Cheap machetes. Which should i get?

[Henry Beige]

My ideal would be the Svord Golok British Army Pattern, but its expensive. To tell the truth i'd never thought of Spear and Jackson......i should be able to find them quite easily i think. I will have a look. If i cant find any i think i will see if i can find an 18" Tramontina. Especially if the blade is a little thicker.

Wow. That Svord is expensive indeed. I guess I knew that - took one look at the price and put it out of my mind. The Condor version, also modeled on the British Army pattern, is less than half the price at about $82. I picked up the Martindale British Army pattern the first two are modeled after. Thirty seven bucks. I like the way it looks and the heft of the 4.5mm blade, but I cant get it to cut anything. The original grind is way too obtuse, and the steel is way too hard to be easily worked.

The blade needs a lot of metal removed to thin it enough to cut, but a 60 grit belt on my Work Sharp barely dents it. A diamond file has almost no effect.

 

[Hickory n steel]

The blade needs a lot of metal removed to thin it enough to cut, but a 60 grit belt on my Work Sharp barely dents it. A diamond file has almost no effect.

That sure wouldn't work for me.
I'd probably loose a big chip with the first rock I hit.

 

[comis]

The SP8 is available here and would my kind of thing, but sadly its out of my price range at $94 :-(

Some may prefer the chopper-type OKC machete, but I am actually thinking along the CT1 12" or 18". They are plenty strong, yet light weight enough without tiring your hand/forearm.

I always keep a lanyard wrapped around my hand to keep that thing from flying out of my hand and assist in grip to avoid fatigue.
Swinging top left to bottom right, keep your right foot back. Top right to bottom left, keep your left foot back.
When you swing come from above your head, not next to your head, good way to lose an ear...
You gotta imagine the blade is going all the way to the ground, because it just might, and it's going to hack whatever is in the way.
Don't be in the way.

Cold Steel has quite a few machete designs, pick the one that is the most useful to you, but I've been impressed
by Cold Steel machetes period, and the low price really sweetens the deal.

I am no expert in machete using, but I would humbly suggest to be real careful in what kind of lanyard to use with a machete(or even using one at all).

 

[Henry Beige]

You will see a lot of people recommending a lanyard so your machete doesn’t fly off and hit someone. Others point out that a captive machete can swing around and cut you. Forty-Two Blades suggests that if your hand tires to the point that you need the lanyard to hold onto your machete, it is time to put the machete down and give yourself a rest

 

[Korean Hog]

I use a lanyard where you hang it off the back of your thumb and rotate your hand down to the handle,not the kind where you just slip your wrist though it all loose and dangly. Sized it so it's fairly snug and assists with grip somewhat. I went back and forth about whether or not to use a lanayard on machetes and choppers, weighed out the pros and cons, but ultimately opted for it.

The main reason being that if some freak thing happened and it came out my hand, I'd rather the machete hit me rather than someone I care about. Granted, I don't swing a machete with someone close by, like say within 20 ft. of me, but generally I like to wait till they're well across the yard/ campsite/ jobsite because I could use a break or do something else for a second anyway.

And yeah, by the time my grip begins to tire out, I take a break mostly for the simple fact that I am, in fact, tired and would like a break.
I've been a bit stubborn at times and decided to ignore the lactic acid, but that soon began to feel dangerous because as I pushed through
the fatigue I noticed that I didn't feel as "in control" of the tool as I did when I was fresh and taking a break felt much safer.

I use the lanyard as a last ditch effort to avoid/ prevent harm to those around me, but I don't rely on it in the sense that I pretend it isn't there.

 

[Ruukuu]

'I don't know whether i am right or wrong, but no matter what i am cutting with a machete i tend not to use hard fast swings. Even if its a small tree. I prefer lighter more precise cuts ( or at least as precise as i can master ) and am happy to take a little longer to cut things.
I also find i tend to use a kind of short 'flicking' action. Maybe someone more knowledgeable could tell me if this is ok or not
It would be appreciated as i dont want to injure myself, or God forbid, anyone else.

 

[comis]

This maybe slightly off topic, but I guess folks who use lanyard could also weight in about their methods of how to retain their chopper/machete, but AFAIK, many blade sport competitors do use lanyard to help with retention, and it may worth looking into:

'I don't know whether i am right or wrong, but no matter what i am cutting with a machete i tend not to use hard fast swings. Even if its a small tree. I prefer lighter more precise cuts ( or at least as precise as i can master ) and am happy to take a little longer to cut things.
I also find i tend to use a kind of short 'flicking' action. Maybe someone more knowledgeable could tell me if this is ok or not
It would be appreciated as i dont want to injure myself, or God forbid, anyone else.

My 2 cents worth about machete usage is to be mindful about the cutting/chopping angle, and if the angle is too shallow, there's a chance the blade may glanced off unexpectedly. And in terms of storage, always hold the sheath by the spine side only, or the blade may chew thru the sheath and bite into your fingers.

 

[Henry Beige]

'I don't know whether i am right or wrong, but no matter what i am cutting with a machete i tend not to use hard fast swings. Even if its a small tree. I prefer lighter more precise cuts ( or at least as precise as i can master ) and am happy to take a little longer to cut things.
I also find i tend to use a kind of short 'flicking' action. Maybe someone more knowledgeable could tell me if this is ok or not
It would be appreciated as i dont want to injure myself, or God forbid, anyone else.

Joe Flowers, designer of a lot of Condor machetes, recommends a pinch grip and flicking action. There are a lot of videos around talking about machete use. Here is one of his that seems ti pop up everywhere.

 

[dirc]

my only problem with cold steel and okapi machetes is that they usually use 1055... which is not really ideal imho

(yes it's tough, but really quite soft & low edge retention)


I prefer the 1075 and 1070 used by condor, imacasa etc

 

[Hickory n steel]

Joe Flowers, designer of a lot of Condor machetes, recommends a pinch grip and flicking action. There are a lot of videos around talking about machete use. Here is one of his that seems ti pop up everywhere.

That's exactly how I naturally use my machetes, avoids wrist strain...ect.

 

[willc]

Tramontina makes great machetes for little money.
Also Imacasa Marbles and Cold Steel are good choices too.

My Cold Steel grass whip and 2 14” Tramontinas, a bolo and Latin, get a lot of use this time of year.

The CS is a bit softer but imo that is good cause I tend to hit plenty of rocks with the whip.

 

[Motega]

The EZ KUT ratcheting pruner is as important as a knife- $20 and free replacement blades for life. And it cuts WAYYYYYY better than ANY $20 machete and much easier. This thing is a proven winner.

 

[not2sharp]

The EZ KUT ratcheting pruner is as important as a knife- $20 and free replacement blades for life. And it cuts WAYYYYYY better than ANY $20 machete and much easier. This thing is a proven winner.

That would work until you run into a thorny bramble....at which point you’ll wish that you had a longer blade.

n2s

 

[Danno4017]

Tramontina

 

[AndreLinoge]

Ontario 18" cutlass. It's the best combo of reach, stiffness, and edge retention for the widest spectrum of chores. Its light enough to mow with, (long-period use), stout enough to slice right thru thicker branches, and totally capable of being an axe if you have the time. Hell, the sawback variety is even better if you find yourself clearing briars a lot, chop em off, then grab em with the back of the blade and flip em off the side of the work zone. Plus you can get those awesome US milsurp scabbards for them.
I'd only get the 22" if you have lots of multi flora or blackberries to deal with. It's a bit on the heavy side. I've used these things for more than 25 years, only had to replace 2, both stolen.

 

[22-rimfire]

The shorter Ontario Cutlass machete was actually my first machete in my search for a "good short machete". This was back maybe around 2010 or so when I decided I needed a machete that was better than the junk you pick up at Walmart for under $10. But the cutlass was not the machete I was looking for and never really got used much after the first week of ownership. My search shifted gears and semi-ended with the discontinued 14" Condor Puerto Rican panga machete (like the Swamp Master but 14" vs 16") for mostly cutting stiffer vegetation and occasional briars and so forth. After being reluctant to sand the handle down, I eventually did and it became a mainstay in a developing machete arsenal. I tend to think in terms of the handle being "right" from the factory and pretty much just dump something that doesn't work immediately. I really don't like reshaping machete handles but that is precisely why I prefer wood handles. Change is a slow thing for me, but I accept that sometimes a bit of reshaping is necessary.

 

[Hickory n steel]

I really don't like reshaping machete handles but that is precisely why I prefer wood handles. Change is a slow thing for me, but I accept that sometimes a bit of reshaping is necessary.

I have come to learn that a stock machete handle will almost never work for me
The orange handle on the little 14" Barrington pattern I got in my last 5pc lot Is the only time I was perfectly happy as is.

 

[22-rimfire]

I have come to learn that a stock machete handle will almost never work for me
The orange handle on the little 14" Barrington pattern I got in my last 5pc lot Is the only time I was perfectly happy as is.

Looks like a very useful little machete. My machete jobs tend to be small or short lived, so the short ones are used more than the longer ones. I tend to grab a 14" or 16" machete if I need to do some wacking even if a longer one would work better. However, I truly like the Condor wood handled El Salvador model (18"). It mostly sits in my office (man room) and when I'm in need of a machete, I usually go for the closer at hand ones.

 

[Zulus]

I always liked Ontario, Cold Steel ...
With moderate urban jungle use they will outlive you easily :^))
.
For other uses buy three.

 

[Henry Beige]

My Twenty-dollar Gavilan 5-pack came the other day. There was one ringer, a 28-inch Corneta bush machete, four inches longer than anything else I have. It was the only one I could put a quick edge on with a file. I took it out and tried it in some tall grass and weeds. The extra length was actually pretty nice, giving a lot of reach and allowing me to cut close to the ground without bending over too much.

The rest are going to need some work. There are pangas in 14” and 18”, an 18” tapanga, and a skinny 16-incher I don’t have a name for. It feels like it ought to be good for something, but I am not sure what.