machete recomendation!!!

The ESEE Lite scales are worth the extra dough. :thumbup:
You can't beat the price on a Tramontina. Shame that SMKW stopped carrying them.
 
truth be told i own over a dozen machetes from a bunch of brands. they all do the job pretty well. even my chinese made, no brand name attached ones. talking carbon steel versions not stainless.

my favorites are in no particular order....condor/imacasa, esee, tramontina, ontario. you can't go wrong with any of these, imeo.

ones i don't care for only because they seem to bring no more to the table than those brands i mentioned and apples to apples cost a little more, also in no particular order... cold steel, sog, gerber, etc., ymmv of course.
 
jbmonkey said:
truth be told i own over a dozen machetes from a bunch of brands. they all do the job pretty well. even my chinese made, no brand name attached ones. talking carbon steel versions not stainless.

my favorites are in no particular order....condor/imacasa, esee, tramontina, ontario. you can't go wrong with any of these, imeo.

ones i don't care for only because they seem to bring no more to the table than those brands i mentioned and apples to apples cost a little more, also in no particular order... cold steel, sog, gerber, etc., ymmv of course.
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:thumbup:
 
There's nothing wrong with CS machetes (which are made by Lasher Tools of South Africa) but they run the steel a little soft for my tastes, and the handles are designed for folks with monster mitts. I have tiny hands (I take a ladies' size 8 glove--finding leather work gloves is a chore for me!) so as a combination of factors they aren't to my taste as a whole. I love my 2-handed panga and my (disco'd Chinese-made) barong machetes though.
 
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stewey1 said:
my targets will mainly be vines and small skinny undergrowth, as a scout Im responsible for route selection and track clearing so I only need something light to clear small branches and undergrowth that will get caught on packs and rifles etc as the platoon moves through
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Condor eco-survivor machete.
 
grybsh7 said:
Checkout Andy Roy's Fiddleback Forge machetes http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/695747-New-Lineup-and-Contact-Thread. They are Imacassa blanks, 1075 I believe that Andy puts his grind on and his custom micarta or wood handles. Right around a hundred bucks, a little spendy but very nice.
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Don't forget that there's no sheath included, so you'd need to get one made up for it. :)

If you're mostly looking at light targets to the point where chopping saplings isn't necessary then you might check out something like the Imacasa "sable" pattern machetes. SUPER light blades designed for going through grasses, vines, and twigs. You could swing one all day without tiring. The one downfall: they bounce off of thick targets. The Condor line has a similar piece called the Bush Cutlass that'll make you want to drink grog and get a parrot.

Otherwise, the EcoSurvivor would be an excellent general-use piece, and would be capable of taking on heavier targets as well (though not as easily as a heavier pattern like the Viking--which works wonders on grasses/brambles/vines but is a heavier chopping design)
 
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