US Army bolo knife and scabbard

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

US Army 1912 Bolo Knife (a) and scabbard (b). The bolo knife has a wooden and metal handle that has curves on the bottom for finger holds. The tip of the handle is metal and is longer at the bottom to keep the hand in place. The hilt is metal and has a button below the top edge that allows the scabbard to be removed. The blade is wide and curved. Above the hilt are inscriptions on each side, [US / 19530] and [SA [flaming bomb] 1912]. The scabbard is made of canvas, metal, and leather. The main body is made of brown canvas with a brown leather top. On the leather is a maker's mark that reads, [A-K-CO / 1918 / R.H.S.]. The back of the scabbard has a folded over piece of canvas, to create a loop, where a metal hinge can be used to attach the scabbard to a belt.

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