Linder Machetes

I have used one on thick undergrowth of mainly bush and it worked well. I have never used it on heavy hardwoods and I would be worried about it as it is made of stainless steel which does not take shock or bending very well. I wish it was made of a low carbon steel instead.

I do like my 12 inch tramontina better though.
 
Advise to any machete buyer: Look for an old Collins. If you can't find one, go with a Tramontina.
 
I have one with a 14" blade. I have flexed it and chopped really hard with it, but no breakage. It's made of 420 stainless (I guess J2), but on a chopper and on a crude tool like this Linder, I think it's great. The edge holding is somewhat moderate, I keep the part closer to the handle sharper than the actual chopping part of the blade, and it works a treat. The thick blade does not allow very smooth light vegetation-cutting, but limbing trees or chopping firewood is mostly what I use it for. I highly recommend it:thumbup: .

I don't find the handle very nice in the long run, so I modded mine. Made one from cotton micarta. The tang is only partial, so some clever frame-tang-construction was necessary.

(the 10" version is good for throwing, too :) )
 
h3n4 said:
I have one with a 14" blade. I have flexed it and chopped really hard with it, but no breakage. It's made of 420 stainless (I guess J2), but on a chopper and on a crude tool like this Linder, I think it's great. The edge holding is somewhat moderate, I keep the part closer to the handle sharper than the actual chopping part of the blade, and it works a treat. The thick blade does not allow very smooth light vegetation-cutting, but limbing trees or chopping firewood is mostly what I use it for. I highly recommend it:thumbup: .

I don't find the handle very nice in the long run, so I modded mine. Made one from cotton micarta. The tang is only partial, so some clever frame-tang-construction was necessary.

(the 10" version is good for throwing, too :) )
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thanks for the excellent reply----

what is the sheath like on those models??
 
I've just ordered the 10", 14", and 18" blades. Will report more after some usage.

My 14" came with a very small crack in the hardwood near one pin. It doesn't go all the way through the scale, so I'm hoping some epoxy will keep it from spreading. At some point, I may have to re-handle. Not worth the fuss of sending back.
 
Elpaso said:
Advise to any machete buyer: Look for an old Collins. If you can't find one, go with a Tramontina.
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:cool: I have a 22" blade collins that I got at a flea market a while ago. I've never thought of using it because its the edge is dented and rounded off in places, and the handle has a small crack on one side. I can feel that its a real good machete and could easily become usable with some re-grinding. So look for a collins, and dont dismiss flea markets as junk :thumbup:

had to go dig it out of the closet because of that :D now im gonna throw out my hardware store cheapie and restore the collins :)
 
Guyon said:
I've just ordered the 10", 14", and 18" blades. Will report more after some usage.

My 14" came with a very small crack in the hardwood near one pin. It doesn't go all the way through the scale, so I'm hoping some epoxy will keep it from spreading. At some point, I may have to re-handle. Not worth the fuss of sending back.
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THANKS GUYON--

LMK
 
Oh yes, the handle on my Linder cracked too at the rivet -after being thrown at at a tree (wasn't too experienced back then). I epoxied it, but it ended out looking fugly, and after a while I rehandled it. Too late I realized, that the wood on the stock handle is beautiful and has a great texture, if you finish it with fine grit sanding paper. For a wood-chopper this one is hard to pass, but if the use is mainly weed-cutting, I'd recommend a longer blade that is thinner. The blade on the Linder is 4mm thick.
 
h3n4 said:
Oh yes, the handle on my Linder cracked too at the rivet -after being thrown at at a tree (wasn't too experienced back then). I epoxied it, but it ended out looking fugly, and after a while I rehandled it. Too late I realized, that the wood on the stock handle is beautiful and has a great texture, if you finish it with fine grit sanding paper. For a wood-chopper this one is hard to pass, but if the use is mainly weed-cutting, I'd recommend a longer blade that is thinner. The blade on the Linder is 4mm thick.
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thanks

Do you have the 10" version as well??
 
I don't have one, but have used one. Feels quite good in the hand, and I would seriously consider it as a low-cost alternative for camp chopping duties. One doesn't need a chopping knife that costs 300 euros to chop some firewood. It's also a great platform to customize yourself. Myself I removed the black coating (easier to find if dropped), convexed it (stock grinds are quite dull) and made the aforementioned new handle. The 14" version is quite heavy and needs some strength to swing efficiently. With the 10" blade that wouldn't be a big problem. Use the 18" blade and you're giving your wrists a great workout everytime you cut with it ;)
 
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