My original post to this thread at #7 was merely directed to the OPs original question. It does seem that its brevity has lead to some confusion as to the Post WW2 production of what Camillus internally referred to as their 5684 pattern knife. 5684 is to Camillus like 1217 is to KA-BAR.
The above image is how Camillus marked this knife for Government purchase from 1962 to early 1974.
According to an article in Knife World Magazine dated Jan. 2005, authored by Frank Trzaska with research assistance from Camilluss official company historian Tom Williams, as well as others. In February 1974 Camillus dropped the (N.Y.) from the second line of the blade marking. Dean Wallace, VP of Engineering at Camillus at the time, put this change into effect. While the article doesnt go into detail on why the decision was made, it is true that the Government specification didnt require that the State of manufacture be included in the markings.
This is the new marking that was used from early 1974 to early 1989 on the 5684 production. You will find examples of these with two different styles of lettering.
The same Knife World article mentioned earlier provides the following information regarding this latest tang marking:
Camillus dropped the U.S. marking on 3/1/89 when they changed over to the Camillus logo stamping. It consists of the stylized Camillus with line over and under the name / New York / U.S.A. in three lines. This marked the departure of the Camillus knife from the government procurement program, as it no longer conformed to the specifications laid out for markings.
At this point I havent run across specific documentation that pin points the exact date of termination of Camilluss Government procurement contracts for this knife. That some use the above date to establish that termination maybe a bit speculative. Camillus may have waited awhile to effect the change in the tang marking. Regardless Camillus continued to market this knife to the public with the logo on the blade as a 5684 right up until the factory closed in 2006.
Hope this helps.
