Looking for a machete

M

machie147

Joined
Aug 5, 2014
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Looking for a nice machete for around 50$ wanting it to have at least a 21in blade with the best steel and extremely durable I can get for my price range. Those are really my only requirements.
 
For less than 40 dollars you can get a quality Ontario Machete, one over 21 inches is the Heavy Duty Black Handle model.
You sound relatively new to blades. What is your definition of the 'best steel'
 
Just the best steel I can get for the money and yes I'm kinda new I only own 2 ontario rats and a spyderco, endura and kershaw blackout.
 
What you actually want are a couple inexpensive Latin machetes. Tramontina is a good brand to look at. Don't be fooled by the fancy brands, soft, thin carbon steel and plain wood or plastic handles is what you want.

21" is a long machete. I prefer 18" for general use. I have one that is 28" and it's good for one thing but bad at most things.
 
zhyla said:
What you actually want are a couple inexpensive Latin machetes. Tramontina is a good brand to look at. Don't be fooled by the fancy brands, soft, thin carbon steel and plain wood or plastic handles is what you want.

21" is a long machete. I prefer 18" for general use. I have one that is 28" and it's good for one thing but bad at most things.
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I like the 20-24" range personally. 28" does tend to fall into the "special circumstances of use" category.
 
zhyla said:
What you actually want are a couple inexpensive Latin machetes. Tramontina is a good brand to look at. Don't be fooled by the fancy brands, soft, thin carbon steel and plain wood or plastic handles is what you want.

21" is a long machete. I prefer 18" for general use. I have one that is 28" and it's good for one thing but bad at most things.
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Good answer. Ontarios most popular machete is the 6145 Military. The steel is good and sharpens up nice, if you are expecting to have a machete that is hair whittling sharp then you're asking the wrong people, you want a practical machete that will last. The 6145 Military has been time-tested and has endured many beatings, for less than 30 dollars you can't go wrong. You never specified what you want the machete for
 
Just get a Tramontina or Imacasa. For $50 you can get two or three. They will likely out last you. They are true working blades. I own around 30 machetes of almost every make known and sold today (Ontario, Martindale, Condor and many customs) and the Tramontina or Imacasa.will perform as well as just about any machete out there.regardless of price.


 
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I would choose one of the Condor machetes myself due primarily to the most excellent leather sheath that comes with most of them. The Viking comes to mind in that size area. I tend to be more comfortable with about a 16" machete as a general purpose blade.

The 18" wood handled Condor El Salvado machete is a good general purpose machete. Wood handles are easier to modify should you need to. http://www.condortk.com/productos-detalle.php?producto=65&cat=16
 
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Pirate63 said:
Just get a Tramontina or Imacasa. For $50 you can get two or three. They will likely out last you. They are true working blades. I own around 30 machetes of almost every make known and sold today (Ontario, Martindale, Condor and many customs) and the Tramontina or Imacasa.will perform as well as just about any machete out there.regardless of price.


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what steel is this ?
 
Tramontina. No need for an expensive machete. For $50, you could buy 3 or 4 of em, and a sheath!
 
What are you going to be using it for?

I vote an Imacasa or Tram' in 22", 18", and 14" It'll give you a good base line to see where to go from there!
 
Both length and pattern depend on your intended prioritized task set for the machete, so as excalibur21 mentions above, what will you be using it for? :)
 
I agree with Zhyla. I will add, for someone starting out....or for that matter someone who puts in their time in the woods. You really cannot go wrong with a Latin machete. And again I will agree that 21" is truly big for a machete unless you really know your way around one so to speak.

The machete "is my thing". I love my folders no doubt but once you are in the woods or really need to put in some work- an 18" machete IMO is The Most Valuable tool one can have. Grab you one from Cold Steel. You will be glad you did like many in here have. There are all kinds of cool things you can do to make it "your own." If you don't like the black coating....have at it and take it off. Engrave your initials down where the steel meets the handle etc.

Seriously. Have you ever seen a 48 yr. old man cry? If my machetes were ever stolen or lost<--- fat chance that one will happen - I would cry like a school girl.

Good luck on whatever you choose.:-)
 
Yes--for a first machete it's hard to go wrong with a well-made 18" Latin pattern. It's long enough to actually behave like a machete (beginners tend to use shorter machetes more like big knives, and see comparatively poor results accordingly) without being so long as to be unreasonable for the novice to handle safely. The Latin pattern is the most generic form and the most broadly applicable, and once more experience with the tool is gained then exploring different patterns more tailored to your environment and modes of use can occur.
 
You can buy the Onatrio for around $20 and it's much better steel than the Central American models. The harder, thicker 1095 is better suited to the woody vegetation of North America.
 
glocker199 said:
You can buy the Onatrio for around $20 and it's much better steel than the Central American models. The harder, thicker 1095 is better suited to the woody vegetation of North America.
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Sorry, but that's just not correct, for a number of reasons. If anything Ontario currently runs their steel overly hard and it's only the thickness that keeps them from experiencing damage under heavy chopping use or accidental impacts. Their thick and bull-nosed design makes them more of a woody target tool, but North America has a diverse mix of targets ranging from dense grasses to vascular weeds, brambles, saplings and scrub growth, all the way up to mature trees. Machetes are generalist tools, but there are designs intended to target different mixes of those targets better than others. There are a number of ways to tackle hard woody growth from a design standpoint, and I think this demonstrates what thin (2.2mm) 1075 can do--a 3.5" diameter log chopped clean through in 42 seconds.

[video=youtube;xWRtZO1FnO8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWRtZO1FnO8[/video]

At the ideal hardness range for a machete made from low-alloy carbon steel, 1095 is just extra carbon for increased hardenability...above the range that a machete would actually be done at. But Ontario makes a lot of knives etc. from 1095 that use that hardness range so it makes it simpler for them to source one steel grade.
 
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