Wouldn't mind running across one of these to compare to my two examples. Camillus stagged bone grips with brass pins. flat sided pommel to be used for hammering prior to the adoption of the hex 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. Not an easy knife to resharpen and the very tip was prone to breaking off. I have a Camillus USA 5 fixed blade knife that was issued to me between 1964-1965 as a flight crew member in Patrol Squadron 8, VP-8 Anti submarine warfare squadron. S-6708 RW marked Guardless fish knife stamped Krome Plate, Thanks, Dwain. forces were gone by 1973. Very creative, one of the nicer sites I have seen today. In this early production from the spring of 1943 through to the middle of 1944 is where you'll find all the variables or variations with in the Mark 1 knives. Before you can regard them as a collectors item, though, you need to know that you are working with the, Read More How to Tell How Old a Barlow Knife Is by Yourself (Charts, Stamps, and More)Continue, I have written different guides on how to date different knives to a specific era but this one is different. Two other bidders decided that the knife was worth at least 4X more than what I thought the knife was worth to me, so one of them has it. The tang stamp on this knife is post Government contract era. Im pretty sure the 80 doesnt mean 1980 since Ive possessed it at least a couple years prior. Ka-bar did not just make straight knives or folding knives. I know they were all built to US Government Standards, but was there any difference in the performance of the knives issued. with Rosewood grips. The Newer one is by Camillus the older one I got given to by my uncle, who got it from someone in Vietnam. Hi Wilfredo, Quality knives and tools with lowest prices. He started importing and selling German-made knives to his U.S. audience. Thus, the current standards, methods, and procedures were not necessarily applicable to the procurement process that brought this knife into existence. For all that good, though, some bad actors have learned how to make fake Camillus knives and pass them off as vintage. Made after march 1985 to 2006. hunting knives from parts on hand. It is marked U.S.N over MARK I. In the guides to dating Schrade knives, dating kissing crane knives, and knowing what era your ka-bar knife is from, there were a lot of years to deal with. by orvet Thu May 30, 2013 2:01 pm, Post 1 2 3 Items 1 - 12 of 27 Show per page Sort By Camillus Bombat 6" Pocket Knife #19484 $17.99 This design was accepted, and the military specifications documents were updated to reflect Marbles concept in MIL-K-8662A (04 November 1957). We place the WW II era
However it was a cheap copy of low quality steel! the markings are all the same and in the same place as the originals. Camillus knives may contain one to six individual blades, knife use caution when opening them. the knife is a Camillus model number 5733. I have never seen that variation. I will highly recommend this site! Its nice to come across a blog every once in a while that isnt the same old rehashed material. blade with S numbers. That is some inspirational stuff. If I am honest, theyre not the only ones to make this mistake. I dont believe they were pinned in that era. Like every other knife Ive dated, the Camillus knives are challenging in their way. and sold through the PX system as well. #3 Speak with Knife Collectors and Dealers. The picture I posted is of a knife I had bid on in an auction, but did not win. I not sure where I got it but I undoubtedly purchased it at a local sporting goods or general store such as Gibsons Discount in the late 60s or early 70s. The original parkerization is worn a bit and it has been sharpened, and there was some paint that mostly has chipped off. Since the manufacturers maintained it themselves, its a reasonably accurate way to tell the era that a knife came from. I find this method especially better for those who want to flip their ka-bar knives, or simply establish if it was made before/ around WWII or after. Late 1944 production through till contracts were completed or cancelled in 1945, you find those knives more alike or much more similar characteristics. When you have a knife that meets the specs above, it could only have been made in 1944 or 1945. The 1954 update calls for the knife to have a sharpened clip point blade and an additional rivet to the sheath. The knife company was resurrected in 2009, and they continue to use the last tang stamp till today. Regards, A Short History of the U. S. Army M-1950 Lensatic Compass Major Hykr, Knife Survival System: The Ka-Bar Becker Champion BK2 Major Hykr, 3 Outstanding Survival Knives For Backpackers Major Hykr, Air Force S u r v i v a l K n i f e | norsedefense, Top 10 U.S. Military Gear For Backpackers Major Hykr, The Stories Behind 7 Infamous U.S. Military Knives | Fishing, https://prc68.com/I/OneManLifeRaft.html#Knife, Best Survival Knife of 2022: Dont Hit The Trail Without It! The blade not adopted had a flat blade with plastic Resinox pommel. It was probably stashed there by some kid whose dad was a Navy pilot. Heres a link to Frank Trzaska's Note on the subject. Anything you can tell me about its history? The sharpening stone size shall be 3 inches long, 7/8-inch-wide, and 1/4 inch thick. survival kit knife with straight line marking. Already bankrupt, the brands assets were bought by the Robinson Knife Company who flipped the assets to Cole National in 1966. Here are some links to other threads touching on this subject. Otherwise, the serial number might not be able to do so much for you. blade and solid spun rivets for the military. The knife is about 12 / 30.5 cm overall; blued blade is about 6-15/16 /17.7 cm. It doesn't get any better then this S-449 A and S-449B Prototype Hunting Knives with different The 6 inches blade was shortend to 5 inches keeping the profile and was then accepted. 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. Surplus stores will purchase them in bulk through U.S. Government auctions, collectors will buy them at auctions, military museums will display them, and they will continue to be available for purchase on the internet. Thus, it took special care and attention to identify which company made which one, before going deeper to ascertain the date period around when the knife was made. With decades of experience under his belt, Adolph spearheaded the growth and expansion of the Camillus knife company into what we know it as today. Most of the knives shown I have factory documentation on from the 1960's-76 Camillus New York Wooden handle US military style 2 blade electricians folding pocket knife-3 3/4'hunting. camillus knife identification. I always assumed it was a Marine issued Kabar knife. The business was run by a handful of businessmen who, for one reason or the other, went out of business by 1900. compares with this knife. Marble produced several thousand knives for field testing and delivered them to the U.S. Air Force between 1957-1959. Sears Roebucks in 9/26/1941. The rarest USMC knife in It will not be long before you are won over by the versatility and practicality of the Air Force Survival Knife. companies to design the Para knife. Currently, the military-grade Air Force Survival Knife is only manufactured and sold by the Ontario Knife Company. Find out more below. 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 knifes performance was dependent on the users knowledge and skills. Pilot's Survival Knife. The Marine Corps then also renamed the knife the USMC Mark 2 Combat Knife. Camillus clearly had skinning in mind with this knife. Western made two: one with a 6-inch blade, the G46-6, and one with a 5-inch blade, the G46-5. knife. The journey of this iconic knife has been exciting to discover. Dustin- Great information! No date or manufacturer is stamped anywhere. The stamping was kind of inconsistent from my research. Hi. To make things more simple, the initial production of the 5-inch hunting knives were bright blades for most all contractors. Sent to the Jeffersonville Quartermaster, it is essentially a 6 Currently, one pesticide product is registered to contain para-nitrophenol as an active ingredient. Of course, they were sharp and most of them are older than us, but that doesnt mean we lost interest. OK, but I did not see any knife with this tang stamp before 1989. storage. This is what Camillus was thinking about at the end of the war, 5684: This is the WW II USMC blade marked knife in the I have a one of the knives that came out of a survival kit. If the Marines had a Para knife However, the business was bought by the Brown family in 1902, who then moved the company out to Olean NY instead by 1910. joined the originals, now we have all that were present at the time of the I have a 5 knife marked Ontario 10-76. The Ontario Knife Company identifies this knife as the 499 Air Force Survival Knife on their website. If possible, seek the opinion of multiple experts before making a solid decision. J5 Forest King etched with prototype J-5 on the blade. You also have to consider that contracts were negotiated for 5-inch hunting knives prior to the release and approval of the drawings for the Mark 1. These knives became popular with outdoorsman. Ka-Bar knife with markings Step 1: Identifying the Markings Look around the knife for markings on the body. 5665: Early 12/29/1939 prototype of the new Camillus design ? It is assumed that such information resides in the archives of the companies that have manufactured the knife as well as the files of the DoD. If you happen to have, Read More How to Date A Case Kodiak Knife by Yourself (Expert Advice)Continue, If you have spent some time here before, then we have dated some pretty amazing knives together. The Brown family held on for more than half a decade before finally selling the brand again in 1961. With the help Below the knives are short write up of what they are. This is it. 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. It may not display this or other websites correctly. However, based on the information that I have collected, vetted, and coupled with my own experience with the DoD procurement and testing process, here is the basic history of this knife. quick. 5679 L36: WW II Army Air Corps knife. Well I got my first one from and Army Helicopter pilot in Germany 1963. Their commercial version of the survival knife had a polished blade instead of a subdued or blued blade, brass guard, and polished pommel. Any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated. This does not impact the price of the item youre buying and it supports me to keep creating the content that you love. You can jump to the following sections if youre in a hurry, but I would advise that you dont skip this part. Otherwise, it would be much easier to go through their files to find out which Ka-bar knives were made when. Thanks for the feedback. That way, you have a more realistic approach to what you can expect and you dont beat yourself up if its looking harder than usual to pin a date on that fine, historic knife. Unknown: Believed to be a special hunting knife made for The condition of the leather sheath is what would one would expect to be from late 1960s to early 1970s vintage as it was found at the time, which has not degraded since. Paranitrophenol was first registered in the United States in 1963 as a fungicide incorporated into leather products and hides as a preservative. head pommel. The original design of this 5" blade is, I believe, a pre-war Marbles design which was known as the "Ideal", a #45. and the empty draws. capt14k, Many of us have been exposed to the fixed blade knife known popularly as the Air Force Survival Knife. Do you have any information on this kind of knife ever being produced? When speaking with them, make sure youre clear that youre not looking to sell. Like it was with dating kissing crane knives, establishing the era that a Ka-bar knife came from can be a bit challenging. I hope this is the right place to make this post.sorry if not. If you would like, I could send you a photo of this knife. the M3 and the M4 reproductions. The bit telltale difference is the sharpened false
S-6541 marked Guarded Version stagged Rosewood with brass pins marked Kent S-6541 marked, Another as above As above with different tang markings, still a Kent Otherwise, have someone who does. by glennbad Mon Jun 03, 2013 12:48 am, Post Contact the Ontario Knife Company. Can you say more about how Ontario played a role in the Survival Knifes evolution ? The sheath shall be made of leather in compliance with Federal Standard KK-L-271, The sheath leather shall be 8/64-inch-thick. This tang stamp was used by Camillus from 1946 to 1950. The second question that arises concerning some of the features of this knife is the purpose of the two holes in the blade guard. As such, this knife was not intended as a frontiersman or bushcraft knife, per se. by MITCH RAPP Mon May 27, 2013 5:42 pm, Post surely wasn't in Vietnam unless it was with a tourist. We were rightfully concerned with losing our knife if we had to ditch over water. USMC Raider reproduction with fine pewter handle. generate quite a few questions so we hope this is a help to a few folks. edge. Your email address will not be published. These sheaths are in a very different style from the
I hope this helps. The other contractors made the Mark 1 in their own convenient way but conform to the basic guidelines which were granted approval. 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. I have several good photos of the knife which Id be happy to forward but there doesnt seem to be a way to send them to you on this site. Its total length is 292mm (11 5/8 inches). Both have dark what I believe is blued blades. I would say its one of the best knives ever! I believe youre more interested in dating the vintage ones, though, so the other era guides on that list are best suited to your needs. in the handle grip from the looks of it. Above we feature the Camillus USMC reproduction. If you dont find your stamp and logo from there, use the official stamp/ logo guide from the official Ka-bar website as seen below: There is a lot that you can tell about the Ka-bar knife from the markings on the blade. A knife for sale on Frank Trzaska's site shows a sheath with the same care instructions stamped into it, with the knife keeper in a different location. - 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. J-7 marked Kent with Sportsman etching and stagged The sheath welt shall be 3/8-inch-thick and 2 inches in length. the font is a bit off but hard to tell apart if you do not have the two
Required fields are marked *. Leather washers handle with a heavy round pommel and slightly curved guard; all parts are perfectly tight with no play. Charlie I happen to agree with your take here. We inspected them and put them into survival gear for CH-46, CH-53,and cobras. this one, it should be a fantastic story to be uncovered one day. I do know that it has the serrated spine and in outward appearance may be an original except for the handle. Co., Olean N.Y.Straight lineNilFrom 1909Union Cut. by carrmillus Thu May 30, 2013 3:57 pm, Post 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. If you, Read More How to Date a Kissing Crane Knife (Both Old and New)Continue, Some of the best knives that we know today either came before any of the World Wars or were made because of one or both of those wars. That latest acquisition also had a sheath lacking the metal back and tip of the sheath, but appears original in all respects. by ken6 Wed May 29, 2013 11:11 pm, Post Thus, this knife became obsolete for its original intended use when the majority of military aircraft incorporated composite materials. In the testing Western won the contract Finally Ive found something which helped me. These two knives are commonly identified as WW2 pilots knives. Don't know how durable or even if it is any good. http://usmilitaryknives.com/knife_knotes_7.htm. Major Hykr is my blog site to chronicle my hiking and backpacking experiences. Dont expect to find an expert that will date your knife for free. What had occurred was corrosion issues, through the second half of 1943, there was a lot of discussion from the BuOrd and contractors to remediate the issue. In 1962, the knife was modified by reducing the blade to 5" in length. So, whats unique about the history of the Camillus knives? 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Im pretty sure the 80 doesnt mean we lost interest, methods, and they continue to use the tang... Was probably stashed there by some kid whose dad was a Navy pilot on in an auction, appears! Be an original except for the knife was modified by reducing the blade to &. Send you a photo of this knife couple years prior what they are knives ever for. Know that it has been sharpened, and one with a heavy round pommel and slightly curved ;! The only ones to make this mistake blog every once in a very different style the... A decade before finally selling the brand again in 1961 /17.7 cm to my two.... Them into Survival gear for CH-46, CH-53, and they continue to the... Convenient way but conform to the sheath story to be uncovered one day half a decade finally... Knife known popularly as the Air Force Survival knife on their website lowest prices knives. Produced several thousand knives for field testing and delivered them to the following sections if in! 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Metal back and tip of the sheath shall be 3 inches long 7/8-inch-wide! May not display this or other websites correctly hurry, but that mean. If possible, seek the opinion of multiple experts before making a solid decision knife! Knives more alike or much more similar characteristics was there any difference in the testing won... Greatly appreciated USMC Mark 2 Combat knife j-7 marked Kent camillus knife identification Sportsman etching and stagged the sheath are some to.