Machete

Where does the machete fit in in the 18th and 19th centuries?
I have one I use all the time ......it is extremely versatile

The closest thing to a machete that would likely be appropriate for the colonies:
https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/revwar/image_gal/morrimg/knifefascine.html

That looks useful. Doesn't look hard to make either.

Variations:
http://billhooks.co.uk/photos-and-other-images/military-billhooks-3/
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/revolutionary-war-era-bill-hook-fascines-knife-1

At one time the south was full of a wide assortment of different styles of cane knives for several hundred years.

Hi,
I've looked into this by way of Mexican Charro saddles. These saddles as we know them today became fairly standardized by the 1860s. I've seen a number of later half 19th century Charro saddles adorned with machetes or swords.
I suspect the habit of carrying such a tool went back even earlier in the 19th century and would be found in the southwest along the Santa Fe Trail and Taos (now New Mexico) and also California. (A machete is a very handy tool here in the southwest; much more practical than an axe.)

In fact, when I purchased a modern Charro saddle in LA a few years back, it came with a strange to me leather keeper. After looking at 19th century Charro saddles, it became obvious it was to hold the machete or sword scabbard!

Here's a photo of a farm made cane knife from my eclectic pile of sharp thingys I've collected. I remember the day I found this. I was about 7 or 8 and I'm 61 now. It's not bad steel and appears to be made from another implement blade of some kind. Blade approx 12"-14". Haven't a clue how old it is.

I probably should have been more specific....My everyday machete is actually a cane knife. But , I call it a machete....
I find it to be extremely versatile.

colorado clyde said:

I probably should have been more specific....My everyday machete is actually a cane knife. But , I call it a machete....
I find it to be extremely versatile.

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Well, there you go! I knew two of the folks that used the above knife. When I asked about a handle they said they always used a corn cob stuck on it. For all I know one of them may have made this one. Even tho regular sugar cane was grown in this area back the Day, Im sure they used it to cut sorghum cane.

I've seen pictures of corn knives that ran from looking like the above cane knife blade to sickles. I was searching around for references Revolutionary War corn knives and hit a period story in the History of New Haven County, Conn. volume 1, pp 437-438, where a AWI American soldier named McGaughey, from East TN, claimed to have killed an Indian with a corn knife on the Tennessee River during the War.

It would be hard to imaging trying to use a sickle shaped corn knife to fight with, so I would imagine it was more like the fascine knife, or the cane knife; but anybody's guess is as good as mine. It was a big agricultural blade and was used in a fight.

Native Arizonan said:

I've seen pictures of corn knives that ran from looking like the above cane knife blade to sickles. I was searching around for references Revolutionary War corn knives and hit a period story in the History of New Haven County, Conn. volume 1, pp 437-438, where a AWI American soldier named McGaughey, from East TN, claimed to have killed an Indian with a corn knife on the Tennessee River during the War.

It would be hard to imaging trying to use a sickle shaped corn knife to fight with, so I would imagine it was more like the fascine knife, or the cane knife; but anybody's guess is as good as mine. It was a big agricultural blade and was used in a fight.

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Oh I'm sure the above blade was not just regulated to cane. I'm sure it saw cutting it fair share of corn stalks too!! 😉

What a great forum to get educated!
Thanks
Nit Wit

Here's one from my collection. The rivets imply late 1800's or newer, from what I am told. The influence of Jim Bowie is obvious. The scales are softwood. It is too long for me to call it a knife.

Classic!!!

In the southwest the Spanish espada ancha evolved from a sword into a machete from the late 1700s into the 20th. There used to be good information on this online perhaps there still is.

Kansas Volunteer said:

In the southwest the Spanish espada ancha evolved from a sword into a machete from the late 1700s into the 20th. There used to be good information on this online perhaps there still is.

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Maybe this site? It has a few examples. Examples 3 and 4 look like machete blades.
http://www.vikingsword.com/ethsword/espadaan/

In the southwest the Spanish espada ancha evolved from a sword into a machete

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Yes!....but just to be clear, the machete already existed....
http://www.vikingsword.com/rila/index.html

Here is a brief history on the Collins company that made machetes.

http://www.google.nl/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwivren1zavUAhUGZlAKHTXNAKsQFggxMAU&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvisitcollinsville.com%2Fdownload%2Fi%2Fmark_dl%2Fu%2F1640468%2F12294972%2FBriefHistoryCollinsCo.pdf&usg=AFQjCNH4WClJu-7ljAYm51ksagU6VTOcjA