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CASE V-44 Survival Knives


thorin6
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I thought I’d celebrate my 2,000th post by showing two of my latest acquistions. I’ve been trying to complete my set of US made V-44 bowie knives, and in the process have learned that calling them V-44 knives is a bit off from the reality. Apparently (and anyone can correct me if I’m wrong) the V-44 designation was used by Case for their non-folding, round-tip bolo (see the first picture) for the bailout or emergency kits in 1944. The bowie knives start with the Collins number 18 (1934 according to Coles III) such as used by the Marine Raiders and carried by LTG Eichelberger in the Pacific. These were selected to go into the bailout kits, such as the Jungle Emergency Parachute Back Pad, shown in the second picture. Later on Case and Western also made them for the bailout kit. At some point in 1942 the folding round tip bolo’s were also included in the back pads, as shown in the third picture of the Jungle Emergency Parachute Back Pad Type B-2 (see third and fourth picture). These two Jungle Emergency Parachute Back Pads can be found in the September 30, 1943 US Army Air Force Illustrated Catalog of Clothing, Parachutes, Equipment and Supplies (Class 13-Code 8300). According to some sources, the Kinfolks bowie was not purchased by the Army and does not fit in the space in the Back Pads, but I haven’t independently determined that.

 

 

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So sticking with the V-44 designation, several years ago I acquired the Collins Number 18 (which seems to be the most common) followed by the Kinfolks a couple of years ago. Here they are, both with the correct sheaths (knives have sheaths; bayonets have scabbards as far as I’m concerned).

 

 

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I passed on a Case XX bowie at a show about the same time I picked up the Kinfolks so I could get a Woodsman Pal, and ever since then have kicked myself because the Case was about half the cost of every one I’ve seen since then. As things go, it seems the prices have come down a little bit in the past 6 months, so I finally picked up the Case off ebay several weeks ago, and a week after buying it, chanced upon the Western bowie at an antique store in Connecticut while visiting relatives. They both had the correct sheaths, although the Western sheath is a bit worn and is missing the stitching and the closure snap. However, having only seen one other Western in the flesh, I had to get it when my significant other managed to get the owner to drop the price by 25%.

 

 

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Now my next mission is to get a legitimate Australian made V-44 bowie with correct marks (Mars, Marsden, etc.) to finish the V-44 set.

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I had to get it when my significant other managed to get the owner to drop the price by 25%.

 

Haha... I think our significant others are related. She has been instrumental in a number of my purchases.

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I thought I’d celebrate my 2,000th post by showing two of my latest acquistions. I’ve been trying to complete my set of US made V-44 bowie knives, and in the process have learned that calling them V-44 knives is a bit off from the reality. Apparently (and anyone can correct me if I’m wrong) the V-44 designation was used by Case for their non-folding, round-tip bolo (see the first picture) for the bailout or emergency kits in 1944. The bowie knives start with the Collins number 18 (1934 according to Coles III) such as used by the Marine Raiders and carried by LTG Eichelberger in the Pacific. These were selected to go into the bailout kits, such as the Jungle Emergency Parachute Back Pad, shown in the second picture. Later on Case and Western also made them for the bailout kit. At some point in 1942 the folding round tip bolo’s were also included in the back pads, as shown in the third picture of the Jungle Emergency Parachute Back Pad Type B-2 (see third and fourth picture). These two Jungle Emergency Parachute Back Pads can be found in the September 30, 1943 US Army Air Force Illustrated Catalog of Clothing, Parachutes, Equipment and Supplies (Class 13-Code 8300). According to some sources, the Kinfolks bowie was not purchased by the Army and does not fit in the space in the Back Pads, but I haven’t independently determined that.

 

 

Hi.

 

Machete from first post is US NAVY example used in M592 survival backpad kit. Here is more about it: https://pilotsmanyourplanes.com/Page_93.html

 

Cheers,

Jerry

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