Costa Posted January 11, 2019 Share #1 Posted January 11, 2019 guys, I have a question about Camillus knives. have you ever noticed that there are a lot of these (mk-2's) on the market in a minty condition. why? did Camillus make an overwhelming number of these knives that were never issued?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sactroop Posted January 11, 2019 Share #2 Posted January 11, 2019 Camillus and Union Cutlery were the major manufactures of that pattern during WW2. Costa are you referring to Camillus Navy MK-2's or the Camillus knives in general? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigerc5070 Posted January 11, 2019 Share #3 Posted January 11, 2019 good news is i scored a 1949 the other day!! not too many of them around anymore. only 25 or so ever even made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Costa Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share #4 Posted January 11, 2019 MK-2 Camillus and Union Cutlery were the major manufactures of that pattern during WW2. Costa are you referring to Camillus Navy MK-2's or the Camillus knives in general? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byf41 Posted January 11, 2019 Share #5 Posted January 11, 2019 I would agree you see lots of nice Camillus/USN MKII's around but on the other hand the blade marked Camillus/USMC does not surface very often In good condition from my experience . Kabar/USN MKII knives are very common In nice condition also . I would guess the Navy guys didn't actually use them like the Marines did and Im not sure why they were Issued these In the first place . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKIPH Posted January 11, 2019 Share #6 Posted January 11, 2019 I believe there was about 2.5 million MK2s produced in WW2, but don;t quote me on that figure. Camillus made the most. Here's a thought. By 1945 the USN had around 3,405,525 in uniform, where as the USMC had around 485,000. I'm sure the USN had to purchase more knives just based on the amount of personnel, and ships. Not every sailor's duties required him to be issued a knife, ie anyone not assigned to sea duty. So a lot of knives ended up not being issued, and eventually ended up in storage. It wouldn't surprised me at all if a large number were still being stored. I also know from first hand knowledge that US Army Special Forces units were issued USN MK2s into the 70s, and 80s. There were a lot around. Also, think about the numbers of USN MK1s floating around in mint condition. Lots on nice collectibles. SKIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Costa Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share #7 Posted January 11, 2019 THANKS GUYS. THAT EXPLAINS IT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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