Best Blade Length for a Machete?

[Guyon]

Searched the archives and found nothing on this topic.

I know that the length depends on the usage. What about just general usage that involves clearing vegetation, cutting small limbs from trees, trail blazing, and the like?

What length blade do you prefer and why?

 

[Eager]

My wife is from Costa Rica (a Central American Country) so I've been there a bit. Machetes are used a great deal in Central America much more so than in the US. In fact probably almost every household has at least one machete if not several. Most folks there mow their lawns with a machete. From what I've seen the longer models are favored. Like 20 to 22-inch blade or maybe even longer. Suprisingly the "knife blade" shape apears to be more popular with the experts as opposed to the wider-blade at the tip (classic) machette blade shape. The longer models give more momentum and thus power and It appears that the Costa Rican machete experts get very dexterous at handling the long blades so it's no disadvantage to them and (importantly) there apears to be no negative social stigma attached with carrying long machetes on the hip as there would be here. Working men can be seen all the time walking down the streets of small towns or rural roads with a long machete in a leather sheath on the hip. I personally got a 13" bladed machete in Costa Rica and pack it around down there for opening coconuts. It's easier to pack and works fine.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

For me a blade from 16" to 18" inches works best for general purposes. When I am cutting through bulrushes and marsh grass I prefer a long (26") slim bladed machete.

 

[Jeff Clark]

Generally machetes are intended to cut light and springy materials. The way you cut these is with a fast moving blade so that you can use the material's minimal inertia to hold them in place for the cut. As long as you have more light weight material to cut than thick and hard material go as long as you can reasonably carry. Likewise you want to go with a thin and narrow blade for minimal weight (maximum speed) with minimal effort. This is the latin american model.

If you are primarily limbing trees and making your cuts downwards at the base of the branches then you can use a heavier blade without penalty. If you can get through these limbs in a single cut a flat blade works as well as a heavier wedge-shaped blade. If you are cutting through a lot of thicker limbs and tree trunks where the blade goes less than 2/3 of the way through the material in a cut it will be easier to pull the blade out if it is shorter and has more like an axe head shaped profile. An axe or bolo machete works best for this heavy work. The bolo will be shorter and thicker with tapered sides. If you are in the woods rather than in the jungle a bolo or kukhuri might work better.

This is what we mean by it depends on what you are going to cut. I have been happy with a machete with about an 18" blade for casual carry.

 

[Don Luis]

Yes, I remember mowing the lawn with a long bladed machete back in the 70´s, not a wide blade as Eager mentions, it was made in Mexico and had the blade painted red, It´s quality was not comparable to the Guatemalan Collins or the Brazilian Tramontina that I got later.

In my camping days I used a 14 incher and was happy with it, used for small braches and soft vegetation, sometimes a hatchet was there for wood spliting, etc..

My nephews go camping with a church organized group a couple of times a year and they take long machetes and a full size axe, they go in a large group (like a 100 kids or so) and they build all kind of shelters and fancy things like tables etc. I wouldn´t consider their use typical because they do particular predesigned projects, and are only allowed to use fallen trees at selected places, since even fallen trees are usually left alone for ecological reasons.

So for my use It would be like a 14 inch blade, probably up to 18 may still be fine, though not as easy to carry, I have no plans of mowing lawns with machetes again, don´t go much outdoors any more either.

 

[allenC]

I prefer a 12" machete for several reasons:

It's a very handy size to use in dense vegetation or confined spaces.
It allows for very accurate cuts and total control.
It's easy to carry on the belt or slung across the back.
I can use it for hours without getting fatigued.

I once used an 18" machete one summer and decided it was just too long.
Not only did I get tired more quickly, but also, it was difficult to use in the thickets here in North Carolina.

The largest I would go is probably 14".

Good luck,
Allen.

 

[SilverFoxKnows]

that's around a 14" blade. It's good for keeping the ivy at bay. I don't think I'd want anything longer for yardwork. I could probably get by with a 12". YMMV.

Frank