All About Pocket Knives

Recently acquired Camillus U.S. k bar type knife ..no guard markings and through pin on pommel ,,.came with proper fitting sheath (black) with a metal tip, aluminum I think, with 3 rivets. Any ideas...or should I post pics first?
Thanks, and happy New Year!

What information do you want?

Well, just to know if its military, legit, branch issued to, but mostly the sheath. The metal tip intrigues me..never seen one. Possibly a one-off, proto, but I don't think its a bubba job. Way too nice. Judging by the leather condition, it appears to be "not new".

Gonna need pics to provide any information. Your current info is just too generic.

The metal tip is an aftermarket add-on.

Being a Camillus. the black sheath and handle would imply it is a post-1963, but how post-1963 would depend on the ricasso stamp on the the other side of the knife.

One more picture please, of the stamp.

I really appreciate your interest in this....however I really think its factory. Just too clean and the patina sorta matches.

Camillus dropped the NY from the stamp sometime after February 01, 1974.

Camillus wrote up a new production card for the MIL-K-20277d specifications to reflect "All leather washers dyed black." on 5/10/1970.

This information came from an article by Mr. Frank Trzaska, "The Post War Knife, Combat, Mark 2." MIL-K-20277 is the formal term for the USMC 1219C2/USN-MK2 394831 after 1960.

So theoretically, your knife was made between June 1970 and whenever Camillus made their first production run after February 1974.

Oh, and to answer some of your original questions,

yes it is legitimate. It could have been military.

Branch issued to could be any one - the post-war knife was available for issue to any government agency ordering stuff from the GSA catalog. It could have been (most likely) the Marines, the Army, even the Air Force. Heck, since it's in the GSA catalog (still to this day) it could have been ordered by the US Forestry Service, the IRS, the Border Patrol, the Coast Guard, or even the National Park Service.

Wayne (zzyzzogeton) is shooting you the straight skinny.

Well, guess I don't have a prized collector piece, but its still a great knife. And whoever did the sheath tip knew what they were doing.
Thanks for the info guys, hope I can be of some help in the future.

BTW, is there a place to post to for identification on other misc knives? I picked up one of those "shoebox" full of pocket and fixed blades, and know I'll need assistance with them. Or is that not a good thing? (in your opinion).

There are several forums for specific brands, so you could post up pics and questions on knives of specific brands in the individual forums and then others of unknown maker in the general forum for ID ing.

We're all here to learn and advise. Part of the fun of the place.

Thanks ZZY...I just can't help but think there may be more to this. Like a can of worms, I hope I'm wrong. That tip is just intreging. I will press on!
Best Regards!

BTW....I'm former (ret) military, NV Dep of Prisons, Park Service, and NC SBI, and never was afforded an opportunity to get one. Maybe I wasn't in the right circles, or know how to!

Thanks for your service. It’s a nice knife. The tip could have been put on at a cobbler or other leather shop near any base in the world.

Yup, probably so. Guess I should just let it go and put 'er up on the wall.
Thanks!...and you are most welcome.

Do you know where I can go on this site to find out about restoring old pocket knives?

viewforum.php?f=37

Knife repair and restoration. Seems like a good place to start.