Real Machete Skills series??

me2 said:
Thats pretty slick. Does a machete offer advantages over other types of knives, like say a RTAK with a 1/4" thick spine and full flat grind?
Click to expand...

Well to start with the tempers are completely different, a machete will take a ton of flex when properly tempered. The RTAK in current manufacture, and in design would not be as flexible, it would be less flexible and heavier in general per square inch.
 
hey convex welcome, you did it just like the guy who i used to have me bring every morning one, he did it just like that, damn that coconut water cleaned my kidney's lol, nice video.
 
I was speaking mainly for cutting purposes, so does the flexibility help with cutting? I'm basically wondering if a machete offers a cutting advantage over a similarly sized knife of the same weight with a full flat grind. IME machetes bend rather than flex, and flexibility depends more on cross section than temper, though both are important. The machetes I've used were generally in the range of 1/16" to 3/32" thick, and quite soft.

What kind of machete was used in the video? Looks to be about 18" long overall and ~2 inches wide.
 
me2 said:
I was speaking mainly for cutting purposes, so does the flexibility help with cutting? I'm basically wondering if a machete offers a cutting advantage over a similarly sized knife of the same weight with a full flat grind. IME machetes bend rather than flex, and flexibility depends more on cross section than temper, though both are important. The machetes I've used were generally in the range of 1/16" to 3/32" thick, and quite soft.

What kind of machete was used in the video? Looks to be about 18" long overall and ~2 inches wide.
Click to expand...

Hey me2... The knife used in the vid is a Lainhart Machete, roughly similar to the RTAK. It is 15-1/2" OAL, with a 10" blade, 2" wide, 3/16" thk with no distal taper. Flat bevel, about 1/2" wide, convex edge. Blade is ATS-34 (only Stainless machete I own), hardness 57-58 Rc (most machetes are in the mid 40's).
The knife was used right out of the box (VERY sharp, I was impressed! :thumbup:)
Some have complained about the weight of this knife (< 600g, I believe). I think its perfectly weighted for this work. It feels VERY solid in hand and has excellent balance. Blade has a slight (2-3 degs) rake, that really helps with Big draw cuts. Compared to the other knives I own, which are mostly full convex ground, the flat bevel on this one allows you to easily control the direction the chips fly, @ least with this type of cutting.

For reference, we usually cut coconuts with my old man's 14" Martindale machete. He cut it down (before I was born.... and I'm 34 :eek: ) to a 13" clip point. Still going strong. Completely different handling characteristics to the other knives, more "whippy" (only 3/32" thk @ handle). It is like swinging a light, sharp, razor blade. It makes the most beautiful "ring" when used.... sigh... like when knives / machetes / really ANY manufactured item was made right and made to last :(

Honestly.... I prefer cutting with the other knives like that Lainhart, RTAK, and ethno knives like the natas, bolos, and parangs. Their thicker blades, heavier weight, and convex grinds let them get thru things the machetes have a MUCH harder time with.

Hope this helps!
 
Last edited:
:D

2008_trejo.jpg


macheteposter.thumbnail.jpg
 
me2 said:
What kind of machete was used in the video? Looks to be about 18" long overall and ~2 inches wide.
Click to expand...

I'm willing to bet these machetes have no brand / name / belong to any "kind."

You get them off the market (market, as in market) for the price of 1/70th a Spyderco Harpy.
 
Damn i wish i had coconut yielding palms!! I agree with you convex that there is not enough machete footage on youtube. My favorite edged tool is the machete especially here in florida where landscape is lota brushy undergrowth vines, palms ect. I do lawn maint. and landscape, and its hard to beat a machete here. By the time i breakout the hedgers or chainsaw for smaller jobs, i could be done with a good sharp machete.* Its irreplacable if you posses the skills. ** My tools clockwise from the top: old cane knife 1/4" hollow ground actually, Phillipino 14" bolo 3/16" convex slight recurve buffalo handle with sharkskin shrinkwrapp(rod builders shrink wrap). Great for variety of hard to soft medium. 18" Latin tramontina, handles shaped and oiledOld corona 20" latin cut down to 18". very thin less than 2mm thick has best pass through on soft stuff but flexes to much for my taste. Cold steel ltc carbon v kukuri.* Only kukuri in shape, but its basically a machete. Works great as a knife near the handle portion.*Linder 14" bolo stainless partial convex . My kayak /camping tool.Tramontina 14" bolo. top half portion edged out for removing vines and such just under the soil. center display was given to my dad during his PBR days in the Navy. The blades are polished 22" say corneta ,santa anna and also say solingen on them. Wierd , Are thes latin made with german steel?*Any hoot thought i'd share . Keep em sharp
IMG_2989.jpg
 
Last edited:
Great display of deft machete work. Just goes to show if you do something a lot you can get very good at it.

Your mentioning that opening a coconut is considered a test of both the blade and person wielding it is making me think of martial arts, there are some artists who can break a coconut with an elbow, some can do it with the hand, not many. Very cool to see, that's some serious power.

Welcome to the forums!
 
That violates every safety principle I was taught in Cub Scouts.

Then again, so do the FMA and knife tricks I've been doing for the past fifteen years. So good show, sir!

:thumbup:
 
H2H907 said:
..... knife tricks I've been doing for the past fifteen years......

:thumbup:
Click to expand...

Wow, Thanks man!

LOVE your knife handling vid!!! Thought it was a Balisong when you started... then saw it was a folder. Sick! :thumbup:
 
I enjoy the look of that Lainhart. I imagine the size of a coconut in husk still gives you a bit of safe distance between your left hand and where the machete strikes?

With the first coconut, were you whittling the husk to a point to cut a hole in the inner shell with the final stroke?
 
C.S. Graves said:
I enjoy the look of that Lainhart. I imagine the size of a coconut in husk still gives you a bit of safe distance between your left hand and where the machete strikes?

With the first coconut, were you whittling the husk to a point to cut a hole in the inner shell with the final stroke?
Click to expand...

Yes indeed Mr graves... there's about 4-5" of circumference between your fingertips and the cutting plane itself.

Take your hand and spread your fingers, palm up. The open area between your thumb and pinky is where EVERY stroke should hit. That way, your fingers are essentially shielded by the body of the coconut itself.

And you're right, the idea is to create a bevel by cutting at an angle. This reduces the amount of material that the final stroke must cut thru to reach the inner shell. Bevelling is usually done with the belly and sweet spot of the blade. Initial cutting, and the final strokes that actually open the coconut, are draw cuts (basically, the handle passes the target before the HEEL of the blade makes contact, thus slicing into the chop).... but, far be it from me to explain draw cutting to the guys here.... preachin' to the choir I'm sure! :D
Opening a coconut, by the way, is supposed to be done in the LEAST number of strokes possible! Check some of the other vids in the thread.

Lainharts have been discontinued for many years (since '96-'97), but they are easy enough to find on the Secondary Market (read Ebay), usually for less than $100....
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the response, Convex! Trust me, many of us BF'ers can always learn new stuff around here! :thumbup:
 
I suppose I should have given a definition of matchete. The definition I use is basically sheet metal with an edge. Just a flat piece of appropriately shaped metal up to say 1/8" thick, with an edge ground on it, no primary bevel. Very cheap, easy to make, and functional. I've been dreaming of making my own for a while using some S7 shock steel 1/8" thick and about a foot long blade. I figure hardness around 55-56 would allow it to still be filed, but give much better durability than the much softer stuff I've seen before.
 
Great machete work. More vids would be appreciated like that to show what the long knife can do. Oh yea P.B.'s are the dog of velvet and steel. BEST dog God ever conjured up bar none. keepem sharp
 
Do they forge it down or use it as is? Seems a little thick, but if its all ya got, it'll work. By no means is my definition THE definition. But for the most part, to keep things cheap, the machetes I see being sold are stamped from sheets of 1050-1095 carbon steel, hardened, then have edges put on them with no primary grind. Any long knife can do what machetes do, but they are almost always more expensive. To illustrate just how broad my definition goes, I consider Mora knives and Scandi ground knives to be very small machetes, or machetes are very large Moras.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top