Air Force survival knife

[wundudnee]

I bought this knife this fall at the Colorado Collectors Show in Colorado, Springs. I wasn't too impressed with the knife, but the hand made sheath caught my eye. It's very crude, but it is made very well. The leather is heavy and the edges are burnished smooth. It's put together very neatly with copper harness rivets. the builders name is Bret, spelled out with some kind of punch on the metal strip.

Looking up the knife I found it to be a 1950s Air Force survival knife. They were made with the upper saw teeth so a pilot could poke it through the side of his crashed aluminum plane and saw himself out. They became obsolete after the introduction of fiberglass plane skins.

 

[Bob L]

Very nice. Sheath shows a lot of workmanship.

 

[heeter3]

A lot of history there thank you for the pics.

 

[jeffrefrig]

Yes, very nice sheath. And the knife is nice, too. I'm wondering about the knife...why the bolt head on the butt of the handle? Darn, I really wish I'd have learned leather working back in the '60s. Nice sheath! Knife seems to be quality from the pics.

 

[Scharfschuetzer]

Those were fairly common in VN. Some guys tried to use them for throwing knives which broke the foible off.

I still have mine around here somewhere, although I can't seem to find it at the moment. The original sheath has a pouch on it that contains a coarse sharpening stone.

 

[Drm50]

If we wanted fixed blade knife that is only one our supply carried. The ones my outfit stocked were junk. Ours were made by some contractor I never herd of. I guess there were good ones made by other manf. I think they were intended for chopper crews in Army. If we wanted a good knife we had to bum or beg a KBar off Marines.

 

[Gunhacker]

I'm wondering about the knife...why the bolt head on the butt of the handle?

The shape of the pommel (butt) is to serve as a hammer, with the knife held in the sheath.

 

[Swiftflyer]

I have had one since 68 or 69 a gift from my father, other blades have come and gone but this one is still my go to knife.

 

[s&wchad]

Cool knife and a nice custom sheath. There are a number of variations of these to collect. Yours was made by Camillus. Starting in the mid-1960's they were marked on a pommel flat, instead of the ricaso and a date was added. It's hard to read, but it looks like yours is dated 6 1991.

We had a recent discussion about these.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/firear...survival-knife.html?highlight=Jet+pilot+knife

 

[otis24]

I have a newer one. My favorite knife is the Cattaraugus 225Q (Quartermaster knife). It has a very thick blade and the pommel can be used as a hammer.

 

[Greyman50]

Here you are, small knife's blade has been repointed, pretty common. From Coles book III.

 

[ispcapt]

My first one was issued to me in 1972. Cannot recall the make if I even paid any attention to the maker. I broke my initial issue in 1977 using it as a pry bar to open a crate. I know, but it was the only thing handy at the time and too lazy to get a proper tool.
This one was my reissue in 1977. Ontario make. It's an OK knife, not a great knife. It will take an edge but not with the provided stone which is pretty crude. The case is getting a bit brittle with age and weather.

 

[deadin]

Navy pilots used the same knife.
I had several I had "liberated" while on a carrier......

 

[THE PILGRIM]

The earlier Navy Knives were made by Marble and had a longer blade.
That's one on the top.
The later ones were made by several makers and produced in large numbers for a long time.
That's mine on the bottom that I carried in SEA.
The earlier sheaths had rounded bottoms.
Some folks reported problems with the knife cutting through the bottom.
So the bottom metal plates were locally added.
Later Sheaths have squared off metal covered bottoms.

 

[Echo40]

Congratulations.

I've always been really into sawback blades, but unfortunately they've gone out of style because the average person doesn't know that they were primarily designed to cut through metal/canvas and thusly declares them completely useless because they don't cut through wood very well.
I like them first for their aesthetic appeal and second for their utility, but evidently most folks take chopping logs in their backyard or camping site too seriously to carry something with style or flair, and will insult anyone who does because part of the game that is outdoor recreation is to pretend that it's wilderness survival training.

No offense to those who are into Bushcraft as I do acknowledge it's appeal, nor actual wilderness survival training which is a legitimate skill with numerous practical applications. I'm referring to the "stop having fun" Guys who confuse outdoor recreation with wilderness survival training and insult anyone who doesn't carry approved bushcraft gear such as a Mora Knife and selects something more fun like a Tops Steel Eagle for their outdoor adventures.

 

[30-30remchester]

Being a military knife collector, I have had quite a few of these. Vietnam era brings the most interest. Early 1950's era Jet pilot knives were nothing more than a 5" bladed hunting knife. Realizing they needed something "more" Marbles came up with this design. After the first contract was filled, other manufacturers started producing them for the military. Camillus being the predominant maker. Camillus at first produced the original 6" bladed version but shortly after, the 5" version became standard. The 6" Camillus are getting hard to find and I only have one in my collection. I collect knives and guns with history and evidence of use. My all-time favorite Vietnam used and dated JPK with a documented use from the original owner was the highlight of my JPK collection. Several years ago, I hosted a kid-man I watched grow up. He had just returned from Afghanistan and recovering from wounds to both body and mind. Having severe PTSD his dad and I were working with him. Wanting to see my military knife collection, I proudly showed him and offered him any knife in my collection. Mind you I have some nice stuff. WW 2 airborne switchblade jump knives, Western Sharks, MK- 1,2, and 3's. Of all the knives he was most impressed with the JPK knives and though I had several NOS examples, he wanted the one with the certified Vietnam history. Could not think of a better new owner of that particular knife.

 

[Drm50]

My dad was Navy WW2, he had his Deck Knife a Case with about 5" blade and leather handle. He keep in with Vaseline on blade until sheath rotted.
But wipe off the grease and you could literally shave with it.

 

[deadin]

Too bad I no longer have the ones I mentioned. I remember going up to the parachute locker on the ship (I had a friend that I had gone to HS with that was a rigger). He was working at a grinder station grinding great big notches in the blades of a number of survival knives and then dropping them in the trash.
Seems it was found that the locker had more knives than was on the allotment for the ship and it was easier to just scrap them then trying to return them to supply. (I believe they called it "surveying" them. i.e. make them unusable and dispose over the side....)
I told him to take it easy on the grinding of a couple and drop them my way. I ended up with several that had a minuscule nick in the blade that stoned out without much effort....

 

[Gene L]

The butt is to be used as a hammer, if needed. Also, the guard has two holes, horizontal that could be used to strap to a pole for a spear or so it was rumored. The sheath had a pouch with a sharpening stone.

Saw a lot of them in Vietnam. They are good knives.

 

[Drm50]

I went to great trouble and had to grease a few palms to get several Kbars in my duffle to SETAC. Standing outside in the rain in Jan at 2:00am the word came back the line they were strip searching everyone. Because of guys with dope. Everyone got in their duffle and threw all contraband items in dumpsters. I threw away a lot of goodies, so did others. We got inside where they have customs check you and they didn't hardly run their arm in your duffel bag. At the time only thing on your mind was going home. Later when I thought about it, I wonder if that was a set up. A dumpster diver could have made a fortune. Plane load after plane load of guys were Derosing through there. They didn't give us our stake dinner either. FTA.