Camillus 2/1972 identification

R

rick73

Joined
Jul 26, 2017
Messages
15
Hello,
I have this very good Looking Camillus pilot survivor knife.
I am afraid it may not be original. I do not have the original sheath.
The blade is 99% perfect. Some really tiny pitting you can't see from the pictures.
But the blade and also the guard is all polished. There are no markings on the blade just on the pommel, Camillus N.Y. 2-1972 and the mark is fading.
Handle in perfect conditions it seems like wood to me and not leather.
Is it normal that the blade is not marked ? The blade seems re-sharpened with perfect tip.
The blade length from guard to tip is exactly 4.961".
thank you for helping.
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Well, it looks like someone took a standard Camillus-made pilot's survival knife and buffed the blade to a mirror finish. I don't believe they ever came this way from the factory, so in that regard, no, it is not "original." You mention there appears to be some minor pitting, which leads me to believe the blade was buffed out to remove some corrosion, though it might just be the person who buffed it didn't like the factory finish. The blade would likely have needed resharpening after the buffing, as buffing will usually dull an edge, so your assessment that it was resharpened makes sense. The tip looks fine to me and doesn't appear to have been reground.

Are you sure the blade has been buffed, and not chrome plated? It's hard to tell from your pictures, but it looks more like chrome plating to me. These knives tend to have quite a few machining marks on the blade, and the evenness of the polish, especially in the fullers, is what makes me think it might be chromed. Buffing out all the machining marks would be a LOT of work without the right equipment.....
 
Someone who actually knows what they're talking about will come along shortly. Until they do, I'll offer this.

I have one that I got in Danang in 1968, it was Marine Corps issue, so I assume it's the real thing. My blade has "Camillus" stamped on the blade, with "NY" underneath. My pommel has no marking on it , but yours says "Camillus, NY, 2-1972", so it may have been made later. Maybe it's the angle, but your blade appears to have more belly than mine, but that could also be from mine being sharpened umpteen times. I'm pretty sure your handle is made with stacked leather. Mine looks pretty much the same as yours, only with "a bit" more honest wear. I can't really tell from the pics, but your blade appears to have either been plated or polished. Mine still has a bit of the original black coating left in some areas.
 
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View attachment 875756
Here’s a pic of mine, with the original sheath. The sheath originally had a pouch sewn on the front that contained an oil stone. I cut it off many years ago. For the life of me I can’t figure out why I did such a thing.
 
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yes it's stacked leather the handle you re right.
mine looks really like if it were chromed after.
thanks to all. BTW yours looks fantastic.
 
In the 1972 catalog they show this knife with a mirror polished blade which they called the " Astronaut space knife" , but I'm not sure there's a way to prove that's what this is.
 
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I googled the 1010, and they had a similarly polished pommel.
The example I saw had no markings on the pommel and a camo sheath but this was probably from the 80's based on the camo alone.

Regardless, based on the pommel not matching the blade and the condition of the leather spacers it's pretty obvious now that this knife was polished by someone not too long ago.
 
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