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1945 TRU TEMPER Machete and Scabbard


GreenStar67
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I picked up this these up at a garage sale $40 :unsure: - the machete is marked "TRUE TEMPER 1945 US" and scabbard " marked "B.M. Co. 4 VP 1945"

 

I believe it is real GI - the scabbard is hard plastic like material - I always thought they were canvas? Handle is dull more yellow than green color - blade is real nice - not chipped - fairly sharp edge. I'm not sure if it is a good value or not.

 

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There were some plastic machete sheaths introduced late in WW2. Same style sheath was also made in the 60's for Vietnam use. Later that sheath was replaced by another more ridged plastic sheath, that I believe may still be in use today.

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GreenStar67- You did great! Nice WW2 True Temper w/ a nice late war scabbard. $40 for the set was a nice deal. We still had those WW2 era dated scabbards in the late 70s, at least in 5th SFGA. Thanks for showing! SKIP

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Thanks I'm glad to hear that, sometimes you can tell its a good find and other times not. It did look different though. The scabbard doesn't have any holes in the sides like the Vietnam Era scabbard picture.

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The one on top is the newer ridged sheath. Underneath the machete is the other plastic sheath similar to yours. Here's some close ups of the marking on the two sheaths.

 

 

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sactroop, Interesting that the hangar is tilted on the newer ones - this image also shows marking a little better. In searching around a little, the "BM Co." and "VP" on scabbard I believe indicate Beckwith Manufacturing Company (Dover. New Hampshire - Victory Plastics division (Hudson. Massachusetts) - they made bayonet scabbards as well for the war effort and beyond - I am guessing the 4 is just a mold control number or such.

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  • 2 years later...

Maybe I can reinvigorate this thread. Does anyone have any photos or at least seen the later sheath (perforated) in use? Even though they have war time dates I only ever seem to see the earlier solid ones in photos.

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  • 2 months later...
SolWarrior

I hope I'm not intruding by posting this on here rather than starting a new thread? If so my apologies, and please feel free to remove it completely or put it in an appropriate thread.

 

I purchased one of these True Temper 1945 machetes just this morning for $67 shipped + tax. Grips are a faded olive/yellowish drab, similar to the OP - my personal favorite color. Pins (or is it rivets?) look like brass, no cracks, some rust in one area near the tip of blade at the curve (in a requested closeup photo) that I believe will come off without losing too much steel.  The steel is sometimes described as black carbon steel. Is that a coating or the steel itself? Looking at the closeup photo of the rust, the rough cracked texture like surface does look blackened. How would one clean this surface of rust and still keep the cracked blackened surface intact, with some coke? The price felt reasonable for present time but you gentlemen would know best.

 

Now, I'll need a sheath, maybe one of various(?) that were issued with this machete, or an early Vietnam war era perforated one by Ontario which I believe are more practical if it's going to be put to use. I believe I read somewhere on here that these machetes were also issued during the Vietnam war. If so, what type of sheath were they issued with during that time? I'll go ahead and include photos from the seller. Thanks

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SolWarrior- Just caught the thread. To preserve the blade, a coat of oil will be fine, won't effect the finish. Scabbard wise, any WW2 dated one would be fine, whether canvas or plastic like the one pictured above. If you want Vietnam era scabbard, most ones I have seen have early 60s dates, again like the Beckwith above, or The Mermac dated from say 1968. Your choice. I would lean towards a WW2 date. SKIP

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SolWarrior

Thanks, GreenStar67. Yours is an awesome example of a 1945 True Temper machete with its original sheath too. And what a great price!

 

SKIP,  the rust near the tip at the curve was the most obvious but only the beginning. The blade had red rust spots and dull black spots throughout. I sprayed the blade with WD40 started scraping away at the rust with a thin sharp stick rather than steel wool to avoid messing with the blackened textured surface and to get in on the lower levels. I removed what I could the first evening and soaked it with more WD40 over night.

 

Next day I went at it again with the stick, then with a tiny pointy file to break through the black spots that wouldn't budge. The WD40 turned red with dissolved rust that came from underneath the black spots. I then got a brass wire brush and lightly scrubbed those areas drenched with the now red WD40. It took several hours of tedious but rewarding work.

 

I'm glad I was able to save this WW2 machete before the rust did any serious damage. Thanks for the feedback, guys! Here are a few after pics.

 

As for the scabbard, I found a 1968 OD MARMAC in great condition (before I read the replies here). I will keep looking for a WW2 sheath for it too.

 

 

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  • 1 year later...
SolWarrior

Hello to all,

 

I was wondering if anyone here knows what type of high carbon steel the military required of their WW2 machetes, 1075, 1080... anyone know? I would ask about the 1945 True Temper in particular but, I'd imagine that the military's specs were the same across the board throughout WW2. Thanks in advance

 

Since I'm here, I came across another 1945 True Temper, besides the one above, with a 1942 Boyt scabbard. It had rust throughout and some deep rust in a few areas. The textured black finish was completely gone so I decided to wrap the blade with paper towels and drench them in white vinegar and wrap it in a long, thin plastic bag and left it for a few hours. That loosened most all the rust and put a black patina on it at the same time but it was too black and matte. What was left of the rust I rubbed off with my fingers and nails. Once rinsed, I degreased it with alcohol and put on a patina with mayo and tomato juice in spots that didn't take, to try to resemble the original blackened finish but it was still too black and uneven so I removed some with some soft steel wool and these were the results.

 

Oh, I also covered the brass pins and smoothed out the handles -- but not too much, just enough to remove the scrapes and scaring -- with 2000 girt and some green rouge on it, and then a little Flitz polish.

 

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SolWarrior

For anyone who may want to know - what little info I found while researching the type of steel for WW2 military issue machetes, the type of steel is 1095 high carbon steel with a hardness of 50-55HRC.

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