Best cheapest hand held power tool for grinding an edge

rm41400 said:
All this machete talk… what’s some of the best options out there?
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Get a Latin American-made machete for about $5 - $8 and hack it to your satisfaction. Brazilian (Tramontina), Colombian (Gavilan/Incolma), El Salvadorean (Imacasa) and there are couple others. Obviously they need sharpening from the get-go.

On some of mine, I'll use a 6" bench grinder to thin behind the edge, very carefully. Then maybe file or carefully belt sand to get things better. NEVER get them hot to the point of coloring the steel. Then I lap them on a big stone ...
 
Bare Knuckle Honky said:
I went back at it with a file, even bigger disaster this time to call a sharpening service 😮
the blade was 2.5 pounds probably weighs 2 pounds now
lesson learned
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Adding in the power and speed of anything beyond manual sharpening does NOT simply the process .

You just do more damage , faster !

Including overheating / "burning " . :eek:

Practice on something cheap to start with . :cool:
 
Cold steel Bodark tools and condor are decent quality in the cheap range
I like this company http://filipinobolos-com.3dcartstores.com/Filipino-Barong_p_48.html
the main issue with getting a good Nepalese, Filipino or malay blade is not only the cost of the blade but the shipping
the Pakistani and Indian blades are dirt cheap mostly robust carbon steel and full tang😀 the only draw back is many have zero or little edge
$19.99 to $50
best stabbing blade hands down is the combat galdius
best chopping lace the engineer bolo or a kukri
also there is a bill hook for $19.99 that looks fun for combative applications
also the sling blade some call it a Kaiser blad….ennnhenmmm
I loves those French fried pataters
cheapest is a lawn mower blade with one end filed down to make a Handel and cord wrap it
or a Coleman camp machete at walmart
 
Sorry for the spelling I got hit a lot in the head in the ring, permanat inner ear damage and vertigo
but it was still fun, Tyler durdin sends his regards
 
Maybe instead of a machete sub form all machete stuff could be put in the swords section of the forum as most machete are either a big old combat knife or an actual short sword
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
IMACASA is usually my preferred blue-collar machete brand, particularly with the injection molded handles. Most models feature a distal taper, the steel and heat treatment are excellent, and they have a wide selection of patterns.
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I like Imacasa. Their wood handles leave a bit to be desired, the molded ones are nice. Like soft pine recycled from pallets or something, LOL. I got a bunch of different Incolma machetes (Gavilan - Colombia) and they seem nice (for the price). Trams are well finished but maybe a bit softer and no distal taper. It works well for their 14" bolo. Their wood handle scales are nice, but benefit from a bit of shaping.

My latest acquisition is a batch of Incolma machetes sold under the 5Star brand. $5 a pop. I hacked this one down to 14". Still working on the edge. It's not super soft.

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USMCPOP said:
I like Imacasa. Their wood handles leave a bit to be desired, the molded ones are nice. Like soft pine recycled from pallets or something, LOL. I got a bunch of different Incolma machetes (Gavilan - Colombia) and they seem nice (for the price). Trams are well finished but maybe a bit softer and no distal taper. It works well for their 14" bolo. Their wood handle scales are nice, but benefit from a bit of shaping.

My latest acquisition is a batch of Incolma machetes sold under the 5Star brand. $5 a pop. I hacked this one down to 14". Still working on the edge. It's not super soft.

View attachment 1882526 View attachment 1882528 View attachment 1882529
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Good product line I’d like to buy that nasty looking marbles parang and spray paint it black, instead of the blaze orange in comes in
 
Bare Knuckle Honky said:
Good product line I’d like to buy that nasty looking marbles parang and spray paint it black, instead of the blaze orange in comes in
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Picked up my 1st marbles 2 weeks ago, the bolo, and it has come the sharpest of any South American made machete I've purchase. Imacasa makes most of the marbles, I believe. I make sure the ones I look at are made in El Savador as some are from China.

The paint wears off fast, would be easy to strip with a chemical stripper like citristrip.

They also come with a marbles sheath, which isn't great but it's functional at least.
 
Bare Knuckle Honky said:
You mean what is the best machete? It depends on your budget and what you’ll be using it for?
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Yes. Under $200. No reason to buy whatsoever lol like most things on this forum. But general yard work or whatever. I already have a couple nice cold steel and condor mini duku.
 
I’d say under $200 would be condor, Ontario, my parang, etc.
Im not sure what the most expensive bolo parang golok kukri would be probably top out at $300-$400 off the shelf models as far as custom made machetes I like David Mary’s work.
 
Bare Knuckle Honky said:
The mini duke from condor was it worth the money?
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Oh heck yeah.. for 70-80$? It’s noticeably nicer and takes a really sharp edge compared to the cold steel. I have only used a few times around house/property cleaning up what the weed eater can’t.

I probably don’t need anything else but just asking for a friend
 
As a pro tip with the wood-handled IMACASA machetes, if you go to replace the grip with something more durable, you can make the scales removable easily by using self-clinching fasteners and matching machine screw. Very easy to install and can be found at a local Fastenal or ordered online pretty cheap compared to most knife-specific fasteners.
 
I hear tell that if your kukri has a thick spine then it’s not a good kukri? do these people ever actually train and spar with blades.
 
I have had bursitis in my shoulder for about 6 months. It kind of interferes with non-powered sharpening methods. I got a Work Sharp Ken Onion recently. It is sort of hand-held in that you can hold it with one hand down on a flat surface. I was rummaging in my wife's drawer full of old kitchen knives for something to sharpen and lucked onto a paring knife with an average (of 3 measurements) BESS score of about 1200. The Ken Onion got it down to 120 in about 10 minutes using the lowest speed setting. The blade got only slightly warm to the touch. I expect that somebody with more experience could have done it faster. Gently stropping 10 strokes on each side got the BESS score down to 96. No shoulder pain. I am happy.
 
Another Shepherd said:
I have had bursitis in my shoulder for about 6 months. It kind of interferes with non-powered sharpening methods. I got a Work Sharp Ken Onion recently. It is sort of hand-held in that you can hold it with one hand down on a flat surface. I was rummaging in my wife's drawer full of old kitchen knives for something to sharpen and lucked onto a paring knife with an average (of 3 measurements) BESS score of about 1200. The Ken Onion got it down to 120 in about 10 minutes using the lowest speed setting. The blade got only slightly warm to the touch. I expect that somebody with more experience could have done it faster. Gently stropping 10 strokes on each side got the BESS score down to 96. No shoulder pain. I am happy.
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Sorry to hear about you shoulder. I hope it gets better.
Ever try rubber resistance bands, stretching, cbd oil and kratom to help with pain?
Indian club swinging? I have wrecked feet and ankles from life/ martial arts and psoriatic arthritis in most of my joints to some degree so my cripple exercise program is called:
the three B’s
Boxing
Blade
Barbell
I rather add kicking and grappling too but those days might be a no go
 
Bare Knuckle Honky said:
Sorry to hear about you shoulder. I hope it gets better.
Ever try rubber resistance bands, stretching, cbd oil and kratom to help with pain?
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Thanks for the suggestions. My body often reacts strangely, so cbd oil and related remedies have no effect for me, and ice packs make it worse. What seems to work best for me is nothing, but doing nothing gets boring rapidly.

I was pleased recently to find that I could swing a machete if I did it mostly (and carefully) with my elbow. I cut a path through some 4-foot tall weeds to pull up some poisonous plants. That was a pleasant diversion. :-)
 
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