I need help finding a Machete!

bowman78

bowman78

Joined
Oct 29, 2014
Messages
104
Hey,
I'm looking for a nice machete. I don't know too much about them, but I have a few preferences here. I found a few questions some people ask about machetes so I'll answer a few of em' here.
  • Stainless Steel, if not it has to have a decent amount of Chromium. Its just very humid and rainy here.
  • While I carry a Machete, I commonly will have a knife and hatchet on me. Basically the Machete doesn't need to do a job its not meant for.
  • I'd commonly use this for in dense woods, in the boreal, jungle. Basically bush whacking.
  • I'd use this mainly in the wilderness, I like the idea of being able to protect myself with it. (The kukri style catches my eye due to this)

Thanks in advance for all the help guys!
~Cheers!
 
I believe you may have stumbled into the wrong forum here mate. This could quite possibly be more suited to the wilderness and survival sub forum or outdoor gear sub forums. Sorry I can't offer any substantive advice but those folks will surely be able to help you.
James.
 
42blades/baryonyx is a purveyor of such things. He has a strong presence in the Axe subforum.
 
Student762 said:
I believe you may have stumbled into the wrong forum here mate. This could quite possibly be more suited to the wilderness and survival sub forum or outdoor gear sub forums. Sorry I can't offer any substantive advice but those folks will surely be able to help you.
James.
Click to expand...

A Machete is a fixed blade, is it not?
Either way thanks for the hint!
 
Hey,
I'm looking for a nice machete. I don't know too much about them, but I have a few preferences here. I found a few questions some people ask about machetes so I'll answer a few of em' here.
  • Stainless Steel, if not it has to have a decent amount of Chromium. Its just very humid and rainy here.
  • While I carry a Machete, I commonly will have a knife and hatchet on me. Basically the Machete doesn't need to do a job its not meant for.
  • I'd commonly use this for in dense woods, in the boreal, jungle. Basically bush whacking.
  • I'd use this mainly in the wilderness, I like the idea of being able to protect myself with it. (The kukri style catches my eye due to this)

Thanks in advance for all the help guys!
~Cheers!
 
I think it's hard to get a bad machete- Tramontina, Condor, Barteaux, Ontario, Cold Steel-. Seems to me Ontarios are heavier and stiffer than most. Sometimes you can find a nice old Collins at a flea market. I prefer a straighter edge myself, but there are many who are kookoo for kukris. You'll find them in the Himalayan Imports subforum.
 
Hard for me to believe it's worth that much more than their other machetes. There's a thread from June that says pretty much that from people who've handled one.
 
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bowman78 said:
What do you guys think of the Ontario Bushcraft Machete?
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Have never used the Ontario Bushcraft, so I don't know what it would do better (I suspect not much) than one for much less money.

These have been doing the job for me for quite a few years. Ontario (bottom) and Express. For the cost of the Bushcraft, I could easily buy 3 of these.

GECHJ001_zps2609522a.jpg
 
I've been using a TOPS 0.170 machete all this year and I love it. The grip is micarta, it has a great choil to choke up on for fine work, and it's just big enough without being unnecessarily big or heavy. It comes with an awesome nylon sheath that straps well to a pack or carries easily on a belt. The blade is short for a machete, 10" or something, but it clears paths very well. The light blade doesn't wear me out swinging it all day.

bowman78 said:
Stainless Steel, if not it has to have a decent amount of Chromium. Its just very humid and rainy here.
Click to expand...

Being used for chopping, a machete must be tough, so most of them are some kind of high carbon steel. The TOPS I recommended have a durable coating to help with rust, and the edge only rusts if you don't use it enough :D

bowman78 said:
While I carry a Machete, I commonly will have a knife and hatchet on me. Basically the Machete doesn't need to do a job its not meant for.
Click to expand...

Good call, and even more reason to use the shorter 0.170, as it is just perfect for clearing a path through thick undergrowth while being as light as possible.

bowman78 said:
I'd commonly use this for in dense woods, in the boreal, jungle. Basically bush whacking.
Click to expand...

That's how I use mine.

bowman78 said:
I'd use this mainly in the wilderness, I like the idea of being able to protect myself with it. (The kukri style catches my eye due to this)
Click to expand...

Khukuris can vary, but they tend to be very thick, heavy, and ground like a hatchet. You'd wear out very quickly using one to clear a patch, when a machete at a fraction of its weight could be used instead. No need for the heavier blade if you're already packing a hatchet.

As far as protecting yourself, find a Kali/Escrima/Whatever Filipino Martial Arts class in your area, they'll know all about how to swing a light, fast machete.
 
While the TOPS are nice, way over priced for what they are. If yo want something that heavy go with an Ontario 18" or 12". If yo want stainless go with one of the Condor knife and tool ones, I really like the tapanga personally
 
MerryMadMonk said:
Have never used the Ontario Bushcraft, so I don't know what it would do better (I suspect not much) than one for much less money.

These have been doing the job for me for quite a few years. Ontario (bottom) and Express. For the cost of the Bushcraft, I could easily buy 3 of these.

GECHJ001_zps2609522a.jpg
Click to expand...

Ahh okay, I was sorta just wondering why it was so expensive haha, I proobably should've said that if that's what I wanted to know!
EDIT: Welp, I just answered my own question. The 5160 steel in the Bushcraft is what raises the price. Is there any other Machetes in 5160 for cheaper?
Anyway...
What do you guys have on russian survival machetes? Like the Ontario SP8?
The Ontario 1-18 Military Machete catches my eye. For a good price as well.
 
I like the shape of the Tapanga, however i did some looking and found the Condor Bolo Machete, looks like it fits pretty much what I'm asking for. 420 stainless steel blade. 15 inches or so in total, so the blade is probably around 11 inches. Another thing i notice, and really like is the leather sheath. Probably isn't too hard to get someone to make a sheath for any machete tho.
If i get anything else its OK, I'll try get my brother to make me a leather sheath, see how his leather working skills are going, haha.

My second and Higher up choice probably would be the Condor El Salvador, its 18 inches, same steel, leather sheath.
 
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bowman78 said:
What do you guys think of the Ontario Bushcraft Machete?
Click to expand...

I think it's over priced for what you get. I recently purchased a 18" Condor wood handled El Salvador machete (1075 carbon steel) and love it. It is light and fast. They make a stainless version of it although I would be concerned about the comfort of the handles. Other ones you might consider is the Condor Bolo which is a shorter machete if you are going to be carrying it a good bit in the woods along with other tools. I also really like the swamp master which is 16" long. I have a previous version of the swamp master (called the Puerto Rican 14") and it is one of my favorites for using once I sanded the handles down to where they were comfortable.
 
I wouldn't worry about breaking a Condor machete.The folks who make those are also making lighter and cheaper Imacasa machetes for the export and the Central America region and they really don't just break with normal use. You would have to be using it way outside of the norm like chopping bricks or intentionally try to break one with tools like in a vise with a hammer.
 
Well, I'm using the Ontario 6145 is 1095 carbon steel, not stainless. I can't believe that Canada's boreal forest is more humid than Houston, Texas. I clean the blade after I use it with a rag or paper towel and wipe the cutting edge with a few drops of 3-in-1 oil and I haven't seen any rust on it. It's military grade and requires minimal care, really. It's good and stiff too. You don't want a flexible blade on your machete--it's not a fillet knife--it needs to be able to drive through vegetation.
Schrade makes the one their calling a bolo machete--but it's really more of a barong. Actually, I looked at one in a sporting goods store and it looked more more like a barong and a kukri had a baby and called it the Schrade Schbolo. It seems to get good reviews.
 
Condor makes thicker ones but they tend to be in carbon steel vs stainless steel.

Choice as far as I'm concerned other than choose carbon or stainless depends on your use. If you are chopping branches and small trees, I would want a thicker steel machete where as if I were mostly swinging on briars, small trees, and under growth, I would go with a thinner steel machete. A Condor Golok is sort of a cross between a thin machete and a thicker chopper. It is a good machete and very popular. I have two of them along with a number of other Condor machetes or choppers; Parang, Village Parang, Viking (stainless), El Salvador, Pureto Rican (stainless), Pack Golok, and as mentioned the regular Golok. My favorites are the El Salvador, Puerto Rican, Pack Golok, and Village Parang. Used to be the regular Golok as my favorite until I tried a few more of their other machetes.

How far you might be likely to carry you machete also comes into play especially when you might have other cutting tools with you. For folks that are not used to machetes, I would keep the length 18" or under.

I don't get too excited if I get a little rust on a machete. It just indicates to me that I need to pay a bit more attention and wipe them down with oil.
 
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