The Jet Pilots Survival Knife

[sactroop]

The script you describe was used for Camillus JPSK's after 3-1985. This is after Camillus lost their Government contract for providing these knives.

[schmooser]

Thanks for the info ?.

I had a feeling the script-format was later.

[schmooser]

New acquisition.

Early Camillus JPK, screw pommel. Low keeper strap.

[beowulf-49]

Hi, I'm new to this forum but have been collecting for over 35 years. I have an unusual Ontario JPK 1-1969 with what looks to a factory painted OD green pommel , handle, cross guard, and front side of scabbard. If not factory more than someone just spray painting I think. Has anyone else ever seen one similar? I tried to upload pictures but says file to large. Thanks

[Arisaka99]

Hi folks. New to the forums but not to collecting. I snagged this off a Craigslist ad in March from the cousin of a Navy corpsman from the Vietnam war to whom it was issued. Unmarked Marbles with 6" blade in original issue box. 

[sundance]

Very nice.

[collector]

When were the metal caps added to the sheaths?

[sactroop]

My 1-1969 Ontario is the earliest example that I have with the short metal sheath protector.

 I find the box marking of MIL-K-8662 A (AER) interesting for this knife.

[collector]

Thanks Sactroop.A while ago I bought one off a forum member and its an 84 version without the metal cover. I thought it was not correct but in this case I am OK with it. 

[sactroop]

Camillus certainly was making JPSK's on Government contract before the modification to the sheath was made.  1-1969 is generally considered the first examples of these knives produced by Ontario.

One thing that does add some complications to the hobby is when Camillus starts to also offer the very same knife for general commercial sales.  Most of the knives are indistinguishable from the Government contract knives.  From what I've seen from packaged knives and catalog description is that Camillus typically provided the commercial knives with the earlier style sheath well after the Government change over to the tip protector type sheath.  To complicate the matter further, there were a few times over the years where Camillus offered the buyer the option of paying a slight premium for the knife with the current military sheath.  I generally regard dated knives with the earlier sheath that don't match up as possibly commercial, but at best it's a weak argument.  The opposite doesn't hold true, and there's always the problem that we usually can never know with certainty just when that new acquisition knife got the cover that came with it.

IMHO, when the change over from blade marking the JPSK's to stamping ID information on the pommel, 1-1967, it seems that the early style sheath was correct for those knives.  The change of sheaths seems to follow afterwords.  I'm pretty sure that Frank Trzaska has a chronological list of changes in his archived knife knotes. Unlike the label on your knife box, I'm just not sure which is the chicken and which is the egg, let alone which came first.😄

 

[collector]

Not to mention a collector selling a mismatched set of 'extras'.

Here's my knife. I like it.

[watchmanjimg]

On 9/16/2013 at 8:07 PM, 1SG_1st_Cav said:

Here is a view with the knife in it's sheath. Danny

Would anyone happen to know if this sheath is original to the knife it's shown with? A couple of years ago I acquired an early Camillus knife (no serrations) in an identical sheath and suspected it to be an overseas replacement; however, I'm not sure if my sheath was produced on its own or simply cannibalized from a knife like the one shown here. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[SKIPH]

watchmanjimg- More than likely the sheath is original to the knife, which is commercial, not a military issue item. If I recall these were sold in the 70s, and 80s at local surplus and pawn shops. I think they were made by a company called "Valor" of Japan, could be wrong on the maker. But not an issue knife. SKIP

[Hombre]

I should really appreciate your help guys… I should love to have a Jet Pilots Survival Knife in my blade collection but I feel that I must have more knowledge about them before I buy… A Vietnam era one should be just perfect. I found this thread which I think is amazing…

Now to my question… A guy on ebay is selling one which I have been looking at…

 

He says: “I have today a pre-1967 Camillus Jet Pilot Survival Knife (JPSK) the age is simply determined by the fact that there is no date on the pummel of the knife, and the Camillus New York USA marking towards the hilt.  Dates were added post 1967”. 

 

Is that correct? I am asking because I thought that one with no marking on the pommel and with this marking on the blade is made after 1985. A problem for me, is that I do not see many at all of these blades here in Sweden and therefore harder to get experience with them so to speak. Any help at all should be very much appreciated.

Best regards,

Stefan

Sweden

[Charlie Flick]

Hello Stefan:

 

Your caution has served you well here.  The blade you pictured is not a Vietnam era blade but, rather, was made considerably later.  If you want a Vietnam era blade you should skip this one.

 

Reading this pinned thread (all 7 pages!) should give you some good pointers on what to look for and what to avoid.  Here in the USA Vietnam era Jet Pilot knives are not hard to find, but high condition examples are getting more difficult to locate.

 

Good luck in your hunt, and feel free to ask more questions here if need be.  

 

Regards,

Charlie

 

 

[sactroop]

Yes the knife in the picture is the mid 1980's at the earliest.  Being a seller doesn't require you to know anything about the item you're selling. Caveat emptor.

Glad you checked it out before hand.

[Hombre]

Thank you, guys! I really appreciate your help. You are the best!

 

Regards,

Stefan

[RWW]

I have a 22 October 1965 dated PACAF supplement to Air Force Manual 64-4 which lists the components for "Individual Survival Vest/Chap Containers."  It refers to the knife to be used in the chaps as: "Knife, five inch Navy type."  I have never heard the JPSK referred to as this, so I came to this thread looking for information.  Post 55 by sactroop has a picture with a card clipped to it that reads "THESE ARE OUT BOYS WITH THE NAVY 5" SURVIVAL KNIFES PRODUCED BY CAMILLUS CUTTLERY." Post 130 by Arisaka99 shows the box for a 6" Marbles with "SPEC. MIL-K-8662A (AER)" on it. (AER) on an item usually refers to the Navy BUAER . Was this knife originally a Navy item, and how or why is it referred to as a "Navy type" knife? 

[Salvage Sailor]

On 5/1/2021 at 11:59 PM, RWW said:

I have a 22 October 1965 dated PACAF supplement to Air Force Manual 64-4 which lists the components for "Individual Survival Vest/Chap Containers."  It refers to the knife to be used in the chaps as: "Knife, five inch Navy type."  I have never heard the JPSK referred to as this, so I came to this thread looking for information.  Post 107 by sactroop has a picture with a card clipped to it that reads "THESE ARE OUT BOYS WITH THE NAVY 5" SURVIVAL KNIFES PRODUCED BY CAMILLUS CUTTLERY." Post 198 by Arisaka99 shows the box for a 6" Marbles with "SPEC. MIL-K-8662A (AER)" on it. (AER) on an item usually refers to the Navy BUAER . Was this knife originally a Navy item, and how or why is it referred to as a "Navy type" knife? 

 

Haven't seen the Navy documentation (spec) on these knives but I've always considered them to be a "Navy Type" knife.  They were in our inventory, we had them and we used them, but my Kabar was my favorite.  These photos were taken around 2010.

 

 

 

 

Camilus 5-1967, starburst with some grey paint remaining and well worn from use and time.  If I took a current photo of this knife you would cringe from the corrosion and rust on the pommel and blade and the verdigris on the rivets from the Hawaiian climate.

 

 

...And my USN MK2 Kabar, my favorite knife (although I used the Buck 110 most often)  I also had a Swiss Army knife with the sides broken off that I kept in my dungaree pocket which I think is still in my seabag somewhere around here.  (that's right, 4 blades)

 

 

 

 

[sactroop]

Yes from 1953 to 1957 the original knives under MIL-K-8662 (AER) didn't look that much like the knives we've been posting on this thread for all these years now.  I'm actually surprised, going back thru the last 5 pages of this thread that we haven't posted any images of the knives that started this whole thing.  While Navy aeronautics was tasked with adopting both the original and the later update model, by that time the knife would be stocked in Government stores in general and be available to all branches of the service.

 

 

[RWW]

Thank you knife guys for filling in a puzzle piece for me!  I always thought the official nomenclature for them was Knife, Sheathed, Survival Pilots, then later Knife, Hunting Sheathed, Survival, Pilots. I have heard them referred to as Pilots Knives, Canopy Knives (not to be confused with the canopy breaker knives), Survival Knives, or most often, Jet Pilots Survival Knives, JPSK's.  Never 5" Navy type knife, and especially by the Air Force in 1965.

[Maxrobot]

My Ontario Knife Co. specimen. Stamped 2-80. the pommel butt is painted black.

[FTLewisBrat]

So I just got this one, it is my first JPK. 

 

I think it's a good 5" blade marked '61-'66 version, if anyone more familiar with them can tell me differently I'd appreciate the insight.  I guess in the back of my mind I think it looks too good to be that old... it's definitely been in the sheath for a long time, every place it touched the leather there's a little corrosion.

 

Thanks,

Rick

[sactroop]

I'm not trying to be critical here, but the peen on this knife doesn't look right to me.  Also a knife from that time frame should have a good coating of grey colored sealant covering the top of the pommel.  Otherwise except for the few corrosion spots the knife over all seems to have kept a great deal of it's original finish with a bright edge line .

[FTLewisBrat]

I had the same concern about the peening, it almost looks unfinished or something.  Also the pommel seems to have more "squared off" corners than I would expect to see.  

 

I feel like the rest of the knife is correct, I just can't figure out what was going on with the pommel.