Camillus scout knife help

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Balrog99

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Apr 13, 2013
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So I picked up this awesome old Camillus scout knife today for 15 bucks. It's in great condition, and it's old enough to have the original style can opener. Just curious as to the model and Aprox year. Thanks!
 
Looks like WW II issue.

Cole calls it "U.S. Army Utility Knife Bone Handles."Right end of top row here and other examples below https://www.google.com/search?q=U.S...X&ved=0CB0QsARqFQoTCI2X39GU4ccCFcM9PgoduhkA8w

Commentary:
Yes, that four blade utility knife was made by Camillus during WW2. The factory called it their "Army Engineers and Marine Corps Utility Knife." The shield on the side probably says USA, and you might want to examine it carefully. Almost identical Camillus knives were made for the USAAF, the Navy and Marine Corps. If your knife has the USA shield it is the most common variety.
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It's a WW2 era Army issue knife. The U.S.A. shield actually stands for United States Army. I believe there's a U.S.N a U.S.A.A.F. and U.S.M.C shield as well. As Linton said the Army shield is fairly common. Here's a pic of the one I have.
 
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wazu013 said:
It's a WW2 era Army issue knife. The U.S.A. shield actually stands for United States Army. I believe there's a U.S.N a U.S.A.F. and U.S.M.C shield as well. As Linton said the Army shield is fairly common. Here's a pic of the one I have.
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A great find for $15.

I doubt that there was a U.S.A.F. utility knife issued like the one above . The Air Force didn't become a separate unit from the United States Army Air Core until after 1957 or so.

Tom
 
Double Ott said:
A great find for $15.

I doubt that there was a U.S.A.F. utility knife issued like the one above . The Air Force didn't become a separate unit from the United States Army Air Core until after 1957 or so.

Tom
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It was the Air Service, US Army then US Army Air Corps then US Army Air Forces and finally became the USAF in 1947 with the National Security Act of 1947 (the same act that renamed the War Department to Department of Defense). I think it had other names prior to WW1 during the initial development of flight capability within the Army.
 
zzyzzogeton said:
Double Ott said:
I doubt that there was a U.S.A.F. utility knife issued like the one above . The Air Force didn't become a separate unit from the United States Army Air Core until after 1957 or so.
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It was the Air Service, US Army then US Army Air Corps then US Army Air Forces and finally became the USAF in 1947 with the National Security Act of 1947 (the same act that renamed the War Department to Department of Defense). I think it had other names prior to WW1 during the initial development of flight capability within the Army.
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Part of U.S. Army Signal Corps until 1918.
Was the Division of Military Aeronautics (but for only five days) in 1918.
Became U.S. Army Air Service in 1918.
Became U.S. Army Air Corps in 1926.
Became U.S. Army Air Forces in 1941.
Became U.S. Air Force in 1947.
 
Double Ott said:
A great find for $15.

I doubt that there was a U.S.A.F. utility knife issued like the one above . The Air Force didn't become a separate unit from the United States Army Air Core until after 1957 or so.

Tom
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Thanks for the correction.
I meant to to enter U.S.A.A.F but missed an A.
 
What year did Camillus drop the bone scales in favor of the steel on the 1760 "Demo" knife?
 
afishhunter said:
What year did Camillus drop the bone scales in favor of the steel on the 1760 "Demo" knife?
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Spec'd MIL-K-818 first came about in 1944.

History of the Military Specification:

MIL-K-818 =1944
MIL-K-818 Revision A =1955
MIL-K-818 Revision B = 1959
MIL-K-818 Revision C =1964
MIL-K-818 Revision D =1985
MIL-K-818D Notice 1 - Cancellation = 1997

Camillus began full military production in 1957 and produced 13,000,000 of these across the years and revisions.
 
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leghog - when did Camilus start putting YOM on them? The reason I ask is that I have a Camillus MIL-K-818-like knife with "PAT PEND" instead of a date.
 
As far as I know Camillus dated them since at least 1957, the first year Camillus went into full production of these knives.
 
Nice grab! I've nearly pulled the trigger on a vintage Scout pattern (from the auction site) several times now myself.
 
Balrog99 said:
So I picked up this awesome old Camillus scout knife today for 15 bucks. It's in great condition, and it's old enough to have the original style can opener. Just curious as to the model and Aprox year. Thanks!
...
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Congrats on a excellent knife at a nice price, Balrog99! :thumbup::thumbup:

- GT
 
I believe the correct term for the old military scout pattern is the "Engineer's Knife". Great find for $15.00.
 
Balrog99 said:
So I picked up this awesome old Camillus scout knife today for 15 bucks. It's in great condition, and it's old enough to have the original style can opener. Just curious as to the model and Aprox year. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Nice find :thumbup: .. This mite help
 
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