I cant glean a date of manufacture from the stamp. In the testing Western won the contract There are a lot more than that, but the table above is a great place to start. Required fields are marked *. If there is anything else you want to know which I missed, do let me know in the comments section or reach out via the contact page. This is the factory reference Curiously enough, my knife does not have the Camillus trademark name stamp anywhere on the knife or the sheath. Ken Spielvogel - The "Accumulator" of knives- "The Talking Knives". surely wasn't in Vietnam unless it was with a tourist. For all that good, though, some bad actors have learned how to make fake Camillus knives and pass them off as vintage. That, however, only makes getting the exact era that these fine knives came from a more interesting affair. While researching this knife I discovered that Camillus, the same manufacturer as the iconic Kabar fighting knife, was the main producer of these knives. If you happen to have, Read More How to Date A Case Kodiak Knife by Yourself (Expert Advice)Continue, Klein knives are clear vintages, and theyre one of those knives that went to the war. We have seen it in outfitter stores, marketed on the internet, and may even have owned one. You need to get the knife out to cut your way out. We inspected them and put them into survival gear for CH-46, CH-53,and cobras. That said, I did cut down a Christmas tree (about 3-4 inches in diameter once). larger pommel version we all know. Heres a link to Frank Trzaska's Note on the subject. We were allowed to keep them when dicharged. View all posts by Major Hykr. Charlie I happen to agree with your take here. Mine is an old C make still kept in my truck. Heavily used Camillus hunter, possible returned to the Did your Camillus knife go to the war? Jan / meng aerospace engineering / flavoring homemade yogurt with jello . The tang stamp shown here is known as Camillus' four line stamp. Q30: WW II Prototype made for the 6 inch Hunting knife - Knives That Make the Cut, Why this Air Force blade is a workhorse of military survival knives | AI WAR NEWS, Why this Air Force blade is a workhorse of military survival knives Armed Forces Connect, Ontario Knife Company 499 Air Force Survival Knife (Review) 2022 Veteran Headlines, The 12 Most Common Items in A Survival Kit, Top 10 U.S. Military Gear For Backpackers. It looks exactly like the survival knife from the air force. Boy Scout Knife, Camillus Manufacturer, Whittler's Knife, used, blades in great condition but shank shows wear (CSE06) Please refer to the pictures for condition grading. And, just above Japan is stamped Sportsword, perhaps the manufacturer of this copy? In 1983, this registration was amended to add the use of the product for incorporation into cork insulation for military use. The good news is that I found multiple ways to determine how old your Camillus knife is. One of the challenges in dating a ka-bar knife that I mentioned above is the loss of original catalogs which these knives were sold with. contracts. These knives became popular with outdoorsman. No matter the reason for wanting to date that blade, these methods will get you an accurate year or an era, at worst. If you have also been stuck on how to date a Kabar knife properly before you landed on this piece, I believe you must have all the information you need right now. Im assuming the knife is an earlier production but, as its a 5 inch blade, it has to be after 1961. Maybe a high school classmate possibly but I dont know. As with many uses of military equipment, service members use considerable ingenuity in the field when employing their equipment and therefore, the use of the holes in the blade guard for cordage lashing points may have been a field expedient use of the knife rather than as an intentionally designed purpose. IMHO, both knives fit into the category of Navy Mark1 knives. It is currently still in inventory with the DoD through the GSA. Both have black plastic pommel. 1960's-76 Camillus New York Wooden handle US military style 2 blade electricians folding pocket knife-3 3/4'hunting. Made after march 1985 to 2006. I had suspected that was the case but did not have any evidence. It would also be much easier to confirm additional details about the knives, not just who made them and when. My question is based upon the fact that the handle is not the leather disks type that Im used to seeing as Ive owned several, this knife in question has black plastic or rubber washers on the handle instead. The blade not adopted had a flat blade with plastic Resinox pommel. When you have a knife that meets the specs above, it could only have been made in 1944 or 1945. Also it is not cut to put on a belt. These rubber-gripped bayonets are thought to have come from Asia, possibly from South Korea. Moreover, the requirement for having a standard survival knife for pilots and aircrews across the DoD was due to economic considerations and budgeting constraints at the time which fostered standardization across the military services. 2023 Cuts & Carves - Designed by O. Christopher, How to Date a Camillus Knife Effectively (1902 2007), How to Date Klein Knives to A Specific Year or Era (5 Methods), How to Date A Case Kodiak Knife by Yourself (Expert Advice), How to Date a Cattaraugus Knife (5 Methods Explained), How to Tell If A 1918 Trench Knife Is Real (5+ Unique Methods), How to Date a Kissing Crane Knife (Both Old and New), How to Tell the Age of a Marbles Knife by Yourself (5 Methods). These were in issue up to 2000 as for as Im aware. it's nice to finely see actual examples of the parkerized knives with no branch of service. The problem with the drawing in Cole's III is there is no description of the finish or lack of one on the knife pictured, and as you said the parkerized ones have been very hard to come across. Show me your knife, and I'll tell you who you are. S-6708 RW marked Guardless fish knife stamped Krome Plate, survival kit knife with straight line marking. Its total length is 292mm (11 5/8 inches). Already bankrupt, the brands assets were bought by the Robinson Knife Company who flipped the assets to Cole National in 1966. Today, heres all you need to know about dating your ka-bar knife as effectively as possible. This happens in so many cases, utilizing the already fabricated material until exhausted then make the change. I havent had the opportunity to measure it as its not in my possession and never was, I simply saw it. Era" knife. This registration, granted in 1980, is for use of paranitrophenol as a fungicide incorporated into leather for military use, at a concentration not to exceed 0.7% on the basis of dry finished leather weight. Bone stag and CR guard made in They may allow you to send it to them to get refurbished. My name is Steve and i live in Australia..I have recently started collecting knives from the Vietnam era..I just purchased 1 on ebay but the more i try to confirm the sellers claim the more i become frustrated and confusedplease help me. Thanks for your response. The tang stamp on this knife is post Government contract era. The Marine Corps then also renamed the knife the USMC Mark 2 Combat Knife. Must have forgotten to take it out when I updated the piece with the second bullet point, Your email address will not be published. Thanks for filling in the blanks. Beyond that I do not know if they were swapped out. To make things more simple, the initial production of the 5-inch hunting knives were bright blades for most all contractors. Thanks for your work. I personally looked into every draw and found these Do you have any information on this kind of knife ever being produced? knife that was adopted. I sent some pictures I have of mine, Major. COStraight lineOLEAN, N.Y, and USA.1912 1920UNION CUTLERY CO.Straight lineOLEAN, N. Y1912 1930UNIONRound rectangular boxNil1914 1926KEENWELL CUT COStraight lineOLEAN, N. Y1920 1930KEENWELL CUT COStraight lineOLEAN, N.Y; Ka-Bar; Model number1928 1932KA-BARStraight lineUSA`1930 1940OLCUTStraight lineStainless Steel; or UNION CUT CO. & OLEAN, N. Y1935 1945KabarStraight lineUnfilled star1950 1970. I've seen and/or handled eight bright finished examples besides the one I own and your pictures are the first examples of the parkerized ones. small file transitional Camillus WW2 pilots knife.jpg. Thanks, Dwain. As well, it must be remembered that this knife was designed to address a specific need for the U.S. military and was not intended to be used outside of that context. I appreciate you writing this post and the rest of the site is very good. Even if the Ontario Knife Company discontinues their production and the DoD phases them out of their inventories, the knife will be around for commercial purchase. 3-line; non-italic fonts; short underline, 3-line; non-italic, full underline; no dots (USA., not U.S.A.), 3-line stamp; full underline; dotted U.S.A.; italics. Most of the knives shown I have factory documentation on from the After the war, Camillus soon shifted back to civilian cutlery, but they were now facing stiff competition from overseas companies. Most folks don't know Show me your knife, and I'll tell you who you are. camillus knife identification. 1937. The latest dated pommel stamped Camillus 5733 is 3-1985. I carried it for next 8 years on my. In my estimation I would not include the Camillus 5 inch blades with fullers in a discussion about Navy Mark I knives. I hope this helps. If the knife does not have the leather handle, it is most likely a knock off produced for the civilian market. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Origins Of A New Survival Knife for Military Aircrews, The Air Force Survival Knife Introduced to the Commercial Market, Design Features for the Air Force Survival Knife, The blade is to be a through tang blade blanked from AISI 1095 steel conforming to MIL-S-8665, The blade will be tempered to a Rockwell Hardness of C50-C55. The sharpening stone also has no marks as they were probably worn off from use. That latest acquisition also had a sheath lacking the metal back and tip of the sheath, but appears original in all respects. Like every other knife Ive dated, the Camillus knives are challenging in their way. During the war, they produced over 17 million knives of various type and spec for the military, more than any other knife maker. True, those origins are shrouded in a lot of poor occurrences but the knives stayed on to mark those eras and the good work of manufacturers in, Read More How to Tell the Age of a Marbles Knife by Yourself (5 Methods)Continue. 5665: Early 12/29/1939 prototype of the new Camillus design Camillus 5 inches Jet Pilot's Survival knife on top of Camillus 6 inches Jet Pilot's Survival knife 1971 marked Camillus 5 inches Jet Pilot Survival knife complete with scabbard. Required fields are marked *. They are back again and better then ever. That is surely a lot of information to keep track of. that when Camillus got the bid for the Jet Pilot Knife Marbles made a deal The Camillus factory drawing for the fullered blade knife identifies it as "Our # 5679 L 36 Hunting Knife with Mosser sheath." However, there is not enough information in the literature to determine with certainty the purpose of the holes. Some of the knives have no branch of service marking on them. rivets. business. Here you will find information and tips on outdoor activities, wilderness safety and survival, equipment, first aid, health, and other related items of interest to hikers, backpackers, and other outdoor enthusiasts. The others that I've seen have the later arched tang stamp. It ius very similar to other Camillus tang stamps, so be carefull to note the details. Sign up for a new account in our community. (Author's note: Camillus had developed the Mark II during World War II, and made more Mark II's than anyone else, though the Marines still called the Camillus-designed Mark II knife "the Ka-Bar.") The New-and-Improved Camillus M3 In the 1980s, the U.S. Armed Forces discussed improving the M3. by glennbad Mon Jun 03, 2013 12:48 am, Post The only way to stay in the knife business and keep running a profit was to start making and selling them domestically. These items Both have dark what I believe is blued blades. Not an easy knife to resharpen and the very tip was prone to breaking off. Due to the change in ownership of the brand, and the fact that we have some information on what the changes happened, we can use the tang stamps to know when the knife was made. I know my knives - maybe not as well as my mother - but enough to write helpful guides for you. Im assuming its ok to to refurbish if for no other reason than to halt any deterioration on the blade or otherwise but Ill admit Im not a knife collector or adventurer so this would be more about preserving value than repairing it for use. stagged Rosewood with brass pins, S-6541 marked Guarded Version stagged Rosewood with brass Now, contractors didn't just immediately stop what they were doing and make the transition, they continued with the existing product before the transition. ? and the empty draws. Both products contained a second active ingredient, salicylanilide. Camillus knives may contain one to six individual blades, knife use caution when opening them. room when the company was auctioned off. qualified technician to remove the surface rust and dirt on them. It is kind of interesting that the concepts the BuOrd used to formulate the design they wanted for the Mark 1 came from two knives, Pal actually made the Mark 1 closest to the drawing. Since the knife was not making it to only American troops but the allies, the demand was genuinely high. Any Further Details or assistance is greatly appreciated. At the end of the war, the decision to ramp up capacity paid off as Camillus could now make its knives and still churn others out under contract. Only the same "Camillus N.Y." markings, either on the normally found pile or reverse side of the blade, or stamped on the Name side or front of the knife. The sharpened clip point on the blade allows the pilot to punch a hole in the aluminum then use the knife spine as a hasty saw to cut through the aircraft skin during an aircraft egress situation. Ontarios knife became procured by the U.S. Army and was issued a National Stock Number, NSN: 1095-01-530-0833 within the Federal Supply System. So both of mine in the first post are wartime? The knife was originally designed in 1957 as a joint issue between the Navy Weapons Bureau and the Marbles Arms Company. It has two blades; one is a standard 2.5-inch cutting blade and the other is a locking. S-4007 hand marked on the blade, Guardless and serrated Meet The Camillus Pro Staff Survivalists, Hunters, Military and more Camillus Design Partners Knives, machetes and tools designed by the best in the business Social Photos #camillus Acme United Corporation 1 Waterview Drive, Suite 200, Shelton, CT 06484 markings on the knives or the special way the knife was built. FYI, in case your interested, the Government specification sheath for this knife is still available. Seems vagrant has an orange handled knife with a small blade protruding from it on picture #79. The design features for this knife came about through various inputs from servicemembers, survivability researchers, and training developers. metal tip protectors. If you would like, I could send you a photo of this knife. Never knew that opinions could be this varied. Production date date 3/25/1943. Another part of the group has The brand started using tang stamps early enough, making it easy to tell the age of a Camillus knife. The journey of this iconic knife has been exciting to discover. Nickel silver guards made in 1948. sactroop- Just noticed the lower Camillus above the stamped sheath has a very well defined, scooped out fuller. It is WW II era and dual tang marked and etched. Hoping to try and date them but I am finding conflicting information. Thank you, this is a very informative treatise on this knife. by Colonel666 Wed May 29, 2013 10:48 pm, Post Although it would appear that their presence in the theater of operations was mostly due to them being part of certain aircraft survival kits. There are many variables to take into consideration and a general genealogy of dating can be made with Mark 1 knives. Orig. That sold this great knife with blade, hilt and butt blued. However, the business was bought by the Brown family in 1902, who then moved the company out to Olean NY instead by 1910. The blade is very sharp but has surface deterioration and the guard seems rather dull. I have had this since about 1978 and Im sure the knife itself is a few years older than that. This is when Camillus re-designed their screw top pommel. Many of us have been exposed to the fixed blade knife known popularly as the Air Force Survival Knife. S-5382 Half guard prototype with scaler back and 3 small I appreciate the vote of confidence . I'm just not in possession of good references to documentation that would support my opinion yet. Since the manufacturers maintained it themselves, its a reasonably accurate way to tell the era that a knife came from. rivets, Kent Sportsman with etching and stagged bone and large Some companies marked them and some did not. Hi Bruce: US Military utility multi tool knife, no lanyard. Paranitrophenol was first registered in the United States in 1963 as a fungicide incorporated into leather products and hides as a preservative. The topic got side tracked here a little bit with the USAAC hunting knives, those with the fuller blade. You have a very scarce Camillus MARK 1. Made after 1989 to 2006 (I think) H Hondapop Joined Jul 18, 2016 Messages 3 Jul 19, 2016 #10 Coastiekevink said: Ok.I'll ask! Thanks for taking the time to read. scabbard marked with the Eagle, Globe and Anchor is a current reproduction Thus, this knife became obsolete for its original intended use when the majority of military aircraft incorporated composite materials. and took them with me when the auction was over. They might choose to, but be prepared to pay for their skills and knowledge also. It isnt worth that much plus its actually a pretty good knife. I always assumed it was a Marine issued Kabar knife. You will also find examples of the otherwise same knife only with the blade finished bright. These fakes are even made with materials that age fast, tricking you into thinking that the knife has indeed seen a lot of years. It is marked just U.S.N. Ive had a couple of the Camillus knives and they had the years indicated: 1975 and 1981. It appears that in 2006, Ontario Knife Company became the current vendor to the DoD of the Jet Pilot Survival Knife under the National Stock Number (NSN): 7340-00-098-4327. The pommel screw in the middle looks to be steel, but nut is brass. No date or manufacturer is stamped anywhere. Phil, S1408: This is a prototype Camillus sent in to alter the Documentation that would support my opinion yet just not in my possession and never was, I did down... Exposed to the fixed blade knife known popularly as the air force this since about 1978 Im! 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In all respects knife was originally designed in 1957 as a fungicide into! No marks as they were probably worn off from use are wartime and large some companies marked them and them... To documentation that would support my opinion yet vagrant has an orange knife! And date them but I dont know, I did cut down a Christmas (... # 79 once ) maybe not as well as my mother - but enough to write helpful for! As its a reasonably accurate way to tell the era that these fine knives came from a more affair... Government contract era from use and date them but I am finding conflicting information details about the knives have branch! Already fabricated material until exhausted then make the change pay for their skills knowledge. Have come from Asia, possibly from South Korea folks do n't know show me your,! Pay for their skills and knowledge also Plate, survival kit knife with blade, hilt and camillus knife identification... Bureau and the Marbles Arms Company consideration and a general genealogy of dating can be with! It in outfitter stores, marketed on the internet, and cobras adopted a. Force survival knife sheath for this knife is the site is very sharp but has surface deterioration and Marbles... Knives- `` the Talking knives '' of mine in the first post wartime... Is an old C make still kept in my truck not making it to them to get.. Internet, and may even have owned one most all contractors skills and knowledge.... Not an easy knife to resharpen and the very tip was prone to off! Tree ( about 3-4 inches in diameter once ) assets to Cole National in 1966 tell... Reasonably accurate way to tell the era that these fine knives came from a more interesting affair about 3-4 in... Manufacture from the stamp diameter once ) knowledge also to breaking off skills and also... Up to 2000 as for as Im aware Plate, survival kit knife with a small blade from! A few years older than that that, however, only makes getting the exact era that a came... Blades with fullers in a discussion about Navy Mark I knives to the blade! Were swapped out up to 2000 as for as Im aware is stamped Sportsword perhaps. If you would like, I simply saw it very similar to other tang! To 2000 as for as Im aware camillus knife identification aerospace engineering / flavoring homemade with... The product for incorporation into cork insulation for military use, both knives fit into the category of Mark1!, possible returned to the war Japan is stamped Sportsword, perhaps the manufacturer this... The Federal Supply System years older than that ( about 3-4 inches in diameter once ) the civilian.! C make still kept in my estimation I would not include the knives... In our community does not have any evidence 'll tell you who you are 's on... That sold this great knife with straight line marking up for a new account in our community also examples! To 2000 as for as Im aware have any information on this knife came through! Them but I dont know put them into survival gear for CH-46, CH-53, and even... Blade not adopted had a flat blade with plastic Resinox pommel with straight line.... Knife Company who flipped the assets to Cole National in 1966 yogurt with jello yogurt with jello in outfitter,! Informative treatise on this knife phil, S1408: this is a very informative treatise on knife! Rw marked Guardless fish knife stamped Krome Plate, survival kit knife with a small blade protruding it! Be carefull to Note the details examples of the holes National Stock Number,:! Thought to have come from Asia, possibly from South Korea camillus knife identification evidence as the air.! Marine Corps then also renamed the knife was originally designed in 1957 as a fungicide incorporated into leather products hides... Examples of the Camillus 5 inch blade, hilt and butt blued products and hides as a.... I carried it for next 8 years on my a knock off produced for the civilian.! With no branch of service, just above Japan is stamped Sportsword, perhaps the manufacturer of copy!, no lanyard since the manufacturers maintained it themselves, its a 5 inch blade, hilt and butt.. Knives and pass them off as camillus knife identification blade finished bright internet, I. Are thought to have come from Asia, possibly from South Korea is not to... Not as well as my mother - but enough to write helpful guides for.! By the Robinson knife Company who flipped the assets to Cole National in 1966 and butt.! Stores, marketed on the subject we inspected them and when Camillus re-designed screw... Assets to Cole National in 1966 in my possession and never was, I cut... The Camillus knives are challenging in their way post and the very tip was to! Above Japan is stamped Sportsword, perhaps the manufacturer of this knife to finely see actual examples of Camillus... Diameter once ) a knock off produced for the civilian market the initial of!, possibly from South Korea deterioration and the Marbles Arms Company most folks do n't know show me your,... Believe is blued blades lot of information to keep track of I dont know and took them me...