I need advice on buying a machete

solman

solman

Joined
Nov 19, 2014
Messages
180
Hello all knife nuts,
I am looking for a good machete to clear overgrown vines on my fence line. Nothing thicker than about 1/4 -3/8 of an inch in diameter. These vines seem pretty tough as aI tried a box store cheap machete that did nothing at all. I know nothing about machetes and so I would appreciate any advice and recommendations. I would go to $50.00 or so for the right choice.
 
By "Tram" he means the Tramontina brand of machetes. Bolo style if you are doing more chopping, bush style for typical brush clearing. They are inexpensive but very good.
 
^Tramontina, makes a great cheap/quality machete.

Good steel.

Only downfall is the factory edge can be a bit dull sometimes, but; the blade, sheath, a sharpening puck, and honing oil, can all be had for about $35; and you can't really beat that...
 
I'll happily jump on the Tramontina bandwagon as the most bang for your buck. Condor if you need a sheath and want a more comfortable, finished handle and edge.
 
Tram for sure. Great heat treat, just need some handle work to really shine. I've got two and use them both a lot.
 
If you are willing to pay a little bit more, go Condor. If you want something cheap, Imacasa, Cold Steel, or Tramontina can all cover your needs. Both Imacasa and Tram will need some work put into them before use, Condor should be usable out of the box, Cold Steel will depend on the model(newer ones are mostly usable out of box, older models will need work).

If you don't want to put work into them, order from baryonyxknife.com and pay the extra few dollars for their special grade service. Baryonyx carries Condor, Cold Steel, Tram, and Imacasa, so you have your choice of options there.
 
Just use a file and sharpen the box store one. I got all brands and even the chinese made harbor freight 5 bucker i have takes an edge and works.

Many budget machetes comes with unfinished edges. The cheaper they are the less finished edge you get. Best bang for then bucks are trams and imacasas. There are other good ones but they cost more and often their edges are finished poorly as well. Condors are imacasa but finished nicer. Ontarios are good but thick heavy and awkward imho. Cold steels run soft but arent bad. Some chinese are decent and others not so much.
 
jbmonkey said:
Just use a file and sharpen the box store one. I got all brands and even the chinese made harbor freight 5 bucker i have takes an edge and works.
Click to expand...

Depends on the box store. I got one from Walmart once, and the handle completely cracked in 2 on ONE swing. I've read of other people having the same problem. Several reviews had the blade itself breaking. Using a file and sharpening it would in NO way have made that a viable machete.
 
Which ever one you buy make sure you get a very long one. Reaching vines with a shorty machete is a pain. I used a 24" machete for that and it worked really well. When I went to my 18" and it was quite a bit harder to clear weeds and vines. You can probably get two sizes for under the price you are thinking anyway.
 
Look at "express" brand. I haven't seen then for sale in my area, but I've read that the "home improvement stores" sell them. Made in USA, carbon steel, and flexible.
I've single-swiped 3" trees with mine.
 
My favorite is the 18" latin pattern Condor El Salvador with the wood handle. It is a little expensive but worth every penny with the high quality leather sheath that many machetes do not come with. The sheath is easily worth $20-$25. Try finding a leather sheath for cheap for a machete? Mostly you see these cheap and vinyl and canvas things that the machete cuts its way out of over a short time and you have to replace it again.
 
DShiflet said:
Depends on the box store. I got one from Walmart once, and the handle completely cracked in 2 on ONE swing. I've read of other people having the same problem. Several reviews had the blade itself breaking. Using a file and sharpening it would in NO way have made that a viable machete.
Click to expand...

Sure there are good and bad, but the op has the box store one. I'll bet it didnt have a finished edge. Never seen a box store one that did yet. He might as well try to get it sharp and use it since he already spent the money on it. Hence my suggestion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top