Collins and Co. #18

[Ned Buckshot]

Anyone know when this knife may have been made?

I aquired it in the early 70's in a trade deal.

Any help would be appreciated.

Ned

[Ned Buckshot]

Here's a picture of the whole knife.

Ned

[St. George]

You have a Collins Survival Machete/Survival Knife - the V-44.

'V-44' has no relevance beyond being the identifier in a supply catalog.

First developed in 1934,  for flying personnel  in Panama and Hawaii, it was carried in a jungle bail-out kit attached to the parachute harness.

The Collins No. 18 was the first type, and remained standard until 1942, and they supplied 50,000 of them between 1934 and 1942.

They were also supplied by Case, Kinfolks and Western.

They were an ideal survival machete - the drawback for normal usage was their size - but for clearing brush and building shelters, they were handy.

Additionally, they were used in the Pacific by the Marines - but those are usually numbered, with 'U.S.M.C'  - and most had a green horn handle - the black composition ones were of normal issue, procured through 'regular' channels, and yours would seem to fill that description.

The relatively thin blade makes it a poor choice for a fighting Bowie - the principal advantage being it's size being psychological - adding a 'dangerous' look.

They remained somewhat 'available' through supply channels for a long time, before they found their way onto the surplus market.

Some were even modified by individual SF guys  who added 'sawteeth' for the added 'fiend appeal'.

Vaya,

Scouts Out

(Information from several sources - 'U.S. Military Knives' by Cole being predominant)



 

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[Ned Buckshot]

Thank You Ver Much St. George!

Any idea of a value range? Mine is severely rust pitted on the other side.

Ned

[St. George]

The rust pitting's a problem - cutting a normal value of the piece in half, though if it can be polished out and is salvageable, you might find an interested party.

Does it have the original scabbard?

That adds to it.

A really 'nice' one, with the scabbard and no pitting, wll be seen priced around $200-$275 - but I don't see them walking away from the seller's tables , so I guess you have to want one.

The Collins No.18 is the common version - a Western goes for much more.

Good Luck!

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Ned Buckshot]

Thanks St. George!
It doesn't really matter I'm not interested in selling it, I was just curious.

Ned

[St. George]

Those big V-44's are interesting - especially when you figure out exactly what they were built for.

In a survival situation, a regular machete's a nice tool - but they're unwieldy and sort of a one-trick pony when it comes to 'utility' - whereas, a shorter-bladed piece is far handier.

In Southeast Asia, if a Banana Bolo wasn't handy, we found that shortening the blade of the standard GI machete gave it both greater utility, but also stiffened the blade and was less tiring to use.

A small file - dropped into the scabbard - was handy for touching up the edge.

You can likely rid yourself of a lot of the pitting by using a block of wood, and successive grades of sandpaper - maing absolutely certain that you maintain the 'flat' surface.

These were never truly 'high-polish' blades, but they were bright, so a little elbow grease and a good eye can make it far nicer.

The scabbards aren't usually marked, the WWII-issued ones being of thin, smooth leather and featuring a simple snap strap as a closure, while the earlier ones may be embossed, as were so many of Collins' products.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Ned Buckshot]

Thanks for the info St. George! The pitting is bad enough on the side that's shown but it's 5 times as bad on the other!

The scabbard that came with was badly decomposed. It was very thin leather embossed, looked like it came from Mexico. Don't think I have it anymore.

Once again thanks for the info.

Ned