Camillus has taken care of that need by design. That bit of forward thinking is a plus.


Yeah that's what I thought too I have seen bad reviews about the carnivore so I tested it out. It's not so much a machete as it is a bush tool, but that's fine by me I didn't have one. I keep Aguila brand machetes, two different ones (in the BOV and in the BOB inside) and my pal Hank got me a cane knife one day, it's like an axe-machete or something, killer cutting power. I positively beat the hell out of my carnivore and it held up remarkably well considering.


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## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

Sportsmans wharehouse carries the Camillus line of knives. While I was there I had a chance to look them over and thought they were well made. The fit and finish is excellent and the bamboo handle scales were nice. The line of knives with the insert cutting edge were intriguing. Rather than sharpen the edge one simply replaces the insert.


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## Seneca (Nov 16, 2012)

Verteidiger said:


> Hey, Leon!
> 
> I think the Carnivore machete is a very nice machete. 440 Stainless Steel blade, 18" length with 12" blade, chisel point, wire cutting capability that can also clear concertina or barbed wire out of your pathway, titanium bonded finish to help with cleaning, sawtooth edge, and you can even dig with it if you had to.
> 
> ...


Dumb question alert!
Whats that notch on the spine of the blade near the tip used for. It looks to be beveled to a sharp edge, like a gut hook on a hunting knife, yet it's back away from the tip a bit so I'm guessing it has some other function.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Camillus went bankrupt years ago and an off shore company bought the name. Same with Schrade. Both were quaility American made knives. The operative word here is "were".
In 1969 I carried a Camillus made government contract USMC Fighting Knife. I wish I still had it. It would be a collectors item today.
Oh, well, at least I have my Ka-Bar USMC Fighting Knife.


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