Lawnmower blade machete

[trogdorr]

Hi guys, thought I'd share my latest project. This time I made a machete out of a lawnmower blade. This is the first machete I've made, so I'm sure there is plenty of room for improvement. Critique is welcome.

This is as close as I got to a "before" picture

straightening the blade

rough cutout of the handle

a little cleaner, in retrospect I should have made the rise toward the end more pronounced to prevent slippage.

the final shape, I like how the original grind of the blade left a sharpened swedge. Not the best as far as batonning but it might be handy to have that extra edge. The blade is about 14 inches long and around 1/8th inch thick

I edge quenched the edge and the sharpened swedge trying to keep the edge cool while not allowing the other side to get too hot. I used canola oil as quenchant

The final product. The handle wrap and the finger guard are both parachute cord I have not put this blade through a torture test, though I did chop down a couple young trees and split approx. 1 foot sections of 6x6 post into tiny pieces without any chipping or rolling. All in all I think this will make a fun blade to have around.

Let me know what you think,
Trogdorr.

 

[Bludgeon]

Crude but effective. Looks like it was a fun project.

 

[Storm Crow]

I have certainly seen worse first attempts. I like the looks of it!

Did you draw temper after the quench? It's always hard to gauge what people know about the process in their early endeavors.

 

[trogdorr]

I hardened the edge and then heated the spine and middle with a propane torch until it started changing color I tried to keep the edge from going beyond a dark straw color. (no pictures of that process unfortunately). starting at the back I "drew" color towards the tip if that's what you mean. I think I saw something like it being done on a youtube video once

Does anyone else have experience heat treating thinner machetes? I know they have to have a bit more flex to them than a thicker one, that is what lead me to my decision to edge quench rather than full quench

 

[Storm Crow]

Should be fine, then. I have used tempering tongs in the past rather than the torch method. They're tongs with big jaws (1" square in my case) that act as heat reservoirs. You heat the jaws to a good orange heat, then clamp the spine of the blade and watch the colors run. Same idea as the torch, but it is slower and gives the heat more time to soak into the blade. It is possible with a torch draw to have the outside of the steel running colors before the core is up to temp, and you could be left with a brittle blade. With 1/8" thickness, probably not an issue, especially given an edge quench.

You can use a wet rag to control the temperature of your edge and keep it from drawing temper past where you want it.

With the canola quench, it should be safe to draw temper in a kitchen oven without having to worry about any toxic residues, though.

 

[Lycosa]

Pegged!
Will you make a tanto next?
Hi James.

 

[trogdorr]

working on this one for my grandpa. made from a hoof rasp. Need a bit of practice getting my "tanto line"? straighter but i like it

 

[Lycosa]

Goodgawd!!
Doya have one smaller file?

 

[trogdorr]

Maybe somewhere...