Machete thread, deals, steals and show what you got

[hank_rearden]

well if we get to it, i find the best handle for a hard chopper is anything with enough palm swell to grip it immovable as a hammer:

if you need a lot of wrist movement for combat or soft things like grass and brush, a flared one works best for me:

 

[schwep]

Tramontina 14 inch bolo, before and after modifications:

I
It fits in a Cold Steel 14-inch bolo sheath, after some minor modifications. ;-)

 

[DocJD]

Tramontina 14 inch bolo, before and after modifications:

I
It fits in a Cold Steel 14-inch bolo sheath, after some minor modifications. ;-)

Nice mods ! Did you just cut off the "excess" top part of the sheath or did you sew or glue the cut edges ?

 

[schwep]

Nice mods ! Did you just cut off the "excess" top part of the sheath or did you sew or glue the cut edges ?

I cut off the excess top part, but only the front half, so the back is still there and connects the sheath to the original belt loop. I melted the edges of the nylon where I cut it, so it would not fray. And I took off the top of the two snap loops, which sat too high to hold the handle. I have the impression that the Cold Steel sheaths are a bit long, the 18 inch that I got for the old machete just swallows up the entire thing, handle and all, I need the lanyard that I attached to pull it out of the sheath. For any normal, straight blade it does not really matter if the length of the sheath is a bit too generous, but in the case of the bolo, the lower snap would not close over the handle when it was sitting inside the sheath - which was the only way to get the wide blade tip to really enter into the sheath. Hence the sheath would not close. But ten minutes with a sharp Mora knife from the garage, a pair of scissors and a lighter solved the problem.
The advantage of gear as cheap as this (the Tram bolo came for just 17 euros and the sheath for less than 9, so the whole combo stayed way under 30 euros; I had to throw in the sheath for the old blade and a couple of standard Moras to reach the limit for free transport...) is that you don't need to care when you start modifying it - the financial loss if you break it is too modest to worry about.
A machete like the Tramontina comes very rough around the edges, literally, but for this price you need to look at it as a kind of 'half product'. You get the raw, crude base that allows you to adapt it to your personal needs. And maybe most of their original user base in South America has the habit of building their own sheaths as well as adapt the blades.
The mods to the blade in close-up near the tip:

You can see how rough the edge was out of the box, just right of the branch. Towards the tip it came totally blunt, the tip was so rough the steel was literally fraying, and it just had no real point, not even round. The spine was all burrs and ran full thickness all the way towards the tip. I ground a bit of an edge on top of the tip, quite steep, more like an axe (don't ask me for any angles, I always sharpen by feel). Most of the steel I took off was done with a flat file, like the finishing on the spine. My favorite sharpening stone is the two-sided puck from Gransfors, which I always use for my axes. It came in very handy here.
The idea is that I can now use the axe-like spinal edge of the tip to dig out roots from tougher weeds that I want to get rid of, using it backhanded without damaging the main edge. I am righthanded, so don't need to change the grip for that; just cut through the brush or weed from left ro right above the ground and then push the blade into the ground and wriggle out the roots in the opposite direction, which is quite natural. Just like a little spade.
I also cleaned up the main edge and convexed it a bit, where the main grind transitions into the flat of the blade, so it won't get stuck so fast in wood and can bite deeper. The newly sharpened blade bit pretty deep with that one blow. In hazelwood, semi-dry. It flew through 20 mm thick green beech branches as if they were not even there. Scary.
Every man needs a machete. And a Mora. ;-)

 

[panoz77]

I did some machete work this weekend at my property with the poly handled Imacasa's, they made quick work of clearing overhanging branches on my access road, the 22" came in very handy with the longer reach.

 

[schwep]

I just did the same here with the Tramontina, and as long as anything is within its limited reach (only 14 inches/35 centimeters) it chops extremely well, I'd say better than my other two machetes of 18 inches. That broad tip really adds a lot of inertia to the swing. OTOH, the back of the handle puts some strain on one's hand as the bolo really wants to flip forward. Which is why you really need to round off the handle and grind it down totally flush with the (also rounded off) steel tang. Having done that, it's perfectly OK.

 

[schwep]

A bit more on the modified Cold Steel sheath for the Tramontina bolo machete: by cutting part of the sheath away so the Tram can properly sit in the sheath, the part with the belt loop becomes very long and when worn on a belt normally, will allow the whole to flap around and bang against your leg too much. I used a little trick with a loop of paracord, a slider and the fact that the sheath, without the bolo in it, is flexible enough to bend and pull it through a loop. See below.

It's a simple solution. When anyone wants to do this, take care when cutting away part of the sheath, so as to keep all or most of the stitching that holds the belt loop and the smooth plastic protection layer together. Melt the cut-off ends to prevent fraying.
This way the bolo sits at the proper height - it does not press too much in your side, not does it bang against your knee all the time.
Thus, with a bit of DIY, you get a very decent and useable combo of a machete and sheath for less than 30 euros (or dollars if you live on the other side of the Atlantic).
Now let's see how long this set will survive...

 

[GerryM]

I have a lot of machetes. My best one is a Gerber Bear Grylls parang. See it here:

I use that puppy every single day here on my farm, and have done so for several years now. My US-made machetes (made by Ontario) are all horrible, hand-destroying rubbish that I never use anymore because of their slippery handles and D-rings that damage my fingers.

In fact I like it so much that I have several spares in storage. I can't bear to think of ever being without this thing!

Love it, really.

 

[DocJD]

I have a lot of machetes. My best one is a Gerber Bear Grylls parang. See it here:

I use that puppy every single day here on my farm, and have done so for several years now. My US-made machetes (made by Ontario) are all horrible, hand-destroying rubbish that I never use anymore because of their slippery handles and D-rings that damage my fingers.

In fact I like it so much that I have several spares in storage. I can't bear to think of ever being without this thing!

Love it, really.

Sure looks like it's gotta be lots better than my POS Walleymart Ozark Parang !