opinion on the best machete

[alco141]

i have a couple of ontarios and a chinese made 3.00 machete, also a stainless machete bladethat i handled, but i like the cold steel machetes i just got, the barong and the kukri are nice pieces of steel, cant wait to give them some dirt time.

alex

 

[shecky]

Hey bear, where'd ya get that 10" Tramontina?

 

[bearthedog]

Hey bear, where'd ya get that 10" Tramontina?

Peru.

You want one? I'll get you one next time I go. Let me know.

 

[shecky]

That'd be great if it's no trouble.

How often do you go?

 

[Darbyfett]

Where is a good place to get a Tramontina Bolo online? I can't find them anywhere

 

[HighDesertWalker]

Where is a good place to get a Tramontina Bolo online? I can't find them anywhere

Smoky Mountain Knife Works:

http://www.eknifeworks.com/webapp/e...rch.x=0&SearchText=machete&Search=1&Mode=Text

 

[Darbyfett]

AHA, thank you so much sir....Crap, only 5.99?

Edit: Crap, out of stock.

 

[HighDesertWalker]

Guess I might as well toss a few of my own blades into the mix. Here's a set of modern machetes:

And a few of my personal Valiants:

First with traditional sheaths:

and with bare blades:

From top to bottom, these blades are the Golok Kelapa (Java), Parang Bandol (Java), Small Survival Golok (Java), and Parang Borneo (Borneo).

More recently, I added these two Valiants to my collection:

That's the Sumatran Parang Lading on top and a Pinuti below. The Pinuti is a war blade from the Philippines. The other two well known Philippino war blades are the limb severing Barong and the concave downward Gununting.

Here's a promotional shot of the Lading and Pinuti:

The Parang Lading in it's sheath:

and the drawn Pinuti:

The Valiants have the advantages of being hand forged, differentially hardened, convex ground spring steel. All mine have been used in the field except the Pinuti (which is a weapon) and the Parang Lading (which is too dang purty).

My favorite Valiant work blade is the Parang Borneo, which can sever a 2" piracantha limb in one swing. I like the upward sweeping blade and weight forward design.

Of the modern blades, my 23" Martindale (5th from the left) and Gerber Brush Hook (far right) see the most use.

 

[HighDesertWalker]

AHA, thank you so much sir....Crap, only 5.99?

Edit: Crap, out of stock.

Bummer! Here's the U.S. distributor. I bought my 14" bolo from them:

TRAMONTINA U S A, INC.
12955 West Airport Boulevard 77478-6119 Sugar Land, Texas - USA

Email: tusa@tramontina-usa.com
Telephone: 1 281 340 8400
Fax: 1 281 340 8410

I went through all my bookmarked machete sites and found no 14" bolo currently in stock. I'll let you know if I find one.

 

[AustinTXShooter]

Smoky Mountain will probably have them back in stock pretty soon.

 

[bearthedog]

HDWalker I always liked your machete pictures.

 

[baldtaco-II]

...Why I'm quite keen on getting a # 4 to mod into an versatile thwacker. Obviously not light or thin enough for jungle proper, but I anticipate it being able to transfer a massive amount of energy whilst still being compact enough to use as a big camp knife.

I've been tormenting myself with the idea of replacing my # 2 with this for a while. At this location I could do little more than work the blade some by hand, and that would be a tedious process. And I'd want to get a big phat beak on that handle for sure. For now I must just persist in teasing myself with the anticipation.

 

[Fiddleback]

Riley, get yoruself one of those Reflection of Asia bolo's. For 20 bucks, they are an awesome value. I have two, and after a little hand sanding on the horn handle, they're two of my favorites.

Neato stuff there.

 

[RescueRiley]

I actually have one I was concerne about how it'd hold up...That tang looks mighty skimpy...