All About Pocket Knives

Greetings all,

I know that 1944 saw the adoptiong of the Knife, Pocket, General Purpose. However, I have not been able to determine exactly what pocket knives would have been in use prior to that to regular GIs that were not specialized engineers, signal corps men, linemen, paratroopers etc.
I have searched the internet but I was able to find info here and there, very confused and sparse information.
I am sure soldiers were able to acquire commercial pocket knives through private channels, but I am also guessing the Army contracted some commercial companies to supply them.

So my question is: what pocket knives, either private purchase or Army contract, would have been used by regular GIs (not engineers or signal corps or paratroopers etc) prior to the introduction of the Knife, Pocket, General Purpose?

Thank you all for helping me out.

Hi and to AAPK. First, I am not an expert or even slightly knowledgeable about anything to do with cutlery.
That being said, the knife below was my father's. He was a Technical Sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Corp from 1942 to 1945.
He was stationed in Iceland 1944-1945. When he received this knife, I have no idea. I'm sure someone will be along at some point and help you out much better than I can. If you find out what years are involved with the tang stamps that are shown, you might be able to narrow it down. Good luck, Skip.

Welcome aboard. Hope you will spend time here and share photos etc. I think it is likely that someone with the specialized info you need will eventually be along.

Skip, that is a very fine looking knife.

Quick Steel wrote:Welcome aboard. Hope you will spend time here and share photos etc. I think it is likely that someone with the specialized info you need will eventually be along.

Skip, that is a very fine looking knife.

Thank you Quick Steel. The handle on the other side is completely missing.
I'd like to eventually get it repaired.

Skip, your knife made by New York Knife Co could have been made no later than 1931 when the company went out of business. It is not an issued army knife, NYK just put that shield on there for marketing purposes. They are usually regarded as WW1 era knives but I have seen no info as to when they ceased making them. Your dad must have gotten it from somebody or somewhere before the war. I will have to dig around to find the earlier WW2 general purpose pocket knife, although I think others probably have photos of them already. There were no pocket knives issued to US troops before WW2 although the US Navy did issue folding knives since the mid-late 1800s.

Gunsil wrote:New Windsor, your knife made by New York Knife Co could have been made no later than 1931 when the company went out of business. It is not an issued army knife, NYK just put that shield on there for marketing purposes. Your dad must have gotten it from somebody or somewhere before the war. I will have to dig around to find the earlier WW2 general purpose pocket knife, although I think others probably have photos of them already. There were no pocket knives issued to US troops before WW2 although the US Navy did issue folding knives since the mid-late 1800s.

Thank you for the information. I never asked my father about it. It was always in his workbench drawer. It could very well have belonged to my grandfather at some time also. I'll never know, but it's a nice knife anyway.
Oh, by the way, my name is Skip.

PvtRossi wrote:Greetings all,

I know that 1944 saw the adoptiong of the Knife, Pocket, General Purpose. However, I have not been able to determine exactly what pocket knives would have been in use prior to that to regular GIs that were not specialized engineers, signal corps men, linemen, paratroopers etc.
I have searched the internet but I was able to find info here and there, very confused and sparse information.
I am sure soldiers were able to acquire commercial pocket knives through private channels, but I am also guessing the Army contracted some commercial companies to supply them.

So my question is: what pocket knives, either private purchase or Army contract, would have been used by regular GIs (not engineers or signal corps or paratroopers etc) prior to the introduction of the Knife, Pocket, General Purpose?

Thank you all for helping me out.

This is a great book on the subject....
https://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Knives-Un ... oks&sr=1-2

bdev wrote:

PvtRossi wrote:Greetings all,

I know that 1944 saw the adoptiong of the Knife, Pocket, General Purpose. However, I have not been able to determine exactly what pocket knives would have been in use prior to that to regular GIs that were not specialized engineers, signal corps men, linemen, paratroopers etc.
I have searched the internet but I was able to find info here and there, very confused and sparse information.
I am sure soldiers were able to acquire commercial pocket knives through private channels, but I am also guessing the Army contracted some commercial companies to supply them.

So my question is: what pocket knives, either private purchase or Army contract, would have been used by regular GIs (not engineers or signal corps or paratroopers etc) prior to the introduction of the Knife, Pocket, General Purpose?

Thank you all for helping me out.

This is a great book on the subject....
https://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Knives-Un ... oks&sr=1-2

I also strongly recommend Silvey's book.

Ray

I was told that this Pal easy open is possibly a WWII issue pocket knife but I cannot confirm it so far. A similar model with a manicure secondary blade was a WWI issue as I understand.I have one each of those by W.R.Case and Schatt & Morgan. The Case has had the master blade drastically modified.

I have a very early Remington with acorn shield R3322 with USA on the shield . The C4 Remington catalog called it their Army knife .
I would date the knife in the late teens or early 20s .
Sorry for the bad picture, it’s all I have on file right now .

Mike

Scout, since Remington didn't start making knives until 1920 how could any have been from the teens?? Other than bayonets Remington never made any knives for the armed forces, and those bayonets were WW1 or earlier.

I believe the first year for Remington pocket knives was late 1919 but I could be wrong and I believe this knife to be very early . It also has the first generation tang stamp .
Either way it’s old and I’m only aware of a handful known to exist .

Gunsil wrote:Scout, since Remington didn't start making knives until 1920 how could any have been from the teens?? Other than bayonets Remington never made any knives for the armed forces, and those bayonets were WW1 or earlier.

This Robeson two blade Easy Open Jack is stamped only "U.S.A."on the master blade. In this case, that stands for United States Army.

This Robeson three blade Scout/Utility is marked "U.S.A." on the shield. Three blade army issue knives are not common.

This four blade Scout/Utility is seriously considered to be an issue item.

Robeson also made the STEVENSON marked all metal four blade Scout/Utility knives. They were marked only on the bail. As you can see, the Stevenson retains the proprietary Robeson cap-lifter/can-opener and short screw-driver blades, so this knife predates the MIL-K requirements for the later knives. They did, however, utilize the required blades in their later Stevenson knives.

Charlie Noyes

Charlie, does that all metal knife have brass liners? I had thought that all the military issue Stevensons had US MARINE CORPS on the scale just like the Kingstons.

PvtRossi, here is a WW2 era Camillus utility knife made for the army. The USA on the shield is for US Army. These and ones by other companies were what preceded the all metal MIL-K knives. These would have been general issue knives, that is not made for specific units like the Ulster mountain troop knives. On the Robesons Charlie shows the USA on the tang is for US Army.

Guys,

Thank you all for the plethora of information. I am a US WWII reenactor that tries to not be a "farb" (jargon for "not historically accurate") and hence the reason for my inquiry. Although soldiers were issued bayonets, veterans in the European and Mediterranean Theater very often discarded them, simply because there were almost never hand to hand combat, unlike in the Pacific Theater. On the other hand, trench knives were in reality issued to a limited number of individuals (those armed with M1 Carbine or heavy weapons). Most regular soldiers did not carry one. Many soldiers did carry hunting knives (such as the PAL RH-36) or special knives (the Rangers had the Fairbairn-Sykes, the FSSF had the V-42 and so on). But the vast majority of soldiers that were not issued specialized knives like paratroopers (the M2) or Signal Corps or Engineers (the TL-29) did not and still had the daily need for a blade (and a bottle opener and a can opener too at least). So they carried pocket knives. Since the war did not start with D-Day as many reenactors like to believe, I am interested to know what pocket knives would have found their way into the hands of regular GIs that fought from the start of the war through 1943 and into 1944.
Thus my interest into pocket knives is, for the moment, limited to this specific inquiry (although the world of pocket knives and knives in general is fascinating to me) and I am unable to afford Silvey's book. I welcome more suggestions and info as to what pocket knives might have been carried at the time by GIs.
One question I have is: it seems to me that the Army did not clearly contracted any specific maker to provide pocket knives. However, I know for a fact that the Army often bought lots of commercial items and then supplied them (for example, the famous paratrooper cricket, but also razors etc). Didn't anything similar happen for pocket knives? In other words, wouldn't a pocket knife popular at the time (for example Boy Scout pocket knives) be historically accurate to be carried by a GI?

Meanwhile, I will submit to your judgment a couple of pocket knives that I have meanwhile used. I have not been able to identify with certainty the models and the manufacture years. Maybe you will help me to shed some light and help me out.
The first one I BELIEVE might be a Camco 450, which I think might be a model produced during the war years. Unfortunately one of the safeties is lacking (and I take the occasion to ask for help as to where to find a replacement or how to make one, please).
The blade is marked Imperial Knife - Providence, R.I. and the can opener is marked Can Open - PAT (and then I can't discern anymore). The second is a Barlow "Diamond Edge" possibly manufactured between the '30s and the early '50s. This is all I could find out. Blade is marked Imperial Knife - Providence, R.I.

Both knives you show would be classified as FARB, they were both made after WW2. No, the government did not just go out and buy a lot of pocket knives from all over and distribute them to troops. The government contracted with most but not all major American cutlery companies for specific knives. NONE of the issue utility knives had synthetic scales, you need a bone handled one with USA marks to be considered properly suited for re-enactment. If you can't afford books there are libraries, perhaps you should try going to your closest one. Libraries can get any book you wish for study. I should think other re-enactors in your group would also know which knives were actually available to troops in WW2.

Gunsil wrote:PvtRossi, here is a WW2 era Camillus utility knife made for the army. The USA on the shield is for US Army. These and ones by other companies were what preceded the all metal MIL-K knives. These would have been general issue knives, that is not made for specific units like the Ulster mountain troop knives. On the Robesons Charlie shows the USA on the tang is for US Army.

IMG_0148.jpg

I'm only now reading more carefully your post, Gunsil. This is great and that knife is beautiful. Did that pocket knife specifically have a nomenclature? And when you say "[...] and ones by other companies [...]" do you mean also made in the same exact style / model as this Camillus you're presenting? I'd be curious to know the prices for it.

Gunsil wrote:Both knives you show would be classified as FARB, they were both made after WW2. No, the government did not just go out and buy a lot of pocket knives from all over and distribute them to troops. The government contracted with most but not all major American cutlery companies for specific knives. NONE of the issue utility knives had synthetic scales, you need a bone handled one with USA marks to be considered properly suited for re-enactment. If you can't afford books there are libraries, perhaps you should try going to your closest one. Libraries can get any book you wish for study. I should think other re-enactors in your group would also know which knives were actually available to troops in WW2.

I had not thought of getting the book through my library. I will do that right away, it's an excellent idea. I will look out for bone handles pocket knives and marked USA then, perhaps specifically the same model you posted - hoping the prices then won't be too prohibitive.
Thank you sir!

An interesting site that might be of some interest and help to you.
https://stewartsmilitaryantiques.com/

PvtRossi, the Camillus ones are fairly common, were I to sell mine I would likely ask around forty five bucks for it since the main blade has been sanded clean a little. I have seen them for sale at flea markets and antique shows. Mint ones will cost you more but then again most re-enactors don't want a mint knife since a used one is more accurate. Now a lot of guys carried their own pocket knives for sure. Back then every guy who didn't live in a big city carried some sort of pocket knife and many took their favorites to war with them. Of course one could not easily open cans and bottles with their favorite old jack knife so I would think most adopted the utility knife that was issued them. Not all knife companies that had government war contracts made the same model knife for the government. There were a several making the utility knife I believe, with Camillus making the most.

Didn't civilian pocket knives in the 1930s and 1940s include also can opener and bottle opener?
I very much like the idea of fielding a commercial / civilian pocket knife, because it gives character to an impression, provided that has at least a bottle opener. What were some common models sold commercially in those years - that I could find today at affordable prices?

Go look at this thread - PX knives were non-issue knives ordered for stock in the PX and sold to Soldiers - good likelihood that your average Grunt or Doggie would have one of these if not carrying an issue pocketknife. I don’t think that has changed since WW-II; most Soldiers still carry a knife that they bought - everything from customs to cheap imports. OH

viewtopic.php?t=63034

I carried a Buck 110 in the Navy. Bought it right after I came aboard in '68. Used it daily in the " hole". ftd

Old Hunter wrote:Go look at this thread - PX knives were non-issue knives ordered for stock in the PX and sold to Soldiers - good likelihood that your average Grunt or Doggie would have one of these if not carrying an issue pocketknife. I don’t think that has changed since WW-II; most Soldiers still carry a knife that they bought - everything from customs to cheap imports. OH

viewtopic.php?t=63034

Old Hunter, thank you! I am now on the lookout for that as well...not much luck so far now though