Looking for good machete

J

Jo Jo

Joined
Apr 2, 2008
Messages
23
I am looking for a good machete, something about 12 - 14 inchecs in length, at least 1/8 thick blade, but no so good that if it gets lost I'm out a bunch of money. Thanks Joel
 
Machetes max out at about 1/8" thickness. Some Cold Steel, heavy Ontario and Barteaux are available in that thickness. Tramontinas run about .080", IIRC.
 
shecky said:
Machetes max out at about 1/8" thickness. Some Cold Steel, heavy Ontario and Barteaux are available in that thickness. Tramontinas run about .080", IIRC.
Click to expand...

Sorry, im not familiar with Imperial measurements... we use metric over here :o
 
My experience has taught me to stay far away from cold steel's machetes, I have owned several of them and about half of them had very poor heat treats. Ontario and Tramontina are much much better and also very cheap. My favorite by far is the ontario 18" mil spec machete. If you want a heavier machete for clearing thicker woodsy terrain and hard use like cutting wood for fires and building shelters then the ontario is the way to go. On the other hand if you want a nice thin light machete for hacking your way through wet vegetation all day then go with the tramontina, it excels at lighter work.
 
Last edited:
I met a surveyor who bought machetes for his team for decades and said that the best and sturdiest ones ha had used (for light vegetation, not as an axe replacement) were the older Collins machetes you can buy on Ebay. I held one and they are thin blades but the handles are noticeably more comfortable that the Ontarios.
 
Thank you for the information, I think I will have to go with the more expensive custome made one in the future. I will look at the ontario ones more closley than I have, I'll probably try one, the experience will be worth the small cost. Thank you for the input, Joel
 
Things to avoid - handles that are badly fitted or are likely to crack. Plastic handles. Blades that are too soft (haven't yet found one that's too brittle).

I picked up a Martindale bolo (Crocodile brand) new for $30.
:thumbup:Had plenty of meat on the wooden handle that I was able to customise for my hand. Nice balance - lighter in the hand the the CS - much better quality steel than the <$20 machetes. Not tiring to swing. Cuts grass and woody stems (green wood to 30mm - angled cut) very well

:thumbdn:Edge needed a bit of a re-profile & sharpen. Came without a sheath so I made 1 from wood and leather. Will rust - I treat mine with wax/oil after use
 
For an inexpensive piece I'd say Tramontina. For a really nice one check out Condor. I disagree with the above comment about avoiding plastic handles. Rather one should simply avoid handles with over-aggressive or tacky grips that will rub and cause blisters. I have used countless machetes with plastic handles with very good results.
 
I have the 18" Ontario military machete, ( there are two types of machete on the Ontario lineup, the economy and the military) and it's one tough blade.

Picture413.jpg


I used the machete to cut this logs from a dead tree, and those logs are thick. If properly sharpen, Ontario machete are mean choppers.
 
cold steel kukri seem to be pretty cheap but perform well. It's hard to outcut one of these. The cheaper ones dont come sharp from the factory though so your gonna have to grind an edge on to them.
 
although EVERYONE, and i do mean everyone, hates Cold Steel, i have many different knives, machetes, even the 700 dollar kukri of theirs. i do not have any relation to them, other than buying their blades, and i stand behind their blades 100 percent. i have heard MANY horrible things about them, and can't understand why except maybe for the owners ugly face. you will not be dissapointed by any of their blades, especially the 20 dollar machetes. my main machete is cold steel, that i sanded down to the bare metal, and got rid of that crappy black finish that many blades have on them due to protecting the finish from rust. now, mine looks as good as a custom(well, not really, but its nicer). it cuts great, and sharpens up with in a few seconds. Really sharp. hope this helps.
 
try koyote knives he made me one 13"blade convex edge i use it everyday to harvest haole koa bushes for my pigs i luv it, an it came with an awsome sheath
 
My thoughts would be to buy something that works well and cover it on house insurance or travel insurance...it probably would already be covered if you have house insurance...incase it was lost or stolen.

In which case the BRKT Golok is the best machete I have used and comes razor sharp. I have used a Martindale...for years...they work if you re-profile it with a convex edge....but it does'nt work as well as my BRKT....my Martindale goes back to 1966...I suspect the steel then was better than that used by them now...
 
Jo Jo said:
I think I will have to go with the more expensive custome made one in the future
Click to expand...

Its a machete. You are going to hit rocks with it. You will likely run into barbed wire, or fences, or other obstacles.

My advice: Unless you cant carry a basic field sharpener, buy regular GI machetes for $7-10 and you can just have 5-10 for the cost of a "high end" machete.

I view a machete like a pry bar. It WILL get trashed, so dont spend alot on one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top