A remake of the USMC stiletto?

[Mountainwind]

I do not remember seeing these sold anywhere, and do not believe they are made from the leftover blades, so does anyone have any info on them?

[Desktop]

Nice piece Mountainwind!
I've never seen one before..

[orvet]

Tom Williams (CAMCO) told me that Camillus did do a reissue of the USMC Marine Rader Stiletto. I think he said it was in the mid 1990s as part of the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII. There were some blades sold in the leftovers from Camillus, though I have only seen one that was ground. It sold on ebay today for about $54.00. There are not many of the originals because the handles were cast zinc. The cast zinc does not hold up well & deteriorates over several years time.

Perhaps Tom can come in when he has time & give us all an update on the Marine Rader Stiletto. I cannot remember all the details he told me. I have been really busy this summer, but I think Tom sent me some drawings on the Marine Rader Stiletto & I will try to post them when I get a bit of time.

Dale

[Mountainwind]

Thanks Orvet. I thought that all of the Stilettos were sold at that time. An online dealer advertises he recently bought 40 of them, and is selling them on the website..
And I also thought the blades were ground all the way to the guard. And these are not etched in any way as seen in the pictures.
I'm sure Tom will know....

[Hukk]

Sweet, I don't understand the use of zinc other than the originals may have been made at wartime and other materials were in short supply. Otherwise Aluminum would be a better choice. Just a guess.

Real nice though!

[orvet]

Hukk,
As I recall my conversation with Tom, your guess was spot on!
War time shortages, so they they used the zinc for the handles.

Dale

[CAMCO]

Camillus made a repro (MRS1) of the USMC Raider Stiletto in the early 1990's. The repros had a pewter handle and blued blade with gold etching.
Other versions were also made with a plain blade-some where etched "CAMILLUS" for Smoky Mountain Knife Works. A black sheath was included with each stiletto.
Some of the stilettos were "seconds" with minor imperfections and we sold them for $90.00 each.
The Camillus USMC Raider Stiletto was shown in the WWII movie "Gung Ho" starring Randolph Scott and Robert Mitchum. The stiletto is shown in several scenes.

Tom Williams