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Approved USCG Rope Knives are stamped "1944 Q5" What IS "Q5"??

I recently asked about this over the BladeForums and over 100 people viewed the thread, but not one stepped in with an answer or a theory.

A lot of WW2 vintage and subsequent rope knives are "US Coast Guard Approved" Camillus and Kutmaster seem to be the most prevalent with this stamp on their reverse tang.

All the knives I've seen are stamped with the same "1944" so I'm certain this was something like the year of the USCG's approval and has nothing to do with date of manufacture -- other than that we can be pretty sure that manufacture was not PRE-1944.

But, what is "Q5" ??

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on May 18, 2011 at 16:20

Wow,

Jim, that was some idea. Mystery solved and the Q5 makes perfect sense if you think about it in that manner. Thanks for taking that extra step to investigate it for us. My hat is off to you!!!

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Permalink Reply by Jim Child on May 20, 2011 at 7:17

I wanted to ask Mr. Trzaska how he'd come by Camillus "accounting records" from the 1940's, but figured I might have already pushed far enough. It's hard to get much feel online for how happy folks are about having to reply to emails coming in from strangers. Some people like to share ...at their own speed.

I'll try reading a bit more of Frank Trzaska's website and maybe pick up some clues whereby he gets his info.

Having Tom, Phil, etal, previous Camillus employees, over on BladeForums.com is a wonderful asset. But, none of those guys were at the company as far back as WW2, the big one. (anyone remember Dobie Gillis' dad?)

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on May 20, 2011 at 8:24

Yeah I remember Dobie's dad. However I remember my dad bette. He was a veteran of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.

WWII with the 3 ID and the other wars in the USAF. (The Army unit he was in at the time of the formation of the USAF became part of the Air Force. He was told to buy a new uniform or transfer to another unit!)

Always nice to hear information about the comings straight from the horse's mouth. Blade Forum has a wealth of information.

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on May 20, 2011 at 15:41

Toby,

LOL, bet our Dads were in the branchs togeather. His army unit became USAF also. Shipped out to Korea army, came home and left for Turkey as USAF.

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on May 20, 2011 at 15:59

It is nice to hear it happened to others.

My Dad was discharged from the U.S Army after getting shot in the B.A.R. at Anzio. Unfortunately the bullet went through his elbow to hit the B.A.R., which in turn, shattered against the side of his face. He was told he'd never use his right arm again. After a few years of therapy and just as many being bored selling ice cream he rejoined the Army in 1947 with 40% disability and sent to England where he was sent to "Cooks & Bakers" school as he was unfit for a combat unit.

It was while in school that his unit was mustered over Lock, Stock & Barrel to the new United States Air Force. Soon afterwards he received his first USAF decoration as part of the Berlin Airlift! He was one of very few Airmen in the USAF that had crew-wings and a Combat Infantryman's Badge (CIB)