What would you put in the perfect machete?

Tballetta

Tballetta

Joined
Jul 22, 2006
Messages
373
I put this up for the makers but I thought the gang here who are heavy actual users might have some great input as well.

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I am in search of the perfect machete. My questions to makers are: What steal would you use. What blade geometry? what length? What blade shape? Handle style and material. What else?

I think with a compilation of input from makers I will have one made and hack the living daylights out of every thing I see.

Thanks for the input.
 
What will it be used for?

Chopping sugar cane? A trail through the jungle? Lopping off Zombie heads?

The intended use might give us a better idea what to suggest.
 
Good question. Forme It will mostly be sued for clearing vegetation. Tropical stuff. That is the only way to get to where the zombies hide. From there its .45 ACP.
 
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I would use this and maybe re do the handle of it and convex the blade...

1/2" thick at the spine, 12" long blade for "Lopping off Zombie heads"
 
For vegetation you want a thinner, more efficient cutting blade. If you're gonna do a lot of clearing, you'd be best off with a shorter and lighter blade in the 12" to 16" inch range. I prefer the bolo shape of the Tramontina 14", which puts the weight at the end of the blade gives the swing plenty of power.
 
for 18 dollars you can get a 12 inch ontario it's 1095 carbon steel (Arespectable steel on all accounts) I own one and it has a good heft to it, and the spine is thick enough to baton with...I have'nt had a chance to hack any vegitation with it but I did a simulation by hanging raffia and bits of dofferent cor from a pullup bar and goin at it it did a ggod job...for the money its hard to beat....for zombies I'd take a baseball bat and a group of fat people (the bat is not for the zombies it's just to mame the fat people enough , so that while the zombies are feastn I can make a clean getaway) LOL..No offense meant to fat people or zombies
 
I'd get a 6 dollar Tramontina, and rehandle it with homemade mikarta. Only one grind. Convex.
 
I'm just going to wait for Pict to answer this, then agree with him. :thumbup: :thumbup:

;)


I do think something like a bolo/parang/golok , thin & flexible rather than thick & rigid. Swept back blade for good shearing action on tropical vegetation.
 
Well if you got enough bucks to have on made I would use CPM 3V steel, tempered to 58 HRC with a 14" blade length in the shape of a Tramontina and the handle I would do myself using black canvas micarta. Keep playing with it untill it fits you hand perfectly. Then I would top it off with a kydex sheath. My dream machete.
 
58RC is pretty hard for a machete??

I'd look at mid to low 50's for RC, and use a Carbon spring steel, tempered for maximum flexibility. For a jungle machete, that is.
 
Light and thin has some speed to it, and does not weigh much, so it works well on lighter stuff. It also chops just fine. I kind of like the hand and a half handles, just because. I think that a lot of what makes machetes so good are partially because of their simple construction and softer steel. When you change that, it becomes more specialized in a particular direction, and requires more care. I think the only place you would improve on a machete is building it to handle hardwoods, and then it is probably not the best tool.:)
 
IMO, thin and light is the way to go with a machete. Heavier machetes, while they have their uses, get pretty tiresome after a while for the tasks you'd most likely use a machete.

Convex bevel of about 1/4" to 1/2" is probably best. Carbon steel flat stock kept relatively soft is cheap and practical. Blade thickness of around .080" is ideal for me.

I generally prefer non riveted plastic handles, but that's contingent on it having a good shape. A hole for a lanyard is pretty important, too.

A blade shape that is forward-weighted seems to do better at chopping. But i do fine with a more typical Latin American style blade. Having a sharp point might come in handy for some tasks, but I haven't come across those tasks yet.
 
Unless you have a different design in mind, I'd get an Ontario machete 12" (not the economy model) and have it rehandled with micarta and convex the edge. 1095 IMO, is the best choice for a machete. 1095 is a spring steel that can be hardened to about 55/56 and perform well for your intended purpose. Ontario makes very good machetes.
Scott
 
Hi guys, Thanks for all the responses. I find one thing very interesting. I started this post because although I own many 1, 2 and 3 hundred dollar knives which I use occasionally by far the sharp thing I use the most is my $15 Barteaux machete. I would also think that arguably the most used sharp outdoor tool on the planet is the machete.

With all this worldwide use, it is very curious that the majority of the advice I am reading is to buy a $20 machete. Can it be true that the best money can buy is $20 worth of steel? If it is than so be it. But I would think with all the design and innovation genius I have witnessed here on blade forum someone would have come up with the ultimate in machete sweetness.

Is there no point or profit in machetes as fine craftsmanship? Is there no better design.

I long for a great machete much as I longed for a great camp knife (which of course there are many wonderful ones these days).

The challenge. Bring me a great machete and I will deliver you the world. (well maybe just my gratitude and a check, But still,)

The world of sharp things needs, no deserves, a great machete.
 
Thanks for the vote of confidence Skunk, but I'm just one man's opinion.

Finding the perfect machete is like trying to play 18 holes of golf with one club. There are so many different types of vegitation that you could apply a machete to that it is a very hard question to answer.

I use Tramontina machetes mostly because they are cheap, about $5 and available, sold in bins and buckets at every hardware store. Here in Central Brazil they are sold from 10 inches to 20 inches of blade length, the most popular being the 14 and 16 inch.

The short machetes are great for clearing brush in camp, chopping out roots, shelter building etc. If you get into really thick bush and vines and need to chop to travel then there are alot of factors that will influence the blade you want.

For tall grasses and fleshy plants a long 16 to 20 inch blade allows you to cut them low to the ground without bending and stooping all day.

I just spent about 2 hours yesterday chopping down thick clumps of razor grass with a 16 inch Tramontina and I was wishing I had an 18 or 20 after about ten minutes. My friend was using a 13 inch Saico, heavy broad blade and was having a hard time of it. On the other hand that same Saico will deal with saplings far more effectively than the lighter Tramontina 16.

A 16 and longer blade is really irritating to have on your belt all day. In the bush I normally use the 14 and 16 inches. When I take groups out I give them a variety, 14, 16 and the Saico to let them get a feel for what they like. Alot of what people settle for depends on their body type, height, arm strength, etc.

Two hours of chopping yesterday and I'm feeling it in my bicep and the top of my forearm today. If I had used an 18 inch Ontario I'd be typing one handed right now. Not that theres anything wrong with the Ontario 18, it's just better suited for woody brush than the constant repetition of grass.

My logic follows the Brazilian culture on machetes. You go out and buy a really snazzy sheath for the blade you like best and then proceed to chew through machetes that fit it. When they get worn out, ie. start looking like you hit a few too many rocks and filed out the dings, you buy a new one. The thought of spending big bucks on a machete kind of leaves me puzzled. They are designed to do the hard tasks and get sacrificed in the process.

I am a firm believer that cultures develop the blades they need to deal with the problems they face and that those decisions follow the collective wisdom of countless man-hours of use in that area. Look at whatever blade is traditionally used in an area and use that as your starting point. If after serious use you think that you can improve on it then do so, but most likely you will be satisfied with its performance.

I have a basket upstairs stuffed with machetes of many types, lengths, weights, and steels. The one I use most is a 14 or 16 inch Tramontina. One of my favorites is the 14 inch Tramontina Bolo, very good general use blade.

Others here are far more qualified to talk steel types and hardness etc. Mac
 
Tballetta said:
The world of sharp things needs, no deserves, a great machete.
Click to expand...

Perhaps several great machetes;they can be as specialized as anything else, as the other posters have shown.

There's not a whole lot you can do to improve on traditional machete designs, so it comes down to materials choices and specific use requirements. There are a lot of really affordable machetes out there now, you'd almost have to try to not find one that would work for you. I think there comes a point where a custom wouldn't perform ALL that much better than a common factory model, so it's hard to justify the cost.

You could always convex and polish up an Ontario and put nice hardwood scales on it. Hot-rodding or fine-tuning stock gear is a time-honored tradition and can have a very high bag-for-the-buck ratio.
 
SkunkWerX said:
58RC is pretty hard for a machete??QUOTE]

It is if you use 1095 steel. I don't know what the Kershaw Outcast is on the RC scale, but it is made from D2 steel. Using 3V you could harden it to 58 and still have a machete that may be twice as tough or more than with D2. I think a machete that could hold an edge in the field would be a real bonus. This of course is just my opionion of what a great machete should have.
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This thread has inspired me to get into a project I've been meaning to do for a while. I just bought two Tramontina 14" bolos, and one 12" er. This weekend I'll make some mikarta, rehandle them, convex them, and give one to my pal Chris, whose machete I ruined once.
 
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