How many use a machete...

Absolutely. You tell people up here how useful a Tram bolo is for the bush and they shake their head and think you're a psycho, .............. until they use one. I don't, for a moment, compare it to an axe but because I have a back problem, I can't use an axe, so the machete carries the day for me. I consider it much safer than a hatchet, especially when you're cold, tired, etc.

I don't use it too much now because of my Cincinnatti Becker Machax which is hands down, my favourite blade. If I didn't have it though, the Tram would be on all my canoeing, car camping trips.

Doc
 
mckrob said:
This particular CS Kukri is marked as "Carbon V" blade steel, does anyone know if CS still makes this Kukri of Carbon V? if so where is the best place to get one? I can't remember where I bought this one.
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Rob, Carbon V was made by Camillus for Cold Steel. When Camillus was run into the ground by its last owners, Carbon V went the way of Camillus. No more Carbon V.
 
I seem to can't find anything on Martindale Golok #2. Does anybody know where I can find one?

It seem that alot of people don't use the Bolo model very much. I wonder if I can get a sheath for it also. It look like it going to be complicated to find or make one.
 
I use a Machete often to trim the small branches and twigs off of my walking sticks while I am out collecting them. I carry a 12 inch Tram or Ontario in my camping stuff as it could be used in a pinch for all my camping chores. I carry one in the boat in case I am stranded out in a storm over night. For my use, almost any Machete will do the job so I rarely spend more that what a Tram costs. Great Machete for the money IMO.
 
sportsmansguide has the #2 but wants $64.97 for it. Then again you lucky people get two $s for every one of my measly £s. cutsforthknives also has them but I don't know for how much. Either the site or me is behaving not quite as it should, and with it being 04.25 here I don't have the will to diagnose it now.
 
I don't think Cutsforth has any stock left. Loink's jungleknife.com has them, though.

The Sportsman's Guide model might not be a true Martindale. I have a shorter version, and it has no maker's stamp or crocodile on it. The "sheath" is an SA-80 bayonet frog.

JR
 
I definitely prefer the bolo type cutlass. Nice rounded tip for directed chopping and also is just right for scooping out coconuts. Of late I am using a 14 inch blade imacasa, from El Salvador. Sheathes are more of a problem. I picked up some Cold Steel Bolo Machete sheathes last time I was in the USA, but I'm not impressed. The ones I got don't have a real back, just 2 straps. The sheath sort of works in my pack, but if I put the cutlass in the basket on my bike it tends to rattle loose. You can make your own sheath from irrigation hose. There are instructions on Knife forums at http://knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/777356/tp/1/
 
I have a 12" D handled Ontario that I use around the yard alot. I has taken alot of abuse.
 
I have at least a dozen machetes of various types. I use them all Summer long. If you're looking for a very good bolo, the Condor is nice.
Bolos018.jpg

If you want a cheaper one, the Tramontina is a winner, but you will need to shape the handle, find a sheath, and put a decent edge on it.
Bolos011.jpg

The Cold Steel is a very good bolo machete, and you can get a sheath with it. I hate the handle shape, though.
Bolos014.jpg
 
JR42 said:
The Sportsman's Guide model might not be a true Martindale. I have a shorter version, and it has no maker's stamp or crocodile on it. The "sheath" is an SA-80 bayonet frog.

JR
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That's a very good flag to put up. In this case I think one is on safe ground with the Sportsman's Guide offering though [yet paying through the nose for it]. I've seen a bunch of legit stuff sold under the Pro Force front end; good example. That said, I did nothing to disguise my antipathy toward the young pretender here; horrible warning.
 
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I used to have a nice/cheap machete but I lent it to a firend while camping and the next thing I knew it was gone.

I bought one of the Becker machete blanks on ebay but have yet to grind away on it. I also plan on getting one of the tramontina bolos as well as the 12" latin style.
 
TwinBlade said:
You betcha I do. I never thought I needed one til I got one. Unbelievably handy and purposeful.
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That pretty much sums it up for me, as well. I bought my first machete, an 18" Ontario, last year.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
My dad grew us as an army brat, and for part of his childhood he was in the Panama Canal Zone. He had some pretty wild stories about the boyscout camping trips there. They (he and his brother) also slept with machetes by their beds for the occasional snake that would wander in overnight and need dealing with before getting out of bed.

I always used a hatchet growing up, never carried a machete.
 
I use 'em for yard work, car camping and off roading.

The ones I use most:

12 & 18" Ontario D-guard.

14 & 18" Tramontinas.

18" CS latin & Kukri machete.

Gerber/Fiskars brush thinner.


They are all pretty good, but if I had to pick just one, it would be the 18" Ontario D-guard.
 
I picked up a Disston machete at a flea market, and have used it for chopping around the farm. My Camp Tramp is more fun to use, but that machete hacked up a small branch. Also, if I get tree sap all over it, doesn't matter to me. Wipe it down after I use it, clean it up. It's carbon steel, and boy does it show its age. The handles are not comfortable, and I would like to replace them. Also, the nylon sheath is crap, I'd like to make a kydex insert for the sheath.
 
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