Famous blades throughout history

[Jack88]

Thinking about buying that Navy Kbar here soon, going to pull a joke on the gf. She mentioned she thinks Kbar's are cool (she hates my knife hobby) think I'll pretend to give it to her for our anniversary coming up here (I have a nice necklace for her)

Don't know much about blade history, but surprised no one has mentioned the Machete, Broad sword, or any Japanese swords.
I am a fan of Machetes, slimline machetes, and brush swords. Just because I use the heck out of them everyday.

Show us some pictures of your machete's! and give us some history!

 

[Hickory n steel]

This may not be too traditional due to its orange blade coating, but it is still a classic Latin machete from El Salvador.

In south America as well as many other countries, they use their machetes for everything.
In these countries a machete is as common as a pair of sneakers. You could almost say that no machete equals no survival. They're light, fast, and thin with a blade that tapers distally towards the tip. A good one is hard enough to take and hold an edge fine for use on brush and vegetation but soft enough to ding rather than just chip if you hit a rock ( something I do nearly every time I use my machetes, and they have yet to loose much material through sharpening )
I won't touch on the dark side of machete usage in Africa because I'm no expert but also because I only know them personally as a landscaping tool around the yard.

 

[Art_Vandeley]

What's the history on this blade? I see they've been made for over 100 years but can you elaborate any?

Its a lot older than WW1, search "Stefan Schmalhaus Mercator" on Youtube. Its a great review with history of the knife.

 

[Icky Thump]

Given to me by my friend, Naval Aviator. F-8 driver who received it after his jungle survival/evasion training in the Philippines.

 

[danbot]

Douk-Douk:

Originally intended as an inexpensive utility pocket knife for the ordinary working man, the popularity of the douk-doukcaused it to be pressed into service as a weapon when necessary.[1] During the 1954-1962 FLN-led revolt in Algeria, the douk-douk was used as weapon of assassination and terror; Algerians who ran afoul of the FLN frequently had their noses removed by the knife's razor-sharp blade.

I've seen these before but didn't know the history, pretty cool!

Here is a little more history of the Douk Douk Knife. Lee valley has had them for sale here for quite a few years.
This is from their website:

Once a staple of the French Foreign Legion, it has been made in Thiers, France, since the 1920s. Seemingly incongruous with its European origin, the etched handle depicts the striking image of a figure from Polynesian myth.

The sorcerer or "Douk-Douk," whose image is said to bring good luck, was added to boost the knife's appeal for export to the former French colonies, where it remains in widespread use to this day.

It has a 3-1/2" long blade made of hardened high-carbon steel, carefully ground using water-cooled wheels and polished to a mirror finish. It is so well finished that in some North African countries it has even been adopted as a straight razor. The formed handle has a ferro-blacked finish and a loop for a lanyard

 

[Emre]

How about the 18trh century Cretan knife? Traditionally, they've got "winged" scales made of bone.

 

[Ebbtide]

Oh the humanity... 46 posts and no Smatchet!

 

[Brian77]

We happened to be at The Alamo when they had their historic Bowie collection there couple years ago. Some were from the Alamo era. I was amazed to see 2 that were about 1/4 thick. And to read the history was very interesting and educational. A reference to wide bellied knives being used as shovels to dig latrines and for foxholes to hide when in battle or Indian fighting was interesting.

 

[zzyzzogeton]

Given to me by my friend, Naval Aviator. F-8 driver who received it after his jungle survival/evasion training in the Philippines.

Most Philippine blades don't do it for me, but THAT one I really like.

 

[wazu013]

Here's a Case folding machete that was part of the B2 then B4 Army Air Force emergency bail out kit introduced around 1942.

 

[wazu013]

This one was part of the M592 USN pilot survival backpack. I'm not sure of the years it was issued. I'm sure there are folks here that do know.

 

[Icky Thump]

Most Philippine blades don't do it for me, but THAT one I really like.

It looks kinda flimsy and poorly made, like a tourist fodder...but in hand, it is solid, well balanced and totally capable. The history and the pilot who gave it to me mean more to me than the blade itself..

 

[Icky Thump]

View attachment 743144 This one was part of the M592 USN pilot survival backpack. I'm not sure of the years it was issued. I'm sure there are folks here that do know.

View attachment 743145

ThIs is very cool. Would love to know more about the history.

 

[zzyzzogeton]

View attachment 743144 This one was part of the M592 USN pilot survival backpack. I'm not sure of the years it was issued. I'm sure there are folks here that do know.

View attachment 743145

That, my friends, is THE one and only V44 from WW2. Made by Case, stamped CASE XX. V44 was Case's in-house designation of the machete.

It replaced the 10 inch folding machete (made by Imperial, Case, and Cattaraugus) in 1944.

The 10" folding machete had replaced the Collins #18 Machete Pequeno and its clones. The #18 and its clones are the ones that are incorrectly called the V44.

I'll see if I can dig out some pics of the last 2.

 

[zzyzzogeton]

Okay. Found the rest of the M592 Survival Machetes

First is the original - the Collins #18 Machete Pequeno, or small/little machete.

They were first made by Collins in 1926 and Collins production continued up through about 1943 during WW2.


Starting in 1934, they became THE survival knife used by the Army Air Corps as part of their M592 Back Pad Survival Pack aka Jungle Bailout Pack since they were primarily used on AAC planes flying in Central and South America operations and training missions.


Initially, during WW2 Collins continued to use green horn for the handles until they ran out and then started using black bakelite for the handles. Due to the increased demand for the knives in the build up for the war, Case and Western clones were made exclusively with black bakelite handles.

The Case version -

The Western version - Note the plain oval, steel guard on the Western. Western saw no reason to waste a strategic material on a knife that would only be used if the plane went down.

The Kinfolks version looks like the Collins and Case with a large brass guard. The Kinfolks version was NOT a contract knife, it was NEVER included in the pre-war M592 Seat Pad or the later Back Pad version (posted above).

One, no contracts for this knife with Kinfolks has ever surfaced. Two, the Kinfolks version won't fit in the space in the Kit. It is just a little too big. Most likely, it was made as a PX knife to prevent men from snitching the knives out of the Survival Packs.

And here is the folding machete, this one is a Case. The Case and Cattaraugus had a removable edge guard. The Imperial version had the edge protector built in as part of the handle.

 

[Jack88]

Today I'd like to post about two re-curved blades from the ancient Balkans. The Falx and the Sica.

Sica:

The name Sicacomes from Proto-Indo-European root sek-, meaning "to cut", the Sica's angled blade was designed to reach around the shields of opponents, like the large scutum shield of Roman legionaries. With the tip pointing up, the Sica would often catch on the bottom of opponent's helmets, allowing the user to force the blade upwards through the jaw and into the brain.

Falx:

The blade was sharpened only on the inside and was reputed to be devastatingly effective. However, it left its user vulnerable because, being a two-handed weapon, the warrior could not also make use of a shield. It may be imagined that the length of the two-handed falx allowed it to be wielded with great force, the point piercing helmets and the blade splitting shields - it was said to be capable of splitting a shield in two at a single blow. Alternatively, it might be used as a hook, pulling away shields and cutting at vulnerable limbs, or striking the edge of a strong shield. The inward curving point was still able to pierce the armor or flesh of the target behind the shield, rendering even the most reinforced shields much less effective defensively against a falx wielder.

These blades were used to deadly effectiveness against the Roman's and Greeks. The Falx was such a vicious weapon that Rome added lips to the top of their shoulder armor along with to their helmets.

The Dacian, Thracian and Illyrian tribes were ferocious in their warfare. Rome suffered a couple defeats at the expense of these men before overwhelming them in Trajan's time, some such as the Bastarnae suffering a Roman genocide.

 

[killzatnite]

Randall model 1 , Glock 81 feldmesser, victorinox/Wagner SAK , Randall model "Astro" 17 (I think) ! I have a lot more in mind , folders too lol

 

[BenchCo Spydermade]

What's the history on this blade? I see they've been made for over 100 years but can you elaborate any?

I wish I had a good source, but my dad told me when he was a teen/young man these were all over the streets. I also remember reading about them in a book called "Stick, fist, knife, gun". Book said the samething, not necessarily the greatest knife made but popular among youth cuz the one hand deployment. My father is from NY city and the book takes place there as well, so maybe an east coast thing?

 

[deltaboy]

 

[deltaboy]

My Great grandfather used one in WW 1