S & J Kitchin Bolo ?

[kootenay joe]

Here is a large knife & sheath that i would like to learn about.
OAL 20", blade is 14 3/4"
Blade flat is marked: : " ? & J Kitchin Ltd/Sheffield/No 2640 " and Broad Arrow pointing up over "1952".
The sheath is marked at the 'throat': broad arrow over "194", and "S.L. 1945" followed with broad arrow.
Picture of the handle shows a very tapered tang.
Is this knife called a "Bolo" or a "Machete".
As knife is marked 1952 and sheath 1945 does this mean that sheath is not original to this knife ? Or is 1945 the date this sheath design was accepted by the military ?
Which Military is this 'Broad Arrow' ? British or U.S.A. ?
1952, does this indicate made to use in Korea ?
It is a large and fairly heavy knife but balances well in hand. The edge is actually sharp making this a serious weapon if struck by it.
Does it have much value ? Or is this a fairly commonly seen military knife ?
Thanks for any information you can provide
kj

[Gunsil]

The pheon, or "broad arrow" aka "crow's foot" was and still is the British military acceptance mark. Bolo is really just a term for a weight forward machete, usually with a pronounced wider front so I'd say either term fits your knife. It looks more like a butcher's knife, but is likely made for clearing brush or jungle. The mismatched dates could just be due to arsenal matching, using up old stock. The dates would be manufacture dates not design acceptance dates. One cannot say if it was used in Korea, there were 100,000 English troops sent there but it looks unused and likely sold as military surplus when it became outdated. Regarding value, machetes are a hard sell, at least in my experience. There are collectors for anything and everything so somebody likes them, I have just never met them. I am pretty sure I have seen more than one on ebay over the years but don't recall selling prices.

[dlr110]

Just for the fun of it here is a link to an article I just posted on my website. It's a brief
history of the Bolo Knife and the ones used by the American military during WWI & WWII.

https://www.davidsblades.com/historical ... ef-history

[Gunsil]

Nice article, but there were also stamped sheet metal scabbards for the model 1917 albeit they are a lot scarcer than the wood/canvas ones. Nice website, you have certainly put a lot of work into it!!

[kootenay joe]

Thanks for these replies. Gunsil you have answered all the questions i asked including that a 'bolo' is a type of machete.
I was hoping for 'rare and valuable' but now i know there is little collector interest/demand for my Kitchin bolo.
So i will keep it as i have been, on a high table near the door, for use should a thug or bear enter. There are more bears than thugs here.
kj

[Gunsil]

Roland, I just checked on ebay and there are four or five with asking prices from $129-$250 with no takers. One sold five days ago for $59.99, not quite as nice shape as yours. Several also have sheaths dated 1945 with early 1950s dates on the knives.

[kootenay joe]

I did not think of checking ebay for other examples. Holes in the brain.
Thank you Gene. I think this suggests $75-$100 for my likely never used example.
Seems many of the sheaths for this knife were made in 1945 and the knives to fit them made 7 or so years later.
kj

[cottage hill bill]

The British used several styles of machetes over the years. This particular style was in use, pretty much unchanged from at least WWI until the 1950s or later. I have two, one dated 1917 the other 1943 and other than the color of the grips there is no difference. Several different makers, Kitchin seems to have made a lot of cutlery style blades like cleavers, cook's knives etc. I've never researched the company but would guess they were one of the many Sheffield cutlers. Good example if you collect British militaria, they were issued in all theatres. As said above, unless you specifically collect all /|\ marked item or machetes not an easy sell. I'd be surprised if you could get $100 even as nice as yours is. Mismatched dates are no big deal. They were probably inventoried in stores as separate items and only paired up when issued. Finding leftover 1945 sheaths in 1952 would be no surprise at all as I'm sure there were thousands left over still from wartime production.

[kootenay joe]

Thank you c.h.bill. Very good information which gives me a more 'complete' picture of this bolo style knife. I can see why the design was not altered. For such a large knife it is well balanced and feels quite functional in hand, not awkward or clumsy even though i have smaller than average hands.
kj

[Ripster]

Just for the fun of it here is a link to an article I just posted on my website. It's a brief
history of the Bolo Knife and the ones used by the American military during WWI & WWII.

https://www.davidsblades.com/historical ... ef-history

Great read ,thanks