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Always used a machete (with a reverse S tip) for the grass, bananas, sugarcane, and occasional backyard clearing during my childhood.
Is the Machete getting more popular?
- Thread starter Joezilla
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I don't think the machete is becoming more trendy and popular (millions and millions of them out there), I just think that the younger folks that are just now being introduced to the outdoors are becoming more aware of this wonderful tool via the internet and outdoor books or literature.
You might be surprised! Many of the machete "virgins" I have come into the shop are older fellas!
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Use it trimming brush in the yard. Tried it in the field, got sick of repairing the edge.
Too thin for most wood, beats it up. If I need to chop something larger than my wrist I use an axe or saw. Most of North America was conquered with an axe and or knife.
If I move to the tropics it will be at home. Till then its a toy.
Right tool for the job.
Skam
Too thin for most wood, beats it up. If I need to chop something larger than my wrist I use an axe or saw. Most of North America was conquered with an axe and or knife.
If I move to the tropics it will be at home. Till then its a toy.
Right tool for the job.
Skam
The 'right environment' can indeed "mean a lot of things". Point taken.
However in the temperate open grasslands and largely treeless mountains mountains where I spend most of my outdoor time, I find a large blade/machete is superfluous and does not justify the extra bulk. Unlikely I'll ever need to build an igloo around here!
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I keep one under the seat in my jeep but always forget to use it. Many times out hunting ,scouting it would be perfect.
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Odds are either the blade on yours is
a) too soft
b) too thin in the edge
--or--
c) being used wrong (but it couldn't be that one, right?
)I've managed to use machetes from several different manufacturers on everything from green softwood to seasoned hardwood and never had a problem with mine, so I suspect there's something funky going on there. If you haven't already I'd recommend convexing it for starters.
Odds are either the blade on yours is
a) too soft
b) too thin in the edge
--or--
c) being used wrong (but it couldn't be that one, right?
I've managed to use machetes from several different manufacturers on everything from green softwood to seasoned hardwood and never had a problem with mine, so I suspect there's something funky going on there. If you haven't already I'd recommend convexing it for starters.
Its the full sized genuine issue ontario. Original grind and edge angle.
Maybe convex will help some. I dont believe I am using it wrong
Anyway, where I live wood spends 7 months of the year with either cold sap or frozen so its of limited use to me anyway. I mean axes bounce off half the time.
They are designed for the tropics and its vegitation there is no denying that.
Skam
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Not machetes as such but goloks, and I've successfully turned a couple of people on to them as better choices as big camp knives than what they were using.
Once I've broken the crust of that one big knife for everything it is fairly plain sailing. Interestingly, I usually come across the same sort of resistance as I do when some people encounter a Wharnie. Despite their superiority in so many areas there is something people seem to find divine about straight[ish] knives with a plunging point. Dunno if that goes back to Tarzan or Bowie or something, but it seems the romance and comfort factor is lost if that knife could not also make a fair stab at sticking. It strikes me that the romance and the comfort is what gives a lot of people confidence. In some way, even if it is last on the things to do list, it strikes me that the combat prowess of a knife gives many a person a feeling of assurance in the field. [I know neo-bushcrafters make a case for straight knives and making holes but I don't associate with those people or the knives they use so that is irrelevant].
It doesn't usually take long to get a conversion. My #2 although bigger than a Trailmaster doesn't exactly dwarf it size wise but the power I can put down with it does. And a Trailmaster is a good but fairly modest size big knife by some standards. People can clearly see that I'm missing nothing because I do the fine work with something else. Once the crust of that one knife mentality is smashed it is clear why the fat belly or the plunging point on their big knives is effectively just an add on that I'm that not missing. I have no use for either that far from my hand. That said, the sectional geometry of a big knife is usually superior as off the shelf NIB, but that can be worked on.
By the time you've pointed out what sorts big blades have evolved round the world for real usage and what are just westernized big blades that came from minds often a bunch after the industrial revolution there isn't really much one needs to add. Just drive past a farm and say; do you think farmers and green wood workers have something like you have or something like this, or a billhook, sickle, .etc.. Why do you think that is. Sells itself.
Once I've broken the crust of that one big knife for everything it is fairly plain sailing. Interestingly, I usually come across the same sort of resistance as I do when some people encounter a Wharnie. Despite their superiority in so many areas there is something people seem to find divine about straight[ish] knives with a plunging point. Dunno if that goes back to Tarzan or Bowie or something, but it seems the romance and comfort factor is lost if that knife could not also make a fair stab at sticking. It strikes me that the romance and the comfort is what gives a lot of people confidence. In some way, even if it is last on the things to do list, it strikes me that the combat prowess of a knife gives many a person a feeling of assurance in the field. [I know neo-bushcrafters make a case for straight knives and making holes but I don't associate with those people or the knives they use so that is irrelevant].
It doesn't usually take long to get a conversion. My #2 although bigger than a Trailmaster doesn't exactly dwarf it size wise but the power I can put down with it does. And a Trailmaster is a good but fairly modest size big knife by some standards. People can clearly see that I'm missing nothing because I do the fine work with something else. Once the crust of that one knife mentality is smashed it is clear why the fat belly or the plunging point on their big knives is effectively just an add on that I'm that not missing. I have no use for either that far from my hand. That said, the sectional geometry of a big knife is usually superior as off the shelf NIB, but that can be worked on.
By the time you've pointed out what sorts big blades have evolved round the world for real usage and what are just westernized big blades that came from minds often a bunch after the industrial revolution there isn't really much one needs to add. Just drive past a farm and say; do you think farmers and green wood workers have something like you have or something like this, or a billhook, sickle, .etc.. Why do you think that is. Sells itself.
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Say machete and most people think of the jungle blade, long and thin. About 30 years ago I took my first survival course and the instructor had a WW2 survival tool, the Case XX lifeboat machete. I had never seen one and was impressed with his ability to cut limbs, sharpen sticks, etc. I eventually found one at a gun show for $50 and (much) later another one online. The Case XX has a 10" blade and about .2" thick with a blunt tip. Good for chopping and not as intiminating as a long pointed knife. It turns out it is the same size as the modern dogfather/battlemistress only a little thinner. I have carried it alot, especially deer hunting for clearing sightlines. The only problem I had was with someone in camp tried to chop a deer leg bone with it and chipped the edge a little. Not in the same league as a Busse but at 1/20th the cost it works for me. In the picture below the top one is the original shape and the bottom one someone modified it.
I have one of those. Bought it off a great uncle who got too old to cut catfish heads off with it. Nice thick blade. Machete style handle, and that little hump on the blade digs in well. Made a leather sheath for it. Great for chopping brush for blind or to get to bank on creek to fish. I have been told it was an airforce survival tool. They had some that folded. Supposed to have had a brass blade cover and went under the pilot's seat. I have heard it was called a V44. Some will call the V44 a type of bowie I don't really know. Mine was also made by Case. Fits in the pack well. Great chopper. Nice to see your pictures. Mine is like the top one. I have somewhat replaced it with the Kukri. I do have the 12 inch Ontario machete and some old military ones. The older you get and try different things, the more stuff you acquire.
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I've not seen one of those fixed Case ones before.
The V-44 has nothing to do with is. The V-44 is about as stereotypical a big Bowie as one might hope for. Collins made them as did Western Cutlery in addition to Case.
The example here is rather like a fixed blade version of the folding Camillus from 1942. There's a British folding one too, also for pilots. That bears the E. & C. S stamp and most vividly differs from the Camillus in that it has a lanyard ring. Both sport a double guard.
The V-44 has nothing to do with is. The V-44 is about as stereotypical a big Bowie as one might hope for. Collins made them as did Western Cutlery in addition to Case.
The example here is rather like a fixed blade version of the folding Camillus from 1942. There's a British folding one too, also for pilots. That bears the E. & C. S stamp and most vividly differs from the Camillus in that it has a lanyard ring. Both sport a double guard.
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Many of the current offerings are too refined, I would think.
Machetes are supposed to be brought out to the field, used, sharpened with a coarse stone when needed, and disposed of when too thinned - down (without giving a second thought).
They're made of "junk metal," often from truck parts.
A working machete will never show any rust because it's constantly chopping or slicing things. You'd find them in the crop fields, markets, you name it... The moment it stops doing its thing, rust appears.
They're supposed to be disposable items.
But then, this is an affluent country, so I guess tool steel is ok.
Machetes are supposed to be brought out to the field, used, sharpened with a coarse stone when needed, and disposed of when too thinned - down (without giving a second thought).
They're made of "junk metal," often from truck parts.
A working machete will never show any rust because it's constantly chopping or slicing things. You'd find them in the crop fields, markets, you name it... The moment it stops doing its thing, rust appears.
They're supposed to be disposable items.
But then, this is an affluent country, so I guess tool steel is ok.
The V-44 is not a Bowie, it is the Case Navy lifeboat machete Hornytoad shows in his post. The Collins #18 Bowie-Machete(and similar patterns) are not V-44's.
That myth started with Howard Cole in his series of books. D.E. Henry, who was a noted Collins and machete historian later corrected it in his book and an article in Knives '85 called "Will the real V-44 please stand up?".
Alas, once something makes it into the Cole's book, it is hard correct, and Cole died before he could correct it.
As to whether people are more receptive to machetes, yes, I think so. I believe it coincides a little with the internet based forums, before many folks would dismiss the machete as a weed whacker, and point toward axes and hatchets for real woods work. Now folks that were a little apprehensive toward the machete actually get to see that they are pretty useful things.
It also helps that more companies are willing to gamble on producing higher quality machetes.
.Toucan Oasis
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It also helps that more companies are willing to gamble on producing higher quality machetes.
Or what they would like you to believe are higher quality machetes.
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That myth started with Howard Cole in his series of books. D.E. Henry, who was a noted Collins and machete historian later corrected it in his book and an article in Knives '85 called "Will the real V-44 please stand up?".
Excellent. I'll take that on as my source quotes Vol II of Cole's book. Cheers.
http://ferfal.blogspot.com/2009/05/sharpening-12-cold-steel-bowie-machete.html
The word is getting out.
The word is getting out.
Couldn't agree more:thumbup:
IMO machetes are awesome tools, but as with all other knives they are are more useful in some enivronments than in others. Its no coincidence that America was 'conquered' by people using axes, whilst in South America and Africa machetes were used and are still far more popular than axes to this day.