Machete
 

I've been wanting a good Machete or brush knife for a long time. I found a piece of stainless steel big enough for two blades, I don't now exactly what kind of stainless it is, it seems harder than 440 but is still springy.

My question is about the shape. I have two machetes and both are not an ideal shape and not really enough weight for chopping down small trees or thick brush stems. The piece of stainless I have is maybe 3/16 inches thick so a Machete made from it will have a good heft. I can also make the grip larger to fit my hand better and maybe incorporate a guard into the tang/grip.

Any ideas for a good shape? Any examples I can maybe make a pattern of so I can get my Machete waterjet cut to shape?

Found this old thread and your still around so I thought you might still be interested.

I reshape old or even new carbon steel tramotina blades. I have a few but only have 2 here at the house right now. Anyway here are the shapes I went with on these 2.

I use this one around camp a lot


This one I use for about anything....Just cleared about a mile of brush around the perimeter of a property with it a couple weeks ago.


Tramotina is hard to beat and you can buy them in bulk(6) for about $7 per. These are the blades a lot of people in countries where they make a living with a machete use.

You'll want them to be tip heavy(tip wider than the handle)

I prefer the kurkuri style.

Bolo is actually my favorite but I don't have mine here at the house right now.

I use this crazy thing about every day around the fire when I'm camping. It makes a great spatula that also has a cutting edge. I can sit down and split up some kindling to get the fire going then use it as a spatula. Its a "sugar cane knife" It used to have a hook on the end I ground off.

That there is MY kinda spatula!!! Someone complains about the cooking,,,OF WITH THEIR HEAD!!! :D

Pretty good for fending off the people that like to eat the food faster than you can cook it.

I like the shape pf the second one, one I have now the tip is too curved, if you miss a little and hit to near the tip it jumps back at you. The other I have is a better shape, but pretty much junk, I've bent the blade numerous times.

The shape of the grip on both of mine suck, your hand gets sweaty and the machete is likely to slip. Nothing on the end of the grip to keep it from flying or going through your foot if it slips.

The hardest work for mine is blackberry thickets. I also use if for clearing fishing spots on overgrown creek banks.

I was also thinking of a longer handle to save the old back some.

Tramotina, I'll search some and see if they have what I want. But like many things what actually works is much more important than how it looks.

Tramotinas definitely work.....They are kind of like the mora of machetes. Like I said they are very popular in cultures where peoples lives depend on them.

The 2nd one is an 18" tram with the tip modified a little. Lowes actually carries that one sometimes.

Here is a couple bolos.....one Ive modified and one that is brand new

I'll have to try to remember to take a picture of mine... no idea what it is but my father brought it back from peru when he was there. I've used it for clearing fourwheeler trails and shooting lanes for about 10 or 12 years now and it's been good to me! If I think about it I'll snap a picture tomorrow. Good looking collection there rock
-Jake

Couple of them puppies I wouldn't call machetes. Them's butcher knives to me! 2nd and 3rd up from bottom.

I really detest a bad tool, I've got more than a few I used once and have been hanging in the shed for decades.

All of my shovels have the sides sharpened, they work for most of the small stuff. Darned Blackberry thickets are hard going, when the canes dry they can be really hard to cut.

The Bolo shape looks like a winner, hope it works better than what I have.

Yeah that is what I use some of them for a lot.

They cost me like $7 and are made of good steel. 1070 I think.

Just butterflied a pork loin with one last night.

You know the $1.68/lb pork loin you get right nest to the $4.99/lb pork chops at the grocery store....

Yeah, I would suggest either the bolo or 18" (2nd and 3rd from the top) or both as they are pretty cheap.

They start at a round $20 here and go to around $35, everything cost more here. Won't break the bank, but kind of an expensive wall hanger. ;)

I like my knives also, my collection is small but quality. Some I've had for near fifty years.

Thought I'd get a Tramotina 24" brush machete and a Bolo, maybe re-gift the two I have now. :)

Maybe use the Tramotina as a template and cut a couple from some really nice stainless flat stock I have. And add some extended handles, try them and see if they work. This chunck of stainless I have is something special, 440 will not scratch it, but it is springy.

Just buy them on ebay

Got one machete
 

Don't know the make of it. Posting reminded me of checking the sharpness.
Has seen a good file lately, of course. Probably waste a little time sharpening it more, on a cold February winter day. No waste of time there. Time to use it is coming. Might try it in thinning out some thin hybiscus plants. Have a garden of them.
Waiting for the first rainless or snowless day.

Have some duties cutting some small trees with an electric reciprocating saw. Use the wood as backup for burning logs. Haven't had a blackout for a few years. Have a two year supply of logs for the fire place.
Interesting, I used the saw for commercial tasks, and found it was good with small tree limbs. Got some good limbs to cut; fallen and on trees.

The trick to keeping my sawsall going when cutting/trimming green wood is to keep the blade oiled. I have a Black and Decker electric chain saw I found dumpster diving and an old antique metal case Black and Decker sawsall. For both I keep a can of Bio chain saw oil handy and dip the blade often.

I've turned many a sawsall blade into a pretzel trying to cut green wood, sap is like glue, the oil helps. I'm no newbie using a sawsall, but those raw tooth wood blades always give me the willies. A little oil really helps keeps them sawing smooth.

I really like my old tools, like old friends, I have a couple of chainsaws I bought when Reagan was President. :) I have a half garage/shed full of tools I've rescued, reconditioned or repaired, all of them sharp.

Also check out "machete specialist" they have lots of good options.

OKC, Tamotina, imacasa,Condor, and marbles(made by imacasa)

The OKC are made in the U.S. and are much heavier and thicker. The 18" is too heavy for my liking but the 12" is a fantastic little tool. That is what I carry in my trail camera bag for setting and/or checking cameras and I also use that one around camp a lot. It runs about $20 and I believe these are what the U.S. military uses.


For brush, chopping etc. I prefer the heavier OKC in 12" or less and the Tramotinas 14" or longer and the smaller Trams for large butcher knives.

Way back when we used to think that Collins made a good machete. They came in various sizes. My old machete is a "Corneta", it is made somewhere in south America. The leather sheath is probably better then the blade.

Another one I finished yesterday. I was going to sell it but now I'm quite fond of it and will probably keep it.

Tramontina
 

I have several Machetes, a few Tramontinas in a Bolo shape, and regular 18" machete. I also have some of the older Collins Legitimus Machetes in 22" length. I prefer the longer ones for grass/brush and a shorter bolo style for cutting Brush/cane. I find the thinner blades slice easier. A 3/16 blade would make a heavy chopper and might tend to bog down on grass/brush but cut through bushes and small trees. If they are too weight forward, they tend to put more strain on the wrists, Good for chopping but not easy to use for hours of clearing.area.

I have a 18" TRAMONTINA machete.

I have a , 18 inch. It's quite cheap but useful when I'm on track - for dealing with brush and young trees.

But recently decided to give something else a try - Fox FX.
Some calls it a kukri, but I believe that's more something in between kukri and machete (as it doesn't look like any traditional kukri's I saw). It's about 14.37’’ length. Quite small but I don't have big arms either.
Must admit that this thing is awesome. I've used it to cut down trees and chop firewood on more than one backpacking trip and I can still use it to shave my arm.