Machete advice...

Those files are sold in the knife/tool section at Lowes just in case you cruise through looking (about $20 or a bit less). The diamond part slips inside a handle and is about 5-6" long.

I have gone through the buying cheap stage of machetes like you might find at the hardware store. Such as waste of money in hindsight overall. In the end, I have found that it is better to spend a little more for something that actually works for me. But I am not to the spending $100 stage. Good luck with your order. My biggie is the handle. I am not Mr. Construction Worker with calused hands and it hurts very quickly using a machete. Wear gloves too. Be careful with the blade. They cut legs just as well as branches and vines.
 
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Gene Black said:
Wow! This place is awesome! Thanks for all the info/insight. If I had posted an entry-level question like this on a message board for any of my other hobbies, I would've had to weed through a dozen or so condescending comments from "experts" calling me a "dumb noob", etc. Thank you for the patience and politeness, and most of all, your valuable info.

After taking everything into consideration, I think I'm going to go with a 5-piece variety pack of Imacasa machetes (with sharpening stone) that I saw on the site that bigandboom recommended (I hope this isn't considered "dealspotting"). It is 5 blades about the price of a single Condor, or other high-end brands. There's only like 3 blades in the pack that I might actually use in the field, but I figure I can use the other ones to practice sharpening on since, like I previously said, I have never even tried sharpening anything, even once. I can most probably sell the ones I don't actually use to some local Cajuns, and make some money back too..

Anybody want to talk me out of it?
Click to expand...

If it makes you more comfortable i can call you a dumb noob????????

If it were me id get the Golok and something cheap to try my sharpening skills on. If the Imacasa's dont come sharp you're gonna have to get good at sharpening before you can really use them but the Golok is ready to chop down trees out of the box.
 
For initial sharpening a Nicholson "Handy File" will do quite well. :)

For best performance, use the technique Joe demonstrates in this video. Many folks use a machete wrong and are naturally disappointed with their results!

[video=youtube;V4wb32tkS6c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4wb32tkS6c[/video]
 
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The ESEE machete uses an Imacasa/Condor-supplied and sharpened blade. The tang is then laser-cut for exact tolerances and mated to a milled-out micarta handle. It's the only hidden-tang micarta-handled machete on the market at the moment. A more economical option would be either the 14" or 18" Condor Eco Survivor machete. It uses the same blade, but has a very comfortable injection-molded polypropylene handle instead of micarta. :)

The ESEE Lite Machete tang:

machete-tang.jpg
 
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To the OP (original poster): Why not use this as an opportunity, if you can, & get several different ones, then test them all out & do a review on your findings. I am partial to Ontario's myself, but they do, almost always, need to be sharpened. I can sharpen plenty good for my use. I have 2 Ontario's, 1- 18" sawback that i've had for almost 20 years, & 1- 12" that i bought recently & modified. Both will shave paper & hair & hold thier edge darn good. There are sooooo many good makers out there today. Condor is also a VERY good company to deal with & has GREAT customer service.

Just a thought anyway. Good luck.
 
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