A.G.A. Campolin Manual Lockback

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JulesVane
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A.G.A. Campolin Manual Lockback

Post by JulesVane »

Good evening all. I recently obtained this 11" manual lockback and searching the members knowledge about it. Apparently, it's not exactly grabbing a huge audience in the collectors world. Not very valuable (I would guess). But, I was very impressed by the materials used and the overall construction of it. Nickle/Silver bolsters, full brass liners and Brazilian horn scales. Bayo blade with no wobble. Pretty solid feeling knife. I understand that Angelo's Son(?) got into making folding hunting knives & folding stilettos back in the '70's for Kissing Crane(?) in Germany, though I see not a hint of German in this piece. I've done a little research trying to combine AGA Campolin & Kissing Crane to no avail. I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on this piece or direct me to a link that could? Thank you in advance...

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sammy the blade
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Re: A.G.A. Campolin Manual Lockback

Post by sammy the blade »

Sorry I can't help but that knife sure is a looker!
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JulesVane
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Re: A.G.A. Campolin Manual Lockback

Post by JulesVane »

sammy the blade wrote:Sorry I can't help but that knife sure is a looker!
Thanks Sammy. Minus the button, seems to have all the fine makings of an auto.
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: A.G.A. Campolin Manual Lockback

Post by Bill DeShivs »

They are made exactly like the 1960s knives were made.
The Campolin family business (Falcon) made knives for Robert Klaas to sell under their "Kissing Cranes" brand name. I believe the only Falcon knives made for Klaas were the 15" manual stilettos.
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JulesVane
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Re: A.G.A. Campolin Manual Lockback

Post by JulesVane »

Bill DeShivs wrote:They are made exactly like the 1960s knives were made.
The Campolin family business (Falcon) made knives for Robert Klaas to sell under their "Kissing Cranes" brand name. I believe the only Falcon knives made for Klaas were the 15" manual stilettos.
Thanks Bill. But, shouldn't this piece have either Falcon, Robert Klaas or Kissing Crane on it, rather than A.G.A. Campolin? Or, something referring to Germany, rather than Italy? I've looked up a bunch of vintage Kissing Crane manual stilettos and saw no mention of A.G.A. Campolin. Though, I have no doubt of the business between the two companies. This piece seems to be pure Italy. Were Robert Klaas or Kissing Crane manual stilettos ever marked A.G.A. Campolin? If it were marked Falcon, I could better understand.
Edit: On 2nd reading of Bill's response, I saw only 15" stilettos were made for Kissing Crane. This is an 11". Hmm...
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Bill DeShivs
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Re: A.G.A. Campolin Manual Lockback

Post by Bill DeShivs »

Your knife is current Italian production. The Campolins have adopted the AGA Campolin logo.
Your knife has nothing to do with Germany.
The Italian knives made for German companies were marked however the Germans wanted them marked.
Bill DeShivs, Master Cutler
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Factory authorized repairs for:
Latama, Mauro Mario, LePre, Colonial, Kabar, Flylock, Schrade Cut Co., Presto, Press Button, Hubertus, Grafrath, Kuno Ritter knives, Puma, Burrell Cutlery.
Tom19176
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Re: A.G.A. Campolin Manual Lockback

Post by Tom19176 »

Agree with Bill. BladePlay sold these last year:

http://www.bladeplay.com/item--AGA-Camp ... ock--14740

They are the same as the Falcon line that had 9", 11", and 13" models. The Falcon ones can be found on Ebay now and then, They were sold at SMKW for $20 for the 11" ones, and went on close out for $14 at one point. They are the exact same as the A.G. A. ones.....

http://www.discountcutlery.net/FA8028HB ... 35231.html
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JulesVane
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Re: A.G.A. Campolin Manual Lockback

Post by JulesVane »

Thank you so much Bill and Tom. You've answered it all for me. I knew it wasn't exactly a "rare" piece, but I had no idea they were still being made to this day. Wow, a $20 knife. Amazing that the materials & construction used to make this $20 knife, aren't used more in today's switchblades. Why use stainless steel for bolsters when nickel/silver is so cheap? Why not make all brass liners full cut and use real materials for scales instead of acrylic/plastic and then charge a couple hundred bucks for it? Collecting has been a constant learning experience and I'm glad to be here to learn. Thank you guys for your knowledge and time you put into my question.
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