All About Pocket Knives

Neat when you happen on to one of these older guys. I think they started in the late 40's. Click on this one and you can see the 1959 on the tang of spear. MIL-K utility knife for the military at the time. The oldest dated one I have found.
moss

.....someone correct me if i'm wrong-i think the first year they dated them was 1958-i was told this at a knife show-the 1958 is supposed to be more valueable since it was the first dated one...????........

Here is a pretty informative article. I will not attest to it's accuracy but the guy seems to speak with authority. http://www.donrearic.com/demoknife1.html
If you decide not to read it the following paragraph is cut and copied from it.
moss
"During the first years of production, each knife was stamped with an individual serial number. This practice was halted in 1949 and the year of production has been stamped on the tang of each knife’s primary blade since that time. In 1973 the opening stud was dropped from the Screw Driver/ Bottle Opener blade, and though the original specification called for brass center liners, these parts were all switched over to stainless steel at some time between 1949 and 1973. Other than these minor alterations, the design of the knife remains unchanged since its inception.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING EDIT.
carrmillus:
EDITED 5/13/13 8:30 PM PST AFTER FURTHER INVESTIGATION I AM IN AGREEMENT WITH YOU REGARDING THE DATE AND NAME STAMP ON THE MAIN BLADE. I AM NOT GOING TO REMOVE MY ATTACHMENTS I AM JUST GOING TO SAY BEWARE AS THEY ARE PROBABLY WRONG. IF THE GENTLEMAN WHO SCRIBED THE TEXT WANTS TO COME FORWARD AND REFUTE MR. TRZASKA WHO I RECEIVED MY LATEST INFO OUT OF HIS MILITARY KNIVES A REFERENCE BOOK,PAGE 240 BOTTOM LEFT LAST COUPLE OF PARAGRAPHS OF THE COLUMN THEN HE MAY DO THAT. BOY DON'T YOU JUST HATE TO SCREW UP AND THEN HAVE TO WRITE A WORDY RETRACTION, IT REALLY SUCKS. I might mention it is the only way to maintain your integrity though.
mossdancer

...very good article, mossdancer, thanks for posting this!!..if anyone out there has a dated one earlier than 1958, please post a picture!!!....i have been watching them on ebay for 10 years, and i've never seen one earlier than 1958...mine was issued to me in early 1959 at ft. belvoir, va., and it is stamped 1958....i would relly love to see an earlier one.......... ...........

carrmillus:
I find it necessary to apologize to you. The article I referenced has been proven to be not very accurate. I wrote this big bodacious retraction regarding it and it fell into the bit basket.
I read a more knowledgable reference and it was in Frank Trzaska's MILITARY KNIVES A reference book. On page 240 in the left column the bottom two paragraphs says in fact exactly what you heard at a show. The 1957 Contract for the new MIL-k knife was let in 1957 and Camillus made the first tang stamped with the company name and the year date the first production year was 1958. There was a change in 1959 with a notch being let into the pile side handle for the punch blade. These knives were the first all stainless steel version and they also showed up in 1958. My apologies for the initial article and if that gentleman has a problem he can settle it with Mr. Trzaska. whom I put a lot of trust into. IT IS THE POOPS TO ERR SUCH AS I DID AND HAVE TO WRITE A WORDY RETRACTION BUT THIS IS THE ONLY WAY I KNOW TO KEEP A PERSONS INTREGRITY.
I WILL LEAVE THE FIRST ARTICLE SO FOLKS CAN SEE WHAT A MESS CAN BE MADE
BY JUMPING THE GUN WITH INCORRECT ASSUMPTIONS.
moss
EDIT: I RECOVERED THE POST AND REENTERED IT.
MOSS

It's interesting that the tang stamp is just 'Camillus' over the date, '1959'.

jerryd6818:
After doing a bit of reading. I have found the reports Mr Trzaska writes in his aforementioned book, came from research from various sources one being Tom Williams who is one of the members here at AAPK. I would imagine were someone to contact him that he could dig up the original cards on the 1957 contract. They I believe would show the tang stamping requirements the contract outlined.
jerryd6818; could you expand a bit on your trepidations. I am including photo's taken of a New just now removed from the package 1976 milk knife. As you see the stamp is if not the same it is awfully close. Also the thumb stud for Garand breakdown has been discontinued. The bag it came from with the stock number exposed is laying beneath the photo. I would imagine the number could be traced.
moss

Mossdancer wrote:carrmillus:
I find it necessary to apologize to you. The article I referenced has been proven to be not very accurate. I wrote this big bodacious retraction regarding it and it fell into the bit basket.
I read a more knowledgable reference and it was in Frank Trzaska's MILITARY KNIVES A reference book. On page 240 in the left column the bottom two paragraphs says in fact exactly what you heard at a show. The 1957 Contract for the new MIL-k knife was let in 1957 and Camillus made the first tang stamped with the company name and the year date the first production year was 1958. There was a change in 1959 with a notch being let into the pile side handle for the punch blade. These knives were the first all stainless steel version and they also showed up in 1958. My apologies for the initial article and if that gentleman has a problem he can settle it with Mr. Trzaska. whom I put a lot of trust into. IT IS THE POOPS TO ERR SUCH AS I DID AND HAVE TO WRITE A WORDY RETRACTION BUT THIS IS THE ONLY WAY I KNOW TO KEEP A PERSONS INTREGRITY.
I WILL LEAVE THE FIRST ARTICLE SO FOLKS CAN SEE WHAT A MESS CAN BE MADE
BY JUMPING THE GUN WITH INCORRECT ASSUMPTIONS.
moss
EDIT: I RECOVERED THE POST AND REENTERED IT.
MOSS

.......mossdancer, no apologies necessary!!!.....just glad my info was correct, for once!!!......... ......

Mossdancer wrote:jerryd6818; could you expand a bit on your trepidations. moss

Moss -- No trepidation involved in my post. I was hoping that since the Camillus Mil-K is dated by year, these knives (of which I own only one and it's not a Camillus) might clear up some of the general confusion over Camillus tang stamps and the dates of their use. No such luck. Camillus has sucker punched us once again by simply stamping them Camillus.

I'm acquainted with Mr. Williams and have read several times where he said Camillus was haphazard in the use of their tang stamps. I'm not a big fan of Case but one thing I have to give them, they've done a pretty good job of dating their knives for the past 40+ years. Of course the difference is Camillus made work knives and Case makes collectors with the marking of what work knives they do make, coincidental.

Here is my take on these knives.

I have quite a few of these, I was buying them back when no one wanted them, in fact they still are not popular or worth very much, but I could not pass them up especially if they were cheap.

I have never seen a Camillus dated before 1958, the very first ones had carbon blades that had no tang stamp, the only identifying mark was on the bail. Then in 1958 the all stainless steel blades were introduced, this is when Camillus started marking the date on the tang.

I have 2 of the 1958 Camillus knives and they are the same, all stainless with the same tang stamp and date.

Here's a 1958 for sale on ebay now with five days to go
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CAMILLUS-1958-U ... 3382291914

.....when i got discharged in 1962, they gave us a list of equipment we had to turn in, and i noticed the camillus military knife wasn't on the list. i stuck mine in my pocket when i went to the supply room to turn in my equipment, just in case they asked for it. when the supply sgt. didn't, i asked him about it and he said, "hell no!!, i've got hundreds of new ones back there, ain't never been opened"!!!.....he even asked me if i wanted some to carry home, but i was only interested in the one i had carried, so i missed out on some future ebay mat'l.!!!!!.................. .................

To All Reading or following this debacle I have created; This I am hoping will be my last words on this subject as the more I say the more I err.
moss

The more I read the more I become mired down in particulars. Follow this closely or you will lose track or go to sleep one of the two. The first article I referred to on Don Rearics site was not by him it was it seems by Ken Cook and he refers to Tom Williams. The second article from "A Reference Book" was not by Frank Trzaska but by Mr. Dennis Ellingson of Eugene and he also works with Mr. Williams. I have really boloxed this up and with this retraction I am stopping before my aged eyes make any further mistakes. I have asked a friend of mine to speak when time avails to Tom Williams and just ask the question of what year did the date appear on the MIL-K 818 knife or your knife in particular and mine in general.
moss

............will be interesting to hear his comments!!............. ................

WOW Vit:
That is one great knife. Would it be possible to get a photo posted here. It could really add to our knowledge base.
moss

It's a CAMILLUS and it's definitely DATED.
Today I add this pocket knife to my "general" CAMILLUS pocket knife collection. It is ONE of my HOLY GRAIL pocket knives. It is a 1949 CAMILLUS, single blade, 3 tool, brass liners, pocket knife. It is in EXCELLENT condition and didn't require any cleaning. I took some pictures and here it is.

Nice! This is a very rare knife! Congratulations!

Vit_213 wrote: ↑Sun Sep 13, 2020 1:03 am Nice.....

Thank you.

Nice find Skip!
That date leaves NOTHING to be questioned!

The term Holy Grail is thrown around a lot. In this case it really is the true. Nice find, congrats on the addition to your collection.

Meridian_Mike wrote: ↑Mon Sep 14, 2020 12:42 pm Nice.....

Thank you Mike.

eveled wrote: ↑Mon Sep 14, 2020 12:56 pm The term.....

Thank you. I had three "Holy Grail" items on my list. Two down, one to go.
Here is a link to the other one that I HAVE.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3137&start=435#p848105

....well, so much for 1958 being the first date stamp!!, but I'm still glad I got to keep the one I carried for 3 yrs., 3 months, and 3 days!!!............................. ....................

It's a CAMILLUS and it's definitely DATED.
A great follow-up to my 1949 CAMILLUS pocket knife (the second post, this page).
Today I add this pocket knife to my "general" CAMILLUS pocket knife collection. It is a 1959 CAMILLUS, single blade, 3 tool pocket knife. It is in EXCELLENT condition and didn't require any cleaning. I took some pictures and here it is.

Wow! This is a really rare knife. Congratulations!