Good Machete???

C

Chopsticks

Joined
Jul 1, 2003
Messages
243
Hi, I'm thinking of buying a machete for a friend. Since I usually have class during Uncle Bill's blem posts, I probably can't get him a khuk with the limited budget of around 60 bucks...

Anyone have experience with good machetes for around that price???

Or maybe I should wait for a khuk blem, or something...

I would've posted this on another section of the BladeForum but the Khuk Kantina is more familiar to me since I rarely read any other. :)

Thanks!
 
Try Daren Cutsforth at
Cutsforthknives
He carries Martindale machetes at a very reasonable price. Wide variety and also carries Gransfors Bruk Axes.
Not to put in a plug for somebody else over HI but if you want a true machete try Daren.
 
The Camillus (BK&T) BK6 Patrol Machete is pretty damned decent. It's designed after the Parang from the Philippines...

Retails at the Camillus website for about a hundred bucks, but you can find it at Botach Tactical for $69, and maybe even cheaper elsewhere.
 
Kabar makes a couple of inexpensive machetes from 1085 steel. I bought the cutlass model for $34, and they make a Kukri for about the same amount.
They are not like Hi Imports, but they may be worth more than you pay.
 
Tramontina makes a pretty decent machete and it would be well within your budget. Another place you could try would be Valiant, and get a golok. That would also be within your budget. Check out some of the testing Cliff Stamp has done, both of these companies did well.
 
Chop:

www.benmeadows.com has Martindale machetes for under $20 (the Boars Head line is martindale - has alligator stamp). I got one of these about two years ago and they have good flex and the steel is very hard. The handles are crude, but are easily replaced.

The reason I got the Martindale is that my partner broke my Ontario Machete clearing brush the same year. Recently I gifted him with an 18" AK and told him to "try and break this one." He is a pretty strong guy, but I think it will last him.
 
After checking out the Valiant Co's offerings I'm going to have to give them a strong vote for some chopping fun. Sorry that you are missing out on some of the deals, I have been there myself. Again, if you would like some third world style, but don't think you'll catch up with a blem/villager, check out a golok.
 
My favorite is the English #358-18 Ralph Martindales or the Robert Moles. I spent the day yesterday
rehandling a Martindale and a Robert Mole(English also) that I got for a song off of Ebay.

Both were Jamaican tourist purchases that had crude wooden scabbards.
I first remove the old wood handles then I make the replacements by cutting 13 to 18 inch handles from the raw hickory handles found in the garden tool section of most building supply stores. I then saw a groove down the center to fit the blade into and use 6mm bolts from Ace to hold the new handle to the blade. These handle lenghts (13/18") will result in the balance point of the machete being almost always exactly where the wood ends(bolster area) after the blade is seated.

What makes the Moles and Martindale's so attractive to me is that they have a distal taper. Once you've cut with a distal tapered blade you'll never go back to the others. They also have grooves running down the blade that helps keep them from getting stuck in very soft vegetation/wood.

After the handle is in place, I use PC-7 epoxy to fill any spaces and to level the top and bottom grooves where the blade fits into the handle.

This is probably more than you ever wanted to know about shade tree machete building but it makes a fun project and the result is an exceptional tool.

Had to rehandle the Mole as the handle at 13" was too short and the blade would not balance for a perfect swinging draw cut.I put on a 18" handle and it works fine. Your hand will automatically adjust/move along the handle to that spot that feels just right for the cut you're about to make.
 
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