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Choppig with my Nicholson/Collins

FortyTwoBlades

FortyTwoBlades

Baryonyx walkeri
Dealer / Materials Provider
Joined
Mar 8, 2008
Messages
26,041
So I finally got out in the woods with that Nicholson/Collins that I modded up a while back. It was absolutely freezing out today with a huge wind chill, but I just felt the need to go adventuring anyway because this is Maine, dammit, and we don't let the weather tell us what we can do. :D

Lots of snow!
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I had to trek across this open field to get to the woods. The wind was nasty!
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Fortunately I had layered myself up nicely in my vintage air force snorkel parka. :cool:
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Found a dead tree and decided to have a go at it.
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Man, for a cheap $6 machete (these things aren't the same as the old Collins after all) it sure did a spectacular job! One hell of a bite, and the edge didn't dull a bit even after repeated strikes on frozen wood.

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Some more pics of the woods where I was.
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I moved on a little further to where a dead spruce trunk was sticking up out of the snow. It had been a recent fall, so the wood wasn't rotten in the least. You can see the good penetration of the first strike.
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After the second one.
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And a good clean finish!
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Even though it was a relatively short test, the only complaint I have with this machete is I need to smooth out the seams of the plastic handle scales a little. Edge retention, flexibility, and chopping capability were all excellent--especially given the low cost!
 
Looks like a fake, you should send it to me to authenticate it.










In all seriousness, well done :thumbup:
 
BarberFobic1992 said:
Looks like a good time. That mirror finish looks great too :thumbup:
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It only took me about 2 weeks of sanding to get it on there by hand. :p

JNieporte said:
Looks like a fake, you should send it to me to authenticate it.
In all seriousness, well done :thumbup:
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Hayes Instrument has them online if anyone is interested. They have some nice leather sheaths, too. :):thumbup:
 
Very nice! Great job on that blade, it looks like it chops great. I don't know what it is but super cold days always make me want to go on a little adventure too. :thumbup:
 
It was a blast. It's a bit of a hike in--you can't tell from the photos but that field is pretty huge and I can't just cut straight across since there's a stream at the edge of it.

Overall I think that for $6.00 the Nicholson/Collins machete is a great Tramontina alternative for folks looking at a budget chopper. :)
 
So, are you taking requests from folks who'd like you to mirror-finish their Collins for them? ;)

Do you give discounts for bulk orders? :D Like, say, maybe 20 at a time? I'm sure your wife would be thrilled!

Thanks for the review, bro. Looks mighty chilly up in them woods! Great to see how a machete holds up to choppin' in the cold! Conditions there are about as tough as you're likely to see in the lower 48- if a machete can hold up in the Maine cold, against tough-ass Maine wood, it can take just about anything! :thumbup:

Edit: As far as smoothing out the seams on those plastic handles, I've done that a few times lately on similar machetes. I use a Mora to carve away the plastic until it's nearly flush with the steel, and then finish up with sandpaper, until everything's nice and smooth. If there are any gaps, you can fill them in with epoxy. I dinged up one of my Moras pretty good doing this, but it cleaned up beautifully.
 
moonwilson said:
So, are you taking requests from folks who'd like you to mirror-finish their Collins for them? ;)

Do you give discounts for bulk orders? :D Like, say, maybe 20 at a time? I'm sure your wife would be thrilled!
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Heh. Maybe once I'm in a place where I can use a power sander and I get a real buffer. I loved polishing metal parts when I worked for Morris Yachts Goodness knows a lot of machetes deserve a little beauty treatment! :D

Thanks for the review, bro. Looks mighty chilly up in them woods! Great to see how a machete holds up to choppin' in the cold! Conditions there are about as tough as you're likely to see in the lower 48- if a machete can hold up in the Maine cold, against tough-ass Maine wood, it can take just about anything! :thumbup:
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Indeed! We've got everything from white and red pines to beech and red oak. Combine that with the frigid temps (with the windchill it felt several degrees below zero yesterday) and you've got some real good testing conditions! :eek:

Edit: As far as smoothing out the seams on those plastic handles, I've done that a few times lately on similar machetes. I use a Mora to carve away the plastic until it's nearly flush with the steel, and then finish up with sandpaper, until everything's nice and smooth. If there are any gaps, you can fill them in with epoxy. I dinged up one of my Moras pretty good doing this, but it cleaned up beautifully.
Click to expand...

Yeah, there's only a little to remove so a quick carve-n'-sand will take care of it in about 5 minutes of easy work. :cool:
 
The weather is rugged and beautiful--but you sure gotta' bundle up! You can tell how pleased the wind was making me here. :eek::D

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Reminds me of living in Iowa. It gets so frigging cold there that if you wear a balaclava, a nice snowball will form over your mouth from the moisture in your breath. You get icicles on your eyelashes, and you can feel your eyes trying to freeze shut when you blink. When the wind whips up, it feels like somebody's holding a blowtorch to any exposed skin. Nasty.

One of the many reasons I'm glad I live in Atlanta! It's in the 60s most of the winter here. :thumbup:
 
Eh I used to live in NH, loved it, but no work.

Still have my M51 arctic parka with that same hood (forgot what it was, there's a small difference between the Army and Air Force models), and I have the polypro Armored Crewman's Balaclava, arctic mittens, etc. Hope to be able to move back some day, or out to Montana.
 
Cpl Punishment said:
Eh I used to live in NH, loved it, but no work.
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I loved living in Iowa too, but same story- no work. It took me a while to get used to it, but I got so I enjoyed the cold. It made doing everything in the winter an adventure. You had to seriously gear up before going outside, and doing everything outside was like a mission. Get that car dug out and scraped quick! Too cold to do the whole windshield- just make a porthole and drive with your face near the glass so you can sorta see where you're going! :D
 
Nice pictures. Which I had that depth of snow! We got just enough to cover the soles of our shoes.
 
moonwilson said:
I got so I enjoyed the cold. It made doing everything in the winter an adventure. You had to seriously gear up before going outside, and doing everything outside was like a mission. Get that car dug out and scraped quick! Too cold to do the whole windshield- just make a porthole and drive with your face near the glass so you can sorta see where you're going! :D
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I've been in that situation more times than I care to count! :D
 
Great stuff buddy. Maine looks so beautiful, I really need to get up there some day.

Maybe spring though ;)
 
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