This machete was sent to me by Matthew Rapaport, who got it from Cliff Stamp, who in turn, (if I am not mistaken), got it from Marion Poff. I would like to thank each for passing it along.
This is not a complete review, since I will likely not have a chance to do much machete work until the fall, but I did want to post something before that.
DETAILS: This is the Barteaux M18-B heavy duty machete that has an injection molded plastic D guard "safety handle" and a 18" blade made of "high carbon tempered spring steel". The blade is 0.10" thick (with no distal taper), and increases in width from 1 13/16" near the handle to 2 5/8" just behind the tanto tip.
This machete and the rest of the Barteaux line can be seen at their site - www.machete.com
Cliff also has a nice review of this and several other machetes on his site - www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/knives/reviews.html
Jimbo also has a nice write up on his site - www.oldjimbo.com/survival/machete.html
Matthew was kind enough to sharpen the blade before sending it, and the bevel angle appears to be about 20 degrees per side (which is about the same angle that my Ontario's bevel is sharpened to).
ERGONOMICS & BALANCE: I found the Barteaux handles to be basically similar to those of my Ontario BC18 Field machete (18" GI model with the Blackie Collins D-guard handles). The Barteaux handle is roughly rectangular in cross section and has molded in checkering on each side. The Blackie Collins handle is also rectangular in section, but is much more heavily radiused (almost oval), with a lightly textured finish and no checkering. The Barteaux feels slighly more blade heavy than the Ontario. This was comfirmed when I found the balance points to 5 7/8" forward of the handle for the Barteaux, and only 3 7/8" for the Ontario. This is more of a difference than I would have guessed.
FENCE CLEARING PERFORMANCE: About the only machete work that I had was about 2 hours of clearing a chain link fence of various vegetation that included light stuff such as honey suckle, poison ivy, grasses and hollow stalks, along with more substantial things such as very small hardwood saplings and heavy woody vines up to about 1" in diameter. Some of the vines are very tough and feel like steel cable when you chop them.
Overall, the Barteaux performed quite well. On the tough vines, the Barteaux's heavy blade was an asset; in fact there were a few times when I would have liked a little more blade weight to add momentum to my swing. On the lighter stuff, less momentum is needed, and a lighter blade would be less tiresome to swing over an extended period, although the Barteaux handled well and did not wear me out during the 2 hours of fence clearing.
The Barteaux blade's sweet spot seemed to start about 6" from the handle and extends forward for about another 10" to where the the tanto tip meets the straight edged portion (this is about the same as my Ontario). This machete is not finicky as to the swing or cutting angles.
The tanto tip proved to be a bit of a nuisance; there were a few times when I would have preferred a more rounded, conventional machete tip. The tanto tip also made the Barteaux somewhat difficult to sink into the stump that I was using to park it whenever it was not in my hand, in contrast, the Ontario was easy to sink and held tighter because it penetrated more.
D-GUARD HANDLES: The Barteaux safety handle also worked out well for me. First off, the D-guard proved it's worth within the first two minutes of use. I swung through some honey suckle and smashed the guard full force into a pressure treated 4x4 post. If not for the guard, I would be typing this with some very sore fingers. As a matter of fact, my hands are completely unscathed, even though I did not wear gloves - this would not have been possible without the guard. The D-guard also helped me maintain a secure grip even when swinging hard at odd angles or from awkward positions.
I had thought the the handles square'ish cross section and checkering might cause hot spots - they did not. A couple of times, I glanced the blade off of some vines, causing the machete to torque violently, the checkering then came into play, adding a bit of welcome traction to my grip. As expected, there was not a hint of looseness in the handles (frequent loosening of my Ontario's compression rivits has been my biggest problem with it).
I do think that the ergonomics of the Barteaux handles could be improved by making them more oval in cross section (like the Blackie Collins handle), and perhaps contouring, to add some relief for the thumb and index finger.
EDGE DAMAGE: The edge held up better than I could have hoped for, considering the numerous slices, scrapes and glancing blows it took along the chain link fence - I even managed to forcefully bounce the blade off of an unseen cement block, without causing any damage! The net result of this use and abuse were a few new minor chips and some places where the edge was slightly rolled (most of this was not visible but could be felt). There were no dents, ripples or large chip outs.
RESTORING THE EDGE: While the Barteaux would still cut grass at the end of it's little work out, it was obvious that the edge could use a touch up. First, I used an old file to steel the edge where I could, removing metal only where I had to. The file cut the Barteaux's steel with ease and it took only a few minutes to restore the edge. This is all that would be needed to maintain the edge in the field. I decided to smooth the edge out a bit more on my 6" fine DMT hone and in a few minutes, I had a nice clean edge that would shave hair from my arm.
Allthough I do not like the tanto tip, it dose simplify sharpening since all of the edge (except for the small radius between the straight edge and the tip) is straight.
WOOD CHOPPING: After sharpening, I did a little wood chopping. I used the Barteaux to chop up some old (very dry) pine rails from a split rail fence. I chopped a wide V notch, and gently pried out pieces until the core was small enough to chop or hack through. This was easier than I had predicted. I moved on to some oak saplings (about 1" in diameter), that I had cut down maybe 3 months ago. The saplings were still fairly green and the Barteaux made quick work of them as expected. Next up was a well seasoned oak branch about 3" in diameter. I had to lower my angle to cut this branch, and as a result I could not use alot of force with out taking a chance of glancing the blade dangerously, so progress was quite slow.
To put the Barteaux's chopping performance in perspective, I made some cuts on identical (or near identical) pieces of wood with a E24A Estwing Sportsman's Axe (hatchet) and a 13" Corona pruning saw. The Estwing hatchet did little if any better than the machete on the fence rails, but pulled ahead on the saplings, and really came into it's own on the oak branch, chopping through quickly with little or no tendency to glance.
The Corona saw easily turned in the best performance, it's only hiccup was a bit of binding on the pine fence rail, probably because it was so dry. The saw is undoubtedly less stressful and safer to use than either the machete or the hatchet, and has the added advantage of leaving clean cut ends.
I also compared the Barteaux with the Ontario, and as expected performance was very similar, the Barteaux seemed to work slightly better then the Ontario on the fence rail and the Ontario worked a bit better on the oak saplings, mainly because I could work with the belly of the blade (with the bellyless Barteaux, I was forced to work a bit behind the tanto tip). On the oak branch, the Ontario penetrated a little deeper, most likely due to it's thinner edge profile, but it also tended to bind slightly, so overall performance was about the same as the Barteaux.
TO CUT TO THE CHASE: So far this machete has held up and performed very well. My limited trial has revealed no major faults and the only nits I have to pick are with the tanto tip and to a lesser extent the handle ergonomics. This Barteaux machete dose live up to it's heavy duty designation - it is a bit much for extended use on light vegetation but it is well suited for heavier machete work. The Barteaux's overall performance, durability and handling seem to leave little to be desired for a machete of this type.
Update: link to Barteaux B18 Budget machete review:
www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=215488
Cold Steel Panga review:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=217728
This is not a complete review, since I will likely not have a chance to do much machete work until the fall, but I did want to post something before that.
DETAILS: This is the Barteaux M18-B heavy duty machete that has an injection molded plastic D guard "safety handle" and a 18" blade made of "high carbon tempered spring steel". The blade is 0.10" thick (with no distal taper), and increases in width from 1 13/16" near the handle to 2 5/8" just behind the tanto tip.
This machete and the rest of the Barteaux line can be seen at their site - www.machete.com
Cliff also has a nice review of this and several other machetes on his site - www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/knives/reviews.html
Jimbo also has a nice write up on his site - www.oldjimbo.com/survival/machete.html
Matthew was kind enough to sharpen the blade before sending it, and the bevel angle appears to be about 20 degrees per side (which is about the same angle that my Ontario's bevel is sharpened to).
ERGONOMICS & BALANCE: I found the Barteaux handles to be basically similar to those of my Ontario BC18 Field machete (18" GI model with the Blackie Collins D-guard handles). The Barteaux handle is roughly rectangular in cross section and has molded in checkering on each side. The Blackie Collins handle is also rectangular in section, but is much more heavily radiused (almost oval), with a lightly textured finish and no checkering. The Barteaux feels slighly more blade heavy than the Ontario. This was comfirmed when I found the balance points to 5 7/8" forward of the handle for the Barteaux, and only 3 7/8" for the Ontario. This is more of a difference than I would have guessed.
FENCE CLEARING PERFORMANCE: About the only machete work that I had was about 2 hours of clearing a chain link fence of various vegetation that included light stuff such as honey suckle, poison ivy, grasses and hollow stalks, along with more substantial things such as very small hardwood saplings and heavy woody vines up to about 1" in diameter. Some of the vines are very tough and feel like steel cable when you chop them.
Overall, the Barteaux performed quite well. On the tough vines, the Barteaux's heavy blade was an asset; in fact there were a few times when I would have liked a little more blade weight to add momentum to my swing. On the lighter stuff, less momentum is needed, and a lighter blade would be less tiresome to swing over an extended period, although the Barteaux handled well and did not wear me out during the 2 hours of fence clearing.
The Barteaux blade's sweet spot seemed to start about 6" from the handle and extends forward for about another 10" to where the the tanto tip meets the straight edged portion (this is about the same as my Ontario). This machete is not finicky as to the swing or cutting angles.
The tanto tip proved to be a bit of a nuisance; there were a few times when I would have preferred a more rounded, conventional machete tip. The tanto tip also made the Barteaux somewhat difficult to sink into the stump that I was using to park it whenever it was not in my hand, in contrast, the Ontario was easy to sink and held tighter because it penetrated more.
D-GUARD HANDLES: The Barteaux safety handle also worked out well for me. First off, the D-guard proved it's worth within the first two minutes of use. I swung through some honey suckle and smashed the guard full force into a pressure treated 4x4 post. If not for the guard, I would be typing this with some very sore fingers. As a matter of fact, my hands are completely unscathed, even though I did not wear gloves - this would not have been possible without the guard. The D-guard also helped me maintain a secure grip even when swinging hard at odd angles or from awkward positions.
I had thought the the handles square'ish cross section and checkering might cause hot spots - they did not. A couple of times, I glanced the blade off of some vines, causing the machete to torque violently, the checkering then came into play, adding a bit of welcome traction to my grip. As expected, there was not a hint of looseness in the handles (frequent loosening of my Ontario's compression rivits has been my biggest problem with it).
I do think that the ergonomics of the Barteaux handles could be improved by making them more oval in cross section (like the Blackie Collins handle), and perhaps contouring, to add some relief for the thumb and index finger.
EDGE DAMAGE: The edge held up better than I could have hoped for, considering the numerous slices, scrapes and glancing blows it took along the chain link fence - I even managed to forcefully bounce the blade off of an unseen cement block, without causing any damage! The net result of this use and abuse were a few new minor chips and some places where the edge was slightly rolled (most of this was not visible but could be felt). There were no dents, ripples or large chip outs.
RESTORING THE EDGE: While the Barteaux would still cut grass at the end of it's little work out, it was obvious that the edge could use a touch up. First, I used an old file to steel the edge where I could, removing metal only where I had to. The file cut the Barteaux's steel with ease and it took only a few minutes to restore the edge. This is all that would be needed to maintain the edge in the field. I decided to smooth the edge out a bit more on my 6" fine DMT hone and in a few minutes, I had a nice clean edge that would shave hair from my arm.
Allthough I do not like the tanto tip, it dose simplify sharpening since all of the edge (except for the small radius between the straight edge and the tip) is straight.
WOOD CHOPPING: After sharpening, I did a little wood chopping. I used the Barteaux to chop up some old (very dry) pine rails from a split rail fence. I chopped a wide V notch, and gently pried out pieces until the core was small enough to chop or hack through. This was easier than I had predicted. I moved on to some oak saplings (about 1" in diameter), that I had cut down maybe 3 months ago. The saplings were still fairly green and the Barteaux made quick work of them as expected. Next up was a well seasoned oak branch about 3" in diameter. I had to lower my angle to cut this branch, and as a result I could not use alot of force with out taking a chance of glancing the blade dangerously, so progress was quite slow.
To put the Barteaux's chopping performance in perspective, I made some cuts on identical (or near identical) pieces of wood with a E24A Estwing Sportsman's Axe (hatchet) and a 13" Corona pruning saw. The Estwing hatchet did little if any better than the machete on the fence rails, but pulled ahead on the saplings, and really came into it's own on the oak branch, chopping through quickly with little or no tendency to glance.
The Corona saw easily turned in the best performance, it's only hiccup was a bit of binding on the pine fence rail, probably because it was so dry. The saw is undoubtedly less stressful and safer to use than either the machete or the hatchet, and has the added advantage of leaving clean cut ends.
I also compared the Barteaux with the Ontario, and as expected performance was very similar, the Barteaux seemed to work slightly better then the Ontario on the fence rail and the Ontario worked a bit better on the oak saplings, mainly because I could work with the belly of the blade (with the bellyless Barteaux, I was forced to work a bit behind the tanto tip). On the oak branch, the Ontario penetrated a little deeper, most likely due to it's thinner edge profile, but it also tended to bind slightly, so overall performance was about the same as the Barteaux.
TO CUT TO THE CHASE: So far this machete has held up and performed very well. My limited trial has revealed no major faults and the only nits I have to pick are with the tanto tip and to a lesser extent the handle ergonomics. This Barteaux machete dose live up to it's heavy duty designation - it is a bit much for extended use on light vegetation but it is well suited for heavier machete work. The Barteaux's overall performance, durability and handling seem to leave little to be desired for a machete of this type.
Update: link to Barteaux B18 Budget machete review:
www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=215488
Cold Steel Panga review:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=217728
