Tramontina Machete Mod

jdk1

jdk1

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Apr 21, 2010
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Well, I've become a fan of the mighty Tramontina machete. It's still not my ideal big blade, but there's really no logical reason it isn't. That has more to do with me feeling safer with a thicker blade and the fact that anything besides a khukuri shape feels a little strange in my hand. But, I've come to see the simple machete is possibly the ideal large blade for many places on this planet. I picked up a few machetes a year or so ago, 14" and 18" Tramontina Bush models. The 14" is a dream to handle. The 18" was a little tip heavy for my taste, so it sat alone. I recently saw the Tops .230 and really liked the looks. The two-cut clip on that model looks pretty good. I decided to clip the tip on my 18" Tram to give it a little flair and a useful tip as well. After ten minutes with a hacksaw, I realized that 1070 is tough steel! So it went back on the shelf until a friend of a friend clipped it for me. I have no clue what he used, but it worked and so far it doesn't seem to have affected the heat treat or anything. My friend then worked the edge a little with his belt sander and made it a razor. I sanded the handle down a bit, drilled a lanyard hole, and threw some boiled linseed oil on it. I really like the results. It handles about the same, but has a very usable tip now. Mainly, it just looks cool IMHO. It has kind of a cutlass look to it:emot-yarr:. It was $5.99 when I bought it and now is worth at least $6.25:D Here are some pics. I hope you like it. Take care.

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And so it can retain some OG street cred;), I left the sticker on the other side!
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Very nice! The tip on them works fine stock if you just file/grind them sharp but that's a very elegant look you gave it!
 
A good regular machete like an Imacasa or Condor or Tramontina is my choice for a large blade over ANYTHING else.

A Mora and a 18" machete is possibly the 'perfect' woods combo, and you can buy them both together for about the price of a Swiss Army Knife.
There is no better "bang for the buck".
 
twl said:
A good regular machete like an Imacasa or Condor or Tramontina is my choice for a large blade over ANYTHING else.

A Mora and a 18" machete is possibly the 'perfect' woods combo, and you can buy them both together for about the price of a Swiss Army Knife.
There is no better "bang for the buck".
Click to expand...

Amen to tha! :D
 
It's hard to argue about that. These standard machetes are very tough and cut efficiently. The ergos are great as well. I've seen them take horrible abuse and be brought back to usable shape in no time. What puts them over the edge is the cost. The often repeated saying around here is that your survival knife is the knife you have on you. Well, your working blade is the one you have nearby when you have work to do. The low cost of these things makes it easy to have several setting around. I resisted jumping aboard the machete bandwagon as long as I could because they just were not as interesting as other blades, but they just work so darn well! I'm unlikely to start a machete collection, but I can't deny their value. Take care guys.
 
I like it! It turned out really well.

One tip regarding your saw, buy a carbide coated blade if you want to cut through knife steel (hardened or not). It'll last a lot longer than a toothed saw blade, and it seems to cut faster.
 
My only machete is an 18" Tram I got from Baryonyx. He convexed the edge and smoothed out the handle. I smoothed the handle out some more, opening it up for my large hands. This thing cuts like mad.
 
jdk1 said:
[snip] I resisted jumping aboard the machete bandwagon as long as I could because they just were not as interesting as other blades, but they just work so darn well! I'm unlikely to start a machete collection, but I can't deny their value. Take care guys.
Click to expand...

Personally I find them incredibly fascinating because of their great complexity in design considerations, yet simplicity of execution. Among other factors. :)
 
Th precise form of the blade will have a massive effect on performance characteristics and suitable tasks as well as stock thickness, blade length, and the presence or absence of distal taper. You have a lot going on in terms of the point of balance, location and size of the sweet spot, and how they relate to each other with regards to the blade/handle relation, amongst many other factors. I plan on writing down a thorough summary of a lot of my observations on "machete theory" at some point but so much of it is difficult to verbalize. :D
 
Oh man, the MACHETE is my favorite.I like the clip point idea! They are the most versitile tool out there. So many things you can do to them and with them. When in AZ I used them to clear out prickly pear, jumping choya, palo verde trees, and what ever else. Took it out in the bush on hunting/hiking trips, love them! Ofcourse they can make great SD tools. You can put multipul edges on them like this guy http://youtu.be/IsZb_1XfFHo and do stuff like this dude http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVHeKNbRXgc&feature=share&list=PL88A305B8BAEDF6BD
 
I just thin the entire edge down to a 30 degree included angle (15 per side) as it cuts like a Mora while also improving chopping ability. The edge holds up just fine under impact.
 
Thanks for the compliments guys. I've seen a few modded machetes here and always thought it was a neat idea. The value and usefulness factor for basic machetes is way high. I have gained a lot of respect for the steel as well. I've seen them put through some really rough use where much more expensive blades didn't fair as well. It's kind of the standard of comparison for me now for large blades. If I test a blade and it rolls or dents and my Tram doesn't, it's a reject. It's really put some things into perspective regarding working blades.

Grease, thanks for the tip on carbide coated blades. I dulled two hacksaw blades before giving up on the saw. If the carbide blades make it easier, I may do some more modding. I think the 18" Bush model is now up to $8.99. I'm not going to cry if a mod goes sideways!

Thanks again guys and Take care.
 
When modding machetes I just use cutoff wheels with a dremel and make one slow pass to set the path for the wheel then make more rapid back-and-forth passes to minimize heat buildup. Once I'm about 90% of the way through I snap the piece off in a vice then take it to the belt sander to dress up the edge of the cut.
 
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