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Camillus US Military Pilots Survival Knife

I was hired to repair, well that might not be the right word.. lets say build a Camillus US Military Pilots Survival Knife. My customer Allen gave me a Camillus blade and guard and asked me to put it together, It will be a gift for a friend of his.

This company went out of business in 2007 so I did some research and was able to find the drawings for the parts I need to make, the pommel and Case.

This is what he gave me, I took a picture of it on top of one of the drawings I found online:

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Daniel Howland on May 24, 2013 at 17:19

Beating the leather sections together as I go along with hammer and punch. So far so good.

Permalink Reply by Daniel Howland on May 24, 2013 at 17:20

After shaping on the belt grinder, I decided not to put the groves in the leather, I think it will look better smooth.

Permalink Reply by Daniel Howland on May 24, 2013 at 17:22

Coat of dye, and let sit for a day.

Permalink Reply by Ron Cooper on May 24, 2013 at 17:24

Those red spacers are a real nice touch, Dan! I have a feeling that the end result will surpass spectacular. Good show, my friend!

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Craig Henry on May 24, 2013 at 17:30

Looking great!

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on May 25, 2013 at 8:25

What brand of meter, Dan.

I've a Fluke 77.. no thermocouple attachment though .. never had the need .. they were still pretty pricey last time I checked .. i.e. yrs ago & the Fluke name.
!?! You're obviously happy with the increased accuracy !?!
??? did you take a similar approach to monitoring the temp of the forge ???

Also, nice forge .. it it wasn't a sin, I'd be envious :)

Daniel Howland said:

Got my digital thermometer and thermocouple in, made a holder for the TC and I must say the results are much better this time knowing the right temperature of the salt.

Sweet mount @ thermocouple

let me guess .. engineering plastic w/ low melting temp .. hehe

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on May 25, 2013 at 8:27

The project's turning out pretty sweet there, Dan !!!

Daniel Howland said:

Coat of dye, and let sit for a day.

... and I second the "thumbs up" on the red spacer washers !!

Permalink Reply by Daniel Howland on May 25, 2013 at 16:05

Thanks Dale,

This is my first experience with a digital thermometer and have not yet used it on anything else.

I purchased the Digital Thermometer on Amazon here I does look like a Fluke style case and the Flukes are still pretty pricey, mine is not a Fluke and was only $16.25 it comes with 2 thermocouples but the temp range is too low for my needs so I bought 2 seperate ones from a guy on e-bay the first one temp range -58 to 1292 °F (-50 to 700 °C) which is the one I used on the salts, the second one reads temp Up to 2372 °F (1300 °C) I plan on using in another forge I have not built yet, my hopes are to heat treat with a gas forge.

Permalink Reply by Daniel Howland on May 25, 2013 at 16:57

Thanks Dale, Ron and Craig.

It soaked up 3 coats of linseed oil, I'm thinking in a few days putting on a coat if KIWI shoe polish, maybe...

Next step leather sheath.

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Craig Henry on May 25, 2013 at 17:00

Wow, that looks great!

Permalink Reply by Daniel Howland on May 25, 2013 at 17:06

Aluminium thermocouple mount, screws on the side of the pot. It's nice having machines to fabricate parts/tools. :)

D ale said:

What brand of meter, Dan.

I've a Fluke 77.. no thermocouple attachment though .. never had the need .. they were still pretty pricey last time I checked .. i.e. yrs ago & the Fluke name.
!?! You're obviously happy with the increased accuracy !?!
??? did you take a similar approach to monitoring the temp of the forge ???

Also, nice forge .. it it wasn't a sin, I'd be envious :)

Daniel Howland said:

Got my digital thermometer and thermocouple in, made a holder for the TC and I must say the results are much better this time knowing the right temperature of the salt.

Sweet mount @ thermocouple

let me guess .. engineering plastic w/ low melting temp .. hehe