Help replacing a machete handle

TheDandyLion

TheDandyLion

Joined
Mar 27, 2013
Messages
764
My favorite machete's handle has broken and I'm doing some trail work for the next couple of weeks and I NEED my machete. I used an improvised duct tape handle which is killing my hand. I need to put on s new handle and i have extremely limited set of tools/materials and i need to fix it soon. What can I do?
 
What tools do you have at your disposal right now? For basic handle replacement you'll at least need a saw, sandpaper, a drill with an appropriate bit, and hammer (preferably ball pein.) You can use nails for rivets with the ends cut to the right length, and a washer over the end you're flattening. After cutting and drilling your scales to approximate shape you'll cut your nails so that the end sticks out above the scales by an amount equal to the thickness of the nail. Using a good solid anvil surface of some kind (you can improvise this) use blows around the edges of the flat end of the nail to spread out a head. The small washers help make it so you don't have to spread the head so much and you won't dent the wood. Just take your time with it and you'll eventually get a good rivet head on it. Then sand the scales down to shape once you have a good tight fit.
 
A layer of cord or wood slabs to thicken it up, then wrap a couple layers of paper towels around it. Electrical tape over that and you should have an ugly but comfy handle. I used to do this to a couple of cheap machetes back when I didn't have any good ones.

A basic wooden handle with pins wont take that long though depending on what tools you have available. Just a couple hours as long as no epoxy or oil is used.
 
Might be hard with little for tools but I made a very comfy & kind of ugly handle with a rubber patio paver.
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I think with out tools I would wrap it with something like 3/8" jute rope and soak it in epoxy.
 
Thanks for the help, I'm thinking maybe taking some wood and gorilla glue. Finding and using a drill/drill bit is going to be s pain in the ass. Are pins mandatory?
 
TheDandyLion said:
Thanks for the help, I'm thinking maybe taking some wood and gorilla glue. Finding and using a drill/drill bit is going to be s pain in the ass. Are pins mandatory?
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Yes, but you could always just glue them in for now. If you don't then the scales will pop off from repeated shock.
 
TheDandyLion said:
Thanks for the help, I'm thinking maybe taking some wood and gorilla glue. Finding and using a drill/drill bit is going to be s pain in the ass. Are pins mandatory?
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I would pin it.
Use wood for pins if you have to, the tougher the better of course.
They don't need to be perfectly round or smooth as the GG will fill any voids from whittling marks.
Something like Oak would be better than Pine if available.
You can drill/dig out the pin holes in the scales with a sharpened flat blade screw driver if you have one small enough.
Also the awl on a SAK would work in a pinch.(assuming you have a SAK with an awl... as everyone should. ;))
Be sure to clean & rough up the tang of the machete and the wood slabs for good glue adhesion.
And throughly cover the pins with glue (no matter the material they're made of) before inserting them.

Annnnnndd..Good luck.
 
Flat pieces of wood can be held onto the machete blade with stove bolts and hexagonal nuts. Before attaching the nuts, the hole can be countersunk so that the nuts will be tapped flush into the handle. The long part of the bolt can be cut off with a hacksaw, then filed smooth To keep the nut from backing off, you can upset the threads with a center punch. No specialized bolts or rivets are really needed.

Once the handle is attached, it an be carved into shape with rasp and knife, then sanded smooth. I have rehandled quite a few machete blades with only simple hand tools. Incidentally, if you lack an electric drill, holes can be burned through wood by using nails heated red hot by a propane torch or kerosene pressure stove.
Faiaoga
Myopic Misfit Machete Mechanic
 
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In a real emergency, you can try strips of inner tubing wrapped round the blade.:D
 
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mykel m said:
I would pin it.
Use wood for pins if you have to, the tougher the better of course.
They don't need to be perfectly round or smooth as the GG will fill any voids from whittling marks.
Something like Oak would be better than Pine if available.
You can drill/dig out the pin holes in the scales with a sharpened flat blade screw driver if you have one small enough.
Also the awl on a SAK would work in a pinch.(assuming you have a SAK with an awl... as everyone should. ;))
Be sure to clean & rough up the tang of the machete and the wood slabs for good glue adhesion.
And throughly cover the pins with glue (no matter the material they're made of) before inserting them.

Annnnnndd..Good luck.
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Alright, so pins it is. I think I can get my hands on some aluminum rods. Drilling the holes is going to be challenging seeming as I'm a Leatherman guy, no SAK over here :( . I'm going to try and fix it tomorrow and will post pics if I can. We'll see how it goes
 
Why not just leather or paracord wrap it? Or get a bicycle innertube at a bike shop and stretch it over the 'broken' handle? Electrical tape is good too.

Or am I missing something here?
 
The handle isn't just broken, it's gone entirely leaving a thin and very narrow tang, I tried a rope wrap (no para cord where I am) and it fell off in a few swings. Adding duct tape didn't help much at all and raw tape was unbelievably uncomfortable. I don't have access to a bike shop with out and hour or twos drive and I don't think an inner tube will work in this case
 
Incidentally, if you lack an electric drill, holes can be burned through wood by using nails heated red hot by a propane torch or kerosene pressure stove.
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Looks like this will be the way to go. I have access to everything from chainsaws to pencil sharpeners but nobody (including myself) though it a good idea to bring a drill :rolleyes:
 
You can snip off the head from a nail and use it as an improvised drill bit. Really strong pins can be improvised by placing a nail through the holes and cutting it about 1/16" above the surface of the grip. Put a washer over the stump, put the whole set-up on a hard surface (the anvil portion of a bench vice if possible) and peen the stump over. It grabs the washer and will hold extremely well.

Use a shoe rasp to do a final shaping to the handle if available. If desired, you can wrap it with thin copper wire and run a few lines of silver solder to keep it wrapped tight.


Edit to add, if forced to drive nails through thin slabs, ding the tip of the nail somewhat so it doesn't come to a point. This makes it crush its way through the wood instead of penetrating and is much less likely to split the slab. The nail can be peened without a washer, and regular wire can be peened in the same manner, but both sides will have to be done.
 
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When you have time, please tell us how your project worked out. Those people who gave you hints probably know: when you need a machete, you NEED a machete.:D
 
I'm not trying to hijack this thread but I have a question about making a machete handle. I want to make a better handle for my machete using the ideas and suggestions in this thread. The factory handle is not ergonomic at all.
I recently had 2 large water oaks removed from my property and I have one log left from one of the oak trees. I want to make handle scales from that oak.

My questions is: When I cut the handle scales, does it matter which way the grain is oriented?
Does the grain need to be parallel to the blade?
Does it make a difference? Why?
 
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