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Pictures of Fishers, Scouts, Campers, Sailors and Hobos

Show them off here.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on September 7, 2013 at 17:14

You and me both, Clay. It's on my wishlist too!

Clay Strong said:

This is a knife on my wishlist . A Hubertus Camper Stag Lever Lock

They are available in both vintage and new, but they are not cheap.

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on September 7, 2013 at 17:16

I wonder if it might be a patent number. I'll look into it.

Ken Spielvogel said:

Tobias or anyone, Do you know what the numbers mean on this Imperial fish knife??

Ken Spielvogel said:

My only Fish Knife - Reads: Imperial - Prov USA on front of main blade and 2170537-P-2201782 on back of main blade. Wonder what all those numbers mean? This knife was in rough shape - still is really - I worked on it a little bit.

Permalink Reply by Ken Spielvogel on September 7, 2013 at 17:20

Thanks Tobias, I knew if anyone could find out, you could.

Permalink Reply by Clay Strong on September 7, 2013 at 23:11

This is a nice example of an older sailor knife. It's design is a holdover from the time that most sailors had fixed blade knives. It's said that most of the time in the early days of signing on for a voyage, that just after leaving port all of the crew would be forced to allow their blade to broken. That helped reduce the injuries sustained from the occasional stabbing. Much later the typical mariner's knife included a marlinspike to use when splicing lines. I have an old marlinspike around here someplace that I carried when I lived on a sailboat for a few years. I'll try to post a photo of it sometime. Thanks for posting this old bird that has a story.

Ken Spielvogel said:

Coast Guard Camillus Rope Knife

Permalink Reply by Ken Spielvogel on September 8, 2013 at 3:31

Thanks Clay for that info, that was interesting. The history and stories of these old knives are great.

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on September 8, 2013 at 12:10

Hi Clay,

There is a lot of debate about the blades being broken and such. I think it is probably more myth than fact as the mean were given marlin spikes were were more than effective when it came to stabbing. More likely, sailors started modifying the blades on their own as opposed to captains worrying about mutinies. After all, the officers had swords and pistols and you don't take a knife to a gun fight. From what I've read special blunt tip knives were already being used aboard ships in the early 1800s. Spear tips blades have been issued side by side with these knives.

The U.S. Navy has been issuing jacks to sailors since before WWI and they issued spear tips and coping-sheepfoot bladed jacks depending on the sailors job onboard.

The Royal Navy also issued knives with both types of blades for at least the last 150 years.

Permalink Reply by Clay Strong on September 8, 2013 at 13:39

Thanks for the comment, Tobias. Someplace in an old knots book, I saw photos of some of those blunt knives. It was explained that sailors would buy them to avoid the ragged broken blade. There was a comment in one of the old books about the sailors lined up for their turn to watch the ship's carpenter break their knives with a dismayed look on their face as they took a last look at their prized knife. Another reason a blunt blade was preferred is the very real likelihood of falling around on a ship's rocking deck. I was in the Coast Guard and the Navy Submarine force and everyone carried knives. On the sub, a knife wasn't used much. But, a sailor would wear that knife out sharpening hour after hour. There were great debates over what was the best way to sharpen and who had the sharpest blade. LOL

Permalink Reply by Smiling-Knife on September 8, 2013 at 14:27

This is another example of the Camillus rope knife circa WWII.

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on September 8, 2013 at 14:45

A couple of WWII allies. A Pattern #317 1943 issue W&SB 3 piece clasp knife and 1944 Q5 Camillus USCG Approved Rope knife. From whatI understand the the Q5 was primarily used by Merchant Marines. The Pattern # 217 was approved by the UK Ministry of Defense in the mid 1930s and remained in service until the 1960s. It was used by all branches of the British Military (Army, Navy, Air Force)

Permalink Reply by Ken Spielvogel on September 8, 2013 at 15:04

Smiling Knife and Tobias - your rope knives look a lot like mine - mine says USCG on the back of blade - does yours?? I see that Tobias knife does say USCG - how about yours Smiling Knife? Do any of them say USN?

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on September 8, 2013 at 16:47

Yep. These are known as the Q-5. It was replaced by the S-702, a stainless steel version of the same knife that added a secondary can opener. Mine was made shortly after the war sometime between 1947-1949 as it is a 3 Line Camillus.

My tang reads:

The obverse tang stamp reads: Camillus/New York/USA
The reverse tang stamp reads: Approved/USCG/1944Q5

Numerous people have made the claim that these knives were not used by the Coast Guard, however a 1946 advertisement from Camillus read: "Maritime Commission and Merchant Marine SailorsKnife." The USCG approved tang stamps refers to the knife being officially approved for maritime service by the Coast Guard but not necessarily for Coast Guard use. With that said, personal recollection among USCG and USN personnel says they were indeed used by service personnel.

The S-702 came out in 1949 and continued to be made under U.S. government contract until 1995, As witht he Q-5s the bulk of the S702 were made by Camillus In 2001, SMKW released a 50th anniversary commemorative S702 Coast Guard knife with a Remember Pearl Harbor Blade Etch. This knife has a 4 line Camillus tang stamp and has led to some unethical people sanding off the blade etch and passing them off as "Rare" WWII issued Q-5 Coast Guard knives. The Q-5 never had a can opener and also did not have the rivet passing through the bolster.

Other differences:

jet black Delrin hanlde with a different jigging (the q-5 has a dark brown0

440 stainless steel blades instead of 1095 Carbon

Nail knick is closer to the front of the blade.