Marble's bolo machete...good?

K

keyfit

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Mar 6, 2008
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I put this question on General Knife Discussion and no one replied. I'll try here and hope someone can offer an opinion. Marble's sells a bolo machete with an orange(!) 14" blade and wood handles. I bought one and like the look and balance- it's a heavy machete and the sheath is very well designed. Anyone have any experience using these? I haven't had a chance to use mine yet and thought I would ask you guys in advance...Thanks!
 
They are made in El Salvador by Condor (or their parent company), I think.

Condor blades are used "for real" every day by natives of Central/South America so I'm sure your Marbles machete will hold up to your needs.
 
I really thought that bolos were original to the filipinos. We also use them "for real' here in the philippines, mainly for uprooting stuff from the soil or loosening up the soil as farmers do. I was cleaning one few days ago and realized how usefull the shape was.

I looked up the marbles machete. Great.
 
I think that "bolo" is more of a generic name for any large working knife. The shapes and sizes of "bolos" are almost infinite and can be leaf shaped, straight machete shaped, curved, or long & bulbous. They also have other names such as itak, barang, barong, parang, e-nep, golok etc.

I don't know if they originated in just one place since all cultures need cutting implements, and there was so much trade between peoples of SE Asia historically. I think that these types of tools have all been lumped-together by either the Spanish colonials or subsequent Brittish and Americans.
 
Yeah i think your right. i remember from history books that filipinos stole bolos from the spanish colonizers to fight in the rebellion. Thats from the time of jose rizal, our so called national hero who supposed to have started it all. (but he was amazing though, reading form history) Have you heard about the myth that he was supposed to be hitler's father? LOL

Anyway, thanks for the input CWL.
 
Just buy a Cold Steel Bolo, I've batoned (pounded) mine through frozen meat,
plywood and tried to destroy it, it comes back for more. :eek: This is the most brutal 2mm thick steel I've ever used.
 
They are great, and better quality in function than cold steel. You won't have to sharpen it when it comes in, and It is made at a better factory. Both Cold steel and marbles will have blisters after use, but you can trim the handle better and make a real nice one from the marbles machete. If you get it with the sheath, then it really knocks everything out of the water.
The bolo machete you speak of is wonderful, you won't be disappointed!

I used my marbles machete for about 4 hours last week and it can still shave.
 
Ugh...I can't get past that ugly orange color, sorry. You want a sweet bolo/machete check out Kershaw's Outcast. Made of tough D2 steel too. You can find them for around $70 dollars.


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Joezilla said:
They are great, and better quality in function than cold steel. You won't have to sharpen it when it comes in, and It is made at a better factory. Both Cold steel and marbles will have blisters after use, but you can trim the handle better and make a real nice one from the marbles machete. If you get it with the sheath, then it really knocks everything out of the water.
The bolo machete you speak of is wonderful, you won't be disappointed!

I used my marbles machete for about 4 hours last week and it can still shave.
Click to expand...

I know I'm in good company when I agree with Joe. :D I did a little review of the Marble's Bolo and other machetes a while back: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=648979

I would say the CS handles are marginally better than the Marble's but Marble's factory edge and edge retention more than make up for that. I hate the orange color slightly more than I hate CS's tacticool bada$$ black, but the Marble's Bolo is probably the ugliest machete I will ever keep and use. I've gotten rid of the four or five different patterns of CS machetes that I had and only kept the 24" latin- simply because that length is harder to find.

So, basically- Yes. Marble's Bolo Machete = Good. :)
 
Many thanks for the opinions, fellas. Now I see why the handle is so oversized on the tang...should be an easy fix with a file and some sandpaper. And I agree, it has a great edge on it. I'm anxious to give the "orange-a-chete" a ride in the bush.
 
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