Spielberg's Machete

There's a concept in fiction (movies, books, television, etc.) that if you introduce an element in the story, it must be used later. That is, if you introduce a gun in the first act of the play, someone needs to fire it before the play is over. It's called "Chekhov's gun." Google AI says:

"This principle, popularized by [Russian playwright] Anton Chekhov, emphasizes that authors should avoid including unnecessary details or making false promises to the audience. It's a way to ensure that every element serves a purpose and contributes to the overall narrative."

WARNING: SPOILERS (if you somehow haven't seen Jaws in the past 50 years), 

I recently watched the movie Jaws because last year it was 50 years old and I hadn't seen it for a long time. There's a moment in that movie that I think violates Chekhov's gun. And I thought that when I saw the movie when I was 15 years old (although I didn't call it "Chekhov's gun").

At one point, the shark hunter Quint rams a machete into the gunwale of their boat, the Orca. The camera lingers on it for just a moment (see the picture above). Even when I was 15 I thought "that's going to come into play in the future, probably in the climax." And guess what? It didn't. We never see the machete again. 

My current opinion is that Quint should have grabbed it when the shark was eating him and tried to use it on the fish. But he doesn't.

Therefore, I think Spielberg violated the principle of Chekhov's gun. Quod erat demonstrandum.

What do you think? Am I crazy to critique one of the best directors ever? Let me know in the comments below.

The above photo is being used under Section 107 of the Copyright Act: fair usage.