Chopping trees with a tramontina 18 inch

Once you hit ~1090 heat treatment becomes more finicky, and the steel is more prone to rusting and is overall less tough. This is why Ontario's use of 1095 in their military machetes is a bit mystifying.
 
SK-5 seems like a slightly more interesting steel. My only gripe with 1070 is the somewhat higher than normal sulphur at .05% (most others stay to under .03%)
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it's worth saying 80crv2 is the best of these budget low cost carbon steels, since they stick to max .025% sulphur and add all sorts of little goodies in small amounts (Cr, V, Ni, Si)

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why is so hard to find a decent plain machete that uses 80crv2?
 
I wouldn't want to chop a tree that big with a machete but I would like to see it done so please get some or WIP pictures. I suspect it will take a while unless the tree is really soft, might still take a while. Wrap the handle well, your hand is going to take a beating from the shock and vibration of hitting the wood.
 
Sourcing in proper stock thickness and format for the manufacturing equipment being used is a common factor in steel selection.
 
that's why I expect I'll end up making my own 80crv2 machete, it just feels proper... the only real question is will I make a close copy of the tramo 18 or try something diff? I'll likely stick to a 2 foot bar, 1.5 inches wide, and either 1/8 stock or perhaps 3/16... hard to decide
 
dirc said:
that's why I expect I'll end up making my own 80crv2 machete, it just feels proper... the only real question is will I make a close copy of the tramo 18 or try something diff? I'll likely stick to a 2 foot bar, 1.5 inches wide, and either 1/8 stock or perhaps 3/16... hard to decide
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1/8" or less. There's rarely a need to go over that unless you're putting a strong distal taper on it and just using the stock thickness for lateral bracing in blades 20" or longer.
 
I'm using one to trim a Jade plant in my front yard on Thursday but we are talking a water based succulent not wood.
 
:) You've just got to have "High Hopes" , then even an ant can move a rubber tree plant ! :p:cool::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 
I've chopped a decent amount with a few machetes. Only real edge damage has been from stones, hitting dirt then chopping massive weeds close to the ground.

I have no idea how tough rubber trees are, but you should be able to manage it. Bring a way to sharpen the machete if needed. I have bent a Cold Steel machete slightly hammering the spine through wood, but it was easy to true.
 
I had a rubber tree in my yard as a kid it had maybe a 9 inch trunk and it was huge (30' tall). We cut it down in stages but was all done with a chain saw. No way would I touch a 16" diameter tree without a powered tool. Even if I had to rent one.

I love, love to chop stuff with blades but what you are describing would be brutal.
 
Interesting video. Std machete use edge angle will likely sustain damage on wood. Likely what happened with mine. At 7 minutes you can see the typical damage I have seen on mine.

 
I've seen that footage before and as he explains in the video it's because the branches are dead, dry, and hard, and he's deliberately using purposely poor technique that produces torque on the edge. The best way to take those sorts of limbs out is to strike them at the base using the spine of the blade to shatter them off, or else make cuts at an angle near the base of the branch or at a slant away from the branch. He even specifically mentions that at a 15° per side it wouldn't pose any challenge. He's probably got it down closer to 10° per side.

I respect a lot of Cliff's work, but I personally feel as though he has a very narrow understanding of machete tuning and contexts of use, although he makes them work for what he needs them to do. If one were using a machete purely for lush vegetation cutting you could probably take it down to something like 8° per side and it'd do great, but be easily rippled by rigid wood targets. But a more general purpose machete is going to be more like 12-15° per side and it'll perform just fine even in very rough applications.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I've seen that footage before and as he explains in the video it's because the branches are dead, dry, and hard, and he's deliberately using purposely poor technique that produces torque on the edge. The best way to take those sorts of limbs out is to strike them at the base using the spine of the blade to shatter them off, or else make cuts at an angle near the base of the branch or at a slant away from the branch. He even specifically mentions that at a 15° per side it wouldn't pose any challenge. He's probably got it down closer to 10° per side.

I respect a lot of Cliff's work, but I personally feel as though he has a very narrow understanding of machete tuning and contexts of use, although he makes them work for what he needs them to do. If one were using a machete purely for lush vegetation cutting you could probably take it down to something like 8° per side and it'd do great, but be easily rippled by rigid wood targets. But a more general purpose machete is going to be more like 12-15° per side and it'll perform just fine even in very rough applications.
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Could be. I have never used a machete on hard woods. It has always been in wet environments, mostly regions in South America. However, I will be in high altitude forests next month. I will take one or two of my machetes and see how it performs on those woods. Should be interesting.
 
I tried cutting off a piece of 2 inch bamboo that had fallen over. The 14 inch Tramontina Latin-pattern machete was sharp, but wanted to bounce off. The bamboo wasn't supported and was dried. The outer portion was harder than woodpecker lips - lots of silica.
 
USMCPOP said:
I tried cutting off a piece of 2 inch bamboo that had fallen over. The 14 inch Tramontina Latin-pattern machete was sharp, but wanted to bounce off. The bamboo wasn't supported and was dried. The outer portion was harder than woodpecker lips - lots of silica.
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Dry bamboo is tough stuff, and you're not gonna' have an easy time cutting it even with tools designed for the task. A fine-toothed saw is probably going to do the best job of it.
 
....you could also get in and out of your car thru the sunroof.....
the question is, why?
 
Cobalt said:
Interesting video. Std machete use edge angle will likely sustain damage on wood. Likely what happened with mine. At 7 minutes you can see the typical damage I have seen on mine.

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Interesting video. I think the big takeaway for me on that one is that it damages easily but repairs easily. I have had pretty decent luck with my 18" tram but for the type of work done in the video, golok or parang all the way. I think the extra 1/16" makes all the difference and it's more comfortable doing so. The goloks I've used just seem to suffer from ricochet if you get a bad angle or bump something compared to the shorter, thicker stock things. They also seem to vibrate less.

Still, neither are a fun way to spend a week trying to chop down a 16" rubber tree but I suppose that would make a good workout. CROSSFIT!
 
: ) lol, since this thread seems to be possibly a troll type setup or fishing attempt, we have managed to keep it funny and onside ; )

but seriously, if you were all designing your own machete, would you follow the 18 tramo (aka traditional - ultra simple - straight w slight curve) or do a kind of larger tip kukri/bolo type tip. At 1/8th it would be quite lightweight, but 3/16th would be a chopper

what steel would you use (and before yall jump on 3v, keep the cost in mind: ) - a 2 foot piece of 3v in that width would be near $100
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if i actually had in mind chopping bamboo/rubber/hardwood, 3v might do the trick, but at least 3/16ths and a sort of semi ffg - seems like an interesting project ; ) ... or just go to 1/4 inch and call it an axe-blade ?
 
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