Machete opinon..

S

skunked

Joined
Sep 25, 2004
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What is the general opinion on machetes? Seems we either have the cheap ones or the really expensive ones. Is there that little market here for one or am I just missing something?
 
well, I wouldnt say there arnt many, but it does take some looking.
many of the tramontina machetes are great quailty for the price
 
skunked said:
What is the general opinion on machetes? Seems we either have the cheap ones or the really expensive ones. Is there that little market here for one or am I just missing something?
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A machete by definition is a disposable tool. It is pretty pointless to beat a good knife into a rock, and that is what working machetes are tasked to do. The best ones are light, simple, durable, and inexpensive to replace.

n2s
 
For $6 you can't go wrong with a Tramontina. Martindale has some nice blades but the fit and finish leaves a little to be desired. I don't know if they're worth four times the Tram. Another option would be to get a bolo from Reflections of Asia. Hand forged village quality users for $20, maybe the best deal in all of knifedom. I don't live in the heavily wooded north so machetes actually suit me better than axes most of the time. Get a couple of Trams, maybe a 12" and an 18", and beat the snot out of 'em. That's a cheap way of finding out what suits your needs.

Frank
 
Can't beat the Philippine made bolos for the price. Have had one in service now for 30 years and it needs very little maintenance and sharpening is too easy.

Matador-
 
I have a Seymour (don't know who makes those) but was clearing some scrub tonight in the dark( I know not the best time to swing a long sharp blade..) and having seen the sparks fly I realized the disposable part. I also guess this is why a good scabbard costs 3-4 times what a machete costs.
So why would people pay hundreds of dollars for one of the valiant jobbies? Oh wait Bladeforums I almost forgot:)
 
Valiant goloks are far under $100, not hundreds. You would buy one because they are better for thick wood work as the machete will bind.

There are lots of decent machetes, Martindale, Barteaux, etc., these cost $10-$20. You can buy really cheap no names for dollars.

-Cliff
 
Right, didn't look far enough. Valiant does have some in a decent price range, I just saw a couple of pages with some really nice fairly pricey ones, looked farther and found the ones that I consider resonable.
Has anybody played with the new Condor machetes? Made in El Salvador.
http://www.knifecenter.com/knifecenter/condor/
 
They get pretty expensive in the damascus and fancy models but they have several stock models which are fairly inexpensive but still several times the cost of a decent machete.

-Cliff
 
not2sharp said:
A machete by definition is a disposable tool.
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AFAIK, every knife is disposable. ;)


It's very difficult to tell the bad from the good other than actually using one. I've had good luck with a variety, Tramontina, Cold Steel, Barteaux, Ontario, a couple no name brands.

Occasionally, handles pop off, particularly the riveted types, wood or plastic. Some of my machetes have molded-on plastic handles, I've had good luck with them. Cliff Stamp had an intersting post about improvising a plastic handle for a blade without. I should look it up again, as I have a couple forelorn handle-less blades slowly rusting up in the corner of the garage.

Every machete I've ever bought new has needed work done on the edge. Some much more than others. Some more pricey machetes may be an exception. I think the Cold Steel ones were the worst, and an Ontario the best. Interestingly, I think I dislike the Ontario most because the grind was rather wide and hollow ground, just doesn't seem to work very well for my uses.

I just ordered an unusual Meyerco 12" machete from Mid South Shooter's Supply, sort of an impulse buy, as it was cheap, I could find no reviews of it, and it has a few odd characteristics such as a hand guard, stainless blade (according to what little I could find about it), a 1/4" blade, and from the pictures, a seemingly full flat grind (very unusual for a machete). We'll see how this beast compares.
 
shecky said:
Every machete I've ever bought new has needed work done on the edge. Some much more than others. Some more pricey machetes may be an exception. I think the Cold Steel ones were the worst, and an Ontario the best. Interestingly, I think I dislike the Ontario most because the grind was rather wide and hollow ground, just doesn't seem to work very well for my uses.
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Take a look at this, and not just for the Ontario, of course:

Sharpening the Ontario - Jerry Hossum
http://hossom.com/sharp/
 
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