U.S army pocket knife, real or copy ?

[zed6309]

Ive been watching this for ages now and no nothing about these other than camillus made them at some point, i gather there is copies as there are of other military type knives but is this a copy or not ? pic not good im afraid, and as always thanks for any help guys,

http://www.surplusandoutdoors.com/shop/ ... 26552.html

[chautauqua]

the key is in the description,us army style,there are many available on ebay that are authentic this ones probably a china repo,almost every us knifemaker has made these for us military,and there stamped with the makers name and year produced

[knives-are-quiet]

You are better off getting one off of eBay that states it is a Camillus.
I have one from 1984 and restored a 1958 for my older Brother a few years ago.
Is eBay still not allowed to sell knives to people in the UK?

J W

[zed6309]

Thanks guys, i did think it must be a copy but knew you guys would know more, ill hold out for a real one

[Owd Wullie]

I don't know if it's my luck or what, but I've seen more of the originals of those with broken springs than I've seen that didn't have broken springs.

[zed6309]

I don't know if it's my luck or what, but I've seen more of the originals of those with broken springs than I've seen that didn't have broken springs.

i had this recently with a british army pocket knife, i got all excited and paid 50p for it and then found the main blades spring broke although for a 1955 model i guess its far enough and 50p

[brianh]

In the 1980s we broke these so often our supply sergeant would hand them out like candy. He kept a box full of broken ones in the supply room only to justify the amount of money he was spending at the SSSC to buy replacements. Our mechanics were required to have one in their tool boxes and they regularly snapped blades or bent the screw driver out of shape just doing routine mechanic stuff. Ours were all made by Camillus.

The design looks rugged, but when you inspect one with an experienced eye you realize how fragile they really are. There are no scale liners and to reduce friction between the different blades and tools the fit was kept pretty sloppy.

They make for an interesting addition to any pocket knife collection, but really are not very good working knives.

Surprisingly, the TL-29 Electricians knife seemed to hold up better. It was an overall better built knife, also made by Camillus.

Brian

[gino]

Imperial also made these military knives. They all have back spring issues. I would want to see one of those for sale you listed before I bought it. There are several knock offs out there.