Marine Machete M1898
In 2019, we were able to add a Marine Machete to our collection, courtesy of the Friends of the Marines Museum Foundation and the Marine Corps Historical Collections Foundation.
HAND TOOLS AND ARMS
The Marine machete M1898 was part of the hand tools and arms carried by navy crew members, and with the marines by sergeants-major, non-commissioned officers at staff and drummers and pipers. This machete model was an advancement on Marine machete M1878, the main difference being an adjusted hilt.
The machete comes with the first model sheath (OM, old model) and has been fitted with a brass hook strip, allowing it to be carried in a leather holder. From 1918 forward, new sheaths came into use, involving a riveted leather holder (NM, new model) of which the Marines Museum also has an example in its collection. Finally, the blade carries the inscription ‘P.D.L.’ in reference to the worker who made the machete, Peter Daniel Lüneschloss (Solingen, Germany).
