Machetes: Some fun with photoshop!

[FortyTwoBlades]

Had some fun these past few days getting myself more familiar with the capabilities of Gimp (which is actually really powerful for a free program) and whipped these up. They're based off of Condor aesthetics, but I need to stress that these are not real designs, just themed after their distinct style since they're my favorite company and all.

First up is a bit of a monster.

About a 18" blade, but about 5-6" at its widest point. I know a lot of you will be tempted to yell "smatchet!" ...but I actually was more inspired by the Italian cinquedea, which was a renaissance very large knife/very short sword. It got its name because it was usually about five fingers wide at the base of the blade. I think this would be a blast to go crazy with in the bush, but at the same time could be easily used as a large camp knife, as well as a food prep piece. The handle/blade transition would allow it to be pinch-gripped like a chef's knife for slicing and precise cuts with the base of the blade.

And next up are a bunch of random short choppers. This was mostly an exercise in line control and variation, but I like the looks of numbers 1,4, and 5.

 

[Fiddleback]

Love the machetes. I'd like to see you put more detail into the handle though.

 

[dawsonbob]

Pretty cool, 42B. How do you like Gimp? I've been using Photoshop since version 3, but never tried Gimp.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Detail will come later. I'm still learning that part!

You can tell I was just copying/pasting the handle on the second image and was just focusing on the blade profile variations. Some of the joins are...sloppy.

I'm liking Gimp quite a bit. I have Photoshop 3 but didn't want to go through the hassle of putting it on my new Mac (my other comp. is a pc) when I could just download Gimp. Honestly, the control scheme is a LOT simpler, which is fine by me.

 

[dawsonbob]

I'm an illustrator and designer, so I've been using Photoshop for work almost since it came out. Still, I always like to play with other things that might give me different looks, so I may have to play with Gimp sometime. I have so many programs on my Mac, though, that I'm not sure if I can crowd another one on here.

 

[baldtaco-II]

GIMP is good. I've got Photoshop and Lightroom and whatever but I still keep a copy of GIMP as a portable app. GIMPshop is a good choice for many because it is closer to the Adobe GUI.

If it wasn't for the Ontario-like beak on the top chopper the profile is very close to my favorite Swamp Rat.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Out of the second image my personal favorite is probably the bottom one. It's like a micro-golok!

Here's another one I did a few days ago. It's kind of weird--like if a barong and an axe had a baby.

 

[Watchful]

Out of the second image my personal favorite is probably the bottom one. It's like a micro-golok!

Here's another one I did a few days ago. It's kind of weird--like if a barong and an axe had a baby.

Well, that's interesting. I would be worried that chopping with the spine would create a potential stress riser. The sides are steep.

Also, the sheath makes me wonder: you need to better protect the wearer from that secondary edge. It could swing loose and protrude.

Your skills are slick. Have fun with the handle: create a new layer that's a duplicate of the handle. Use the layer blending properties to add a texture to it. You can add a heck of a lot of realism and create everything from marble handles to wood grain to carbon fiber! Or a new material entirely!

 

[Marcelo Cantu]

I like that cinquedea! I would want one with a four foot blade.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Well, that's interesting. I would be worried that chopping with the spine would create a potential stress riser. The sides are steep.

Also, the sheath makes me wonder: you need to better protect the wearer from that secondary edge. It could swing loose and protrude.

Your skills are slick. Have fun with the handle: create a new layer that's a duplicate of the handle. Use the layer blending properties to add a texture to it. You can add a heck of a lot of realism and create everything from marble handles to wood grain to carbon fiber! Or a new material entirely!

If this were an actual machete I'd have the the bottom snap set diagonally in the curve of the upsweep to prevent any possibility of sliding out.

As far as chopping with the spine is concerned it shouldn't be a problem thanks to the large radius.

I honestly LOVE the polypropylene that Condor uses, so I don't think I'd want the handle any other way. I'll be rehandling my Viking model with canvas micarta, though.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I like that cinquedea! I would want one with a four foot blade.

It's honestly my favorite concept so far. It's a little out there, but I just know it would SO much fun in the woods. Four feet would be a bit excessive, I think, but if it was three then it'd be single-handed sword sized. I think I'd still prefer it around 18-20" though.

 

[WILLIAM.M]

Keep those coming!!!!!

Love the looks of those

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Thanks! I have a few other fun ideas I want to play around with. Guess I'll try to get some greater detail in the next few!

Edit: for reference here is what a historical cinquedea looks like.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Also inspiring the first design are ancient Chinese bronze swords like so:

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Another one, inspired vaguely by the North Indian "Kora." However, I've significantly modified the profile to make it more utilitarian, and reversed which side had the primary cutting edge.

An actual Kora, which is sharp on the interior of the curve.

A strong cut with the interior of the curve generates tremendous power due to there being so much mass directly behind the point of impact. You might not see this at first, but if you think in terms of directions of forces you can see it easier.