Machete thread!

Sulaco said:
Nice parang! I got an 18" Latin pattern Tramontina from FortyTwo and I highly recommend his. He knocks the sharp edges off of the handles, smooths it all out and puts a nice edge on them. He can tell you more about it though. I am also in SC and have to deal with the same sorts of things you do. This Tram of mine is so sharp and capable, I can wrist-flick through smaller stuff. Crazy. It works great for Kudzu, brambles, blackberries, vines, saplings, etc.

I wish I could afford the Condor Viking, but even a longer Tram would be nice some times. They are so cheap, I'll get one eventually.

Whereabouts in SC are you? Sounds like you are well-traveled!
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I live and work in Lancaster, SC. Voted by CNN to be the "Worst place to live in the USA"
Funny, huh. I love it here.
15 minutes south of Rock Hill. Bout an hour and a half north west of Columbia.

I've lived all over the USA, and as I mentioned earlier I grew up in Australia.

I'm really liking FortyTwo's lineup, looks like he does some nice work to stock machetes. I've always found them great tools, but lacking on the comfort side.
 
Whitlashflash said:
I'm really liking FortyTwo's lineup, looks like he does some nice work to stock machetes. I've always found them great tools, but lacking on the comfort side.
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Thanks, man--I'm a fellow machete nut so I try to go the extra mile to help the tool perform for folks. One of the primary reason not as many people in North America are machete users is because they've simply never experienced a good quality one with the elbow grease put into it to bring it to usable shape. :):thumbup:
 
fortytwo, you seem to know more about Machetes than most.... a question for you (will be posting a separate thread for this)


What machete that you know of, is built as touch as the condor boomslang? I already have several of the thin latin style machetes, but i'm looking for something that will be thicker, with better steel and better overall fit and finish.
 
BePrepared said:
fortytwo, you seem to know more about Machetes than most.... a question for you (will be posting a separate thread for this)


What machete that you know of, is built as touch as the condor boomslang? I already have several of the thin latin style machetes, but i'm looking for something that will be thicker, with better steel and better overall fit and finish.
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Martindale heavy bolo. Not better fit/finish, but VERY good steel and a beautifully done distal taper. All you have to do is flush the scales to the tang and sharpen it up and you're golden.
 
^ I actually own one of those and LOVE it.
It took a while to get a good edge on mine, but once it was done, I was out chopping ALL of my friends on one of our "Woods Adventures"
 
I like picking up machetes from local swap meets, this one my favorite was snatched up for $3.oo then tweaked to this... in the 2nd photo I paid $5.00 for the both of them, they still look like this since I have not had the time to pimp them out...
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Machetes are AWESOME ! There, i said it again. LOL

Sweet- those are cool. Love the 2 handed zombie one on the bottom. Love the handle & coating on the first one. Looks like it was Black oxide coated ????
 
Whitlashflash said:
Singularity, how's that Bolo hold up man?
Also, is the cane knife below it a Tram, too?
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FortyTwoBlades said:
I know I'm not Singularity, but the bolos hold up GREAT. The cane knife isn't a Tram though. Looks like it has a maker's mark on the blade, but I can't read it in the photograph. I like the form of it, though!
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Yep, the bolos hold up fine. I ordered them specially and I won't take anything less than full tang. I don't use 'em for brush clearing though, too heavy for brush(you won't last the day) and besides there are too many stones you'll wind up hitting. The maker's mark on the cane knife says it's a crocodile.
 
you might wanna check out the CS magnum kukri. 18 bucks shipped to you adn works well if you know how to sharpen it.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Martindale heavy bolo. Not better fit/finish, but VERY good steel and a beautifully done distal taper. All you have to do is flush the scales to the tang and sharpen it up and you're golden.
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+1 on the Martindale Bolo. I have their Bolo Cleaver Machete and while it's not pretty, it's currently my favorite machete.
 
singularity35 said:
Yep, the bolos hold up fine. I ordered them specially and I won't take anything less than full tang. I don't use 'em for brush clearing though, too heavy for brush(you won't last the day) and besides there are too many stones you'll wind up hitting. The maker's mark on the cane knife says it's a crocodile.
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I was guessing that, since Martindale/Chillington Crocodile is the biggest machete maker to have come out of England. Just didn't want to put my foot in my mouth!:p
 
I've got a WW2 British bolo, for instance, that wasn't made by them, though I forget the maker now (there were several firms that produced that model for the British military) :)
 
And I know a fraction of what Joezilla does--he's the real expert. He's just been so crazy busy that he hasn't had time for the forums lately. But yes, I've given a lot of thought to the subject of machetes. :D
 
Joe doesn't like us anymore:) Hope he gets on the Amazon 5000. And he's also on the E2E crew. FortyTwoBlades is my go to machete person.
 
dakine said:
Joe doesn't like us anymore:) Hope he gets on the Amazon 5000. And he's also on the E2E crew. FortyTwoBlades is my go to machete person.
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It's a good thing Joe has so much energy--hyperactivity is the only way to effectively juggle so many projects! And thanks for the endorsement--like I said, I've just put a lot of thought and field time into machetes and enjoy them tremendously for their efficiency, value, and diversity, among other traits. :D
 
Mmmm, cane machete. I was told today that I needed to buy one for work. All I needed is a "real" honest reason to buy such a blade. Any suggestions? I've seen crocodile and tram mentioned above. The only one I've used was beaten to crap with the handle rigged and painted orange. No brand name.
 
What tasks is it going to be used for? That'll go a long way into determining what you'll want.
 
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