All About Pocket Knives

hms wrote:20170714_141646.jpg

My latest. The black cat first, but decided it was too big for EDC. The Otter is more comfortable.

Love those Black Cats. Every time I see a different one, I have to bring it home with me. Have about 20 now. At least they don't eat much.

Speaking of Black...
Just snagged this AG Russell Button Lock recently...
...to add to my growing pile of Black Lip Pearl
~Q~

Very fine looking knives Q. I usually stay up on AGR's offerings but somehow I've never encountered these or at least do not recall having done so. Do you know about when they came out?

Thanks, QS.

As far as when these came out, I really couldn't say. I've been receiving AG Russell catalogs since the early 1990s and I only recall seeing the Bullet Shield 20th Century Barlow (bottom of photo), the Ultimate pen Knife (top) and the Spire Mid-Lock (right) in the catalog; however, I don't recall what years. The Mediterranean Barlow (second from left) was purchased from The Cutting Edge about five or six years ago and the Lockback and Button Lock were both eBay purchases. They all bear the Springdale, ARK tang stamp, though (not the Rogers, Ark., stamp), if that tells you anything.

~Q~

Thanks for the info Q.

I received this Case workman's series 6375 big stockman in blue delrin as a most generous gift from a friend and forum member some time ago...I really liked the knife but wanted to upgrade the covers. I ordered some "Lapis blue bone" from Culpeppers and sent it on to Glenn, and received the finished product back in yesterday's mail. Here she is...nice upgrade I think!

Congratulations to both you and Glenn on a very handsome and distinguished knife.

That's really nice Mike. Good job Glenn.

Picked up the Voyles Cutlery Sodbuster the other day. Made by Queen in 1978 and measures 3 5/8". Black Bear Skinner.

bdev wrote:Picked up the Voyles Cutlery Sodbuster the other day. Made by Queen in 1978 and measures 3 5/8". Black Bear Skinner.

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I like that Bruno! Very sleek!

Mike, what a handsome knife. Congratulations to you and Glenn!

FRJ wrote:Mike, what a handsome knife. Congratulations to you and Glenn!

X2!!!! NICE!!! John

Nice sod buster Bruno! Dang now there is another knife that I need to keep and eye out for!

#goldpan wrote:Nice sod buster Bruno! Dang now there is another knife that I need to keep and eye out for!

gsmith7158 wrote:

bdev wrote:Picked up the Voyles Cutlery Sodbuster the other day. Made by Queen in 1978 and measures 3 5/8". Black Bear Skinner.

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I like that Bruno! Very sleek!

Thanks guys. goldpan....you might not have to look far. This one might be listed in my AAPK store soon.

PM in bound Bruno!

Another shell puller added to the box Gebr Butz, Solingen

WOW!
Nice knives, outcast.

Outcast those are a wonderful and diverse group of shell pullers! Very Nice--stag a plenty Lloyd

A couple single blade trappers straight from China. $13.00 each, free shipping.

ludwig26 wrote:Bought this in a junk store, no sheath.
I think handles are horn. On the road so no tape measure.

Ludwig, what you have there is a Collins #18 Pequeno Machete, or little machete.


The ones with green horn handles like yours are hard to come by. Either they have been busted up or the horn beetles have gotten to them.

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

This is the knife that keeps getting called (INCORRECTLY) the V44 Marine Raider knife. Cole called them the V44 Types 1,2,3,4 (Collins, CaseXX, Western, Kinfolks) and the CaseXX Fixed blade V44, the type 5. I'm not certain if Cole decided to name them that or if he was just following along with the prevailing nomenclature.

Starting in 1934, they became THE survival knife used by the Army Air Corps as part of their M592 Seat 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.


In 1938, the M592 became a Back Pad Kit - shown here with a REAL V44


At some point, Collins started using black bakelite for the handles. So your knife was made somewhere between 1926 and whenever the change was made. When Case and Western made clones, their's were made exclusively with black bakelite handles.

With all the Army and Navy planes heading to the Pacific, Collins could not keep up with the demand for the #18 (as they were also pouring out as many full-sized machetes and other clearing tools as they could.

The government then wrote out contracts for Case and Western to make copies of the #18. I'm not sure of the numbers but I've seen that around 50,000 of them. Kinfolks made them as well, but most likely for private purchase in PXs/Exchanges.
Case XX version


Western Version


The Kinfolks version is slightly larger than the #18/Case/Western versions and will NOT fit in the M592 kits. Also no contract with Kinfolks for the knives has surfaced over the years. The knives were very popular and frequently "liberated" from the Survival packs, so Kinfolks and the PXs were probably trying to capitalize on that.

The #18/clones were replaced in the M592 in late 1942 with the 10" folding machete, although the #18 versions were used until the contracts ran out.



ONLY the Case XX "type 5" fixed blade machete is the REAL V44. It replaced the #18/clones and the 10# folding machete in the M592 in 1944. V-44 comes from Case's in house designation of the small fixed blade machete.


Other than the obvious names stamped into the blades, A Western can be recognized at a distance from the Collins/Case /Kinfolks version by the guard. The other 3 used big brass guards as seen on yours. Western used a simple steel oval.


Edit - After reviewing what I wrote, I realized that I had a sentence in the wrong place. I moved the sentence to where it belongs.

Wow, zzy, what an incredibly informative post and clearly stated as well.
Not my thread or area of collecting but i enjoyed reading it and learning.
Thank you.
kj

What were the other contents in the survival packs?

Thanks zzyzzogeton. That was very informative and I appreciate you taking the time to do that.
It was really nothing I collect so I sold it on eBay and will use the proceeds to help my Barlow pile grow.
Are the knives in your post yours? If so you have a wonderful collection.
Kerry

Those are pics I swiped from the internet that depict the various items. I have at least 1 of each, but as I mentioned in some post, I lost all my pics a while back when my hard drive crapped out and my backup tape turned out to be corrupted. I just haven't had the time to go back and redo every thing. One of the many items on my To Do list.

I really wish I did have 2 complete M592 kits, but those are rarer than hen's teeth.

The kits' contents varied by Area of Operation and sometimes by mission. Navy pilots in the Pacific all had a life raft knife in the the kits where Army pilots in Europe seldom did. Winter ops would include heavy gloves while summer ops, light weight utility gloves were packed.

A kit SHOULD have had the following --
M592 Back Pad Kit Contents: Poncho Cover, Gloves, Mosquito Headnet, Instruction Book,
Magnifying Lens, Signaling Mirror, Machete, Sunburn Ointment, Compass, Cotton Line, First
Aid Kit, Emergency Rations, Jack Knife, Oil, Fishing Kit, Whistle, Drinking Water, Sharpening
stone, Pyrotechnic Kit (Signal and Smoke Flares), Salt Tablets, Waterproof Tape, Safety Pins

Sometimes things went missing. Sometimes there were shortages and the kits came with "most" of the stuff. Sometimes pilots would add their own item - a common item was an extra 20 or 30 rounds for their sidearm, usually a 1911, but some carried revolvers of various calibers.

The Navy also had a "gold kit" which included 3 large gold rings and 5 gold coins ( 3 British -1 sovereign and 2 half-sovereigns and 2 French 0 10 Franc and 20 Franc) with which to buy stuff or bribe folks if shot down.

I would like to add that kit to my "California Earthquake Bag" but I think Earthquake Insurance would be less expensive.