A pair of Martindales

[Stew]

A pair of Martindales I had in recently for custom handles - one is the Golok and the other the Paratrooper. As I'm sure that any of you that have had a Martindale in hand are aware, the stock handles are functional but don't fit flush to the blade tang. It's obvious that speed of manufacture is more important than the aesthetic.

The new handles on these are Bog Oak and I made moulded in place green micarta liners as the blades had a curve in them that I couldn't get rid of without a ridiculous amount of regrinding on the whole blade. By moulding the liners directly in place between the Bog Oak and tang, any gaps that would have been left were eliminated.

On request the Golok was trimmed in length to match the Paratrooper.

Leather sheaths are much more aesthetically pleasing to me but pose that slight challenge with this blade shape to get a snug fit as the tips are wider than the handle end of the blade. A long open section of the sheath and a retention flap get past that challenge.

These are not the first Martindales I've worked on but I'm planning it be the last. With these I realised that it was probably quicker, and cheaper for me to make the blades from scratch rather than reworking, plus it would end up with a better overall finish and performance (the blade flats have an extremely coarse finish and the cutting edges arrive at quite a thick angle.)

 

[Alreetmiowdmuka]

Nice them


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[Dreadhead]

nice work Stew

 

[Robbi]

very nice indeed.

 

[Shelley]

Looks a lot better than what they come out with, I too have played with the martindale golok but after a bit of use decided the steel is rubbish, I think it's a 10xx maybe 75 or lower, seems to blunten very easy and rust like crazy, I use if for when I'm chopping gorse close to the ground and don't need to worry about smashing it into rocks...

 

[Nice65]

Looks a lot better than what they come out with, I too have played with the martindale golok but after a bit of use decided the steel is rubbish, I think it's a 10xx maybe 75 or lower, seems to blunten very easy and rust like crazy, I use if for when I'm chopping gorse close to the ground and don't need to worry about smashing it into rocks...

I reckon that's their type of usage summed up. Mine came with a file to sharpen it, they're not blades of finesse.

Stew, you've made a good job. I did mine years ago and found fitting micarta, a backspacer and trying to get the blade up together was like trying to polish the proverbial turd. But, it was interesting, challenging, and enjoyable, I'm glad I did it.

Especially fitting the Chris Askwith hollow Corby type bolts. There's a reason why softish metal is in bar/rod form, it doesn't deform so much or strip out threads.

 

[snappingturtle]

Like the trooper looks handy!

 

[Jaeger]

Aye Up,

Nice job(s)

You are right about the original handles - total rubbish. Apart from the blisters that I got from prolonged use (due to the ill fitment) I've actually had them split in my hand during use! Way back you could go through a mil G10 stores room and find most Gollock handles repaired with gaffer tape!

Re the leather sheaths though - I agree that leather does look better but taking care to thoroughly dry the blade before replacing it in the sheath is a must as a return from Belize taught me with the larger bolo machete. (never had the same issue with the webbing sheaths - breathable). That large opening you have had to make for access may help.