Photos (UPDATES on Pg. 2) Do Tramontina machetes come from the factory like this or did the seller damage it with a grinder?

[Mr Machete]

I bought a 24" Tramontina with a poly handle. I was under the impression that the tip to somewhere around the belly would be, mostly, unfinished, but maybe that's the basic 18" Trams. I know my Ontario (18") took ages to get going with a file.

But I received it with the belly and tip oddly sharpened and, judging by the coloration, possibly overheated enough to to ruin the temper on the edge of the tip. I can't tell if the seller did it or if it came from the factory like this. If the seller didn't do it, did the factory sharpen it before or after heat treating it? Should I return it and/or leave a bad review?

These two show the burn:

These last two show the light reflecting off an additional two bevels from improper sharpening:

I could care less about it being improperly sharpened, the tip being damaged and the burn mark. I was gonna hit with a mill file anyway. The last 9 inches of the blade weren't true, but it was easily fixed. What does worry me is that the temper on the edge of that portion of the tip may have been ruined.

I got it for clearing certain sections of grassy weeds so I wouldn't have to get so close or low. Imagine dense Johnson grass and Itchgrass type invasive weeds with half inch thick brambles and worse growing in, on and around it.(Welcome to Texas!) So the tip will definitely be dragging accross vegetation every swing even though I only intend to cut with the sweet spot.

 

[Mr Machete]

I believe the machines fouled it up because something was wrong with the blank. Likely someone at the factory noticed that something went wrong after the sharpening machine and touched it up by hand.

The the good one has a uniform grind with a perfectly transverse grain. The bad one has a hack job on one side and the grain is much less apparent in the "touched up" area. The good one also has a consistent and uniform burr.

I'll give a detailed explanation below the pictures.

​

Here's the evidence:​

Picture 1(exhibit A):​

(The gap near the square on the bad one is more apparent but I failed to take the picture from directly above.)

Picture 2:​

(Proper trailing point and curvature on the good one. Wavy spine on the bad one.)

Picture 3:​

Picture 4:​

(The good one has the unsharpened tip that several of you spoke about. You can also see the burr, uniformity and other signs of a machine grind.)

Picture 5 (exhibit B):​

(When the unsharpened portions are both lined up square, the sections of the spines behind the tips and bellies almost form the same angle. There is also sort of a nasty recurve on the edge of the bad one.)

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Spoiler: Detailed explanation

I think they hang the blanks on the hole in the factory and the machines rely on a certain length after the handle being straight(the side that is eventually sharpened) to properly orient them in the various machines on the assembly line.

Because the portion near the square(seen in exhibit A) was warped, it was never aligned properly in the machines that use that as a reference point. When both blades are squared up parallel with each other, using the unsharpened portion, the ends of the spine end up parallel.

Most likely the sharpening machine overheated the edge since the blank had an improper shape. It may have gotten stuck. Whoever tosses/repairs the odd ones couldn't eyeball that the shape was incorrect and probably just ground the heat tint off edge of the majorly damaged side not realizing the color indicated it reached a temperature high enough to ruin the heat treatments.

---

The new one feels way better to swing and handle. Without a second one to reference and a square I never would have figured it out. Thanks for all the replies, people. I hope this is useful/informational.

I also wonder how often this happens with blades (e.g. knives, machetes, etc...) that people buy online. The 24" is pretty uncommon, and the profile of it is more intricate & unique than I noticed in the listing pictures, so it wasn't obvious that the shape was pretty off. There are far more pictures and videos of the smaller ones. If it had been a janky 18", it'd have been immediately spotted.

 

[DocJD]

I believe the machines fouled it up because something was wrong with the blank. Likely someone at the factory noticed that something went wrong after the sharpening machine and touched it up by hand.

The the good one has a uniform grind with a perfectly transverse grain. The bad one has a hack job on one side and the grain is much less apparent in the "touched up" area. The good one also has a consistent and uniform burr.

I'll give a detailed explanation below the pictures.

​

Here's the evidence:​

Picture 1(exhibit A):​

(The gap near the square on the bad one is more apparent but I failed to take the picture from directly above.)

Picture 2:​

(Proper trailing point and curvature on the good one. Wavy spine on the bad one.)

Picture 3:​

Picture 4:​

(The good one has the unsharpened tip that several of you spoke about. You can also see the burr, uniformity and other signs of a machine grind.)

Picture 5 (exhibit B):​

(When the unsharpened portions are both lined up square, the sections of the spines behind the tips and bellies almost form the same angle. There is also sort of a nasty recurve on the edge of the bad one.)

---

Spoiler: Detailed explanation

I think they hang the blanks on the hole in the factory and the machines rely on a certain length after the handle being straight(the side that is eventually sharpened) to properly orient them in the various machines on the assembly line.

Because the portion near the square(seen in exhibit A) was warped, it was never aligned properly in the machines that use that as a reference point. When both blades are squared up parallel with each other, using the unsharpened portion, the ends of the spine end up parallel.

Most likely the sharpening machine overheated the edge since the blank had an improper shape. It may have gotten stuck. Whoever tosses/repairs the odd ones couldn't eyeball that the shape was incorrect and probably just ground the heat tint off edge of the majorly damaged side not realizing the color indicated it reached a temperature high enough to ruin the heat treatments.

---

The new one feels way better to swing and handle. Without a second one to reference and a square I never would have figured it out. Thanks for all the replies, people. I hope this is useful/informational.

I also wonder how often this happens with blades (e.g. knives, machetes, etc...) that people buy online. The 24" is pretty uncommon, and the profile of it is more intricate & unique than I noticed in the listing pictures, so it wasn't obvious that the shape was pretty off. There are far more pictures and videos of the smaller ones. If it had been a janky 18", it'd have been immediately spotted.

Poor (or zero ) quality control seems very common these days , not just for machetes / knives .

I guess the attitude is that the consumer can just return it , if it's flawed ...or hopefully they'll just not bother . So why have any QC ?

 

[Monofletch]

I have a Tramotina Cane machete and the grind is not burnt at all. It isn’t “perfect” but the metal is good quality

 

[Alberta Ed]

I suspect most folks who buy machetes figure they'll sharpen them with a file anyway. A coarse filed edge slices through fibrous materials very nicely.

 

[USMCPOP]

OP, that was a "second". Never should have gotten into circulation.

 

[Mr Machete]

OP, that was a "second". Never should have gotten into circulation.

Yeah, I think so, too. Not only is the profile of the blade completely mutilated, but the axis of the handle is way off. I figure it would tend to roll blade side up every swing and impact. It would make it more difficult to swing and slice through at a 45 degree angle.

---

Picture of the misaligned handle axis:​

(Proper yard stick aligned with the rivet holes.)

(Decade old 18", with some rust from being unused for a few months, from when they were still 1095. I don't mind blemishes.)

---

I suspect most folks who buy machetes figure they'll sharpen them with a file anyway. A coarse filed edge slices through fibrous materials very nicely.

Yeah, I strongly prefer file sharpened these days. The edge holds way better and the microscopic serrations definitely perform better when slashing through a couple sqft. of dense weeds per swing.

First few seasons I did oil stones. It'd get paper slicing sharp, but the edge wouldn't hold long enough and it was time consuming. I also used a Smith's tungsten carbide machete sharpener for a year. It was super fast and 'ok' sharp but dulled incredibly fast. Now I use a single-cut file and strop it. Easy field sharpening.

 

[jux t]

Either a particularly bad job or a return that nobody looked at.