Welcome Home...THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF OUR COMMUNITY

iKnife Collector

The online community of knife collectors, A Knife Family Forged in Steel

Military Knives

I have a modest collection of British military knives from WWI and WWII. Does anyone else collect military knives? If so, please post them here. Folders and fixed blades welcome. It would be great to see them.

7 members like this

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Smiling-Knife on July 2, 2012 at 10:50

These are three two-bladed British Army knives from 1941, 43, & 45. The copper shackle was replaced by a steel shackle sometime in 1941. The crown cap opener was added to the can opener attachment in 1945.

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on July 2, 2012 at 17:47

SK,

Nice clear tangs and dates on those. Wonder how well those can openers worked?

Permalink Reply by Terry Waldele on July 2, 2012 at 23:25

This is a U.S. Navy pilot's survival knife from my collection. From my research, it was apparently issued to Navy pilots during WWII. Actually, I restored this knife by replacing its original saw blade, which was broken, with one from another Pilot's knife that I bought for $10.00 because its bolsters and handle scales were badly banged up. This knife is a real hand full and weighs a ton!

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on July 3, 2012 at 7:40

Wow guys those are some great military knives, you have me very interested in them know.

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on July 3, 2012 at 17:17

Terry,

Great work and a nice rescue for a fine old workhorse!.

Permalink Reply by Lee Saunders on July 6, 2012 at 23:46

I found another Camillus knife with a Spike. It's clean with the flat handles and the locking mechanism works which so few of my recent knives seem to lock the spike well. It may be me though. Check the saw teeth on the primary blade.....

Here's the Tang plus you can see the saw teeth on the blade too.

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on July 8, 2012 at 11:58

You have a CM696. This knife came with a 1/2 serrated or full serrated blade depending on the yere. The CM695 had the plain blade,

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on July 8, 2012 at 11:58

Jan asked about the split blade can openers...

I've used the split blades on occasion. The thing with them is that you don't need a rim on the can or "tin." You can actually cut straight across a piece of thin sheet metal if you need to. There was some debate about it being used for cutting sail and if you file down or sharpen the internal edge on the cutter you can use it for cutting small line and perhaps popping threads like a seamstress' seam ripper is uses to cut threads on a hem but it that wasn't its real purpose. Still it is a versatile tin cutter.

Permalink Reply by Lee Saunders on July 8, 2012 at 12:53

What years were the half-serrated blades fro Tobias? Do you know?

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on July 8, 2012 at 17:43

Tobias,

Thanks it does sound pretty versatile

Permalink Reply by ken benson on July 14, 2012 at 22:59

I like military knives above all. I sometimes wish I had one of the knives I carried in Viet Nam ,but when you went home it was our tradition to sovereir, knives , Zippos, personally owned firearms and other hard to get items to someone staying . I mostly carried a very old and very used Ka-Bar, and sometimes the Air Force Pilots survival, the type with bolt pommel , saw spine and sharpening stone in the sheath. People who thought ahead, and brought a quality knife often had big Bucks and the big deal of the time was the Gerber Mark II ( think II). I was soverneired a guitar and when I left nobody seemed to want it so I had it sent home. My daughter still plays it.

The most important Army cutting tool was the p-38. I carried one on my ID tag chain and I always ate first.

Permalink Reply by Lee Saunders on July 18, 2012 at 0:21

I have a new (to me) knife).

Said to be a Vietname War era pocketknife for the British Army.

The Tang reads Made in China which really surprises. Mainland China was supporting North Vietnam with everything including weapons. I think if it was made in Taiwan it would say so although there was a period when both were calling themselves "China" for political reasons, so maybe that's what it is, I dunno??

The handle reads Oil The Joints and yet there is not the expected makers mark to go with that. Also the handle reads Stainless Steel and 68 with an up arrow, which the seller says meant the knife was made in 1968 (consequently Vietnam era) and a "British Broad Arrow". The seller also says it is a British Army knife.