custom machete

foxyrick said:
Never mind a custom machete, just find one of these:

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Al Mar Pathfind. 14" blade (near enough), stainless, razor sharp on both edges. Has cut a few trees down in its time and cleared campsites in very bushy areas.

Rick.
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do u know where i can find it? I really like this machete but can't seem to find it.
 
unknownguy, the Al Mar pathfinder pictured above has been out of production for quite a few years. Only way to find one is on the secondary market. Based on my experiences, Ill never use stainless steel on a "chopping type" knife. Ive had bad experiences with stainless steel, especially on bamboo. Even with custom made knives.
A friend of mine used to teach jungle fieldcraft to British troops in Belize, I sent him a forged 440V blade to test out, made by a known maker at that time. 2 months later, he returned it to me with large chips in the blade.
For knives that will see plenty of chopping, its better to stick to tool steels and carbon steel.
Just my 2 cents...
 
magneto said:
Here is on that is made from D2 tool steel. It is not as pretty as the Al Mar, but it sure is cheaper.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...&parentType=index&indexId=cat20889&hasJS=true
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Y'know, I thought the Kershaw Outcast looked a deal. I've seen them on Ebay for reasonable prices and it looks like a lot of D2 and a good handle for the money. Several folk here said that D2 wasn't a good choice for such a knife-- I'd sure like to put that to the test. Next windfall to my wallet might have to go to get one and see-- I'm kinda stubborn that way :D
 
DaleW, its only my humble opinion that D2 would be a very good choice for such a knife. My favorite "choppers" are all made from tool steel by various makers, have tried O1, A2, D2 and S7. A2 and D2 seemed to hold an edge the longest in the field.
 
DaleW said:
Y'know, I thought the Kershaw Outcast looked a deal. I've seen them on Ebay for reasonable prices and it looks like a lot of D2 and a good handle for the money. Several folk here said that D2 wasn't a good choice for such a knife-- I'd sure like to put that to the test. Next windfall to my wallet might have to go to get one and see-- I'm kinda stubborn that way :D
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When you get it and put it to the test, post the results here with a thorugh review, it will be much appreciated.
 
TALON158 said:
DaleW, its only my humble opinion that D2 would be a very good choice for such a knife. My favorite "choppers" are all made from tool steel by various makers, have tried O1, A2, D2 and S7. A2 and D2 seemed to hold an edge the longest in the field.
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There is quite a range in toughness amongst all those steels. S7 should take around 3 times more force to break than D2, according to Timken's specs (and 6 times more according to Crucible). D2 is in about the same class as most stainless in this regard. The only times I see people praise D2 for it's toughness, is when they're using it with edges horribly thick by my standards. But sure, if you're not getting big chunks blown out of the edge or blades breaking in half, (like I have with steels of comparable toughness), then you may as well take advantage of its wear resistance when chopping dirty stuff.
 
"D2 is in about the same class as most stainless in this regard." Got to disagree on this statement, D2 is nowhere near stainless in performance when chopping green bamboo in the jungle. All the stainless blades I and others have used have chipped while chopping bamboo, especially ones that are 5-7" in diameter.
My S7(by Robert Rippy) camp knife performs quite well, but I cant really tell the difference in toughness compared to the other tool steel "choppers" that I use while out in the field.
Sure, one can look at spec sheets, but I would rather concentrate on the person heat treating the blades and his techniques.
 
Bill Siegle said:
I used to offer custom machetes from 3V. "Custom" and "machete" are two words that the market has a hard time buying. That being said, there is nothing quite like a custom anything :) Sculpted handles that fit,steel choice with the specific traits YOU want and some thing missing from almost all commercial machetes, a descent sheath. If you have the funds to spend, find a maker and get your dream blade made. You'll be happy you did :D
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I would recommend one of Bill Siegle's many large knives/swords. He has made many of them for me and he currently has an order for more. His Hoodlums knives are excellent as machetes/large camp knives. Take a look at his home page; and if you don't see something that tickles the fancy, just ask him; he can be pursuaded to make exactly what you are looking for, and you would be hard pressed to find an easier maker to work with.

n2s
 
TALON158 said:
Got to disagree on this statement, D2 is nowhere near stainless in performance when chopping green bamboo in the jungle. All the stainless blades I and others have used have chipped while chopping bamboo, especially ones that are 5-7" in diameter.
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Cheap stainless? Geometry is often a huge factor. Some guys like Razorback make knives out of D2 with edges so thick that of course they are durable, but in general, D2 is a high carbide steel and actually more brittle than many stainless like 12C27M.

Sure, one can look at spec sheets, but I would rather concentrate on the person heat treating the blades and his techniques.
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While heat treating makes a difference, you would have to be totally incompetent to heat treat S7 and have toughness similar to D2. It would for example be like saying that someone could make a knife with a one inch blade chop as well as a 10" bowie. The large bowie maker would have to design a pretty awful knife in that case.

-Cliff
 
There were a couple threads on Bark River knives and that got me to surfing their site and I ran into their golock: http://www.barkriverknifetool.com/bushcraft/golok/index.html

Talk about coming down with a bad case of want fever! It is 17" overall, with an 11" blade, but geez, what a nice design for a bush rig. I found them running $105-$150ish on the web depending on the dealer and handle options. I need to mop the drool off my keyboard now....

Searching the forums, there are some satisfied owners. I did see the same sort of talk about the type of steel used and durabilty as with the Kershaw Outcast. Methinks there are myths to be debunked with alloys, tempering, and chopping tools. I need to get three or four nice knife makers to send me out in the woods to find out first hand, right guys?! :D

Seriously, this might be a good start on a custom if you must have a 15" blade. I'd take the stock one and go camping!
 
DaleW said:
I need to get three or four nice knife makers to send me out in the woods to find out first hand, right guys?! :D
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Yes you do! Why not contact 3 or 4 and ask that they send you one of there products for a unbiased review to be posted in bladeforums and that it will be returned upon completion. If I was the company in question I would send it out to generate business. All I can say is give them a chance. The very worst that can happen is them saying no. The best would be them saying "keep it, it is well deserved".
 
i own an outcast and here is what im gonna say.

its a decent knife for what i paid for but it needed some modifications.

the handle is the first thing you should consider working. it was kinda small for me and felt like it was slipping outta my hand when i was chopping. paracord wrap on the handle solved that issue.

next the factory edge on it does not bite to well. reprofiling and convexing the edge is what i'd suggest.

i have also removed the black finish off of my D2 outcast and given it a polish.

a buddy of mine recently got a D2 outcast and was jealous that mine could chop better then his :D

i've even used the outcast as a prybar to pry off long sections of ceder to use as planks on shelter roofs.

so keep in mind you may need to modify it a bit to make it "your" knife :D

cheers
 
TALON158 said:
DaleW, its only my humble opinion that D2 would be a very good choice for such a knife. My favorite "choppers" are all made from tool steel by various makers, have tried O1, A2, D2 and S7. A2 and D2 seemed to hold an edge the longest in the field.
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I too want to try out some D2. Maybe a Ka-Bar... I've heard people claim "it takes a lousy edge but holds it forever", which might not be such a terrible thing for a big basher. Do you have any trouble getting it good and sharp?
 
Cheap stainless? Geometry is often a huge factor. Some guys like Razorback make knives out of D2 with edges so thick that of course they are durable, but in general, D2 is a high carbide steel and actually more brittle than many stainless like 12C27M
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Cliff, first of all would like to say, I appreciate your writing. No, I did not chip cheap stainless blades. Nearly all were customs, including 1 made out of forged 440V by a retired maker, I would rather keep his name quiet.
Have never even heard of 12C27M in many years of collecting customs. Guess you have tested the steel? Have to disagree with you in D2 being brittle.
Jimmy Lile was one of the first to use D2 and he used it for all his knives, including camp/bowie knives. Remember him saying he heat treats to 58-60(cant be sure) and they are far from brittle. Have used one of his camp knives(no dot) for more than 20 years without any problems.
My other favourite D2 is a rounded point Aikuchi made by Phill Hartsfield in the early eighties before he switched to A2. Its 10 inch blade is 3/16 thick and is ground to a zero edge, its far from a thick edge. Its edge is 60-61 and is one of the best "bamboo cutters" I own. The owner before me used to test it on elk and moose bone.
Cliff, you certainly test a wide variety of steels and you are probably more scientific in your testing, I certainly respect that. I base my steel choice on my limited experience, thats all. Think we can agree to disagree.
On S7, Im just saying out in the "FIELD" I cant readily tell the difference in its toughness between it and other steels. I dont conduct scientific, controlled tests like you but Im not doubting that S7 is a tougher steel than others.
 
GibsonFan, no, no trouble in getting D2 shaving sharp. I usually use Norton oilstones and then a strop to get it shaving sharp. Usually takes slightly more time than O1 of a similar hardness. On my D2 Hartsfield, I usually bring it to Phills shop, where he uses a buffer, a few passes and its shaving.
 
foxyrick said:
Never mind a custom machete, just find one of these:

favtwo01.jpg


Al Mar Pathfind. 14" blade (near enough), stainless, razor sharp on both edges. Has cut a few trees down in its time and cleared campsites in very bushy areas.

Rick.
Click to expand...

There's one on eBay right now. Asking price is $1000.
 
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