NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK

It all happened a while back, starting on Sept. 18, 2007. A bunch of knife collectors had arrived in Camillus, New York. The occasion: All the buildings, contents, trademarks, and everything else connected to Camillus Cutlery was on the auctioneer’s block.

The old Camillus (see sidebar) had gone out of business in February 2007 due to poor sales, a workers’ strike and a lockout—and then the long-time knife manufacturer filed for bankruptcy.

Camillus hadn’t always had business problems. The company was founded by Charles Sherwood in 1876 and became a good candidate for buying when the Dingle