U.S. WWI Collins 1005 Engineer Bolo Machete with Scabbard
Collins made these from the Spanish American War until shortly after WWl. They were issued with a tooled scabbard as well as smooth leather like this example. Sometimes the unit designation will be stamped/embossed into the leather. In this case it is stamped A 602. The scabbard also bears a COLLINS logo. In general these Machetes were not US marked. Some of the more earlier ones exhibit a Horn handle opposed to wood. The horn had a greenish color and tended to be susceptible to insects/worms. Collins records (from Collins Machetes and Bowies 1845-1965 by D.E. Henry) show that this machete was ordered by the Ordnance Department to their specifications in February 1913 as order #1889 (which may have been interpreted as a date instead of an order number).