WWII Steel pocket knife*** Knife, Pocket, General Purpose

[Frank Trzaska]

On the bail photo I would not say one is post war and one is wartime, I would say one is commercial and one is MIL standard. The military bail was longer and typically stamped with the manufacturer name and date,

 

The military was indeed still testing the MIL-K at wars end but millions were made during the war, they were just trying to find a better design. All the separate service departments were to test and approve or pass on the design. The Signal Corps for one passed on the design as the wanted a locking screwdriver blade. The MIL-K was made to do away with all those designs to speed up production but for some reason the Army let the folks decide what design they wanted and what would work best for them. 

 

The knife with the pen knife blade was indeed a Navy design, they were made with bone and plastic type grips during the war. It is shown in the Camillus ad in Coles book. 

 

 

[John Sr.]

3 minutes ago, Frank Trzaska said:

On the bail photo I would not say one is post war and one is wartime, I would say one is commercial and one is MIL standard. The military bail was longer and typically stamped with the manufacturer name and date,

 

The military was indeed still testing the MIL-K at wars end but millions were made during the war, they were just trying to find a better design. All the separate service departments were to test and approve or pass on the design. The Signal Corps for one passed on the design as the wanted a locking screwdriver blade. The MIL-K was made to do away with all those designs to speed up production but for some reason the Army let the folks decide what design they wanted and what would work best for them. 

 

The knife with the pen knife blade was indeed a Navy design, they were made with bone and plastic type grips during the war. It is shown in the Camillus ad in Coles book. 

 

 

Mr. Trzaska,

Thank you once again for your help and input. I’m very happy to hear that the bail may not have been replaced.

Thank you again,

John

[John Sr.]

Okay gentleman, I recently bought this and need help. Clearly the bail is missing & it’s rough. The only marking on it is what is left of the US on the front scale & an  ‘S’ stamped on the back of each blade. Could I possibly have a 1948 Ulster here? 
As always thank you for any & all help,

John

[Misfit 45]

I am quite confident that you have an Ulster-48.  I have never seen any other Mil-k knife that has an "S" on each blade other than the Ulster-48.

Marv

[John Sr.]

1 minute ago, Misfit 45 said:

I am quite confident that you have an Ulster-48.  I have never seen any other Mil-k knife that has an "S" on each blade other than the Ulster-48.

Marv

Marv, thank you very much, that’s what I was hoping to hear, This is the first one I have seen in person & possibly the only one I will ever get to have in my collection.

[sactroop]

Agree with Marv, which should be no surprise, he knows his MIL-K knives.

For any reading this thread less familiar with the chronology of these knives:

The S stands for stainless steel being used for the blades, as the earlier knives still from WW2 used high carbon steel blades that were more likely to corrode.

 

John, I don't know why, but it happens to me when I finally get my first example of a particular knife, after looking for years, they start showing up in bunches.

[John Sr.]

2 minutes ago, sactroop said:

Agree with Marv, which should be no surprise, he knows his MIL-K knives.

For any reading this thread less familiar with the chronology of these knives:

The S stands for stainless steel being used for the blades, as the earlier knives still from WW2 used high carbon steel blades that were more likely to corrode.

 

John, I don't know why, but it happens to me when I finally get my first example of a particular knife, after looking for years, they start showing up in bunches.

Thank you sir. I wondered what the S stood for. I would love to find one in good condition, so I hope you’re right and I find another.

[John Sr.]

Look what I just scored. All blades marked with an ‘S’. 

[Misfit 45]

Congratulations!  Well done.  That's a nice one..

Marv

[John Sr.]

12 minutes ago, Misfit 45 said:

Congratulations!  Well done.  That's a nice one..

Marv

Thank you sir

[Sgt127]

 

Two Kingston knives. I just got the top one. The blades were so perfect, I thought they were stainless. A touch of cold blue, nope. They are carbon. Bottom is one I’ve had for awhile. And then I noticed, the screwdriver is in, what became, the standard position. 
 

 

proper brass liners. 
 

 

light stamp

 

 

I had thought all the Kingston's had the screwdriver on the blade end. Apparently not.  Is that unusual?  

[John Sr.]

2 minutes ago, Sgt127 said:

 

Two Kingston knives. I just got the top one. The blades were so perfect, I thought they were stainless. A touch of cold blue, nope. They are carbon. Bottom is one I’ve had for awhile. And then I noticed, the screwdriver is in, what became, the standard position. 
 

 

proper brass liners. 
 

 

light stamp

 

 

I had thought all the Kingston's had the screwdriver on the blade end. Apparently not.  Is that unusual?  

The screwdriver on the same end as the blade is the earlier version (1944 I believe) and the can opener on the same end as the blade is the later version (1945 I believe). 
Beautiful knives, great find.

[Sgt127]

 

Thank you. I have one from every manufacturer. And, a big handful of users. My itch is scratched and, I can stop myself from trying to find more. For now. 

[John Sr.]

1 minute ago, Sgt127 said:

 

Thank you. I have one from every manufacturer. And, a big handful of users. My itch is scratched and, I can stop myself from trying to find more. For now. 

I’m trying to accomplish the same thing. And, yes I look for more consistently.

[Sgt127]

Well. Then I found one from my birth year..and the year I graduated HS…and the year I got sworn in…and…and…

[John Sr.]

I just got my birth year too

[The Rooster]

Ive got a few WW2 models and some 60's

[John Sr.]

3 hours ago, The Rooster said:

Ive got a few WW2 models and some 60's

Sweet collection. Awesome way to keep them organized. I believe I will steal your idea.

[Côte du Poivre]

Good evening Misfit 45, i did show one of this a few days ago. Maybe have you an idea for that piece.

Thanks,

Jm

[Misfit 45]

On 6/3/2025 at 12:39 PM, Côte du Poivre said:

Good evening Misfit 45, i did show one of this a few days ago. Maybe have you an idea for that piece.

Thanks,

Jm

Your knife is a WWII Army general purpose pocket knife made by Kingston. It is a first version knife.  It is unusual in that it has USA marked on the blade.  The only Kingston knife that is marked like this, also has a clevis that is marked U.S.45 on one side, and KINGSTON on the other. Yours is unmarked.  Just one more variation that can be found.  The photo is of Cote du Poivere's blade.

Marv

[John Sr.]

4 minutes ago, Misfit 45 said:

Your knife is a WWII Army general purpose pocket knife made by Kingston. It is a first version knife.  It is unusual in that it has USA marked on the blade.  The only Kingston knife that is marked like this, also has a clevis that is marked U.S.45 on one side, and KINGSTON on the other. Yours is unmarked.  Just one more variation that can be found.

Marv

That USA mark is a great score. Very nice.

[Côte du Poivre]

Thank you Marv for the identification. it's not easy to find such knives in France, especially in Savoie, far away from Normandie , Alsace or Belgique...

sincerely,

Jean-Marie

[sactroop]

On 6/4/2025 at 2:36 PM, Misfit 45 said:

Your knife is a WWII Army general purpose pocket knife made by Kingston. It is a first version knife.  It is unusual in that it has USA marked on the blade.  The only Kingston knife that is marked like this, also has a clevis that is marked U.S.45 on one side, and KINGSTON on the other. Yours is unmarked.  Just one more variation that can be found.  The photo is of Cote du Poivere's blade.

Marv

 

Over time I've seen a few of the Kingston knives with the USA marked main blades.  Early in the war Imperial used that marking on the main blade of some of their engineer's knives.  Kingston was a brand name owned by The Imperial Associated knife Companies during WW2.  IMHO, I've come to think that maybe someone found some stock of USA marked blades and made use of them. (?)

[Côte du Poivre]

Thanks sactroop for those further informations.

Salutations,

Jm

[John Sr.]

Okay gentlemen I need help again. This knife has the Kingston MADE IN USA tang stamp & looks very similar to the late WW2 knives. EXCEPT it has a short screwdriver and a sharpened can opener (which I believe was also on the 1948 Ulster). Can anyone help date this knife? I am figuring it was made shortly after WW2 out of parts. It was advertised as a WW2 knife. It’s in excellent condition. 
Thanks for any help,

John