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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
Machete - time to make this happen
- Thread starter Cobalt
- Start date
Skrapmetal
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2009
- Messages
- 2,020
Been wanting this for a long time. I'd be happy with 14" if it helped make it happen
littlehoot
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2015
- Messages
- 2,310
how bout a BOLO that size? id be in!
M67
Gold Member
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- Apr 17, 2010
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- 7,188
Skrapmetal
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2009
- Messages
- 2,020
I'm not after a bolo, or a kukrichete, or anything fancy... just a straight blade, thin stock machete.
Cobalt
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 1998
- Messages
- 17,858
Anything with a blade thickness greater than 3/16 is not a Machete. Machetes are light and fast, flickable with the wrist anything with a 1/4 inch blade is not. As soon as you start wanting a thick blade then you want just a big knife. Machetes are 1/8" to 5/32 inch thick.
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2014
- Messages
- 330
Said while scratching the nose, with droopy eyes. Wish I could help ya.
360joules
Gold Member
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2013
- Messages
- 2,162
The 1311 is very close to what you're asking for. 13" SR101 blade, 3/16" thick with resiprene. It's a pretty awesome blade.
The coating on the knife makes it quite a bit heavier than a typical machete, though that can be remedied by stripping and blueing.
The coating on the knife makes it quite a bit heavier than a typical machete, though that can be remedied by stripping and blueing.
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2010
- Messages
- 3,274
Been wanting an Infichete for a while too. I'd prefer a B13 but either would be good.
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2000
- Messages
- 8,888
For years I wondered why Jerry Busse didn't put an INFI machete into production. I've actively lobbied for a thINFI machete for 15 years. But I finally began to realize that, whatever his reasons, I was discovering reasons of my own why an INFI machete didn't make a lot of sense.
As Cobalt says, when it comes to machetes, thin blades obviously work best. Thin doesn't correspond well to the Busse model of indestructibility. ThINFI works in a small knife, but in a long, broad, machete-style blade optimally less than 1/8" thick, a blade meant to be swung at high speed into all kinds of rough material, it would be subject to major damage during "normal" use (as all machetes are). It would also be very expensive. To me, when you reach that threshold it makes more sense to go with something tough and disposable, and there are plenty of inexpensive machetes out there that do a perfectly adequate job on under-3" dia. limbs and saplings (as does the B11). Anything 4" thick or thicker is chainsaw fodder in my view, although I've taken out 5"+ dia. seasoned juniper clearing trail with a B11--no problem, just takes awhile.
So I no longer see an INFI machete as all that desirable--especially in terms of price vs performance. And anything longer than a B11 isn't going on my belt for long distances, anyway. Taking it a step further, any blade that is too long (or too heavy, for that matter) to carry comfortably on my belt is destined to stay in my vehicle (or at my house), which means it's not significantly more portable than a chainsaw. And as a chopper, no knife can compete with a chainsaw.
As Cobalt says, when it comes to machetes, thin blades obviously work best. Thin doesn't correspond well to the Busse model of indestructibility. ThINFI works in a small knife, but in a long, broad, machete-style blade optimally less than 1/8" thick, a blade meant to be swung at high speed into all kinds of rough material, it would be subject to major damage during "normal" use (as all machetes are). It would also be very expensive. To me, when you reach that threshold it makes more sense to go with something tough and disposable, and there are plenty of inexpensive machetes out there that do a perfectly adequate job on under-3" dia. limbs and saplings (as does the B11). Anything 4" thick or thicker is chainsaw fodder in my view, although I've taken out 5"+ dia. seasoned juniper clearing trail with a B11--no problem, just takes awhile.
So I no longer see an INFI machete as all that desirable--especially in terms of price vs performance. And anything longer than a B11 isn't going on my belt for long distances, anyway. Taking it a step further, any blade that is too long (or too heavy, for that matter) to carry comfortably on my belt is destined to stay in my vehicle (or at my house), which means it's not significantly more portable than a chainsaw. And as a chopper, no knife can compete with a chainsaw.
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2014
- Messages
- 233
I love my 1311. I am not a log destroyer as some of you here but for the branches, soft trees that I have used on it works awesome. I like it better than my old tired home shortened tool steel machete,. Which was about 13" as well. I can see if you are doing jungle clearing a longer machete is good but for most other stuff the 1311 is perfect. Maybe for the infi fix a 1311 in infi will do.