any machete users?
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yes i use one regularly, to clear brambles, and light chopping work, its also good for craft work (early stage of bowmaking),
mine is a sawback, (Which i dont recomend, because it makes it way to dangerous, and the saw is not very good), also work with plenty of room
mine is a sawback, (Which i dont recomend, because it makes it way to dangerous, and the saw is not very good), also work with plenty of room
I have a kukri machete, which I have used and I liked the way it handle.
I catually like it better than a small axe for chopping down small trees and undergrowth. Feels more balanced to me.
I have no experience with regular machetes, though.
I catually like it better than a small axe for chopping down small trees and undergrowth. Feels more balanced to me.
I have no experience with regular machetes, though.
I have a Martindale No2 which i have used when im out sometimes ,i also have a Martindale made for the U.S army which is in my van and sometimes used at work for bramble clearing.
Daz
Daz
I bought a machete from a local car-boot several years ago (for three quid). It has "Tramontina brasil" on the 12" blade, and I figured brazilians should know how to make a machete?! I have used it as a garden-clearing tool at both my mother's and my in-laws. We cleared several 8-10M high laylandi trees (grrrrr....fist shake...damn them all!!) with a small chainsaw and extensive machete use. It is a fantastic tool and very effective for branches up to about 2-3" dia. Always strike at a slight angle and (as my handle is pretty basic) would recommend wearing a glove - I used one of those high friction rubberised yellow gardening types. It would take some explaining away if I was caught using /carrying it in a public place. (The mother-in laws neighbours gave me some nervous looks as a hung from a tree swinging it!)
I used one a few times for bramble and scrub clearance - until the blade snapped off cutting a thin branch.:yikes:
I liked the idea that a machete would cope with several tasks so I wouldn't have to lug several tools about but I'm not so sure now.
I'm contemplating getting a cheap Tramontina for light work and see how I go.
I liked the idea that a machete would cope with several tasks so I wouldn't have to lug several tools about but I'm not so sure now.
I'm contemplating getting a cheap Tramontina for light work and see how I go.
i use a webtex machette for me its a pefect size,type gowersponger in you tube i posted a vid nice shape to the blade
Here in Brazil the machete is the main blade we use but I also use them back home in my native Pennsylvania in the summer time as well.
My current favorite is one I cut down from a larger 17 inch Tramontina. The result is similar to a Martindale #2. This blade gives me two edge types, scandi at the base and convex up front, as well as to spine profiles, square at the base and rounded up front. I find that set up this way I have a very versatile 14 inch package that rides easily on the belt and hits very hard when chopping. The handle was originally wire wrapped but I replaced that with seamless micarta made from cloth cut from a pair of woodland camo BDU's impregnated with 24 hour epoxy resin. Paired up with a bushcraft knife I never feel the lack of another tool.
With a year round growing season things can get very thick here but back home in the eastern woodlands summer seems to make up for lost time and my machete gets alot of use there as well. Back there I want a shorter heavier blade and mostly carry a 12 inch Ontario set up with the same modifications. Mac
My current favorite is one I cut down from a larger 17 inch Tramontina. The result is similar to a Martindale #2. This blade gives me two edge types, scandi at the base and convex up front, as well as to spine profiles, square at the base and rounded up front. I find that set up this way I have a very versatile 14 inch package that rides easily on the belt and hits very hard when chopping. The handle was originally wire wrapped but I replaced that with seamless micarta made from cloth cut from a pair of woodland camo BDU's impregnated with 24 hour epoxy resin. Paired up with a bushcraft knife I never feel the lack of another tool.
With a year round growing season things can get very thick here but back home in the eastern woodlands summer seems to make up for lost time and my machete gets alot of use there as well. Back there I want a shorter heavier blade and mostly carry a 12 inch Ontario set up with the same modifications. Mac
Use an old Army (1955) jungle machete most days to cut wood for the burner.
Good brush cutter as well.
When out and about though prefer my Kukri as it chops, slices and dices beautifully.
Paul
Good brush cutter as well.
When out and about though prefer my Kukri as it chops, slices and dices beautifully.
Paul
I personally think machetes are fantastic and somehwat unused these days in non jungle type regions. I use mine for nearly everything, even cutting down thick branches as it's light weight and i can keep hacking away accurately far longer than i can my old hand axe. Even the cheap handled carbon steel ones like mine are work horses, I recently drilled/plucked out the old aluminium rivets and replaced them with 6mm bolts and some no nails glue. its now formidable! haha, i even modified the tips back end with a single bevel edge for deep inward cuts!
my stuff right here.. V
my stuff right here.. V
haha nah they are great, get really good control for hacking and close up work. Also machetes are cheap and really easy to sharpen, i just run mine over the grinder then polish it up with a stone and unlike a £60 axe..i'm not scared to use it rough.
My experiences are that billhooks are thick and hefty simular to axes in a way, they are good for all sorts..particularly hedgeing and close up work on hard wood. A cheap machete of reasonable length in carbon steel like mine is capable of simular things but is lighter, has more reach for hacking through heavily over grown woods/jungles yet is still capable of hacking thicker stuff like the 6 inche thick log i hacked in half a week ago. Also good for close up carving but not very good at splitting logs..like a billhook or hand axe. When i can, i think i will trade my axe for a decent billhook as i really like them and their various styles. Although cheap machetes are suprisingly tough..a good billhook will be made like a tank. but it is personal preference.
I posted elsewhere recently about my Cold Steel Barong which qualifies as a machete.
The tip is fine and sharp (unlike most machetes), it makes short work of limbing felled trees, and I use it for harvesting longbow staves and as a drawknife for roughing them out.
If I only had the choice of one tool from my available selection for an outdoors trip I'd very probably pick it over everything else, it's so versatile.
Loads of cutting power, holds a good edge, tough as the proverbial old boot and can do knife work as well as the big stuff. Not perfect (the sheath sucks big time) but damn good overall.
The tip is fine and sharp (unlike most machetes), it makes short work of limbing felled trees, and I use it for harvesting longbow staves and as a drawknife for roughing them out.
If I only had the choice of one tool from my available selection for an outdoors trip I'd very probably pick it over everything else, it's so versatile.
Loads of cutting power, holds a good edge, tough as the proverbial old boot and can do knife work as well as the big stuff. Not perfect (the sheath sucks big time) but damn good overall.
Horses for courses I think: As a landscaper in the UK who lived in Africa for 22 years I get on with my machete. My work colleague from the UK prefers to use his billhook. That said I'm keen to learn from him how to use one as efficiently as my tool................hc
I use a Tramontina bollo machette that I have had for 30 years I modified it some years ago much like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVHeKNbRXgc
Recently I made a new sheath for it...
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John
experantia docet stultos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVHeKNbRXgc
Recently I made a new sheath for it...
John
experantia docet stultos
I prefer a sickle for clearing brambles out of the way, a machete doesn't do it anywhere near as well and the billhook is too short and heavy.
