5 Rarest WW2 & Post War Stainless Utility Knives

[sactroop]

According to Michael Wiedemann's chart of manufactures of the MIL-L-818 knives, the WESTERN/U.S.A. marked knife was manufactured in 1995-1996. This would be during the time that Camillus owned the Western brand.

I'm under the impression that Western made utility knives used by the Government were mostly if not exclusively made during WW2 and appear with natural material scales, possibly some cellulose versions that I haven't seen myself. Still as long as Western made such knives they could show up as private purchase.

 

 

Interesting to me is the hollow primary grind on the main blade. I don't know if all of the Western/U.S.A. examples have this grind but I've seen it on several examples. I've looked at several Camillus MIL-K818 dated 1995-1996, but so far they seem to stay with the standard flat grind, not really surprising.

[Catfishcraig]

Thank you that helps!

[damcon3]

What would a nice ulster 1948 be worth. I missed this one by seconds the other night!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-1948-ULSTER-48-POCKET-KNIFE-US-ARMY-ALL-METAL-POCKET-KNIFE-/122342866991?hash=item1c7c34002f:g:n4AAAOSwTglYl1~r

[bobcat87]

My experience is $75-$100 for nicer used specimens on auction sites. Well used is less. Closer to mint examples go for what someone is willing to pay. They are pretty scarce in comparison to other variations.

[easterneagle87]

I sold a 1957 Camillus about 6 years ago. I am a fan of these knives (Camillus, Imperial, USMC, Stevenson) and styles and pick them up when they're reasonable. The '57 I found was so gummed shut, it took a lot of soaking and penetrating fluid to get the blades un-fixed. Looks like I should have kept it.

 

There is an antique store in Redmond OR that has (or had) a whole basket of these knives. I haven't been back there in three years. Still trying to get back there.

[bobcat87]

The 1957 is a very hard to find example. I constantly scan all the auction sites and various shows. I do a LOT of looking and very rarely will I find one. Most of the ones you find are really beat up and broken or the blade has been sharpened down and used up. If you ever have a chance to find a nice one, you better get it. I think the rarity is about like the 1962, except it is MUCH harder to find a nice specimen.

[bobcat87]

I would love to see a picture of a 1977, 1978, or 1979 Imperial like Frank mentioned earlier. I have not seen any of those knives before either. They must be the rarest of the rare.

 

Any other rare variations out there? Any trials or testing examples?

[sksnut]

I was on this site several years ago, and today decided to get on here and see what I might find. Just came upon this posting and find that there is now quite a interest in military pocket knives. At one time I had a very significant collection of all sorts of military knives and bayonets, but got to the point where I could not locate anything more to add to the collection, so decided to put it up for sale. I had been collecting since about 1960 and sold of my collection about 25+ years ago. I sold off all of the knives and bayonets, but kept the pocket knives. This consists of four 50 caliber ammo cans full. After reading this posting, I went through a few of them to see what I could locate in the all metal utility knives. One of them I located is a Pharmacist's Mate knife, sold to me by a Navy Pharmacist Mate years ago. This is a three bladed knife with no staple and is decorated on the scales of each side with a mortar and pestle, the Rx symbol, and some sort of hanging glass contraption that was used for dispensing liquids. The ricasso of the main blade is marked "Imperial/STAINLESS/U.S.A." It has a master blade, a can opener and a punch. The can opener and punch are both marked "STAINLESS/U.S.A." This is the only one of these that I was ever able to find. I would be interested in knowing if anyone else has turned up one of these.

The rest of the collection consists of knives dating from the Revolutionary War to Post Vietnam. I have lots of Civil War knives, and especially liked the U.S. Navy Rope knives, militarily marked. Also there are lots of military knives of other eras, many of them very rare.

I did sell a number of the CW Navy rope knives to Mike Silvey, who used them to illustrate his two fine books on U.S. military pocket knives. I also sold of most of the clandestine knives (OSS escape, lock pick knife and etc.) to Bill Adams, who has been specializing in this field for quite a while now.

I have been following some of the work that Frank Trzaska has been doing on ferreting out information on the subject and am astounded at the stuff he has been able to dig up.

At present I have been helping one of my very good friends negotiate the ins and outs of military knife collecting and do pick up rare and unusual specimens for him when I can find them. I found an Utica Jet Pilot's survival knife for him last year. On this site today, I found that they are very rare, which I suspected, since I had never seen one before. I also have given him some of my favorite knives out of my collection.

To summarize this long post, I am pleased that military pocket knives are getting the attention they deserve, which brings out the better specimens and provides more information to the collector. Quite a change from when I was collecting and you had to do all of your own original research.

 

Adrian Van Dyk

[bobcat87]

It is an amazing field of collecting. In the past 10 years, the field of military pocket knife collecting has exploded along with prices. So has the base of knowledge due to sites just like this. Please help add to the knowledge base if you have a nice example for this thread. Thank you for reading and if you decide to sell or trade some of those wonderful US Navy rope knives, message me.

[2MOB]

One thing I have always wondered:  Why is the 1962 Camillus so rare?  Was there a strike at the factory?  Contract dispute?  Cuban Missile Crisis?  I know the 62 is one of the rare ones, but it doesnt make sense why.  The other ones I get:  early production runs,  tests and prototypes, all that makes sense.   But what the heck went on in 1962 that caused this?  Does it have anything to do with the fact that there are so many 1961 Imperials around?  I know this is an old post, but if anyone has a good guess, I would be interested.  Thanks. 

[sactroop]

I do think it is something of a supply and demand issue.  Wether or not the Imperials played a role in it I couldn't say.  Plenty of 1960, 1961, 1963, & 1964 Camillus's.  What I was told is that by the time Camillus got it's next order after the 1961's there wasn't much time before the blade stamp had to be changed over to 1963 per the standards laid out in specification MIL-K-818.

[2MOB]

Thanks.  I have always wondered.  I guessed that it was something to do with a contract.  Seems that Imperial took over on some years, as if Camillus was bogged down with orders from other things, and asked Imperial to take up the slack.....at least thats my explanation for the odd years that Imperial is so prevalent.   And there are a lot of 1961 Imperials....Anyway,  I just got my first 1962 and I have been looking for a very long time.   Now I need a 1957.   And some Imperials from the 70s.  Thanks for your help.  

[thorin6]

Just of curiosity, did you just get your 1962 off ebay?

[sactroop]

17 hours ago, 2MOB said:

as if Camillus was bogged down with orders from other things, and asked Imperial to take up the slack....

I'd have to try and examine more closely the time line around 1962, but I doubt that Camillus and Imperial had made up in regards to their feud that started before the US entered WW2.

[2MOB]

Thorin6:  Well, not just.  Its been a little while now.   I just saw another one on ebay.  Its selling with other knives.  But it has a bottle opener missing. 

[thorin6]

10 hours ago, 2MOB said:

Thorin6:  Well, not just.  Its been a little while now.   I just saw another one on ebay.  Its selling with other knives.  But it has a bottle opener missing. 

I was bidding on one a couple of weeks ago; it was just me and one other person.  I finally gave up because, in my estimation, a reasonable price for one in good condition would be around $125.  One set on ebay for a BIN of $275 and it stayed there for a long time.

[2MOB]

On 3/15/2021 at 9:16 PM, thorin6 said:

I was bidding on one a couple of weeks ago; it was just me and one other person.  I finally gave up because, in my estimation, a reasonable price for one in good condition would be around $125.  One set on ebay for a BIN of $275 and it stayed there for a long time.

I saw one like that.  Maybe the same one.  It sat for months.  In fact, I think the knife was taken off and put back on.  I guess someone finally bought it.   Mine cost me just over 140.  I was getting tired of waiting on the right deal.   Seems like so many of them were damaged too.  Not just scratches, but parts missing.   But I'm really glad I got this one because it came with a story.   The best part of collecting for me is the story.   This knife was issued to a young man in a helicopter assault company in VIetnam.  It was a new concept, he was one of many paratroopers sent there as part of a new warfare idea.  This happened just after the events in the book We Were Soldiers Once, And Young.  He got the knife from a supply sergeant just before he went into battle in 1968.  He stayed in Vietnam and went home.  Years later he was stationed in Germany as a much older senior NCO.   He goes to the graduation ceremony of a young man who is assigned in his artillery unit and gives him the knife.   That man after graduation, stays in the Army and goes to the Reserve.  Years later, he finds out his friend died and is buried in NY.  He gets out of the Army and retires.   He puts the knife up for sale on ebay along with a vague comment.   I press him for more info and he tells me the whole story.  He is looking for pictures of the two of them together.  I asked if he had any and promised to keep the story and the pics together with the knife.   I did a little research on the unit in VIetnam and the history.   I was in the AF for ten years, my father was in Vietnam - he did 28 years.   These stories mean something to me far greater than just the value of the knife.  Sorry.  Got a little off the track there.  Anyway, I did want to say thanks to you, though.   I dont say much but I have read a lot of your posts and your insight is a great help and a real time saver, too.  Thanks a million. 

[WD40]

On 2/8/2017 at 10:30 PM, sactroop said:

Interesting to me is the hollow primary grind on the main blade. I don't know if all of the Western/U.S.A. examples have this grind but I've seen it on several examples. I've looked at several Camillus MIL-K818 dated 1995-1996, but so far they seem to stay with the standard flat grind, not really surprising.

That’s interesting, I always wondered why my Camillus 1996 do have this unusual grind. Maybe they tested it fore some reasons? 

[bobcat87]

Here is my 2006 Camillus.  After the years that have gone by since I started this thread, I definitely have to add the 2006 Camillus to the rarest list.  Maybe we should have said the top 10 rarest.  The 2006 was the last year of production for Camillus and it is a VERY difficult find.

[bobcat87]

I wonder if this Case Tested M445R knife ever had any influence on the metal handle design.  It is from the 1920-39 era prior to WW2.  It is made of nickel silver and is quite beautiful. There is no bail. The reamer and screwdriver are different, but the metal handles and opener stud are similar. Case did have military contracts for TL-29s during the Tested era. Just something to think about...Early design influence?