New machete

V

viking252200

Joined
Mar 2, 2009
Messages
51
I'm looking for a new machete, however here in Japan the range is fairly limited..I can get hold of CS, gerber, ontario and condor's machetes.

I recently bought condor's golok and i am very pleased with it, however i have this urge for more "traditional style" machete.

My intended use is mainly clearing bamboo, small trees and shrubs.

What would you pro's recommend?...I know condor is very good, but over here at least also rather expensive around 80us$ for the El Salvador machete!

CS is cheap, but also it appears, a rather spotty QC?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated!
 
The ESEE Lite Machete looks to be coming out in March sometime. Do you have access to Rat Cutlery (ESEE Cutlery)?
 
I've had the same Tram bolo for 20 years and it's still probably my favorite. It and the 12" are great blades for the $$, IMO. I own a bunch of machetes and bought a Condor Puerto Rican model a while back and ended up giving to guy who might put it to better use than me, and now I'm back to my Trams..... For $6 and few mods to the grips, you can't really go wrong.
 
As far as I've experienced Gerber isn't even worth including in the list. Cold Steel mostly has rough grinds that need work from the factory and somewhat large grips (too big to be comfortable with my small hands). Ontario is better than Cold Steel in many respects, but ONLY has the classical Latin pattern available. Condor is the cream of the crop, and comes finished in all respects. They also have the widest range of patterns out of the manufacturers you listed. It's matter of what you're willing to spend, mostly. They'll all do the job (even the Gerber ones until they break at the blade/handle junction because of their short bolted tangs). :o
 
18" Ontario "econo" Machete which are thinner than the normal version - normal version is 1/8" think and Econo's are 3/32" or less. Over all good QC, and heat treat and usually very cheap. Even the normal would do well on bamboo over brush with the added thickness.
 
Well, since you are in Japan, and looking for something traditional, why don't you look for a koshinata? They were pretty much made for exactly what you've described.

koshinata_borantexi.jpg


~Noah
 
Wow, condors are expensive over there. If you are looking for an awesome more traditional look, go for Valiant. I don't think it will be much more compared to the prices you are paying. They have some fantastic wood handled versions and the horn ones are great as long as you take care of them.
 
Yes, knives over here tend to rather expensive, but there's not much you can do about that..you just have to pay up:D

Valiant does have some sweet blades, but i was thinking of something a wee bit cheaper...I'll properly pick up either a magnum kukri or a barong from CS, they are "only" around 40us$:eek:
 
the CS magnum kukri swings very nice.
you will likely want to spend a few minutes with a file cleaning up the grinds, but after that it's pretty decent.
 
kurodrago said:
because in your life for the first time you see one of these;)
Click to expand...

It is true that this is the first time I have seen one of those. But the similarities between that and the Silky struck me immediately, so i held my Silky 210 up to the screen for comparison, and — other than cosmetics — they look a lot alike.

Could be coincidence, I'm sure. I mean, how many ways are there to make a folding saw?:D
 
This one have two advantages over Silky 210, The grip is was made of a soft plastic, very comfortable when you use it plus the coating:eek: you can't find better one for 20box:D folding saw shape all the same to me:p
 
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