Sharpening a Machete

transmaster

transmaster

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Years ago I was into Machete's. I used to purchase them from them an outfit in Brazil. At the time I was told the best were made there and in Central America. At the time I was told by people in that region who used them on a daily basis that you sharpen them according to how they were going to be used, and is why Machete's made in Central and South America had the crude edge grinds they did because everyone had their own way of sharpening them. I was never curious about this. I was told that on the longer machete's many would put 2 different edges, out at the last 1/3 or 1/2 an edge from clearing brush, and toward the back an edge for wood and branch chopping. If this is the case I would like to know more about it.
 
Tramontina (Brazil) and Imacasa (El Savadore) are both good and well established makers of machetes.

They are usually sharpened with a file and some like to put a finer edge near the handle for finer work.

N2s
 
not2sharp said:
Tramontina (Brazil) and Imacasa (El Savadore) are both good and well established makers of machetes.

They are usually sharpened with a file and some like to put a finer edge near the handle for finer work.

N2s
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Those are the 2 brands I had. Gave them away to friends who really needed them.
 
In my experience one rarely needs to bother with doing one portion of the edge thinner and one thicker. Just grind the whole thing at 12-15° per side and it'll to well enough on just about everything. If dealing with small diameter hardened dead branches that are liable to damage an edge due to the small impact area, use the backside of the blade to hack through instead.
 
I too use a file and sometimes will work a finer edge with the diamond plates when in the mood. I love the 24" machetes here in Central Illinois where those wild roses with their thorns grow. The longer blade keeps you far enough away from them that they don't come back at you and stick you. I've never bothered with more than one edge. I have a knife if I need one. I have a Belgium Martin 18" where the last 6" isn't even sharpened. I have to wonder if that wasn't to keep you from cutting your leg in an overswing or glancing cut.
 
It's usually to reduce packaging and shipping costs, and is why the last couple inches on Tramontina machetes isn't sharpened. It keeps them from punching through the somewhat flimsy boxes in transit. Sharper machetes require much more packaging materials to keep them safe on their way to the store.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
In my experience one rarely needs to bother with doing one portion of the edge thinner and one thicker. Just grind the whole thing at 12-15° per side and it'll to well enough on just about everything. If dealing with small diameter hardened dead branches that are liable to damage an edge due to the small impact area, use the backside of the blade to hack through instead.
Click to expand...

I had never considered the surface area area in terms of impact before. Interesting stuff.
 
Yeah at very low angles hard, small-diameter branches can cause a lot of side-loading on the edge or roll them over. It's VERY rare to come across circumstances where that dynamic is bad enough to the point where you actually experience edge failure, but it does sometimes present an issue in some circumstances.
 
I never bother with running two edge grinds, I don’t use a machete nearly as often as those in South America, but I do use one often for clearing brush, multiflora rose mostly, basically briar/blackberry brambles.
Also gets used to hack down those pesky and invasive trees of heaven that grow like weeds my way.

I use a file, just a regular 6” double cut file, though sometimes if clearing lighter duty vegetation, I like to use a small and finer flat chain saw file, the kind you use to file the rakers down with, leaves a keener edge that just whisps through leaves and vines.

My go to machete is one from South America, but not a tramontina, can’t recall the brand right now, but it has an orange plastic handle, the blade is flexible, much more so than an Ontario for instance, and it’s light, so easy to swing and perfect for the brambles, velocity helps more than mass for that.
 
BJE said:
My go to machete is one from South America, but not a tramontina, can’t recall the brand right now, but it has an orange plastic handle, the blade is flexible, much more so than an Ontario for instance, and it’s light, so easy to swing and perfect for the brambles, velocity helps more than mass for that.
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Sounds like my Gavilan with orange handle. 18 inches and the sweetest blade sound I ever heard. A few light passes on the belt sander and it's ready for work.
 
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I have an accumulation of Cold Steel machetes. I have slowly been modifying them for specific purposes. I have a Panga machete that I thinned way to much and ripples the edge badly. It is about 20 years old so I’m reluctant to replace it but it need repair. Removing the damage will thicken the edge and it should be tough enough for normal use like trimming bushes and cutting low hanging limbs out of the way. I used a file and thinned the edge to about 5 degrees and added a 15 degree edge that was only 0.01” at the top of the edge bevel. That was too thin.

I have a kukri machete I lowered to about 7 degrees but I’ve not finished it yet. One side need a few more file passes and then sharpening. The edge bevel is about half an inch wide now.

I have two Barong machetes from the old Chinese plant with Keaton handles. One is unmodified with an 18” blade.

The other is a 12” blade model and is heavily used. I lowered the edge angle to about 5-6 degrees and added a 15 degree edge at roughly 0.015” thick at the top. This has been quite durable and is easily sharpened with just a stone. With its shorter blade and lighter weight, it doesn’t have the impact of the longer blades and can be used with a really efficient cutting profile without damage. It has been my main machete for yard chores for the last few years and does everything from trimming bushes to digging weeds as a spade. It will likely get a new handle at some point as the Kraton original is somewhat loose.

The longer one I plan to modify but haven’t decided what I want it to do.
 
me2 said:
I have an accumulation of Cold Steel machetes. I have slowly been modifying them for specific purposes. I have a Panga machete that I thinned way to much and ripples the edge badly. It is about 20 years old so I’m reluctant to replace it but it need repair. Removing the damage will thicken the edge and it should be tough enough for normal use like trimming bushes and cutting low hanging limbs out of the way. I used a file and thinned the edge to about 5 degrees and added a 15 degree edge that was only 0.01” at the top of the edge bevel. That was too thin.

I have a kukri machete I lowered to about 7 degrees but I’ve not finished it yet. One side need a few more file passes and then sharpening. The edge bevel is about half an inch wide now.

I have two Barong machetes from the old Chinese plant with Keaton handles. One is unmodified with an 18” blade.

The other is a 12” blade model and is heavily used. I lowered the edge angle to about 5-6 degrees and added a 15 degree edge at roughly 0.015” thick at the top. This has been quite durable and is easily sharpened with just a stone. With its shorter blade and lighter weight, it doesn’t have the impact of the longer blades and can be used with a really efficient cutting profile without damage. It has been my main machete for yard chores for the last few years and does everything from trimming bushes to digging weeds as a spade. It will likely get a new handle at some point as the Kraton original is somewhat loose.

The longer one I plan to modify but haven’t decided what I want it to do.
Click to expand...
This one? I wish I'd bought more of them when CS clearanced them out years ago. It's been my favorite also. I just gave it to my daughter a while ago. The first phot is the one I was referring to. The second photo is I think, one they replaced it with later.


FortyTwoBlades said:
It's usually to reduce packaging and shipping costs, and is why the last couple inches on Tramontina machetes isn't sharpened. It keeps them from punching through the somewhat flimsy boxes in transit. Sharper machetes require much more packaging materials to keep them safe on their way to the store.
Click to expand...
The Martin machete from Belgium is not sharpened near the base of the blade. Found mine at a yard sale and the handle has been covered with epoxy. It is a well made, sturdy 18" machete.
 
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Grizzly3 said:
This one? I wish I'd bought more of them when CS clearanced them out years ago. It's been my favorite also. I just gave it to my daughter a while ago. The first phot is the one I was referring to. The second photo is I think, one they replaced it with later.



The Martin machete from Belgium is not sharpened near the base of the blade. Found mine at a yard sale and the handle has been covered with epoxy. It is a well made, sturdy 18" machete.
Click to expand...
Near the base of the blade is not the same as them being unsharpened at the tip. Most machetes are not sharpened at the base of the blade.
 
That’s the one. I don’t think they offer that size anymore. I’d turn this one into something else and get a new one if they did.
 
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