tramotina

I love the darn things. I would go so far as to say that if I could only have one camping tool to do everything, it would probably be a 12 inch Tram. It is that versatile in My humble opinion.

That said, Heaven forbid that I would ever be limited to only one camping tool.
 
bearthedog said:
This is my subject. I love tramontinas and have used them for the past 5 years for everything, everywhere.

Bolo 14" is a longtime favorite.
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Info on that sheath?
 
I left mine flat and prefer them that way-as thin machetes they're high performance deep biters and bushwackers, so I think the edge should reflect that. They've been performing outstandingly. I leave this Thursday for the anual Labor Day Lower Salmon whitewater sh&#show and a 14 inch is coming with me. Wrapping up a few details on the baldric sheath tonight.
 
As long as this threads revived, why not post some more short trams...

14in tram to start

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Now add a burned handle, nice patina from hard use, modded tip, and shaving sharp edge

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and a cheap but indestructible PVC sheath for good measure

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I have many hours of use on my bolo. It does it all. Clearing brush, digging up roots, making firewood, harvesting trees, carving and hammering pegs. Its taken on a nice patina. A few passes with a puck brings it back to a razor finish after a days use. It's a close friend.

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KuRUpTD said:
Great trams MD ... how does one go about making a PVC sheath ?
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cut pvc tube to length. Heat pvc with heat gun until soft. Press flat with book. Better description later, typing This at work from cell phone
 
Yep, works a treat, Just make sure you get the PVC hot enough, it'll work almost like soft clay when it's at the right temperature. Working it when it's too cold may cause cracks or kinks to form when pressing it to shape.
 
For around $6.00 a Tramontina machete is probably the best bladed object you can buy!
The finish and quality of the wood on the Trams is pretty amazing given their low price point--I just prefer a slightly thicker/stiffer blade and harder steel. Not by much, 'cause it's still a machete, though! I just usually go with a Imacasa/Condor, though they're more expensive.
 
I have 12" and 18" Tramontinas, both with wood handles, great machetes. When at home the 12" takes the place of my chef's knife in the kitchen as well. It's a lot more fun, and actually works really well for chopping up vegetables. I wipe it down with olive oil after every use.
 
I've got just the one, I modified the blade and kind of accidental bronzed the blade. I'm still putting the sheath together.

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RescueRiley said:
How many of you Folks use a tram as your machet of choice?? I have 2 12 inch convexed ones coming from siguy... I'm psyched wondering how they
hold up in the NE woods.... There a little thin and will chew up a baton, but has anyone battoned with them?? Thanks
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I batton them all the time, they handle it well. It depends on your environment and purposes... I have yet to find a better machete for bushwacking/trail clearance. ALL OF MY TRAMS ARE FLAT GROUND... I don't get this convex stuff. People give them convex edges and complain about them being too light to chop efficiently, when my flat ground trams are easily the deepest biters of any machete I own-especially when considering their weight. They're also by far one of the most efficient choppers-super easy to control, nice distinguished V notches, and no muscle requirement at all... just a soft grip and gravity. Do I roll, bend, dent edges? You bet. Do they clean up faster than it takes to dull them? You bet.
 
hushnel said:
I've got just the one, I modified the blade and kind of accidental bronzed the blade. I'm still putting the sheath together.

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If you posted this without telling us what it was, I'd have guessed it was a custom that cost 20 times what a Tram does. Nice job. Is that the original handle or did you put some new wood on it?
 
Sorry about that. It's an 18" looked like this one. I reshaped the tip, it's the original handle but I ran it across the belt sander to round the edges and close some of the spaces. I put a liquid circuit etch on it then went to buff the corrosion out and accidentally grabbed bronze wool rather than the steel wool and some how the bronze transferred to the steel. Weird but it looks kind of cool. Some of this stuff and the oil I used to neutralize it got on the handle and darkened it, You'd never guess its brand new, less than two weeks old.

I bought this Tramontina at a bait house on Key Largo.

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PayetteRucker said:
I batton them all the time, they handle it well. It depends on your environment and purposes... I have yet to find a better machete for bushwacking/trail clearance. ALL OF MY TRAMS ARE FLAT GROUND... I don't get this convex stuff. People give them convex edges and complain about them being too light to chop efficiently, when my flat ground trams are easily the deepest biters of any machete I own-especially when considering their weight. They're also by far one of the most efficient choppers-super easy to control, nice distinguished V notches, and no muscle requirement at all... just a soft grip and gravity. Do I roll, bend, dent edges? You bet. Do they clean up faster than it takes to dull them? You bet.
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I used to just flat file sharpen my machetes. I still do for my longer 20 inch blades I use for clearing grass. Since I started convex sharpening them I definitely get less edge damage.

It really depends on what you are doing with your blades. For clearing brush, weeds & grass I don't think it makes that much difference. My blades end up doing everything from clearing trail, making camp, to crafting objects so having different parts of the blade optimized for the various tasks is a plus.

Mac
 
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