Collins ???

[jelwyoming]

I have recently found a very large sheath type knife that supposedly dates back to about 1900. It has the name stamped "Collins Le????us" on the blade with a arm/hammer/forge symbol between the names. The knife also has a number "FCS125F" scribed on it. The knife itself is about 14" long with a blunt rounded end. The handle appears to be a white micarta of some sort. It came in a leather sheath of about the same vintage. Is anyone familiar with this type or brand of knife?
Jon

 

[not2sharp]

Collins was a well known US machete and ax maker. They use to be the world leader in these products. Unfortunately, as agriculture became industrialized and the ax gave way to the chain saw, they were left behind. They eventually closed during 1965, although some of their South American subsidiaries are still making machetes under the Collins brand.

Your knife is marked "Collins Legitimus". The white handle material is most likely horn. You are going to have to give us a better description for us to identify the model. A photo would be great.

n2s

 

[jelwyoming]

THANK YOU FOR THE INFO. THAT IS VERY HELPFUL. I WILL SEE WHAT I CAN DO ABOUT THE PHOTO. THE HANDLE DOES APPEAR TO BE HORN, BUT IT HAS BEEN COVERED WITH ELECTRICAL TAPE. I WANT TO REMOVE THIS AND SOMEHOW HOLD THE CRACKED HORN TOGETHER. ANY SUGGESTIONS?
JON

 

[mrd74]

Before fixing the cracks in the handle you might want to research your Collins first as some of them are quite valuable to collectors and any "repairs" could devalue the piece considerably.If after determining its value,you still want to fix the cracks in the horn you could fill them with epoxy and refinish the handle but be aware the filled cracks will show as dark lines when you're done.