Best Machete?

I am a Tram fan. But i must say Condor does make a better one out of the box. The Tram takes some work on the edge.
 
I prefer a 12" or 14" for camping and hikes in the woods. I find they work just fine and are not as unwieldy as bigger ones. 18" is fine but my shorter ones get more work out of me to be honest. There are some nice old unused new condition Collins machetes floating around out there. If you can get one. If not a Imacasa or Tramotina will certainly work. Condor is more but most ship with sheaths. Personally I find little fault with Cold Steel machetes and feel their handles are among the most comfortable. Its also probable that the 1055 steel they use is among the toughest of them all although I suspect the differences between 1070, 1080 and 1095 are nil for the purposes of a tool of this type. If you are planning to so more than chop with it though, such as slice or double duty it for some stake making or even food chores and such I'd probably find something in 1095 steel.
STR.
 
STR said:
Cold Steel machetes and feel their handles are among the most comfortable.
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Personally I've been a bit underwhelmed with the handles on them. The South African ones are a bit oversized for my small hands, and the moldings often have excess material that needs to get trimmed. The handles on the Chinese ones rub my hands due to the aggressively textured kraton. But they ARE good steel. :)
 
Horn Dog said:
Now I remember. It does indeed have a name. I still want some knife named the Chupacabra, just for the hell of it. :eek:
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I wouldn't want a knife called the "goat sucker" in any language. If you want a cool knife name in spanish, how about "El Diablo Mysterioso?"
 
i like my TRAMMIES;)but find there handles are to small or did i get a bad batch....
 
I like Imacasas, personally. They're every bit as nice as the Condors, just not as finely finished. I like putting the edge on, and cleaning up the handles myself. Plus Imacasa has some really weird/ wacky blade profiles that you won't find on the more refined Condor offerings.

I like Imacasa's handles better than Tramontinas. Specifically, I like the Imacasa handles that are molded, not riveted. The plastic Tramontina handles have a "crocodile skin" texture molded into them that looks cool, but can cause hot spots with use. The wooden handles are fine, you can shape them however you want, but they can crack and split. Molded-on handles are better for me, because they allow the machete to "sing" (ring) much better than riveted handles do, generally speaking. Imacasas sing much, much better than Tramontinas- the steel seems more lively.

Machete Specialist is getting in a whole new range of Hansa machetes from Equador, that look very interesting, and will give folks yet another cool machete option.
 
Joezilla said:
Condor is releasing a eco light machete with a poly pro handle and a condor edge in the range of $10-$15 in the future.
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:eek::thumbup:

Maybe something along the lines of a 14" Pata de Cuche or "Colin"?

Yes please. :thumbup:
 
I only have a few to pick from...
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But I really like my wooden-handled Tramontina with 18" blade...
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You guys suck! I now have five more machete's just since this thread started! Couldn't turn down three unique Collins new unused models on flea bay and of course I took advantage of the free sheath offer on Machete Specialists for the holidays and while there I snagged one more of those 12" Cold Steel Bowies since I read they are being discontinued and I rather like that one.

I will say this. The Collins models came with some pretty shabby wood handles and not very well fit on there either. I'll have to be correcting that when I can get to it.

STR
 
shangchi108 said:
I wouldn't want a knife called the "goat sucker" in any language. If you want a cool knife name in spanish, how about "El Diablo Mysterioso?"
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It just doesn't sound as good as Chupacabra. But neither does "goat sucker" or Hoonglahs. :D
 
I just got a Condor Viking in. :). The wood handles are nice, but not fitted very well. Won't be too big an issue I think. Can't wait to see how this thing chops.
 
Dizwolf said:
I just got a Condor Viking in. :). The wood handles are nice, but not fitted very well. Won't be too big an issue I think. Can't wait to see how this thing chops.
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I have their smaller Puerto Rican machete, and it chops like crazy. That big Viking should be able to fell small trees in a single chop! :eek:
 
I don't know if big is the word for it. Hugenormus maybe. I'll try and get some pics this weekend of it's workout.
 
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