Machete Use Tips

pict

pict

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YouTube - Machete Use Tips

Machete Safety

On my recent six day trip to the Mata Atlantica we took Wednesday off and shot some video around camp. I had to shoot some machete video.

I have my own opinions and way of doing things. In the words of Bruce Lee, "Absorb what is useful." The machete can be applied in so many different environments that what works for me may not work for you. Here in Central Brazil I mainly use a 16 inch Latin pattern Tramontina modified to my way of working. This blade may or may not work for you but I am happy with it. One thing is universal, if your hand is getting ripped up by the machete you need to change the way you are working. You can't afford to reduce your hand to blisters and raw meat in this environment.

The basic grip when chopping is the pinch grip, however, when cutting through masses of light material (such as grass, matted ferns, tiny vines, brambles, etc) I often use a slash which is delivered with a locked wrist and a full grip on the handle. I didn't really bring that out well in the video. The idea is to force the light material to slide along the blade and sever rather than power trough with a single point of contact on the blade as in a chop.

The bush and the blade will teach you how to work if you listen. Watch your hand for hotspots. In machete country the palm of your hand is every bit as important as the soles of your feet. When you have to cut trail you are literally walking on your hands.

Mac
 
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pinch grip! Important! I was the only one who didn't get blisters on the Peru Trip! That slash cut you are referring to is probably a draw cut. The material moves along the blade as you bring the butt of the handle towards your opposite side like a spiral
Check out Old jimbos goloks and he talks about it. Consequently, its really handy with Goloks

http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/valiant2.html
 
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Joe,

I was hoping you'd chime in. The pinch grip is extremely important. I just didn't want to give the impression that it is to be used all the time with all materials or that your other fingers should never be used.

I was actually having a hard time describing what I do and why I shift my grip or alter my swing. Often you just kind of see what you are about to cut and alter your strike accordingly, but I had never really thought about describing why/how. Mac
 
I learned it all from Old Jimbo.
We really know how to complicate the crap out of a simple tool, you know that? I LOVED the video by the way, really excited to watch it! Ashley had to pull me to dinner away from the computer :P
 
We shot alot of video on Wednesday. The first two days were totally taken up chopping out trails which resulted in TRAILS, but at the expense of getting dehydrated both days with sore right arms. Wednesday we got up after sleeping in and we both kind of looked at each other and decided to take the day off. This was our vacation after all and we both wanted to go home with some video for our channels that covered more than just cutting trail. I have two more machete videos coming. I was thinking about the videos you had put up and trying to figure out what I could add that would help.

On Thursday we left camp set up and explored the mountain with our packs stripped down to just emergency survival gear and loads of water. It made more sense to do it that way than to try to move camp up there, we covered alot of ground that way.

Mac

ETA - I don't know about complicating a simple tool. The fact is that the machete literally touches on every aspect of wilderness survival in the tropics so there is alot that needs to be said. The sheer variety of things that have to be cut bring alot of subtle differences to the way you employ that simple tool so a one-size-fits all approach leaves people thinking that it is the tool that is limited rather than the gringo on the other end of it. That machete is the main interface between you and the jungle, it may be simple in itself but the totality of what you do with it in practice is very broad.
 
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What I meant to say is that we complicate explaining the grips that the locals use so easily and freely, not the uses of the tool itself. Drawcuts, pinch grips, gringogrips, etc.

FWIW, I've got the post coffee bug and posted this tonight, it may help:

[youtube]mEBZgCf6OlY[/youtube]
 
Excellent video! He teaches very well. The jungle is no place to screw up that's for sure.

Our jungle down here isn't as intense as the Amazon but the same rules apply. I got a kick out of the ant shower warning, we deal with that here as well. We have a tree here called the Embauba (sp?) that is hollow and totally colonized by ants. You chop and they will swarm out to defend the tree. On wasps I have to tell guys to inspect the canopy before they pull down vines for their shelters.

Here in Central Brazil you rarely need more than a 16 inch machete and we keep them in sheaths or in the hand no options. I have often wondered how they manage those long blades in camp with no sheaths, very informative video. Mac
 
Machete Safety

This is not a comprehensive lecture on machete safety. These are just a few of the points regarding machete safety that were very evident on our recent trip. Our main machete activity was clearing trails through Taquara on very steep slopes. This presents several dangers to self and other members of the party. The danger of hitting yourself, another person ,or leaving pungi stakes that could easily impale someone who falls are very real threats that require discipline to manage. Nothing in nature has a 16 inch steel tooth like a man with a machete. Be careful out there. Mac
 
pict said:
Machete Safety

This is not a comprehensive lecture on machete safety. These are just a few of the points regarding machete safety that were very evident on our recent trip. Our main machete activity was clearing trails through Taquara on very steep slopes. This presents several dangers to self and other members of the party. The danger of hitting yourself, another person ,or leaving pungi stakes that could easily impale someone who falls are very real threats that require discipline to manage. Nothing in nature has a 16 inch steel tooth like a man with a machete. Be careful out there. Mac
Click to expand...

Good analogy, dude! :eek::thumbup:
 
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