What is your favourite machete?

SharpBits said:
Or just buy many many of them like the rest of us do! šŸ¤£
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Start with one of the cheap 5pc colombian machete assortments and you'll get enough variety.
In my 1st 2 I got long Latins short Latins hook machetes, pangas, heavy tapangas, cane machetes and other in between machetes.

The 20" blade barrigon that I got was an interesting one I wish I would have kept and experimented with, but I gave it to my neighbor who uses it to kill rattlers near his honey bee boxes.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Start with one of the cheap 5pc colombian machete assortments and you'll get enough variety.
In my 1st 2 I got long Latins short Latins hook machetes, pangas, heavy tapangas, cane machetes and other in between machetes.

The 20" blade barrigon that I got was an interesting one I wish I would have kept and experimented with, but I gave it to my neighbor who uses it to kill rattlers near his honey bee boxes.
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That was my second machete purchase. Still a good deal, especially if you catch one of their numerous sales.
 
For many many years I liked my Owen Bush forged version of a Penan parang, with my own osage handle and cherry sheath, sadly no photo of blade.
Parang+sheath by Last Scratch, on Flickr
One can see the sort of blade shape here:
drs.britishmuseum.org

Parang ilang Penan - Sarawak Museum

Parang ilang of the Penan Silat Upper Baram; wooden hilt, the handle plaited with rattan; attached to it is a woodcarving knife; main sheath binds with rattan lashings; the small knife casing of betelnut sheath; belt string of rattan; blades are plain
drs.britishmuseum.org drs.britishmuseum.org
Owen's is not forged/ground asymmetrically though, cuts the same in both directions.

Since 2018 I have enjoyed using a Condor Eco Parang with a slimmed handle and my own sheath. I have since moved the carry cord to the other side, so it hangs edge down. Edge up is fine...until you wear it with a pack belt!
. by Last Scratch, on Flickr

My buddy wanted something a little different and I made him these two...and I have been meaning to make one for myself ever since. He really rates them, and he has lived and guided expeditions in Borneo and southern Africa, where one of these recently did him service in the thick riverine thorn scrub.
Billhook Sheath by Last Scratch, on Flickr
 
C_Claycomb said:
For many many years I liked my Owen Bush forged version of a Penan parang, with my own osage handle and cherry sheath, sadly no photo of blade.
Parang+sheath by Last Scratch, on Flickr
One can see the sort of blade shape here:
drs.britishmuseum.org

Parang ilang Penan - Sarawak Museum

Parang ilang of the Penan Silat Upper Baram; wooden hilt, the handle plaited with rattan; attached to it is a woodcarving knife; main sheath binds with rattan lashings; the small knife casing of betelnut sheath; belt string of rattan; blades are plain
drs.britishmuseum.org drs.britishmuseum.org
Owen's is not forged/ground asymmetrically though, cuts the same in both directions.

Since 2018 I have enjoyed using a Condor Eco Parang with a slimmed handle and my own sheath. I have since moved the carry cord to the other side, so it hangs edge down. Edge up is fine...until you wear it with a pack belt!
. by Last Scratch, on Flickr

My buddy wanted something a little different and I made him these two...and I have been meaning to make one for myself ever since. He really rates them, and he has lived and guided expeditions in Borneo and southern Africa, where one of these recently did him service in the thick riverine thorn scrub.
Billhook Sheath by Last Scratch, on Flickr
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These look beautifully functional.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Am I the only one who hates hollow plastic handles ?

The solid injection moulded plastic handles like my little barrigon has are great, but the cheap riveted on hollow plastic handles aren't very durable and they just feel chintzy.
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My favorite is canvas micarta. Like I have on my Martindale Paratrooper and Golok.
 
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Hickory n steel said:
I'm just talking about which of the plastic handle types found on inexpensive south American working machetes is better / favored.
it's a whole different ballgame when you get into the upscale knife enthusiast machetes sold by knife dealers.
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Gotcha.
 
Crag the Brewer said:
It might seem pretty overwhelming at first.....?

But Really there are only 2 main types of machetes.

1. Sunday dinner machetes.
2. Lend to your neighbor machetes.

Both are valid, and needed, you just need to decide this one right away.
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I love it!

Both will have to wait some. I just helped a buddy by purchasing part of his coin collection earlier today.

I remember the machetes that the locals used when I was down in Panama. They were very long machetes. Locals carried them without any type of sheath. Why they did not suffer from leg and foot injuries is still a mystery to me.

We were down there building a medical clinic, two schools and upgrading some roads. All part of my time in uniform. One of our Engineers wanted a machete as a souvenir. He could not find one for sale from the locals, so he purchased one on base. Made by OKC. Looked like our US normal issue but it was a lot shorter.
 
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Here's my La Marca Corneta No35, which is the 24" blade. It's not perfect, but in pretty decent shape. I may or may not have accidently cut one of the sheath's leather tethers one of the times I thought zombies were near, but It also still has the original label/sticker on the reverse side of the blade.

IMG_1060.jpg
 
SwissHeritageCo said:
Any idea where a man can find a Martindale Golok? I see some of the original surplus ones like you have but only available in the UK :(

Nice sheaths btw.
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They're a hard critter to come by. Believe it not but I got lucky here by advertising in our, wanted section and bought both the Golok and the Paratrooper off the same dude.
But I'll keep an eye out for you.
 
R3licHunt3r said:
Here's my La Marca Corneta No35, which is the 24" blade. It's not perfect, but in pretty decent shape. I may or may not have accidently cut one of the sheath's leather tethers one of the times I thought zombies were near, but It also still has the original label/sticker on the reverse side of the blade.

View attachment 2654414
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Does this beast have two zip codes? :)
 
CS97BWM12S_LSR39.jpg
 
3D printed, looks like? Impressive durability on that. My one concern with TPE is that rubber does just what its name says in extended use--it rubs. Not an issue with gloves but I prefer to work with bare hands for better dexterity and control and once you hit the 1-hour mark and longer any rubber or heavily textured handles start rubbing badly and causing hotspots. It's why I prefer polypropylene handles that don't have aggressive texturing, as well. Looks like it should be very nice for sub-hour-long work, though!
 
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