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US Navy Non-Magnetic Imperial UDT Divers Knife
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US Navy Non-Magnetic Imperial UDT Divers Knife
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Imperial UDT / EOD Non-Magnetic Knife serial numbered 1108/61 from the Navy contract in 1961.
This is the real deal, not just some regular factory production knife that some company like SOG or Gerber or Chris Reeve slapped the UDT or SEAL name on. Every one of these was issued to and carried by a US Navy Frogman / UDT and /or SEAL team member. This knife is serial number 1108 of the batch made in 1961 by the Imperial Knife Company under contract to the US Navy specifically for Divers working with or around magnetically detonated underwater mines like the MK56. This knife is made of Haynes Alloy no. 25 which is a copper-chromium-tungsten-nickel alloy similar to Stellite. It is non-magnetic, non-sparking and non-rusting even in seawater, yet unlike many other non-ferrous metals like the titanium used in Mission Knives it has the ability to be hardened to allow it to hold a cutting edge with a Rockwell C scale value of 53 to 54 which is per the final Naval specification. The specification also stated that the saw edge of the knife be capable of cutting through steel cable that the Diver may encounter on a mission. The knife and scabbard set had to pass a magnetic test of under 0.1 millioersted to be accepted per the Milspec. Imperial supplied a total of 1,156 Non-Magnetic Dive Knives to the Navy with the first contract of 280 pieces being filled in March 1962 and continuing until the end of 1963. Many of these knives were lost in Vietnam or are tucked away in museums and personal collections and it is one of the rarest collectible knives of the Vietnam Era. The Navy paid over $500 for each one of these rare knives. See page 116 of Knives of the U.S. Military in Vietnam by M.W. Silvey. The knife itself is in excellent condition and so is the scabbard with the following exception; a few scratched markings on the scabbard and handle,the scabbard has both straps in tact,many of these knives had the lower strap removed by the Divers who used them because it made the knife too cumbersome to access and stow while in the water. 
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