All About Pocket Knives

Well, I wrote a post about a knife and then found that I was repeating a post I made a few years ago in this very thread... my wife would recognize this behavior (and laugh). When I tried to delete the post I received the reply, "You cannot delete posts in this forum." Okay, rules are rules, so I've cleared out the original repeated text and pictures. Sorry about this, gents!

mtds wrote:Well, I wrote a post about a knife and then found that I was repeating a post I made a few years ago in this very thread...

You are not the first one.

I am impressed that you realized it before someone else told me, I mean you.

Maybe I'll do repeat my post too but not in this thread
Signal Corps Kit TE-33

Since this thread has been revived I thought it would be a good time to ask a question I have been wondering about. I have two of the single blade radio/electrician lock backss and both are stamped Empire Winsted Ct. I saw TjMurphy has a Camillus in this thread very similar to mine. So would it be a good assumption to think the Empire was made by Camillus ? One of mine is on the right in the picture below.

Edit: well I can't seem to be able to post pics from my phone but you get the idea.

Greg,
Here is my Red Devil Radio Knife.

I don't know who made it.

My Empires are exactly like that pin placement, shield, everything and so is Tj's. All Camillus made???

gsmith7158 wrote:My Empires are exactly like that pin placement, shield, everything and so is Tj's. All Camillus made???

The Red Devil rocker pin is further back that the one TJ posted further up the page form the RD.
Note the rocker pin is directly in the center of the shield on my RD and on TJ's knife it is more toward the front of the shield.
Also the RD has a lanyard hole between the two rear pins. I can't see well, but I don't think that is there on TJ's knife.

I don't think the RD and TJ's knife are from the same company, or at least not in the same era.

I see what you mean Dale. Do you have any idea about the age of yours?

I would guess the 1920s since 1920 was about the time when the first commercial radio stations were licensed to broadcast, (per Wikipedia) in the USA.

The logic of my thinking is that radio preceded the radio knife.

Dale that's pretty interesting stuff the history of radio and they were actually using radio transmitted telegraphy for ship to ship and ship to shore communications as early as 1902. Probably needed a screw driver to work onthose too so maybe earlier.

The TL-29 was made in WWI, but it was a tool for Linesmen who were working with field telephones, and thus the need for a blade to cut and strip wire.
With a radio the connections were soldered and there was no need to cut and strip wires, so no need for the knife blade in the Radio Knife.

I think the Radio Knife was an adaptation of the screwdriver from the TL-29 to the new technology of radio, and therefore it would necessarily postdate the TL-29.
The fact it is called a "Radio Knife" and not a "Wireless Knife" tends to make me think the origin was here in the US and not the UK, where radio was referred to as "The Wireless" and not "The Radio."

I know radio or wireless technology was used long before it became necessary to commercially license those who were broadcasting, but that technology was pretty limited in scope. My thought is the Radio Knife was in response to the quick spread of this new technology after it became commercially successful. Prior to that time there would be limited need for a Radio Knife outside the military, and we have no evidence (that I have seen) that the military ever had any Radio Knives made for their use.

This is just my hypothesis and I may be correct, incorrect or partially correct; and we may never know for sure.
Or, some here-to-for unknown expert may post next and set us all straight.

For me part of the fun of collecting knives is trying to make sense of why certain knives were made.

Absolutely. I'm a little bit of a history buff any way so these unusual blades and condigurations on some of these old knives really gets my curiosity percolating

I got a 1940's era on off the Bay this Week. It cleaned up well. I cut myself with it after sharpening it.

Lengthy but this article gives a good synopsis of military communications and the advancement there of, from the Revolutionary War to modern day.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/literature- ... unications

deltaboy wrote:I got a 1940's era on off the Bay this Week. It cleaned up well. I cut myself with it after sharpening it.

Careless boy! One must be careful with sharp and pointy objects! A bit confused are we?

You know I have a NOS Camillus TL-29 coming in the mail. I will put a razor-sharp edge on the 0170-6C Carbon Steel blade quickly and stow it in my ditty bag. (That's sailor talk to you landlubbers).

To the uninitiated, 0170-6C Carbon Steel is 1095 Carbon Steel with added Chromium and Vanadium for corrosion resistance and edge retention. My New Old Stock Camillus is of the type issued more than 10 years ago before Camillus closed it's doors in 2007. This is likely the most useful and durable TL-29 ever manufactured.

Captain O wrote:

deltaboy wrote:I got a 1940's era on off the Bay this Week. It cleaned up well. I cut myself with it after sharpening it.

Careless boy! One must be careful with sharp and pointy objects! A bit confused are we?

You know I have a NOS Camillus TL-29 coming in the mail. I will put a razor-sharp edge on the 0170-6C Carbon Steel blade quickly and stow it in my ditty bag. (That's sailor talk to you landlubbers).

To the uninitiated, 0170-6C Carbon Steel is 1095 Carbon Steel with added Chromium and Vanadium for corrosion resistance and edge retention. My New Old Stock Camillus is of the type issued more than 10 years ago before Camillus closed it's doors in 2007. This is likely the most useful and durable TL-29 ever manufactured.

Yes it took a razor sharp edge with less than 10 minutes work. I get bit about 2 times a Month.

Those toothy objects will "getcha"!

mtds wrote:This knife has a shallow bail, two holes per scale, an unfinished back, and the double-lined serif-font Camillus tang stamp.

This was Camillus' last production run for the Military. I just bought one the spear point is a variant on the original and the tang stamp is the version that ran from 1989 to their closing in 2007.