What is your favourite machete?

I think I got a new favorite......

Well, two. True Grass Machete Air MAX and Mini Air. .085in thick Z Tuff. 20.75in blade on the MAX, 14in blade on the Mini.

IMG_2006.jpg
 
Years ago I had an SOG that was really tough. I own 30 acres in Southern Illinois and it’s kinda swampy down by the Ohio river, and I used that thing for everything. I wonder if they still make them as tough as that one was?

I don’t remember it failing, but is gone and the crappy Harbor Freight ones aren’t as good but they’ll give you a new one when they break.
 
Murphy Slaw said:
Years ago I had an SOG that was really tough. I own 30 acres in Southern Illinois and it’s kinda swampy down by the Ohio river, and I used that thing for everything. I wonder if they still make them as tough as that one was?

I don’t remember it failing, but is gone and the crappy Harbor Freight ones aren’t as good but they’ll give you a new one when they break.
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For an economical model, anything by Imacasa or Tramontina is excellent, as well as any other Latin American manufacturer.
 
I just received this 12" Ontario today and it's definitely not my favorite, in fact I would actually say this machete Sucks.
20250915_145327.jpg
The handle is square and uncomfortable, and the blade is way too thick.
Even with an edge like this it doesn't cut worth a crap, it's about 2x thicker than my thickest south American machete.
Maybe an 18" would be better, but I wouldn't want to swing an 18" for more than just a minute.
I heard that OKC machetes had gotten a bit thick, but I didn't know they got this bad.

I prefer American made for most things, but Machetes just aren't something we know like they do in south America where they used them daily.
 
Hickory n steel said:
I just received this 12" Ontario today and it's definitely not my favorite, in fact I would actually say this machete Sucks.
View attachment 2977047
The handle is square and uncomfortable, and the blade is way too thick.
Even with an edge like this it doesn't cut worth a crap, it's about 2x thicker than my thickest south American machete.
Maybe an 18" would be better, but I wouldn't want to swing an 18" for more than just a minute.
I heard that OKC machetes had gotten a bit thick, but I didn't know they got this bad.

I prefer American made for most things, but Machetes just aren't something we know like they do in south America where they used them daily.
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Yeah the ones from the 70's and earlier are much better. They actually had a full flat grind on 'em and while the scales looked boxy, they were a bit more rounded than the modern ones, and weren't actually uncomfortable in the hand. The "good ones" have scales that look/feel like bakelite. rather than polypropylene.
 
Hickory n steel said:
I just received this 12" Ontario today and it's definitely not my favorite, in fact I would actually say this machete Sucks.
View attachment 2977047
The handle is square and uncomfortable, and the blade is way too thick.
Even with an edge like this it doesn't cut worth a crap, it's about 2x thicker than my thickest south American machete.
Maybe an 18" would be better, but I wouldn't want to swing an 18" for more than just a minute.
I heard that OKC machetes had gotten a bit thick, but I didn't know they got this bad.

I prefer American made for most things, but Machetes just aren't something we know like they do in south America where they used them daily.
Click to expand...
The 18" is better, but mostly because the longer blade gives more leverage and weight into chopping thicker branches. Mine had a terribly boxy handle, as does yours, that was genuinely unpleasant in use. I spent an hour with a rasp and rounded/contoured the handle and now it's perfectly usable. I then spent another hour completing reprofiling the edge, which was largely nonexistent when new. Now it works well for chopping hardwoods which predominate my area.

For the life of me, I cannot fathom why Ontario would use such a terrible, painful handle design for so long, considering that nearly every other terrestrial manufacturer of machetes has figured out how to not do that. Truly baffling, unless their philosophy was "eh, f*** it".

Edit: here are some pics to show what Ontario machete handles should look like out of the box:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/machetes-use-in-woody-north-american-brush.1964055/post-22366061
 
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oldmanwilly said:
The 18" is better, but mostly because the longer blade gives more leverage and weight into chopping thicker branches. Mine had a terribly boxy handle, as does yours, that was genuinely unpleasant in use. I spent an hour with a rasp and rounded/contoured the handle and now it's perfectly usable. I then spent another hour completing reprofiling the edge, which was largely nonexistent when new. Now it works well for chopping hardwoods which predominate my area.

For the life of me, I cannot fathom why Ontario would use such a terrible, painful handle design for so long, considering that nearly every other terrestrial manufacturer of machetes has figured out how to not do that. Truly baffling, unless their philosophy was "eh, f*** it".
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I'm just using my machetes for grass and weeds and such, so I prefer a thinner lighter south American machete with a distal taper.
I probably wouldn't even like swinging an 18" OKC machete for the things I'm doing.
 
Hickory n steel said:
I'm just using my machetes for grass and weeds and such, so I prefer a thinner lighter south American machete with a distal taper.
I probably wouldn't even like swinging an 18" OKC machete for the things I'm doing.
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Makes sense to me. Which brand/models do you prefer?
 
Hickory n steel said:
I just received this 12" Ontario today and it's definitely not my favorite, in fact I would actually say this machete Sucks.
View attachment 2977047
The handle is square and uncomfortable, and the blade is way too thick.
Even with an edge like this it doesn't cut worth a crap, it's about 2x thicker than my thickest south American machete.
Maybe an 18" would be better, but I wouldn't want to swing an 18" for more than just a minute.
I heard that OKC machetes had gotten a bit thick, but I didn't know they got this bad.

I prefer American made for most things, but Machetes just aren't something we know like they do in south America where they used them daily.
Click to expand...
I don't like a guard on a machete. I used to have a Bartueux & Sons, made in Portland, OR. I hated the guard so I gave it to my brother who lives in Oregon. I have one old machete that some old timer added a guard to. I don't care for that guard, either.

Yeah, short and fat is pretty worthless foe a machete.
IMG_1765a.jpg
 
Square_peg said:
I don't like a guard on a machete. I used to have a Bartueux & Sons, made in Portland, OR. I hated the guard so I gave it to my brother who lives in Oregon. I have one old machete that some old timer added a guard to. I don't care for that guard, either.

Yeah, short and fat is pretty worthless foe a machete.
View attachment 2998823
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I just wanted to try one out and I had a particular use in mind that didn't pan out.
 
oldmanwilly said:
For the life of me, I cannot fathom why Ontario would use such a terrible, painful handle design for so long, considering that nearly every other terrestrial manufacturer of machetes has figured out how to not do that. Truly baffling, unless their philosophy was "eh, f*** it".

Edit: here are some pics to show what Ontario machete handles should look like out of the box:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/machetes-use-in-woody-north-american-brush.1964055/post-22366061
Click to expand...

That's the way Blackie Collins designed it, and I don't know why either. I think they sell well to the tactical crowd that want a combat knife/brush sword/machete on the cheap. For many years, Ontario sold both plain handled versions and those fat d-guards in the same sizes, in the same catalog. The plain handles were marketed with a more professional bend to the placement and ad copy.

The whole d-guard machete project came out around the same time the Spec Plus line was introduced, and they were trying to modernize and get in on the tactical market. If I had to guess, the d-guard was probably added to compete with Barteaux, whose d-guards were very popular in the early 90s.
 
tltt said:
That's the way Blackie Collins designed it, and I don't know why either. I think they sell well to the tactical crowd that want a combat knife/brush sword/machete on the cheap. For many years, Ontario sold both plain handled versions and those fat d-guards in the same sizes, in the same catalog. The plain handles were marketed with a more professional bend to the placement and ad copy.

The whole d-guard machete project came out around the same time the Spec Plus line was introduced, and they were trying to modernize and get in on the tactical market. If I had to guess, the d-guard was probably added to compete with Barteaux, whose d-guards were very popular in the early 90s.
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I don't really have an issue with the D-guard, although I would rather not have one. My problem is the unnecessarily blocky handle that puts relatively sharp corners in sensitive areas of your hand during use. It's almost like they asked "How can we transfer as much shock as possible into your hand when you chop stuff?" and then rolled with it.

I'm surprised to learn Blackie Collins was involved, you'd think he would have ironed that out.
 
1960's/70's-ish Ontario machetes had a much deeper full flat grind to them and bakelite-type phenolic scales that LOOK very similar to the current ones, but were, in fact, significantly less blocky in the hands. When they made the switch to polypropylene scales they had to make new molds for the different production process and whoever sunk those dies made 'em more square than the originals and then it stayed that way ever since.
 
There were actually 4 Ontario Blackie Collins models -

BC12 - 12" Camper
BC18 - 18" Field
BC22 - 22" Heavy Duty

Those all used the same cutlass shape, 1/8 stock, and grind as the military models. In fact, you'll usually find all of those 3 co-stamped with the military markings even though they weren't official issue.

The Heavy Utility Bowie was BCUB12, it is heavier than the others at a hair under 5/32" blade stock.

All of the 1990's Ontario machete models can be seen in the 1997 catalog - https://queencutleryhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Queen-Catalog-1997.pdf .

When Ontario redesigned them in the late 2000's, after Blackie died, and the licensing deal lapsed, they changed the handles some, but they still retain that odd clunky thick feel the older ones had.
 
tltt said:
There were actually 4 Ontario Blackie Collins models -

BC12 - 12" Camper
BC18 - 18" Field
BC22 - 22" Heavy Duty

Those all used the same cutlass shape, 1/8 stock, and grind as the military models. In fact, you'll usually find all of those 3 co-stamped with the military markings even though they weren't official issue.

The Heavy Utility Bowie was BCUB12, it is heavier than the others at a hair under 5/32" blade stock.

All of the 1990's Ontario machete models can be seen in the 1997 catalog - https://queencutleryhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Queen-Catalog-1997.pdf .

When Ontario redesigned them in the late 2000's, after Blackie died, and the licensing deal lapsed, they changed the handles some, but they still retain that odd clunky thick feel the older ones had.
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Too bad the CT3 and CT4 aren't still in the lineup.

Blades probably had the military marks because they were taken from standard production runs and just had the different handle slapped on 'em.
 
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