5 Rarest WW2 & Post War Stainless Utility Knives

[bobcat87]

Here is a thread that many folks who collect the WW2 stainless utility through Mil-K varieties have probably wondered about just as I have ever since I started collecting them. What are the rarest of all stainless utility knives? In 25+ years of attending shows and collecting these wonderful knives, here are the top 5 hardest to find for me.

 

1. 1949 Camillus. Extremely hard to find prototype. I have seen 3 on the internet and one in person.

 

2. Stevenson U.S.A. with Robeson can opener and screwdriver. Possible prototype? I have seen 4 or 5.

 

3. 1957 Camillus. First contract year. I have seen 7 or 8 of these.

 

4. 1948 Ulster. First year. I have seen less than a dozen of these.

 

5. 1962 Camillus. I have seen less than 20 of these knives.

 

 

Anyone that has collected these knives for an extended period of time, what are your opinions?

 

P.S. I would love to see pics of your rarest stainless utility knives!

 

[Misfit 45]

Since I do not collect the Camillus dated knives, my experience is limited to what others say, which does, however, attribute somewhat to my personal understanding of the matter. That said, I would think the 1962 Camillus is more scarce than the Ulster-48. I have two of them, one of which is a parts knife. In your list, you label the Ulster-48 as "First year". Are there other 48s I should be looking for?

Marv

[bobcat87]

Yes. There were other Ulster utility knives made. The chart posted by Michael Wiedemann in 2002 lists three other Ulster tang stamp variations. The chart was posted on this forum several years ago. I believe they were later manufactured knives, possibly the 60's, based upon their physical characteristics (brass liners on the 48 others are stainless, smaller thumb stud, etc ).

[bobcat87]

Here is a Stevenson U.S.A. with Robeson can opener and screwdriver to start things off. Very rare knife.

[Misfit 45]

Thanks for the clarification. I suspect now that you mean that there is only one version of the clevis marked Ulster-48. I have an Ulster with steel liners with "Ulster Knife USA" on the blade. I don't think (but don't know for sure) that it should be on your list.

Marv

[bobcat87]

The tang stamps shown on the chart are STAINLESS/STEEL, ULSTER/KNIFE USA/STAINLESS STEEL, and ULSTER/USA/STAINLESS/STEEL (the " / " means over). I know of only one Ulster 48 marked clevis. There could be others I do not know about that are not listed on the chart though.

[thorin6]

Here's my 1949 Camillus; picked up in a Virginia Antique Mall.

 

 

[thorin6]

More:

 

[thorin6]

I think one more forum member has one, and I believe Frank Trzaska has one.

[bobcat87]

WOW! That is a beauty. I am sooo jealous.

[Misfit 45]

The tang stamps shown on the chart are STAINLESS/STEEL, ULSTER/KNIFE USA/STAINLESS STEEL, and ULSTER/USA/STAINLESS/STEEL (the " / " means over). I know of only one Ulster 48 marked clevis. There could be others I do not know about that are not listed on the chart though.

 

I have the chart to which you refer. In fact, I have posted it here on the forum at least twice. It is a bit confusing the way he presents it. I don't think he is trying to convey that the Ulster-48 clevis marked knife has any blade markings other than the tell tail "S" which is on each blade. The other markings: Ulster/ knife/USA etc. are on the other, later Ulster knives with stainless liners. Those clevises are unmarked.

Marv

 

[bobcat87]

I agree Marv. Though now and then a new variation pops up that no one has seen before. A few years back I discovered a variation of a 1967 Imperial that had an over stamp 1969 date. I traded it to Frank Trzaska for another knife I was after. He told me that it was the first he had seen. New variations do pop up from time to time but they are not that common.

[Charlie Flick]

Though now and then a new variation pops up that no one has seen before. A few years back I discovered a variation of a 1967 Imperial that had an over stamp 1969 date.

 

Bobcat:

 

You are right, new variations seem to surface every now and then. I have a 1967 Imperial like the one you describe except that it is overstamped 1968 rather than '69 like yours. That is one of the things I like about the MIL-K blades. There are a bunch of interesting variants.

 

Regards,

Charlie

[bobcat87]

I am familiar with the 1967 overstamp 68 to which you refer Charlie. They are very rare too. My theory is that the overstamp Imperials are new contracts made with old blades left over or possibly repaired under a new contract year. No proof. Just an idea... I love these little knives. I believe that Mil-K knives will be one of the most sought out and collected military knives in the future. There were just too many of them made over the years. Everybody has seen them at one time or another and a whole lot of people own them. From there, all it takes is a little curiosity and a new collector is born.

[sactroop]

From Michael Wiedemann’s chart, (at least the copy I have), I see 4 different markings listed for the Ulster knives.

Clevis marked; ULSTER-48 with an “S” stamped on the backside of each blade.

Blade marked; STAINLESS, ULSTER, ULSTER

STEEL KNIFE USA USA

STAINLESS STAINLESS

STEEL STEEL

It would appear I have another variation on the blade markings.

I haven't been too interested in the ULSTER versions since they haven't been generally considered to have provided knives as part of military contracts. Still I have managed to acquire a couple, an ULSTER-48 and this one with the other marking.

[sactroop]

I am the other member with a Camillus 1949. I haven't posted much about it as it really isn't anything more than a "place keeper" example, and while Thorin6 is generous enough to share pictures of his I don't see it has much to add to any discussion. That said I might as well show off the "ugly duckling" at least this once to make it official so to speak.

 

[bobcat87]

The Ulster knives are great. Especially the tang stamp variation. Awesome knives! Thank you for posting.

 

Sactroop as far as the 1949 Camillus goes, it is a major find. Congratulations! The 2006 Camillus is a jewel. I wonder how many of those made it into the hands of collectors and the military before the closing of the doors at Camillus in 2007. Where would you rank the 2006? I see them on Ebay from time to time, but they definitely are scarce. The readers of this thread are seeing some of the rarest stainless utility knives in existence. Maybe somebody will post a 1957 or 1962 Camillus, if we are lucky enough...

[bayonetman]

Ulster had large contracts for pocket knives in late 1945 (April, May, June and July totalling over $450,000) but unfortunately the record does not specify the type of knife to be supplied. It is quite possible that some of those, especially the later ones, may be for the all metal knives. Some of these late contracts were certainly cancelled in August with the end of the war however.

[bobcat87]

I think from what I have read here and other locations that Ulster and Imperial was still involved with manufacturing under the name of Kingston until after the war, at least for this type of knife. Ulster made a lot of bone handled knives under their name all throughout the war too. I think the larger thumb stud was used until the 1949 Camillus debuted. The first Ulster marked knife was in 1948, still with a larger thumb stud. Several knives were experimented with I understand from recent postings without the stud at all, but they were experimental versions. More RARE knives. OH MY.... ADVENTURE, EXICTEMENT, A JEDI CRAVES NOT THESE THINGS! I LOVE THESE KNIVES!!!

[sactroop]

The Ulster knives are great. Especially the tang stamp variation. Awesome knives! Thank you for posting.

 

Sactroop as far as the 1949 Camillus goes, it is a major find. Congratulations! The 2006 Camillus is a jewel. I wonder how many of those made it into the hands of collectors and the military before the closing of the doors at Camillus in 2007. Where would you rank the 2006? I see them on Ebay from time to time, but they definitely are scarce. The readers of this thread are seeing some of the rarest stainless utility knives in existence. Maybe somebody will post a 1957 or 1962 Camillus, if we are lucky enough...

 

Thank you. I really wonder about the 2006 Camillus. On the one hand they don't show up too often. But I wonder how much of it is that most of those who have them have little to no interest in selling them regardless of how many were made. At this point I'll speculate that it's at least a little bit of both. Honestly I don't see too many of any of the 2000 era Camillus 1760 knives up for sale. The factory was locked down in 2006, so not as much time to produce knives in 2006. Maybe Frank has some idea about the general number of knives that got out the door?

I got lucky with the 2006. A guy was selling off 3 NIB ones from an estate that were different years in the 2000 range at IMHO, a very attractive price. I had a one in seven chance and got it, box and papers included. Sometimes it better to be lucky than good.

[Frank Trzaska]

Jump in with both feet. http://www.ebay.com/itm/CAMILLUS-US-ARMY-MILITARY-DEMO-POCKET-KNIFE-1958-to-2004-COLLECTION-51-KNIVES-/111992955367?hash=item1a134ce1e7:g:DJUAAOSwg1pXMiGu

 

All the best

Frank Trzaska

[Frank Trzaska]

Well the rarest ones I know of are the Imperials from 1977, 1978 and 1979. Just a small number made in single batches according to records. I have never seen any of them for sale or in a collection.

 

You guys nailed the 49, 57, 62 ones and the Stevenson so nothing to add there.

 

The Camillus records after they went computerized are lost to time. First generations were kept on very large floppy discs, like 10 inches large. They then changed to the 4 1/4 versions and finally to the 2 3/4 (i think those are the sizes) and each generation could not be read after a number of years. When they were operating it was easier to find really old stuff that was in writing. If it wasn't written down by Tom it was inaccessible.

 

When I toured the factory during the auction the bins were filled with parts to assemble the knives, crates of them. The blades were all 2006 dated that were being assembled when the workers left for that day. With being a cut down work force and on and off strikes and labor issues I would go out on a limb and say 2006 was a very low production.

 

All the best

Frank Trzaska

[sactroop]

Thanks Frank. I vaguely remember 8 inch floppy discs (?). Then there's 5.25 inch followed by the 3.5 inch, and me knowing that makes me old. Maybe there's a new opportunity in digital archeology.

Sure am glad for saving the scans of the old S-Cards that Tom sent me. Now I only wish I had more of them.

[bobcat87]

Thanks for your information Frank. So the 2006 Camillus would round out the top 5. The way I understand what Frank is saying is that there is no way to ever truly know what the actual production numbers are for the Camillus Mil-K knives, unless someone may have those records and would be willing to bring them to light someday. I know that the Mil-K and the WW2 utility knives made by the various manufacturers are definitely my favorite military knives. They are durable and do not rust very easily. They are fairly inexpensive and there are plenty of dates and brands to collect. It all adds up to the fact that this is one heck of a collectable knife. Every time I find a new one that I do not have, I feel like a raccoon with a new little shiny object. I am fascinated and ready for the next one...

[Catfishcraig]

Did Western ever have a contract to produce these stainless steel utility knives?

 

I've seen one recently marked "Western" above "USA" on the tang.

 

Thanks