AFRICAN BOWIE KNIFE ?

laEspadaAncha · 21st August 2010, 05:18 PM

The blade is typical of the bowie-profile NO. 18 Machete designed in 1934 as a "bailout" knife for Army Air Corps personnel stationed in tropical areas. The knife was made by Case, Collins, Kinfolks, and Western, and was issued during WWII (until '42) and was adapted by the 2nd Raider Battalion of the USMC (their operations were confined to the Pacific Theater).

The original had a 9 3/8-inch / 23.8 cm blade, and all were tang-stamped on the ricasso or the blade by the manufacturer. I'm guessing your example isn't quite as long from its appearance in the photos...

This could indicate either a re-worked blade or (more likely) one of the (tens if not hundreds of) thousands of examples that have come out of Pakistan in the last 40-or-so years that emulate the original. If the spine seems overly thick, then in my opinion the smart money is on the blade being of Pakistani origin.

21st August 2010, 05:18 PM	#5
laEspadaAncha Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 608	The blade is typical of the bowie-profile NO. 18 Machete designed in 1934 as a "bailout" knife for Army Air Corps personnel stationed in tropical areas. The knife was made by Case, Collins, Kinfolks, and Western, and was issued during WWII (until '42) and was adapted by the 2nd Raider Battalion of the USMC (their operations were confined to the Pacific Theater). The original had a 9 3/8-inch / 23.8 cm blade, and all were tang-stamped on the ricasso or the blade by the manufacturer. I'm guessing your example isn't quite as long from its appearance in the photos... This could indicate either a re-worked blade or (more likely) one of the (tens if not hundreds of) thousands of examples that have come out of Pakistan in the last 40-or-so years that emulate the original. If the spine seems overly thick, then in my opinion the smart money is on the blade being of Pakistani origin.