Best Bang for the Buck Machete???

Tolly

Tolly

Joined
Jan 1, 2006
Messages
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Okay guys, I am new to the machete game and have never owned one before. Lately however, I have been spending a lot of time on some new land that my family has purchased and with all the recent north central Texas rainfall we have areas with large pockets of 7-9' tall sunflowers and other stalky and thick growth that is next to impossible to walk through. It dawned on me that something like a machete would be much better at cutting a path through this stuff than one of my 9" heavy bladded choppers. I usually only need to cut a small walking path 10-30 feet in and 30 inches wide or so to get to where I want to go. I know absolutely nothing about machetes but I would like to get a couple of decent machetes without spending a fortune if I don't have to. I don't mind spending the money if it is neccessary, but if there is a company out there that is making a good machete that would fit my needs and stay together(i hate cheapo stuff that breaks) and doesn't cost a lot, I would like to know about it....kind of a Mora of machetes if you will. I trust y'all's opinions and advice on this one boys, cuz I'm lost. Thanks.
 
Ontario makes some nice, cheap stuff. I have their kukri and love it. Their machetes seem to be well like as well, but I hear you will want to do some modifications to make it a better tool.
 
Tramontina makes a good tool on the cheap. I have their 14" bolo and it really does a good job for me.
 
Tramontina, hands down. $6 at SMKW, and a decent machete all around.
 
+1 for the Tramontina Bolo! Love it and at 6 bucks, you love to use it! By far my favorite machete that I have ever owned.

The only disadvantage that I've seen is that the edge does require work when you get it new. But after that mine held an edge very well when working with light-med vegitation and respondes very well to steeling between uses. Also takes a file/diamond sharpening very easily.
 
Another vote for tramontina,my favorite for the $, the ontario is also a very good machete,holds a good edge,but for some reason I like the slightly softer steel in the tramontina.
 
My favorite is the 18” Ontario with the orange D guard handles (if you don’t like the D guard it is easy enough to saw off; with or without the guard, the molded on handles are much better than the old riveted on handles). The Ontarios are fairly heavy machetes, which makes them good for vines and saplings, but they might be needlessly heavy for the kinds of things you mentioned.


The 18” Cold Steel Latin machete is slightly lighter than the Ontario and offers a lot of bang for the buck, as does the 18” Tramontina.


Keep in mind that these machetes do not come with a sharp edge (machetes should be razor sharp), especially the Cold Steel. I use a file for the initial profiling and for removing edge damage, followed by a coarse bench stone and the grey stones on a Sharpmaker and a credit card size coarse DMT hone for quick touch ups in the field.




Frank
 
My vote goes for the cold steel or ontario line but you will need to sharpen them before you can use them. My cold steel was so dull I used an orbital sander and some 60 grit paper to get a decent edge then went to a course file and so on....
 
Tromontina for me. Had it for years and it's held up very well. My favorite is 23" overall and has a wooden handle. The Tromontina plastic handles feel cheap and aren't durable.

-Bob
 
Vote for both Ontario and Tram , both are fine and a fantastic bargain.

I own one of each , by the way. :D
 
The 14 inch Tramontina Bolo is a great blade for $6. Ironically I can't get them down here! They seem to ship them all to the US. I use the 14 and 16 inch Tramontinas most of the time and they work well too. The only drawback for the Tramontina bolo is finding a sheath.

As Frank said the Ontarios are heavy, better suited to woody saplings and such. On light material a heavy balde will wear out your forearm. In heavy grasses a longer lighter blade is just the ticket.

My machetes always start out razor sharp as mentioned but in heavy use they don't hold that edge long. File sharp is good enough most of the time. Mac
 
Tramontina with out a doubt. The one I had I absoulutly loved, beat the crap out of it and kept taking it, a real trooper. 16"er did it for me, great tool.
 
First, any brand you pick will require a reprofile of the edge, unless you like punishment.

Second, "ya get what ya pays for...." Tramontina makes a good knife, but the quality is inconsistant. That said, they're low enough in cost, so you can get several.

Martindale makes one of the best, and different models are used around the world, but they are not easy to find.

When I was still on the farm, we used a heavy "corn knife" for such work. Those Sunflowers are really tough and fiberous. They will wipeout a softer edge in about half an hour (along with your arm).

As your arm tires, there is a safety issue, not to mention wet hands from sweat. Wear gloves.

Cold Steel has a two handed knife made by Lasher in South Africa, that would fit your needs better than most of the others. It's not as "Indiana Jones sexy" as some of the others, but it will work better forthese reasons:
1) The blade is short and wide, so you have less edge to resharpen. 2) The stiffer, heavier blade will cut through that stuff more efficiently than a more limber blade (you don't have to swing as hard). 3) The end of the blade is square, so you cancut closer to the ground safely. 4) The long handle allowes better control over a longer period of time; there is less stooping (your back will be happy about this). 5) The steel and heat treat is far better than most others on the market and still meet a good price point.

Dan
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. I have ordered a couple of Tramontinas and I think I am going to order an Ontario as well. Does anyone know of a good place to find a Martindale?
 
I know its late , but if you get the chance , Okapi does a nice machete , various lengths from 16 inch to 24 inch blades , depending on your need .

I am having a blast with mine ATM , does reeds weeds and undergrowth with no hassles , I like a longer one for prickly stuff like blackberry , but the whack the longer blade packs is deceiving , you can be using a hell of a lot more force than expected without really realising it till you get used to it .
 
Tolly said:
Thanks for the replies everyone. I have ordered a couple of Tramontinas and I think I am going to order an Ontario as well. Does anyone know of a good place to find a Martindale?
Click to expand...

Tramontina is my 1# choice,but I wouldn't order it-my experience is that you have to carefully examine it before you take one-I hadn't such problems with Ontario
 
5 bucks for some plastic handled peice of steel in a small town in Belize. That's the best bang for the buck.;)
 
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