I cant find the right machete!

i am on a good diet and have good endurance yes, i have never had any fatigue with mine, it is well balanced for my use, they are a reason they issued these to the military they just plain work
 
Faiaoga said:
Americans are not machete users. The Ontario is good, but too heavy for extended use. People who use machetes on a daily basis are the real market for good inexpensive working machetes - the Tramontina and some others supply that market. :cool:
Click to expand...

A very good point. I teach machete technique to my customers as most don't really know how to use them effectively. Plastic handles are awful but with good technique you can overcome them.
 
AmericanMad said:
they just plain work
Click to expand...

Arguably not as well as they could. That is not to say that they aren't good, but rather that there are machetes by other manufacturers that are competitive on both price and performance. Nevertheless, they're the one real USA-made machete that's not a deluxe offering. They're good tools, but their military issue history and USA manufacture tend to blind folks to their shortcomings in handling dynamics, functional form factor, and ergonomics. History and country of origin are worth something, but they don't cut brush. I wouldn't feel under-equipped if I were issued one, but there are other makes/models I would readily choose first.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
When you have to use the tool with very few breaks, for periods in excess of an hour straight, then the Ontarios turn to lead in your hand. For short spurts of high intensity chopping work they're just fine, but they're a "sprinting" tool rather than a "long distance" tool. Machetes made for blue collar (or no collar) field laborers in developing nations tend to have a bit more grace to them.
Click to expand...

I can second this notion from experience. It also depends upon what a person's definition of extended use is. For me, on long treks in the (usually not very nice, thick and nasty) woods for work, the Ontario is way too heavy for extended use. I don't even cut trails...it's to cut stuff when needed, and push stuff out of the way as well to help me move more efficiently. The one time I took it out for a long trek (even after cutting it back some), my shoulder was toast by the end of the field work...both from carrying the weight (I don't carry in a sheath so I can use it throughout the day) and from using it. It's a great chopper for around a property or something, and packing it for firewood work would be fine too, but for actual in-my-hand-for-hours the Ontarios are too heavy. My Tramontina bolo gets the call for super long field treks, or my Tramontina bush machete or my Marbles machete for other work where a longer machete is better.
 
pjwoolw said:
A very good point. I teach machete technique to my customers as most don't really know how to use them effectively. Plastic handles are awful but with good technique you can overcome them.
Click to expand...

i would agree about plastic handles, but very easily remedied with a little grip tape, i like the ontario lines because of the durability, i have beat the heck out of mine and it still chops as good as the day i got it, not many can say that with the cheaper steels some of them use today
 
With the Ontarios the choice of 1095 for the steel is mostly a matter of convenience for material sourcing. They already use it in a bunch of other knives so they use what they're already getting. Makes manufacturing simpler for them. But the 1075 used in quality machetes by Imacasa/Condor and Tramontina easily gets to the appropriate hardness range for a machete. Martindale, Hansa, Incolma, Bellota etc. don't actively disclose the steel they use, but it's probably in the same range. Cold Steel's machetes (made in South Africa by Lasher Tools) use 1055 which they run a little softer than I prefer in a machete, but it's still perfectly serviceable, especially once you get past the commonly burnt steel at the edge from their rather careless rough-grinding. Inexpensive doesn't necessarily mean cheap.

As far as the plastic handles go, injection molded polypropylene handles are actually my preferred type so long as the ergonomics were well thought out in the design phase. But on the Ontarios they can be sanded down with a bit of work. It's just kind of stupid for any plastic handle to have such poor ergonomics. The whole point of sinking the money into a plastics mold is to be able to reliably and repeatedly crank out highly formed parts without shaping work being required. Older Ontarios with the bakelite type handle material look like they have the same shape at first glance, but the scales are actually of much nicer shape that's actually pretty comfortable despite still having a boxy appearance.
 
i agree to a point, some of the machetes you see are cheap 440 or mov steel, and wouldn't stand to a few whacks, i do recognize the need of a good handle, believe it or not the gerber gator has one of the most comfortable handles i have seen on a machete, that being said there are a lot of good ones out there, i like the condor, and marbles line, but my got o will always be the ontario , i have yet to chip the blade and i have cut about everything with it
 
I know that you said "Made in America". But consider the Tramontinas. The 14 inch one fits well in a backpack. I'd go longer if I had to select one for serious, all day brush clearing. They are the right weight to use all day and the blade is the right hardness that it holds an edge but it's pretty easy to sharpen. At $11-14 per blade, you can stash several wherever you are likely to need them. For a couple fo extra bucks, Baryonyx Knife Co offers to change the blade proifile. That's a good value in my book. Machete Specialists sells pretty good sheaths for them that run $13-15. The T's are prices low enough that I don't feel too bad about touching up the blade in the field with one of the bargain bin $3 carbide "sharpeners" either. Everyone that has borrowed one of my Tramontinas has remarked how well it cut and how comfortable it was to swing. I do NOT like the WWII style machetes for extended use.
 
Instead of a machete you could always get a RTAK-11 or Junglas which are big knives. I have the RTAK and it works fine for me, I even baton with it.
Just a thought.
 
marbat said:
Instead of a machete you could always get a RTAK-11 or Junglas which are big knives. I have the RTAK and it works fine for me, I even baton with it.
Just a thought.
Click to expand...

yes i have the Rtak2, it is a beast of a knife, would work well as a chopper for sure, and is pretty comfortable if you have big hands of course
 
I guess that's true! My contribution is this. The best bang for the money is either:

A Marbles 18" (can be had for a bit more than an Imacasa but I think this handle is better...feels great..new and fixed, up respectively):



A Tramontina 18" (new and modded, respectively):



Or the Tramontina Bolo (new, compared to the modded Tram for comparison). I suspect the Marbles (Imacasa) bolo is quite good as well and is on the list of things I want to add to my collection :)
 
Last edited:
And here's my cut 22" (down to about 19" currently) Ontario for comparison to the Tram and some others. Much thicker and heavier, and the handle took a lot of work (way more than the Trams and Marbles).

 
That's the first time I ever seen a Fiskars machete. Did not know they made one till now.
Finland or made in China?
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
China.
Click to expand...

Yep...bought it on a whim. It never really gets used. The steel takes an okay edge but doesn't keep it well (like the Gerber Gator machetes...I have the small one), and the handle is rubberized which would lead to blisters in short order. It's really only good for grassy type stuff. It's pretty floppy too and a bit unweildy. It's probably going to get cut down or used as a loaner or given away.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top