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- Jun 3, 2015
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I came across this pattern recently and it’s really captured my attention. The knife is the WW2 US Navy General Issue Utility knife, and seems to be around in reasonable numbers on the second hand market, with prices that range from $40 to $100.
The first thing I noticed about it was how similar it is to the GEC 15 pattern. But in my opinion the beautiful Rogers jigged bone makes it somewhat nicer than many of those. It also has the end cap and the bail, which are the kind of feature I feel the #15 pattern needs to give it more heft.
This is the first one I bought, its got the spear main and pen secondary and brass liners.
Here it is compared to the GEC #15 pattern in beerscout attire:
You can see some obvious similarities. The #33 wins out on bail shape and craftmanship of that bail, as well as the jigging. It also wins as a ‘user that I am not afraid to use’.
A lot of these knives, in pictures, seem to have bone that is slightly too short on the bolster, and aligning backsprings didn’t seem a priority - I guess the Camillus returns desk wasn’t functioning all that well during WW2.
This knife is commonly seen with a long pull or a nail nick. I recently picked up another version, but I am not sure if this one is original or a modification. It is in trapper configuration with all steel construction, and an unmarked secondary blade that might be a home made spey blade (I haven’t seen another like it - but Camillus did make a lot of knives).
The other subtle difference is that this one has a false pin head on the bail arm - the bail actually enters through the scale, not the end cap.
The reason I think it might be home made/modded is that the secondary nail nick doesn’t quite align with the EO cut-out - although this doesn’t impair its function.
I just really love this trapper version of the #33 knife, the snap on both of the blades is fantastic and although this trapper blade configuration doesn’t seem to offer a lot of differentiation, the blades are sufficiently different that they do serve different functions, especially due to the extra belly in the spear compared to the straight edge of the spey.
The spey also fills up the blade well which I always prefer to empty space.
I also like the fact this knife has history as a working pattern and as a Navy issue marine service knife - these are factors that can’t be added by modern designers, and gives this knife character and history.
In saying that, and although GEC has come close a couple of times with their variations on the #15, I would love to see an authentic reproduction of this pattern, with matching jigging style and color and a similar bail. Perhaps wishful thinking as there are already a few variations on this theme.
Who else has a Camillus #33 EO in their collection?
The first thing I noticed about it was how similar it is to the GEC 15 pattern. But in my opinion the beautiful Rogers jigged bone makes it somewhat nicer than many of those. It also has the end cap and the bail, which are the kind of feature I feel the #15 pattern needs to give it more heft.
This is the first one I bought, its got the spear main and pen secondary and brass liners.
Here it is compared to the GEC #15 pattern in beerscout attire:
You can see some obvious similarities. The #33 wins out on bail shape and craftmanship of that bail, as well as the jigging. It also wins as a ‘user that I am not afraid to use’.
A lot of these knives, in pictures, seem to have bone that is slightly too short on the bolster, and aligning backsprings didn’t seem a priority - I guess the Camillus returns desk wasn’t functioning all that well during WW2.
This knife is commonly seen with a long pull or a nail nick. I recently picked up another version, but I am not sure if this one is original or a modification. It is in trapper configuration with all steel construction, and an unmarked secondary blade that might be a home made spey blade (I haven’t seen another like it - but Camillus did make a lot of knives).
The other subtle difference is that this one has a false pin head on the bail arm - the bail actually enters through the scale, not the end cap.
The reason I think it might be home made/modded is that the secondary nail nick doesn’t quite align with the EO cut-out - although this doesn’t impair its function.
I just really love this trapper version of the #33 knife, the snap on both of the blades is fantastic and although this trapper blade configuration doesn’t seem to offer a lot of differentiation, the blades are sufficiently different that they do serve different functions, especially due to the extra belly in the spear compared to the straight edge of the spey.
The spey also fills up the blade well which I always prefer to empty space.
I also like the fact this knife has history as a working pattern and as a Navy issue marine service knife - these are factors that can’t be added by modern designers, and gives this knife character and history.
In saying that, and although GEC has come close a couple of times with their variations on the #15, I would love to see an authentic reproduction of this pattern, with matching jigging style and color and a similar bail. Perhaps wishful thinking as there are already a few variations on this theme.
Who else has a Camillus #33 EO in their collection?
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The knife with the spey blade is a parts knife. Some of the clues for a parts knife are... buffed bolsters, bolster pin does not match, blade does not match pattern and/or manufacturer/era/etc, stamp ground off, etc.
