Kevin in his blog, Misfires and Light Strikes, brought up the subject of machetes. He was thinking of what model to put in his bug-out bag. If you search on-line you'll find 100's of models out there. Everything from a Ronco, all in one, kills 'em, skins 'em, dresses 'em out, chops, dices and stirs Margerittas to taciticool ones to plain ones made from leaf springs. And the prices vary from $9 to $90.
So I know just enough about machetes to be dangerous.
What my daddy imparted to me along with his machete is that Collins was THE name in machetes at least up until the 1960s. The name was so famous that in many countries “un Collins” was synonymous with the word machete. Sadly, they went out of business in 1965-66, though if you ply the flea markets you might be able to find some. They have a distinctive logo of a crown with an extended arm holding a hammer. Typical picture (not mine) below.
Robert Mole was the other “name”, but they were UK, I think, and are scarce this side of the Atlantic, though some might be found in the West Indies.
I have two Collins, dating from 50’s-60’s. One full length 22" was my father's and the sheath is original. A # 13. The short one, 13" I bought used when I was in the AF. I suspect it left the factory a might longer and was shortened by a former owner. And yes, sadly I have abused them. This renewed interest though will pushed me to clean them up. They've been on many a trip and hacked many a bush, both here and in the western pacific area when I was in the AF
So what's your favorite? What would you buy today to go into your bug-out/get-home bag? What's a good price point? $25?