Advise on machete

H

Hollow Point

Joined
Apr 22, 2018
Messages
37
Looking on advise for a good model wood land machete. The machete would stay strapped to the rack of my 4 wheeler until needed for clearing brush, vines, limbs etc. Saw tooth back for sawing limbs if needed. I already have the Gerber Gator Jr, but lost the sheath and cannot find a replacement, even on their website. Said sheath Velcro strapped around the handle and wore out, lesson learned, I need a snap button strap. Thoughts?
 
Hollow Point said:
Looking on advise for a good model wood land machete. The machete would stay strapped to the rack of my 4 wheeler until needed for clearing brush, vines, limbs etc. Saw tooth back for sawing limbs if needed. I already have the Gerber Gator Jr, but lost the sheath and cannot find a replacement, even on their website. Said sheath Velcro strapped around the handle and wore out, lesson learned, I need a snap button strap. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

There are basically no good saw-backed machetes in existence, to the best of my knowledge. I'd suggest just getting a good machete and a good pruning saw, independently; maybe even strap the saw sheath to the machete sheath. For sheaths that use snap strap closure, a lot of Condors use them, as does Cold Steel. :)
 
I agree with the above - don't bother with saw-back machetes. My preference in machetes is a 20" Tramontina. If I'm clearing heavier stuff, I'll grab an Ontario HD or CS magnum kukri machete (unless it's worthy of an axe or serious chopper).
 
The orange marbles machetes made by Imicasa are a good value for the $15 they cost from [some non BF vendor site] if you were to get it from there.
Not the only option out there but they do come with a sharp edge from the factory.
It's a rough edge but it is a really sharp one.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Your choice is going to depend on what you are going to be cutting. For lighter brush, you can go with a lighter pattern. The 18”Tramontina latin machete, and the 16” Imacasa bolo are lighter patterns that I have found to work well, relatively inexpensive, and pretty versatile. For what you paid for your Gerber Gator, you can get a real, durable machete that can do some serious work.

For more money, you can get into heavier choppers that will be effective on thicker brush and limbs. Condor has a wide range of heavier machetes. I particularly like the 13” Golok, the parangs, and the Baryonyx machete, made by Condor.

Baryonyx Knife Co. is a good place to shop for machetes, and is a member of this forum. Another good source is the place that specializes in machetes; I am not sure if they are a member of the forum, so I don’t mention their name, but you can figure it out.
 
Last edited:
Condor Bushcraft Machete will beat the heck out of anything you put in front of it. Highly recommended. I modded the handle a bit with a ferrier's rasp, but it's still pretty comfortable stock. Wide sweet spot and the thing is engineered to maximize power. You may not need to waste time sawing much of anything with this available.
http://imgur.com/gallery/Y8KUwed
 
I've had good luck with a Cold Steel "Heavy Machete" and their "Magnum Kurkri" machette when I lived in South Florida.

Be aware the Cold Steel machettes come with an uneven edge full of burrs (at least the three I had did) I used a draw through sharpener to clean up the edges and get them sharp enough to use.
Faster and easier than a stone or file.

For a saw, I used a cheap 18 or 20 inch (I forget which) camping bow saw with crosscut blade from Walmart or Home Depot.
 
afishhunter said:
Be aware the Cold Steel machettes come with an uneven edge full of burrs (at least the three I had did) I used a draw through sharpener to clean up the edges and get them sharp enough to use.
Faster and easier than a stone or file
Click to expand...
An uneven edge full of burrs seems to imply some, albeit poor, sharpening. Using the two I purchased new as my references, that would be generous. The edge is flat - as in it will bounce off anything the impact doesn't break (there is no "cutting" with one until sharpening).
The Magnum Kukri is decent for the uses stated. The other CS machete I had (I think it was an El Salvador) was utterly useless - wouldn't hold an edge long enough to get any work done... chipping and/or deforming on things my other machetes took in stride.

A bow saw is a good recommendation, if you're going to use it & can afford the space. I went with a good folding saw from Silky's "professional" lineup, because I'm usually in a tree when I'm using it, and I've been quite happy with it.
 
I had one I got in Honduras- no idea of the brand. I think Condor is made in Central America but I would probably stay away from name brands for a machete.
 
Tramontina 18 inch is a good machete for not a lot of dough. Mine has been used on everything from vines to small diameter hickory limbs (maybe up to around 2" diameter) and it will hold its own without chipping or folding. They're made in Brazil, probably by people who use machetes daily. However, they ship with an edge that needs refining, so be ready to work it over with a file or a belt sander. Like many axes, the sharpening is left to the end user since they will sharpen it in a way suitable for the work that will be done.
If you do not care to refine the edge yourself (because it will need work), get it from Baryonyx and select Special Grade. For a few dollars more, you will get a very well tuned and extremely sharp machete upon arrival. I cannot say enough good things about their excellent service on these machetes.
 
I woud certainly stay away from anything with a sawback. Those are at best suitable for notching, not for real sawing. If they are anywhere useful as a saw, they are dangerous for the user as you will be swinging a blade with sharp teeth aimed back towards yourself - if it bounces back you can get hurt. I had one like that (United Cutlery, I didn't know better at the time) and after I injured my off hand during light yard work I took an angle grinder and ground the sawteeth clean off.
My favorite machete is the Tramontina 14 inch bolo. It chops as well as an standard 18 inch due to the forward-weighted blade but it is a bit more nimble. With a good convex edge these chop like crazy, even in temperate hardwood (hazel, ash, oak saplings and branches as long as it is green; not for seasoned hardwood of course). They do come a bit rough, you need to put your own edge on and smooth out the spine at least. Some sellers in the States (Baryonyx? Machetespecialists?) can do that for you for a few dollars as a premium service. It also comes without a sheath. I got a Cold Steel bolo sheath, which is longer but can be adapted. It was the only thing I could find here in France. Otherwise, machetespecialists have sheaths for them so in the US you have more choice.
I agree with other posters, get a saw with it, any decent folding saw will do ten times better than a sawback on the machete itself. Silky is the obvious choice, if the machete is a Tram you'll have the funds for a good saw. With those two, any nasty growth will try to pull up its roots and run if it sees you coming. ;-)
Pics:

My bolo with the Cold Steel sheath, as it came (above) and after some adaptation. I put a short swedge on the front of the spine, with a steep edge angle so I can use it backhand fashion to chop at stuff close to the ground, or at roots. I also smoothed and rounded off the handle and added a lanyard hole. Note that the Tram has no scales, it has one solid wooden handle with a groove into which the blade is fitted, so your fingers curling around the bottom do not touch steel, there is no ridge there. Which also makes it easy to adapt the shape a bit.


The adapted sheath. I cut off part of the sheath's body while keeping the belt loop intact. It is quite flexible so you can use a paracord loop with a cord lock to fit it to your belt (or to whatever) as shown. The bolo, while still a large blade, can be carried on the belt this way as it does not come down to below the knee. It helps if you have less of a belly than I do... ;-)

Below: blade tip with the swedge. This is about how deep it goes if you take one wrist flicking blow at a hazel branch. In standing green wood, with a well-aimed blow you go through this size in a single chop.

 
Having said all the above on the Tramontina, there is of course always the option to get a Skrama. Since I have mine I use the Tram far less. Plus there is the mad-laughing effect you get when you wield that blade. :-)
 
Decent inexpensive brands that are fairly common:

Tramontina (Brazil)
Imacasa (El Salvador) - and the Marbles versions
Incolma (Colombia) - Gavilan/Corneta/Colima brands - they also make some for other companies/brands, like Truper

Interesting video by Incolma:
 
Last edited:
I like my Skrama. A lot! But it is not as inexpensive as a Tramontina. I thought my Skrama might take the place of the 18" machete, but it definitely does not. It would probably overlap more with a 14" machete, but then it really cannot compete in terms of price (which is still very reasonable for what you get). In any case, the Skrama is a fantastic tool but not quite a replacement for a good machete for certain types of work. I will say that I often have both with me when I'm clearing brush as I do find myself in places where the shorter and stouter blade of the Skrama is more useful than the thinner, longer blade of the Tramontina but in places where I can fully swing the machete, I can clear more per stroke than I can with the Skrama. But you are very correct that the Skrama makes you feel like a Viking berserker and there is no way the machete can be as much fun to use.
 
Last edited:
I have a small but beefy Ontario sawback that does what I need it to. Enough weight to get through limbs, but still small enough to not get in the way. I don't use the sawback, but that model happens to be thicker which is what I was looking for. I think I paid like $30 for it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top