Bear and Pict are right

mneedham

mneedham

Joined
Jul 8, 2006
Messages
2,776
I've been using a 14"Tram bolo around the land for about 15 years or so, never thought much about it, beat it up all summer and throw it in the shed to rust until the next spring.. But with the recent machete threads, I bought a 12" Tram and an 18". I modded the 12" a little after reading Picts posts and carrying it a lot after reading Bearthedog's. My mods included filing the handle down level with the spine, sanding down the grips and dunking it in linseed oil. I filed down and rounded the spine, and sharpened the first couple of inches of the blade to a razor (Pict is right about these mods! feels great).

Bear is right about the performance. For a $6 dollar knife you, can't beat these, sharp, durable, very light and comfortable. If there is a down side to these, I can' find it!

Note the grips and spine:
mike086.jpg

mike087.jpg

mike088.jpg
 
Told 'ya. Mac

ETA -

tramontinatinderhotsparbw7.jpg


Put the blade in a padded vice and file the spine flat. It looks better that way IMO and the squared off edges will make an abundance of very fine tinder when scraped hard against dry wood. This way the machete also becomes a fire starting tool.
 
Yep, they are good, I think you could do pretty well in most environments with a 12 or 14" and an SAK. I have to admit, I bought another machete off e-bay the other day... (and I was looking at SMKW again last night....).
 
I'll have to post pictures of my handles later, right now I got a little project i am working on.
 
That 14" Tram bolo is a winner. Mine has a crack in the handle at the first pin. Might have to replace it. Hmmm. Maybe I'll get a 12" SA pattern while I'm at it. :D
 
Mneedham- (and everyone else) how often do you guys use the trams in the woods? I've had mine in the woods before, but it's been a while. I don't remember it doing a particularly good job with woodwork. I may need to take mine out again.
 
Very nice! I had to save Picts tips because they were so good! He's from Brazil, I think he knows:thumbup:
 
Too bad they come with a bad grind but a file usually does a fast job. I added some serrations for a nice thumb ramp and it does good with the firesteel too. I have always done the first 2" very sharp and I have to say that my O#t%@ 12" is the sharpest at whittling wood besides a mora. I mean it, Leatherface convexed it and it is sick!
IMG_4589.jpg
 
HDW,

Yep, buy a 12"...

Spooky,

The 12" is new to me, but my initial impressions are that it will do just about everything that I routinely expect from a knife; cutting, slicing, light chopping... I whacked it on some wood for a while the other day and it dulled after a while, but there was no edge damage (and Trams are easy to sharpen).. I usually carry much heavier knives (RD7 and Busse), but I think the truth is that the Tram can perform a whole lot of the tasks that I use those knives for...(not that I am about to give up the Lone Ranger or anything). I think that Bear summed it up by saying they are the Mora of machetes, you get more than you pay for....
 
I just love big choppers. But the Tramontina's will so most anything you really need to do. But I say why waste $6 on some foreign crap, when for only a few hundred dollars more you can get one of these?
Choppers002.jpg
 
Here at least they aren't foreign crap.

As for not doing good on wood, the lighter the machete the less it will bite in to hardwoods. Seasoned wood is particularly hard to chop through with a light machete Like a Tramontina. If I know I'll be cutting alot of seasoned wood I take a saw, but since it's a Tramontina saw...

Anyway machetes excell at vines, weeds, grasses, bamboo, brush, small dense whippy stuff, and can be pressed into service to drop things bigger than saplings but then you are getting out of their element. Heavier machetes like the Ontarios do better on hard wood becuase of their forward weight. They swing like a hatchet but won't outclass an axe IMO. An axe on the other hand is a really poor machete so choose your tools for the job. In Brazil guys with machetes will hack their way to trees they drop with axes. Mac
 
I cant find any real use for a machete, I only use them for fun in the backyard. If you lived in South America like pict, they would probably be as essential as a hatchet is over here in North America. Probably way more.
 
pict said:
Here at least they aren't foreign crap.

As for not doing good on wood, the lighter the machete the less it will bite in to hardwoods. Seasoned wood is particularly hard to chop through with a light machete Like a Tramontina. If I know I'll be cutting alot of seasoned wood I take a saw, but since it's a Tramontina saw...

Anyway machetes excell at vines, weeds, grasses, bamboo, brush, small dense whippy stuff, and can be pressed into service to drop things bigger than saplings but then you are getting out of their element. Heavier machetes like the Ontarios do better on hard wood becuase of their forward weight. They swing like a hatchet but won't outclass an axe IMO. An axe on the other hand is a really poor machete so choose your tools for the job. In Brazil guys with machetes will hack their way to trees they drop with axes. Mac
Click to expand...


I was kidding. I use machetes all Summer long here in coastal Georgia. Nothing beats a machete for machete work.
 
Pretty clearly, a machete is not a hatchet, but a hatchet is not a knife. I think the 12" Tram would make a pretty decent general use camp knife. Wearing it around the property for the last couple days, I didn't find myself needing a different knife.. But than I suppose the 12" Tram isn't a whole lot different than the converted kitchen knives that a lot mountain men probably carried in North America a couple hundred years ago....
 
mneedham said:
Pretty clearly, a machete is not a hatchet, but a hatchet is not a knife. I think the 12" Tram would make a pretty decent general use camp knife. Wearing it around the property for the last couple days, I didn't find myself needing a different knife.. But than I suppose the 12" Tram isn't a whole lot different than the converted kitchen knives that a lot mountain men probably carried in North America a couple hundred years ago....
Click to expand...

I agree with you brotha.
If there ever was a machete good for backpacking it would be the Tramontina 12" (10oz).
 
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