Camillus
1999-2007
When Blackjack went under, Camillus was the next company to produce the Becker line of knives. Unlike Blackjack, Camillus stamped the blades with the logos. Camillus used kydex and nylon sheaths for the Becker knives. However, some of the leftover Blackjack leather sheaths were used with Camillus Becker’s. It’s not odd to find a Camillus Campanion in a Blackjack leather sheath or a Combat bowie in a leather sheath originally for a Blackjack Brute.
It is also important to note that the Camillus factory is where the Becker line of knives got their model numbers. bk1 bk2 bk3...etc. etc. These model numbers have become their more wildly known identifier among the general public. It is a very common misconception that numbers are in the order they came out. It is also a misconception that knives like the bk7 and bk9 are called that because they have 7” and 9” long blades. This is just coincidence. If I have to hear one more idiot on youtube talk about Ethan's first design being the bk1, I'll blow my brains out. Thanks Camillus.
Camillus was the real deal, a true knife factory. These Becker’s were much more standardized and uniform. All the Camillus Becker’s were coated in a black rough textured coating. A lot of the human touches seen in the manufacturing Blackjack and Cincinnati Beckers were gone.
The Brute, while designed by Mike Stewart, found its way into the Camillus line of Becker knives. Mike had some trouble with the law after Blackjack went down so it make since that the rights to this knife ended up with Ethan. It came with two different kydex sheaths (as seen below), and sometimes included a buckle leg strap.
The Camillus Campanion came in a .21” thick. All the previous models came in at .25” thick. It came with a kydex sheath, but as previously stated, it could also be seen in a Blackjack leather sheath. Thickness comparison in the bottom photo.
During the Camillus days the Divtul changed again. The now called Tactool comes out very similar to the old Divtul but with more standardized serrations and some extra length. It came in at .23" thick with the coating on, .22" off. I have old ads and literature saying its .25" thick and others ads saying it's .21"thick, but I've never seen any.
The Machax that Camillus made came out looking very similar to to the Cincinnati version and did not have the really bad low grind height that the Blackjack model did. However, looks are all it shared with the Cincinnati model. Camillus ended up making it with a really obtuse grind angle. Combine that with the fact that they made these with .25" stock and it ended up feeling like you were swinging a tire iron. It came in a kydex sheath but has been spotted coming with the standard green nylon sheath the bk9 would normally come in.
The Magnum Camp by Jerry Fisk knife also made a come back in the Camillus line. This model came in a kydex sheath so it no longer had a need for the hole in the blade to retain itself in the sheath. The grind on the Blackjack models still had a hint of human touch to them. The grind could either be convex, flat, or a hybrid of the two. With Camillus manufacturing these, the grind is flat. This caused the balance to be shifted towards the handle. A brief warning, people have stripped the coating off these Camillus blades and drilled a hole in it trying to pass it off as the much rarer Blackjack version. Don’t be fooled if you ever seen something like that on eBay.
One of the rarest of the rare, the Patrol Machete. If you were to ask, which is the most rare Camillus blade? A lot would say the bk1. While the bk1 is a good find and do demand some high prices on eBay, they pop up very frequently. The bk6, or Patrol Machete, vary rarely makes an appearance. Now, if you were to ask the writer’s opinion of this blade I would say it's too thick for a machete and not a very good chopper. This blade and the Brute have a sort of legendary status about them even though both of them are very poor performers when compared to many others in the Becker line. Let me just say this and be done with it. Why else would you think Ethan has left these two “legendary” blades out of his current Kabar line up?
This is the Combat Utility, or as its more well known: bk7. Now lets stop here. If you calls this “Jessica” or any female name for that matter, please stop reading this, delete this file and throw your bk7 away... Anyway, the bk7 was a very popular knife in the line up and was the first of the Camillus Becker knives to get the added pommel. Many of the early ones (see bottom photo) have a smaller pommel than what has become the standard. They did not come with a kydex sheath, but instead with a green nylon sheath.
The Combat Bowie, or bk9, has become one of the most wildly used choppers on the market. It all started here, while the Camillus version is slightly different than the current Kabar offering. It was still a big hit even back then. The Camillus version was .21 thick and had a higher saber grind than the current Kabar version. It also came with a green nylon sheath, but on occasion they are seen with a Blackjack leather sheath that would normally have been for a Blackjack Brute. Some of the very early models of these didn't have a swedge grind.
The Crewman has been a favorite to all. Survivalist, preppers, and bushcrafters all seem to enjoy this blade. Ethan made this because Camillus came to him and asked him to redesign the classic “Pilot Survival knife.” The crewman, or bk10, is his take on it. *
This is the Becker Necker, a history-making knife for sure. This is the first of Ethan’s blades not to feature his classic handle deign. This super handy blade features a bottle opener on the back. This blade has a high saber grind, while the newer version from Kabar is a flat grind. This blade is a favorite to many and the Camillus version can be fetching some high prices on eBay because of that. This came in two different kydex sheaths during its time.
Prototypes
We have now finished the whole Becker line Camillus made. We have two prototypes to talk about from the Camillus days. First being the bk8 Helicopter Egress. Whenever you meet a new Beckerhead there comes a time eventually when they count out the model numbers in their head and come to the conclusion that they skipped the bk8. The bk8 was made by Camillus and Ethan had nothing to do with it. It was deigned by a committee, which is never a good thing. It was a sort of pilot survival knife/kevlar strap cutter. Rumor has it that only 5ish were made with Becker handles. They turned it into a curved sickle shape blade with full serrations. Around 12 were made some had handles.
Photo thanks to Collectors of Camillus.
Photo thanks to Guyon
The next prototype was almost the bk11. It doesn't really have a name, most just call it something like the necker prototype. More than a few of these were made, most were given away by Ethan. Take a good look at this design: it may look familiar down the road. Most of the examples I've seen have the standard rough textured black coating thats on the other Camillus blades. The one below is very glossy and darkened.
Specials
Camillus had quite a few special Becker’s during their time. Most of these are just for the collectors willing to pay a high price on eBay. Let's start with the bk2SG, bk3SG, and bk7SG. The SG at the end of the number stands for “serrated government.” These blades had serrations added that were for government contracts. Yes, I know that the bk3 already had serrations, but you can identify the government bk3’s by the sticker on the box that says bk3SG. bk2SG’s pop up all the time, but if you own a bk7SG you probably paid $350+ for it.
Photo from ebay
Photo thanks to Worth Point.
The next three I’m going to talk about are the bk71, bk91, and bk101. These Beckers were coated in a sort of desert color and had different handles and tan nylon sheaths. They were for the troops over seas to better match their uniforms and environment. You may get lucky and find one of these cheap, but they usually demand a very high price. When you actually hold one of these in your hands you will see the powder coat has a sort of pink tint to it. Comes out “titty pink,” as Ethan would say.
The next special Becker blade is the bk77 extreme. This bk7 was made out of S30V steel, came in a clear coat satin finish, and a custom Camillus Spec-op’s sheath. It also came stock with the Camillus Becker micarta handle scales. These scales were normally a buy it separately option.
The last Special Camillus Becker is the bk9HH. The HH stands for Hog Hunter. It was a special version of the bk9 with a sharpened swedge grind. Check out the extra pictorial history post for a way to tell if its a legit bk9HH or just a bk9 with a sharpened clip.
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