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Trail Cutting Machetes 1968 Report

F

Faiaoga

Joined
Jul 3, 2012
Messages
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Forum members might want to know about an official US government report about machete design. The US Army Limit Warfare Laboratory published Technical Report No. 68-10 concerning machete design. The report recommended a 13 inch blade machete with a square tip for digging - quite different from the 18 inch machete that was issued at the time and is still used today.

The report is available on the internet and makes interesting reading. The author was Frederick M. Drake at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. Perhaps someone can help me post a link. :cool:
 
Last edited:
NCCNC said:
This made me laugh out loud for some reason. I do believe a critical piece of info was missing from the origional post.
Click to expand...

My mistake, unless someone in the Federal Government wanted a knife that might be TSA compliant. The recommendation was for a 13 inch blade with a square tip.

Thank you for the link to this report.
 
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You know, I prefer a 15" Machete, and 18" seems a bit long. I have never liked square tips though, or used one to dig!
 
Thanks for posting this. I thought it was a great read. Bad thing, it shows the brass' attitude of "meh, it's better, but who cares what these jokers use.." It's a bit like the Brit issue parang, without the dog-leg. I'm sure that blade was one to which they were referring, along with the mentioned khukuri, when saying curved blades and off-set handles required additional training. The trailing-in-use Western style blade seems safer for those used to them. After using khukuri for a while, my machete and Junglas actually feel a bit odd. You subconsciously get used to that edge being in a certain place. That's why new khuk users occasionally find the tip uncomfortably clsoe to their leg:D

The design they came up with looks a lot like the Bark River Golok in profile, if I'm not mistaken on the brand. The thin blade makes perfect sense for cutting light vegetation. Even in hard wood, machetes often penetrate very deep. I found their suggestion of leaving forging scale on to inhibit blade sticking in wood, as well a corrosion resistance, interesting. And it sounds like their ideal handle material was a lot like micarta, as bakelite was just an early plastic of sorts. As for the square tip for digging, over the past year I've read three books about the fighting in Burma in WWII and shovels were more valuable than gold. A shallow trench saved many, many lives. Many were scraped out with helmets! I'm guessing as the machete was a cutting and slashing tool, not a weapon or for stabbing, they figured it was another way to add an entrenching-ish tool to the unit. Some Burmese Dha are square tipped and worked very well in the jungle, according to GI reports. The Brits actually issued a version of the Dha during WWII and it looked a lot like just a square tipped machete, though it flared a bit. Thanks again for posting.
 
It seems like the 18" and longer work well for clearing vines and cactus, and agricultural use, but I prefer a shorter blade as well. The 14" Tramontina Bush model and Bolo are very handy and seem ideal, for North America anyway.
 
My main experience with machetes has been in the Pacific islands, starting as a Peace Corps volunteer in Western Samoa. My official job was science teacher but I did live and work with a family there. "Faiaoga, if you don't help us clear the vegetation and help us plant taro you won't eat".........so I learned to plant taro. That period of my life was the only time when I actually had to work for living:D

I certainly agree with the 1968 report that a lighter machete should be issued. I have owned and used the 18 inch Ontario that is military issue - it is very fatiquing to use for long periods of time. For plantation (food garden) work in Samoa, though, I cannot recommend the square tip. A point like that of the Latin pattern is better because it can be used to pry out coconut meat from the shell. I never saw any square tip designs used - Samoans all used 18 inch Latin bush machete patterns. Western Samoa is a Commonwealth country, so the Martindale "Crocodile" brand from Birmingham was sold.

I like the 14 inch Tramontina for general work around the house. It is a good size and weight for general use, and the quality is great for the price. :cool:
Faiaoga ("schoolteacher" in Samoan)
 
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