Real Machete Skills series??

[neki2]

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.

I dont believe you can improve on the machete much. It will be made pretty much unchanged in costruction as it always has been. Yes its thin , primarily so it will pass clean through its objective, wich is softer fibrous growth found mostly south of the equater, not hard woods were the blade will bind and actually slow progress. Thats where the 1/4" thick long knife with beefier edge comes into play.
Machete blades are run soft too. Like you said, so they can be serviced with a file or other easy carry sharpening method but also to prevent chipping wich is important to me, as i strike rock and chainlink fence all the time with some of mineand most of the time the edge only mashes. Thats where cheap production is key. I would shutter to use more expensive blades around damiging objects only to see chunks of blade missing.
A big knife around a 1/4" thick even flat ground cannot keep up with a machete. I've tried it. Thats like driving with a putter or fly fishing with a big game rod. I do believe mora could make a damn nice machete but probably would be a little steap.

 

[Convex]

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

Thanks Longbow! IIRC, you had a Lainhart too, no? I remember seeing posts about it somewhere. GREAT All-Around Knife! :thumbup: :thumbup:
And you are SO RIGHT about PB's.... could anyone own any other breed?

To be fair though, the Lainhart is not really a true machete as defined by the guys above. It's really more of a big knife with a machete profile.

IMHO, a 12" Ontario swings faster (it's 2" longer), but this knife definitely packs more impact power (thicker stock - .125 vs .187) and is MUCH more comfortable to use...