cold steel or tramontina?

I have a 14" Trimontina Bolo that works great.

My 18" Ontario is a bit too flexable for wood.
 
Tramontina over CS every day of the week, and twice on Tuesdays. :thumbup:
 
Myal said:
Of the two , Id go tramontina

but given the choice , Id go Okapi over Tramontina

but thats just me :)

it depends a lot on what you can lay hands on
Click to expand...

Interesting. I've wondered if Okapi machetes are, in fact, the same as CS machetes. They share several characteristics, country of origin, patterns, steel...
 
Cold Steel is made by Okapis opposition , Lasher , as far as I know , they are a South African manufacturer also .

http://www.lasher.co.za/main.asp?subcat=5


Okapi use a better heat treat than Lasher , and they do their own work , well mostly anyway , they also do manufacturing for several other companies , and their "c" knives , c1217 , c1415 etc have blades made by Ciol , Portugal .

the mixin and matchin in the knife world is intense :)

Edit: okapi do their own work , where as Cold Steel get their knives made by others , you do not buy a knife made by cold steel , but a knife made by one of many knife making factories and rebadged "cold steel"
 
i really appreciate all the replies. i think i'm gonna go with the 12' tramontina
it's only 5.99 so that will leave some $$$ for a couple of folders, the gerber
lariat and a s.a.k. bantam.
my brother is getting a cold steel khukuri (he really wants the soild proof video) thanks
 
I have a Tramontina, and it's the best Machete I ever owned. I don't know much about Cold Steel, or Ontario, but it sure beats the junk they sell at China-Mart.
 
ashtxsniper said:
Wow you would have to be pretty strong to swing a 12' machete.
Click to expand...

Must be from Texas? :confused:

Just pulling your leg, ats.

J.C. be careful when you buy your Tramontina. I really like the Tramontinas, I have/had but recently the ones offered for sale up here have been considerably thinner and lack the weight to do a good job.

Doc
 
I have 18" inch Ontario, good but little too heavy,CS magnum kukri machete that warped the first day when repeatedly hit hornbeam and dozen of Tramontinas- 10" to 20".16" Tramontina is the best choice for me,but have to carefully choose from stock,for some are bend, some chiped, and be prepare to invest some time in sharpening.In Croatia Tramontinas comes with awful plastic handle,so I remove it and put some beech scales.
 
ashtxsniper said:
Wow you would have to be pretty strong to swing a 12' machete.
Click to expand...

DOC-CANADA said:
Must be from Texas? :confused:

Just pulling your leg, ats.

J.C. be careful when you buy your Tramontina. I really like the Tramontinas, I have/had but recently the ones offered for sale up here have been considerably thinner and lack the weight to do a good job.

Doc
Click to expand...

lol, no not texas, alabama. but we do have some good sized pines and oaks.
i might want to build myself a log cabin
my mistake of course, 12''
 
mariobab said:
I have 18" inch Ontario, good but little too heavy,CS magnum kukri machete that warped the first day when repeatedly hit hornbeam and dozen of Tramontinas- 10" to 20".16" Tramontina is the best choice for me,but have to carefully choose from stock,for some are bend, some chiped, and be prepare to invest some time in sharpening.In Croatia Tramontinas comes with awful plastic handle,so I remove it and put some beech scales.
Click to expand...

Hey mariobab,

You mention beech scales. I recently got a few machetes from Linders and they have beech wood scales. They are very dark like Black Walnut (over here). I thought it was just a stain, but I sanded off the sharp corners on the scales and it is dark beneath. Our Beech (Fagus grandifolia) has white wood. What is the botanical name (binomial) for your Beech?

Thanks,

Doc
 
My Tramontina is on the thin side, especially for hacking through a mix of phragmites and softwood trees that I usually encounter around here when I need to use a machete, so typically I use an Ontario (I'm a big fan of the hand guard on the Ontarios as well).

Of the machetes that I own, I'd rate them as follows:
1- Ontario (heavy duty, good ergonomics)
2- Tramontina (light weight, good for light work)
3- Cold Steel (better than the crap you can buy from Home Depot or Walmart)
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Hey mariobab,

You mention beech scales. I recently got a few machetes from Linders and they have beech wood scales. They are very dark like Black Walnut (over here). I thought it was just a stain, but I sanded off the sharp corners on the scales and it is dark beneath. Our Beech (Fagus grandifolia) has white wood. What is the botanical name (binomial) for your Beech?

Thanks,

Doc
Click to expand...

Our beech (Fagus silvatica) also has white wood.Don`t know for Linders,but I have 2 10" Ausonia-exact copy of Linders-same dark scales appears like walnut,maybe treated with something.Martindales are beech and they are white.
 
I have limbed a big pine tree with the Cold Steel Heavy machete and it worked fabulously after I put an edge on it and reprofiled the handle (VERY LARGE- and I have big hands)
I own 4 other Cold Steel machetes but have not put them through their paces yet.
my opinion only
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top