Seeking advice on Camillus MK 1 knife(1st post)

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ForceFedFun

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Jul 8, 2020
Messages
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Hi all,

I recently acquired a USN Mk 1 Camillus knife. It is missing the pommel(which could have been metal,plastic,wood right?) and the tang doesn't look to be original. She has the blued blade and I want to get her back to her original configuration. I hope I can use the kabar leather replacement kit to get the leather(and a period correct tang) I need, but I am still out a correct pommel. I am sure someone knows a vast bit more about this knife then I do. i just have a soft spot for U.S.N. items and want to make this an heirloom down the road.
 
Welcome aboard.

I don't think we mean the same thing by tang, or I don't see how it could have been replaced. Pictures might help.
 
It looks to be missing about a half-inch of leather as well as the original pommel/buttcap. That item is steel, at least on mine. I'm about 450 miles from home or I'd take a few pictures of it. Do you have the sheath as well?
 
I wish I did, but it just came with a generic leather sheath with a vine pattern on it. I've read that the pommels could have been metal, wood or plastic but I have no idea what is original to this knife.
 
ForceFedFun said:
I wish I did, but it just came with a generic leather sheath with a vine pattern on it. I've read that the pommels could have been metal, wood or plastic but I have no idea what is original to this knife.
Click to expand...
I have a wooden pommel and a plastic one, but neither is a Camillus.
 
I don't think I've ever seen a wooden one, but that would be the easiest to duplicate, provided you have access to a lathe. Frankly though, if you're wishing to make it pristine and "collectable" that's not going to happen. To remove the blueing you will have to either polish it out or use a blasting media. At that point the blade, which is the only really good part of your knife, will be noticeably "wrong". The only thing you could do is to parkerize the blade, but I'm not sure if Camillus ever did that. KaBar did.

If you want a metal butt, you can easily get those from suppliers like Jantz or Knifekits. Make sure you get a nut to match both the new butt and the threading on your tang if possible.
 
I understand that it's never going to be perfect. I just want her back in the right form/shape so she looks the way she is supposed to. Eventually she is going back underway but she needs to be fully functional first. I will look into Jantz and knifekits to see what they have. I understand the only part with real value is the blade and I like the way she looks as it.
 
Thanks for the pictures. Nice knife.

I don't know why I thought I had a plastic pommel. The Robeson looks like walnut, definitely wood, with the tang peened over a washer.
These nostalgic reissues by Camillus and Camillus/Western had disc pommels slotted to fit over the tang and pinned through, like their Mark II Navy and their trench knife. I had to file off the discs because they were too big on too short a handle and they really cramped my grip. Lucky for me they were aluminum.

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