Tramontina Machete

theonew

theonew

Joined
May 16, 2006
Messages
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I've had a 12 inch Tram machete for a good while, but have never really used it. Last week I sharpened it up pretty nicely at around 17-20 degrees per side and polished the edge on some UF ceramic to where it was cutting a free hanging hair. Today I took it out on a picnic hike with friends and used it to slice up some hard crusted bread and then chopped through one 4-5 inch diameter piece of seasoned hardwood. When I checked the edge after chopping, it wasn't dented or rolled at all but was very dull, wouldn't shave hair at all. Now of course it is a 10 dollar blade so I wasn't expecting incredible performance but frankly I did expect better. When I got home it took me a good 10 - 15 minutes of sharpening with a coarse DMT hone to get it back to shaving sharp. Maybe I'm spoiled by Bark River and Busse but I can't really see carrying this tool again.
 
I have a bunch of trams, and love them to death.

My preferred method of sharpening them? Use a bastard file.

Beat the hell out of it, then file it again.
 
I think Sparljo (welcome BTW) pretty much stated it. When using these guys, you get used to sharpening them on the fly. Its part of how the tools are supposed to be used.
 
Theo, you may be suffering from softened steel on the edge after grinding at the factory...Did you try some heavy filing to remove metal? If you can lay your hands on a fresh cinder block, you can use that as a heavy duty grinding stone for shaping the edge...
 
I use a file as well. Any machete I have used/owned has needed regular sharpening while using.
 
Use a slack sander with a good variety of belt grits and you will love them. Takes about 3 minutes for me to bring one from tore up to shaving.
 
I'll have to try the cinder block idea. :cool: I usually use a mower file/handy file, but recently have picked up a few of these:
edgeeater.jpg

Real easy to use, and puts on a finer edge than a file- single or double cut. :thumbup:
 

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I use a file only also.For me this tool doesn't need to shave.As stated it's made to beat up and touch up.
 
I use the Belt sander, it only takes a couple minutes to bring them back to shaving sharp. I can do a little work on a six dollar blade that will last for years.:thumbup:
 
siguy said:
Theo, you may be suffering from softened steel on the edge after grinding at the factory...Did you try some heavy filing to remove metal? If you can lay your hands on a fresh cinder block, you can use that as a heavy duty grinding stone for shaping the edge...
Click to expand...

I usually don't comment on edge retention/stability until after I have given a blade lots of use and several full sharpenings, so yes, this could be a possibility. But considering that this knife came with what was basically an unsharpened edge, I kind of think I removed enough steel to hit fresh metal. I have a crazy rough grit waterstone that reminds me of a cinder block and will grind the crap out of it and try it again a couple more times :D
 
I dont see the point of being able to shave with a machete--thats what your good knives are for!
 
i own cold steel and tramontina machetes , as ppl have stated above , i just use a bastard file to sharpen them, same as my hatchets and tomahawks.
 
Just to be a pain... a machete isn't really the right tool for heavy chopping on seasoned hardwood anyway. That's what your Busse is for! I'm just sayin'.

MacHete, that Smith's hockey-puck-lookin' stone looks interesting. Is it like a coarse carborundum-type stone? I've seen them around somewhere but never tried one.

One thing I've tried for beater blades is the cheap diamond "stones" from Harbor Freight. Glue the coarse and medium back-to-back and throw the "fine" away. Lightweight and pretty effective. You wouldn't want to use them on a nice Bark River though; they're cheap for a reason.
 
James_Terrio said:
Just to be a pain... a machete isn't really the right tool for heavy chopping on seasoned hardwood anyway. That's what your Busse is for! I'm just sayin'.
Click to expand...

Nah, that's what your Khukuri is for. ;) I think most everyone knows that the "classic" machete was designed for clearing light vegetation, but the fact is- many of the stiffer ones really are very good choppers. :)

James_Terrio said:
MacHete, that Smith's hockey-puck-lookin' stone looks interesting. Is it like a coarse carborundum-type stone? I've seen them around somewhere but never tried one.
Click to expand...

That's a pretty fair assessment- it's about the texture of a good bench grinder wheel. I picked up a handful of them on clearance from Sierra Trading Post. They still appear to be in stock: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/...s-EdgeEater-Tool-Sharpener-Multi-Purpose.html I've been using them on my loping shears and beater machetes and such. I'd like to see how they do on my axe, if I can ever find it again. :confused:
 
IMO, an edge like you've (theonew) described belongs on a small fb or pocket knife. For a machete, I like a coarse edge that is a little bit more obtuse than that.
 
Machetes are for greener woods and brushwork, if you want a big workblade for heavier woods, then you should get a Golok type knife with thicker blade -or an ax.

I also don't think the edge of a machete should be sharpened to 17-20 degrees. Way too steep for a brushknife. Get your edge down to a more robust angle, or use a belt sander to build a convex edge to it.
 
Machete's are usually not very hard at all. Sharpen up your butterknives and expect them to perform like a Busse. Same story.
 
MacHete said:
Nah, that's what your Khukuri is for. ;) I think most everyone knows that the "classic" machete was designed for clearing light vegetation, but the fact is- many of the stiffer ones really are very good choppers. :)
Click to expand...

Can't argue with that. The only Tram I have is quite thin, a "classic" as you say, so I figured his would be about the same.


MacHete said:
That's a pretty fair assessment- it's about the texture of a good bench grinder wheel.
Click to expand...

Cool. :thumbup:

I agree with the other folks about the proper sharpening angles for a machete, as well. I have a weird compulsion to put a polished razor edge on everything, but it's really not worth it on a typical machete. As Fiddleback says, they're generally not hard enough to support that kind of fine edge.
 
Thats the wrong edge for the tool. Use a rat-tail file to put a working edge on your machete and forget about it. The tool is meant to be beaten (which is why it costs $10). Treat it as such.
 
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