The above quoted mod synopsis said "just go for it",

by former hater of plastic, Monday, January 15, 2018, 22:32 (2441 days ago) @ Jhenry

as far as whittling on handle. Take care on going after the brass rivet heads, without spares on-hand. Although personally it is suspected they are two-piece, and of limited ability to re-set the shop heads, it might be they are solid and can be easily re-expanded, but, a proper job would have a new chamfer/countersink cut in scales for radical slimming.

However, probably a moot point, and the handle will likely work fine as-is, if an older one, as some bashing should show.

Be sure to follow up post, when you lay hands on it. It makes most new large knives feel like crowbars that they are, while the W49 is actual Son Of Collins #18 Machete, or, Son Of Carlson's Raiders, as in KNIFE, IMPROVED, BAIL-OUT, MACHETE.

And why an obvious bowie called a machete? The US Army went a country mile to avoid naming ANYthing a bowie, no matter the shape being obviously some manner of bowie inspired blade, including Krag bayonets, while Collins would have run afoul of the numerous legal impediments to owning anything called a bowie in the bottom half of the US, not to mention the US Congress outlawed "bowie knives" before the War Of Northern Aggression, a law which was on the books, I believe, until the 1950s, and Thorpe's book and Iron Mistress movie popularity.

But whatever you call it, do NOT call it a V44, which was also a wartime bail-out knife, by Case, and of a more bolo machete shape. An improved "Gung Ho", fine, "Carlson's Raider", even, but not an improved V44.