The Jet Pilots Survival Knife

[opseccc]

I have never seen red as an issued cord.  Knife set though.  Keep up the hunt!

[Arisaka99]

7 hours ago, opseccc said:

I have never seen red as an issued cord.  Knife set though.  Keep up the hunt!

 I have three of these 80s knives in unopened packages and the ties shown are light or age faded with the inside surfaces showing dark brown or black (they are boxed away right now or I would pull one out). 

[Bosley]

Hi All,

 

I recently picked this knife up at an estate sale, not knowing what it was.  Is this possibly a commercial version of the Jet Pilot Survival Knife, maybe from the late 60s?

 

There are no other markings on the knife, aside from the "Camillus NY", as shown in the photo.

 

Let me know if any other photos would be helpful.

 

Thanks!

 

-Bosley

 

[SKIPH]

Bosley- Camillus did not start stamping maker, and dates on the pommel until 1967, so your JPK is pre-67. The wooden handle is a replacement, and the top part of the guard is cut down.    SKIP

[sactroop]

I'll add that the sheath is a replacement for the period sheath for that era knife.

[Bosley]

Thanks, SKIPH and sactroop!  That explains my confusion and lack of finding anything comparable lol

 

So do you think this thing started it's life as one of those military issue, early/mid 1960s examples as shown toward the beginning of the thread?  Very interesting.

 

I got this at an estate sale where I also picked up a USN Mark I, Mark II, Cattaraugus 225Q, and Pilot Survival Knife (pocketknife), so it's been interesting to study and compare these to the JPK.  But clearly this one has it's own thing going on.

 

I'll probably put this one up for auction at some point, but if anybody here wants to add this oddball to their collection, feel free to message me (sale/trade).

 

Cheers,

 

Bosley

 

[sactroop]

The first Camillus catalog where I see the JPSK or the Marine Corp. fighting/utility knife available for sale is the 1972 catalog.

Since your knife is at least six years older than that, IMHO, it's a safe bet that your knife was originally Government contract stock.

[LHS905]

My father's JPSK brought me to this forum,  Any insight to the bent guard?

 

I know it's 61-66, but lacks an original scabbard.  Any help pointing me in the right direction to find one would be appreciated.  My recent perusing of eBay has not been fruitful.

 

Thanks.

 

LHS

[SKIPH]

LHS905- Found this on ebay, may be a later version, but still a loose JPK sheath.  Ebay #326893954524, has $60 on it.  Good luck!  SKIP

[LHS905]

Thanks Skip.  Yes, I saw that one.  From what I've gleaned here it is a  later version, it also has a broken snap.

 

$60 seems high.  My .02

 

LHS

[VNAMVET70]

4 hours ago, LHS905 said:

My father's JPSK brought me to this forum,  Any insight to the bent guard?

 

I know it's 61-66, but lacks an original scabbard.  Any help pointing me in the right direction to find one would be appreciated.  My recent perusing of eBay has not been fruitful.

 

Thanks.

 

LHS

I compared your JPK to my 1961-66 JPK and it looks like the blade was welded to the finger guard and then  when the finger guard was bent it broke the weld because the weld did not have enough penetration in the finger guard. The broken weld is just under  the stamp that says CAMILLUS on the blade. I don't see a need to re-weld it because the finger guard is now bent.

[LHS905]

Thanks NAMVET.  In hand, there is no weld.

 

LHS

[K.Beck73]

Too good to be true?

I just picked this one up at a very affordable price. It truly looks like it was made yesterday. The pommel is peaned and it's more square than usual but the star pattern stamp looks correct. I'm typically not all that lucky, so I'm a bit skeptical. Everything just looks almost too good, I'd love to hear if I'm missing something here. Imput is always appreciated. 

[K.Beck73]

I'm trying to compare with the two others I already had, the one in question is in the middle. They are a 6" threaded pommel, a 6" peaned pommel and a 5" blade marked.

There is just so many variables, I just don't know for sure. Thank you all very much.

[Arisaka99]

Today’s snag at a local show. Seller had it marked down because it wasn’t dated. I knew it to be a ‘62-early ‘67 5” Camillus. I am thinking earlier in that range because it still has the eyelets at the top of the sheath like the earlier 6” Camillus made from ‘57-‘62. Named to what appears to be ADCS (Aviation Machinist Mate Senior Chief) C.W. Benton, this knife likely lived its life on the hanger deck of an Aircraft Carrier. That would explain the minimal wear to the blade. I haven’t been able to find anything out about him yet. Opinions and observations always welcome. 

[opseccc]

On 2/17/2026 at 3:18 PM, K.Beck73 said:

I'm typically not all that lucky, so I'm a bit skeptical. Everything just looks almost too good

Would you elaborate on your skepticism?  

[K.Beck73]

On 3/22/2026 at 6:35 AM, opseccc said:

Would you elaborate on your skepticism?  

I guess everything is legitimate. I am very happy with it, just normally not lucky enough to find one in this condition. 

Thanks for you input.

[Arisaka99]

2 hours ago, K.Beck73 said:

I guess everything is legitimate. I am very happy with it, just normally not lucky enough to find one in this condition. 

Thanks for you input.

You found a gorgeous original 6” Camillus that was issued and put up. 

[Charlie Flick]

Every now and then a question pops up about what appears to be a non-USGI Jet Pilot Survival Knife.  One species of this class of blades are those that made by Camillus.  They were 5 inch blades that were in most respects identical to the USGI versions made by Camillus except that the blades and metal fittings were bright and had the fullers eliminated.  Blade whiz Frank Trzaska educated me on these many years ago telling me that Camillus called these "platform knives".  By that Camillus meant that they were to be used by other vendors for the creation of commemorative knives of various sorts.   It is possible that Camillus also used them for their own commemorative type of knives.

 

The example shown below is from my collection.  It has not had any type of commemorative treatment affixed to it.  Note that the sheath has bright snaps and rivets in contrast to the USGI version.

 

 

To fill this topic out I am now going to show an advertisement for one of the Camillus platform knives that has had the commemorative treatment applied.  In this case it is an ad I ran across recently which was published in the December 1984 issue of Guns & Ammo magazine by Westwind Productions.  As can be seen it is part of a series of seven such knives commemorating the "Aircraft of Vietnam".  This particular one is a tribute to the F4 Phantom.  The ad indicates that 1000 such blades will be made for each aircraft.  It acknowledges that each knife will be accompanied by "...a signed letter from Camillus Cutlery verifying that this is the same knife issued to U.S. Pilots during the Vietnam conflict."  Well, not exactly but close.  Note also that the pommel and guard appear to be parkerized with only the blade left bright.

 

 

This one was described in the ad as the second in the series.  I don't know if the series was every completed.  I don't recall ever seeing one but it would not have left a big impression on me as commemorative items are not something that hold much interest to me.  I bought my example shown up top as it seemed to be an odd ball blade and I was yet to be educated by Frank T. on its purpose.

 

So if you see one of these around you now know a bit of its history and when and where it came from.  

 

Regards,

Charlie

[Charlie Flick]

In that same nearly 42 year old issue of Guns & Ammo I also noticed the ad below for a JPSK knockoff.  While it is admitted to be an imported blade no information is given on who the actual manufacturer was.  Although the ad proclaims that it is the 48th year for Midwest Knife Company a brief search on the 'net did not reveal any further information on them.  I suspect it was simply an importer.

 

Regards.

Charlie

 

[jim_mi]

Re Westwind Commemorative JPSK:

I bought about 20 of these (mixed aircraft) at a yard sale in Orchard Lake, MI in the mid-late 1980s.  Condition was varied, and some had minor rust/discoloration. I believe I paid $5 each. I later sold all of them at local Gun Shows.

Jim

[James Chang]

Ontario 6155 Journeyman Fixed Blade Knife 4" 3-2011'

 

[Boomer59]

What is the function of the BB-sized balls in the sheath guard holes for the tiedown lacing?  It's difficult to see in my photo, but there's one in each hole.  This is from a 2-71 marked Camillus.  I apologize if this was addressed in an earlier post.

[Boomer59]

I should clarify that the knife is stamped 2 - 71.  The sheath label reads April (probably 1971).

[Boomer59]

On 4/8/2026 at 8:24 PM, Boomer59 said:

What is the function of the BB-sized balls in the sheath guard holes for the tiedown lacing?  It's difficult to see in my photo, but there's one in each hole.  This is from a 2-71 marked Camillus.  I apologize if this was addressed in an earlier post.