My Lite machete edge looks bad...

B

basb

Joined
Apr 27, 2010
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I have put my 2 weeks old LM to some good use this weekend. Chopping through 1 - 7.5 cm branches.
Yesterday while sharpening and inspecting the edge i noticed something on the edge. It looks pretty bad, worse than i have seen before.
It starts where the belly of blade begins and stops half-way the belly. The rest of the blade is in good shape, and shaves. Even with 290 grit sandpaper i couldnt get it right.
Here is a rough drawing of how the edge looks like.
LM-edge.JPG


I cannot remember hitting things like metal or stone, maybe some knots....
I did however baton it a bit but the blade got stuck, so i had to baton the edge it get it back out.
Its not that i cant fix it with some low grit sanbdpaper, i just want to share it and see if anyone has had this before.
 
You may may have struck the baton across the edge and rolled it instead of striking squarely. Just my guess. I'd take a coarse diamond stone to it. :)
 
A close inspection reveals no roll, it looks like chips are gone really...
 
That's odd--I've never seen chips on an Imacasa product (so far at least). All the same I wouldn't sweat it too much. If a coarse diamond stone doesn't get them out then just use a fine file. :)
 
I used my lite machete for the first time over the weekend on a camping trip to clear branches for my hammock and to chop some firewood. The machete worked great but on closer inspection when I got home, I noticed a few very small chips in the blade. I took a med stone to it and then some fine sandpaper and it is as good as new.
 
AZWaterRat said:
I used my lite machete for the first time over the weekend on a camping trip to clear branches for my hammock and to chop some firewood. The machete worked great but on closer inspection when I got home, I noticed a few very small chips in the blade. I took a med stone to it and then some fine sandpaper and it is as good as new.
Click to expand...

I am no expert, but aren't machetes really optimized for cutting lots of soft media, and not hard matter such as wood?
 
Nope! That's the common thought up here in North America, but I've found from extensive experience that they can plow through wood no problem. :p

CIMG8360.jpg
 
Depends on what the material is. Something like the machete 42 has pictured that has more weight behind it will generally work better on harder woods in my experience.

Where I’ve found the Lite really excels is cutting mid-sized wood that hasn’t petrified into a rock yet. :D My first time using the Lite was on some dead limbs that had been hanging in the tree for years. They were hard as can be and the performance wasn’t what I expected. Since then I’ve used it on several other tasks and it really eats some wood.

Can you post a pic of the chips?
 
use a file to clean up the blade then a diamond stone and your back up and going....
machete are made to be used & at times abused b/c it is in your hand.... I keep a small file with my Lite machete and have used it to clean up a spot or two, no biggy..
 
I'm going to guess you hit/cut through some knots.
File and stone should clean it up just fine.
 
I will ask my brother if he can make a good photo.
Its not that i cant fix it, its more the fact that i was struck with surprise after seeing the edge.
Lesson learned; Don't baton the the edge unless absolutely necessary. My first guess was that that's the cause
 
well Batoning the blade on this thin stock is not ideal IMO, due to one mis- strike and the blade could flex or twist in the wood and mess up the edges,can happen on any knife really...
 
I wouldn't be too worried about batoning the thing. I've literally split a tree trunk with a machete before to see if I could. Just be mindful of your technique and it'll help avoid any potential mishaps. :)
 
Yea, I like my chete's in hard woods. They sink nice and deep. That viking 42 posted is especially fun.
 
I have rolled the edge on a few machetes chopping through hardwood, but I haven't chipped it yet. They were easy enough to get out. I wouldn't be too worried about it.
 
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the edge was slightly overheated during sharpening. Pretty common with thin stock thats sharpened on power equpiment.

Once you sharpen it a few times, that thin section of metal will be gone and your back in binnis.
 
I just got my hands on Mainewoods' Lite Machete and his had a slight rolled edge and a few small dings in the edge too. My own personal guess is that it's likely that the convex was done just a tad on the thin side. After sharpening it at a slightly more obtuse angle the edge should be stabilized. The Lite IS done in a little thinner stock than much of Condor's standard offerings so it's perfectly plausible.

If it isn't that, then it's slight overheating from sharpening like Shotgunner said. Either way it's a quick fix. :)
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I just got my hands on Mainewoods' Lite Machete and his had a slight rolled edge and a few small dings in the edge too. My own personal guess is that it's likely that the convex was done just a tad on the thin side. After sharpening it at a slightly more obtuse angle the edge should be stabilized. The Lite IS done in a little thinner stock than much of Condor's standard offerings so it's perfectly plausible.

If it isn't that, then it's slight overheating from sharpening like Shotgunner said. Either way it's a quick fix. :)
Click to expand...

I hope this will not keep happening to the blade every time I use it????:eek:
Forty Make it better! LOL I can't wait to see it!
 
Shotties explanation sounds very acceptable.

I've been busy after work. Took my Buck field sharpener and ran the coarse side over the part of the edge in question. It took me about 15 minutes to get at least an edge on it. The bevel looked awefull after that but at least it yielded results.
Than some 290 and 400 grit sandpaper and the edge is ok. At least it cuts paper instead of tearing it. There are still traces of the coarse stone but that will work out in the process.
I will get a pic up in a few.
edit; Here are the pics, sorry for the size.
This is before the coarse stone. Hard to see but it is visible on the belly. Several parts are just gone;
P1000524.JPG


Two shots after the coarse stone, 290 and 400 grit paper.
The edge got a bit of a weird shape at the area where i worked it. If you look close at the area just left below the light reflection, you can see a marker line, that is 1cm before where it started
P1000527.JPG


This is how the edge looks now, its still an uneven edge but least it has an edge.
P1000528.JPG
 
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basb like to see pics My friend Forty is doing mine for me! I belive He will Make it so much better !
 
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