This is a VERY GOOD to NEAR FINE condition example of the very scarce 1^st Battalion 21^st (1/21) Marine Regiment Fighting Knife. While somewhat crude in appearance, the aluminum hilted multi-purpose combat knife was in fact based on the Collins #18 Machete, better known to military collectors as the V-44 survival machete, and was manufactured in Auckland, New Zealand for the specific use of the 1^st Battalion of the 21^st Marine Regiment during World War II. 

The genesis of the knife started with the 2^nd Marine Raider Battalion lead by Lt. Colonel Evans F. Carlson (1896-1947), better known as Carlson’s Raiders. Carlson ordered 1,000 Collins #18 Machetes for use by his battalion, as utility-fighting knives. Carlson was credited with coining the Marine term “Gung-Ho”, and that name was soon applied to the #18 Machete in the hands of his troops. Evans C. Carlson (1918-2005), the son of Colonel Evans F. Carlson, served as a 1^st Lieutenant in the 2^nd Marine Raider Battalion. Lt. Carlson led E company, of the 2^nd Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, and received a silver star for his actions on that island. Lt. Carlson was subsequently transferred to the newly formed 21^st Marine Regiment, which had been established in July of 1942. While in Auckland, New Zealand, where the regiment trained and outfitted for its forthcoming roll in the Pacific War, Carlson contracted with a local jobber to have 1,000 “Gung-Ho” style knives produced. 

Marine Raider historian and collector J. Doug Bailey interviewed retired USMC Colonel Evans C. Carlson in 2004 and discussed the genesis of the knife. At that time Col. Carlson confirmed that he had used his “Gung-Ho” knife for inspiration and had ordered 1,000 of the knives for the 1^st Battalion, with aluminum hilts cast directly onto the carbon steel blades. While Colonel Carlson did not remember the name of the company that manufactured the knives, it is generally believed within the New Zealand knife collecting community that they were produced by Masport. Masport produced aluminum lawn mower chassis and other lawn mower related parts. They are also known to have produced other aluminum handled knives, including one for the Royal New Zealand Air Force, that was based upon the #18 Machete, Gung-Ho and 1^st/21^st knife. The 1,000 knives ordered by Carlson were delivered with leather sheaths, produced locally by various sporting goods manufacturers, while the RNZAF contract knives had leather tipped canvas sheaths. As originally produced, the knives had hilts that were painted with a very dark green paint that is sometimes almost black in appearance, depending on the lighting. The blades were left unfinished with a bright polish. The knives were about 14 ½” in overall length with 5 1/6” hilts and clip-point, Bowie-style blades that were about 9 ¼” (+/-) in length. The heavy leather sheaths were form fit to the blades, and made from two large pieces of the leather, with smaller welts added at the throat. The rear piece was left long and was doubled over to form a large belt loop and hanger for the sheath. The front and rear pieces of leather were assembled by stitching them together and reinforcing the stitching at the stress points with rivets. As the sheaths were manufactured by several different companies, minor variations in sheath details exist. These knives are extremely rare on the market today, due to the small number manufactured and the hard use that the knives saw during the war. Unlike the Marine Raider Stiletto, which had limited utility for anything by killing, Carlson’s knife was as useful as a tool around camp as it was a fighting implement. As such, many of knives have not survived to make it to the collector market, and many of those that have are in rough condition. The 1^st/21^st saw service during the campaigns that captured Bougainville (1943-44), Guam (1944), and Iwo Jima (1945). 

As mentioned, the 1^st Battalion, 21^st Marine Regiment Fighting Knife offered here is in VERY GOOD to NEAR FINE condition. The knife is 100% complete and correct and retains what appears to be its correct, original issue sheath. The knife has a 9” single edged clip point blade with a 3 ½” false edge. The blade is 1 ¾” at the ricasso and 2 1/8” wide at the widest point. The knife is 14 1/8” in overall length, including the 5” cast aluminum hilt with a 4 ¾” cross guard that terminates in a pair of bulbous quillons. The blade shows some wear and use, and some sharpening along its edge. The blade has a mostly bright steel patina with scattered patches of oxidized discoloration. The blade is mostly smooth, with only some lightly scattered pinpricking present, along with some more significant roughness along the false edge. The hefty cast aluminum grip retains none of the original dark green paint and has a dull pewter patina. According to interviews by J. Doug Bailey with other Marines who carried these 1^st Battalion, 21^st Marine knife, the green paint simply didn’t stand up to use and handling in the jungles of Pacific Islands. The aluminum hilt shows wear from handling and use, as would be expected. There is also an obvious casting flaw in the upper quillon of the guard, where an air bubble formed during casting and later burst, resulting in a small hole in that location. The sheath appears to be 100% original in every way, and the rivet reinforced stitching is of the same pattern found on other known original sheaths. Some sheaths were produced with a small loop at the tip for a leg tie down, as found on this example. The original hilt-retaining strap is present on the sheath as well, although it is quite stiff and should be handled very carefully. I would not recommend trying to snap the strap closed due to the stiffness of the leather and the potential to dislodge one of the snaps. The sheath is in about VERY GOOD condition overall and matches the condition of the knife very well. All of the stitching appears to be original and remains tightly in place with some moderate wear. The four, slightly domed reinforcement rivets are in place as well, two at the throat and two reinforcing the lower edge of the blade near the tip. The sheath shows significant scuffing and wear to its finish, all of which is commensurate with a leather sheath worn and used in combat. The leather is slightly stiff, but still pliable enough to function correctly, be placed on a belt or used for display. There also appear to have been a small amount of shrinkage to the leather, likely due to how much time the sheath spent wet. The back portion of the scabbard has been significantly darkened compared to the front, likely from sweat and moisture, again typical of a leather scabbard that saw use in a tropical climate.

Overall, this is a very nice example of a scarce and desirable World War II Marine combat knife. While surely not as sexy as the Marine Raider Stiletto, these knives are significantly less common and most saw significant combat field use. Camillus produced over 14,000 of the Raider Stilettos during the war, but only 1,000 of these special 1^st/21^stknives were produced by a lawn mower jobber in New Zealand. Rarely do these knives come to market, and even more rarely do their original sheaths accompany them. This is a very solid example of a scarce WWII Marine Corps knife that can be directly attributed to a specific unit that saw hard service at Bougainville, Guam and Iwo Jima and it will be a fine addition to any WWII Marine Corps or WWII fighting knife collection.