ALL HANDS!

 

I just ran across some very interesting pictures in the Life archives on Google of Marines using machetes in Cuba during 1941. The type of machete is unfamiliar to me. Can someone please ID them? Thanks.

 

Bagman

Pic #2

Picture #3

This STYLE of machete -- long and thin -- in civilian/commercial use was a CUBAN. The late Webcat grouped them as "Horsemen's" machetes, which is why they are longer. Fancy ones were made in Germany IIRC.

Bagman,

 

I discussed these machetes with Frank Tzaska a while back. They appear to be non-GI Collins bought locally (the pictures were taken in Guantanamo). Did you see the intrenching machetes in the same set of pictures?

This STYLE of machete -- long and thin -- in civilian/commercial use was a CUBAN. The late Webcat grouped them as "Horsemen's" machetes, which is why they are longer. Fancy ones were made in Germany IIRC.

 

You are right-on J_Andrews. :thumbsup:

Bagman,

 

I discussed these machetes with Frank Tzaska a while back. They appear to be non-GI Collins bought locally (the pictures were taken in Guantanamo). Did you see the intrenching machetes in the same set of pictures?

 

Thought that might be the case GB, there's distinct similarities to the Collins 191, but with a much more exaggerated handle and probably longer blade.

 

My $0.02 only

 

Will

Gentlemen-

Thanks very much for the quick, informative responses. Yesterday was the first time I found these particular images when searching through the Life archives, although I have seen pictures taken at the same time of Marines using the USMC Intrenching Machetes. Google must rotate what photos will be called up at any given time. I figured that the machetes in the pictures were non-military and probably were acquired in Cuba where such would have been plentiful for use in the sugar cane fields.

 

The presence of labels on the blades made me think they might be Collins models, but I don't have any references on Collins-made machetes to check.

 

Can someone who does have the resources possibly identify the specific Collins Model/Catalog number? That would be very useful info to have.

 

I wonder how many of those blades ended up on Guadalcanal a year later.....

 

Thanks again for offering your help with this. :thumbsup:

 

Terry ("Bagman")

I cannot be certain about the blade but I really think it is a No. 22. The 22 is twenty-five inches with a slightly curved blade. There is a picture of the blade with a different handle on page 104 of Collins Machetes And Bowies 1845-1965 by Daniel Henry. On page 105 he states that the Collins No. 22 was used by Cuban rebels in the 1890s. He also says the Roughriders were equipped with the No. 22 machete. The blade could be twenty-six inches. He lists is as twenty-six on page 105 and twenty-five on page 185.

 

The handle is definitely a "Modelo Cubano". It is shown on page 57.

 

I could not find an exact match for he sheath. It is very similar to the No. 14 shown with the Collins No. 22 blade on page 104.

 

Maybe someone else can give a more definite answer for the blade.

 

Bill

Bill,

 

Here is my Collins No. 22 for comparison. Mine has the original green horn handle and a non-Collins sheath. The machete is just like the one my great grandfather and great uncle (both Cuban Mambises) used in the war against Spain, which later turned into the Spanish American War.

 

Here is a Cuban rebel (a Mambí) with his Collins machete. They were very handy with their blades. Kept them razor sharp. The poor young Spanish conscripts were terrified of a machete charge like the one at Las Guásimas, as their heads would roll. That's why they would stay in the forts and towns as much as possible while the Cubans owned the country side. When a rebel would shish-kabob an enemy they would say that they stabbed him to "El Collín" meaning, all the way to the Collins brand on the ricasso. Note that in Spanish two l's together sound like a "y."

 

By the way, I heard all these stories and more from my Grandmother back in the 60's. She was born in 1883. She saw the Rough Riders come through their camp, as the rebels kept the families with them, as to not end up in a Spanish concentration camp.

 

Sorry if I got too winded. Bayonetman, please, accept my apologies and delete if not proper. Thank you.

 

gunbarrel

 

Your Collins No. 22 looks like a match to me. The only difference I see is the handle. The one on the machete in question has the fancy "Modelo Cubano" which is also horn.

 

Thanks for the family stories. It makes it that much more interesting.

 

Bill