Reading through this post now that I am done writing, I feel I should put a warning here before you read too far: This is a long post. The word-count is in excess of 2,000. If you are looking for a first machete, or just find the Imacasa vs Tramontina debate interesting, fantastic. If not, this will probably bore you. You have been warned.
Last year I spent a lot of time lurking here, researching what machete would best fit my needs. In my searches, I found a lot of people asking about the same thing I was looking for a good blade for camping, some yardwork, and just general cutting where a smaller knife isn't enough, but an axe would be overkill or not have enough cutting edge.
My day-to-day machete tasks include opening young coconuts, chopping wrist-sized or smaller wood for beach bonfires, making tent-stakes and frames for sun shades, and cutting lime wedges to squeeze into the previously mentioned coconuts. None of these tasks need a heavy blade, I don't need to cut much brush, and I like being able to stash the blade in a small day pack, so I decided a thin 12 was the right size for daily use.
These requirements narrowed my search to small latin machetes. I also wanted to stick to a budget. Because of availability in the US, I limited my choice to Tramontina and Imacasa. I decided to leave out Ontario. I like the Ontario knives I have used, but their machetes are a little thicker than I wanted. I also left Condor off the list. I now have several Condor machetes (which I think are fantastic), but for a traditional machete I didn't want to pay the premium over an Imacasa for the (almost) finished edge and leather sheath. I don't mind sharpening, and I always end up making my own lefty sheaths.
Narrowing the choice down to Imacasa and Tramontina was easy. Some people swear by one, some love the other. I really needed a side by side comparison of blades by both companies. I couldn't find this sort of thing with the search function.
Because we're talking about ~$10 blades here, I decided to just buy both an Imacasa and Tramontina and find out for myself which I liked better. That was about a year ago. I've now had plenty of time with both blades to give a well informed comparison between 12 Imacasa and Tramontina machetes.
The knives we'll compare here are the Imacasa Pata de Cuche and Tramontina Bush machete, both with 12 blades. The Imacasa has an injected handle; the Tram has wood. Both are basic carbon steel: Tram uses 1070, Imacasa uses 1075. I won't do any side-by-side chopping tests or edge-holding tests on rope. This will be more of a discussion of my impressions of how the two machetes stack up after a year of day to day use.
First off, these are low budget working blades. You won't get a beautifully finished 12 knife for ten bucks. What you do get are tough blades of a good carbon steel. The handles on both machetes come a bit rough and the factory does no more than grind in a hint of an edge. The Imacasa handle took a little work with a 3M foam sanding block to knock down the lines from the molds. I find that I really like the plastic handles from Imacasa and Condor. I always smooth out the casting lines and sometimes will thin them down just a little, but they are always comfortable and secure to use. The Tramontina's handle took a few minutes with a rasp to get it flush with the tang, a little work with a sanding pad to smooth and round it out, and finally a few coats of boiled linseed oil to finish it. The handle on the Tram took much less work to get in shape than those of wood handled Imacasas, but more work than poly handled Imacasas. I originally thought I would prefer the feel of the wood handled Tram, but it was quickly apparent that I prefer the handle on the Imacasa. It has a better shape for my hand and I like the surface texture of the polypropylene after some light sanding with 60-grit. I don't have especially big hands, but the Tram feels a little cramped and less secure.
Now, let's talk about the blades themselves. About half of the Imacasas I've bought come with a little bit of bend in the blade. This twelve incher is no exception. It's not enough to notice while using it, but it is clear when you sight down the spine. Buying in person you can pick out a straight one, but through the internet it might be hit or miss. I've never seen one bad enough to hurt performance and I can live with this in such an inexpensive blade. I have tried to straighten the little bends and wobbles on a couple of Imacasas I've pounded on them with mallets and hammers, tried to bend them in vices or bending jigs, and even put a blade across two block of wood and stood (then proceeded to jump) on the bent section. After wailing on these things, I can't get the blades to change shape in the slightest. In use, the tiny bit of bend doesn't bother me at all. The Tramontina arrived perfectly straight without any hint of curve or twist. I've only owned one Tramontina, but the others I've seen have all been pretty straight.
Both these blades come without an edge. Even a little twelve inch blade is a lot of work to put an edge on with a file, but it'll get there with a little effort. The Tramontina feels a little softer under a file than the Imacasa. After a lot of use it has become clear that the Imacasa does hold its edge longer. I keep the Imacasa pretty thin and as long as I stay away from the ground, I just touch up the edge with a leather strop loaded with chrome oxide after a day's use. I've been leaving the Tram's edge a little thicker (because of the softer steel), but it still usually needs some work on a stone after a day out. The Tramontina is 1.85mm thick at the spine with no taper. The Imacasa has distal taper. The spine is 1.55mm at the handle, and 1.20mm near the tip. This sounds very thin, and it is, but that doesn't mean that these blades are fragile. Like I said before, I've put the Imacasa across two blocks and jumped on the blade between, and it just springs right back. I've come to love the thin springy blade of a good machete. I don't have a good scale, but both blades feel very close in weight. I can't tell any difference between the overall weights, but the Imacasa feels quicker with more neutral balance while the Tramontina is more forward weighted. These carbon steel blades will rust if you let them. I live on a boat, so things tend to get salty. I usually clean and touch up the edge when I'm done for the day, and then wipe it down with petroleum jelly. I know some other oils work better to protect from corrosion, but I don't feel too bad just wiping off excess petroleum jelly and using the knife for food prep. It takes some attention, but it's not a lot of work to keep these steels from corroding
OK, let's put these machetes to work. Tramontina and Imacasa make tough and well designed tools. I would not be sorry to have either of these knives with me in the woods, garden, or on the beach. The bottom line here is that you can't go wrong with either blade. Aside from the difference in handles, which really comes down to personal preference, the blades differ functionally in two ways. First is the distal taper vs untapered stock, which changes the balance and flex of the blades. Second is the blade shape. The Tramontina has a straight edge for about 8 before it sweeps up to the tip. The Imacasa has much more belly, with curve along almost the entire cutting edge. For most tasks, I prefer the Imacasa. I'm not sure how much of this is due to the belly, and how much is because of the thinner tapered blade, but this knife seems to bite deeper and have a more satisfying and easier to hit sweet spot. I just find the Imacasa to be a more versatile, well rounded blade. The Tramontina seems to work better for slashing through soft green stuff. I was surprised by this. I thought the thin blade, narrower edge angle, and greater tip speed of the Imacasa would give it an advantage here, but when I was clearing some out of control weeds last spring, the Tramontina seemed to work slightly better for me. Maybe this is due to the long section of straight edge (?). Chopping dry (wrist-sized) wood, both machetes seem pretty evenly matched. The Imacasa swings faster and bites deep, but the forward weight of the Tramontina helps it keep up. On dry branches that can be cut in one chop, the Imacasa has the advantage. It also beats out the Tramontina for anything involving green wood. Lastly, for cutting the tops of young coconuts and slicing fruit, bread, rope, etc. the Imacasa is an easy choice for me. That thinner blade is hard to beat.
Overall, I prefer the Imacasa. The better edge holding, more neutral balance, and more comfortable handle makes it my go-to small machete. There is something else about the overall package something I can't quite explain that just feels better to me. The Tramontina is a little lifeless in my hand, while the Imacasa feels like an extension of my arm. The balance and flex are just right. The fit and finish of the Tramontina is better out of the box, and the heavier blade would make it a close choice for a camp blade if I lived further north (though I would probably grab my Imacasa 14 bolo in that case). For my current needs I think the little Imacasa is the perfect blade. It does everything I ask of it and is small and light enough that I can EDC it. I almost always have a thin slicer such as my Opinel #9 or Green River patch knife, but about half the time I also carry my 12 Imacasa. This machete is so versatile I don't even miss the small knife on those days I only carry the Imacasa. I know most people don't EDC a machete, but it's rare that I go a day without using mine, and nobody in the islands gives a second glance when they see a machete. I would not want to pull it out in the middle of most US cities though...
Some final notes:
I would like to try out the Imacasa Chumpa machete. It looks like this style has less belly to the blade, so it might be a better knife to compare alongside the Tramontina Bush machete. I think this is the same blade Condor sells as the Eco Survivor El Salvador Machete. Condor only offers the 14 and 18, but I would be interested to try the 12 blade in this shape. It looks like the regular El Salvador by Condor is the same shape, but thicker stock that the Eco Survivor or Imacasa's offerings.
I don't have a bigger Tramontina Machete, so I can't say if my observations carry over for that, but in the limited use I have put my 18 Imacasa to, it is clearly a great knife. If I needed a long blade to clear brush, grass, thorns, etc., this would be the first tool I'd grab.
Whatever machete you choose (and you really can't go wrong buying a few to try), make yourself a good sheath for it. Leather, kydex, PVC, plastic from an old 5 gallon bucket, whatever material you like... If you only use it in the garden, your machete is probably fine without a sheath, but if you want to carry it, a good sheath will make life better (and safer). I've made a few different styles of sheath, but regardless of what style I'm carrying, I most often either throw it in a backpack or carry it on a loop of 1 webbing worn over my right shoulder with the knife hanging at my left hip (I'm a lefty).
And that is all I have to say on the subject. Thanks for reading. I hope this might help someone who is unsure of what Machete to buy. These really are such fun and useful blades. Do yourselves a favor and go get a machete (or a few).
Last year I spent a lot of time lurking here, researching what machete would best fit my needs. In my searches, I found a lot of people asking about the same thing I was looking for a good blade for camping, some yardwork, and just general cutting where a smaller knife isn't enough, but an axe would be overkill or not have enough cutting edge.
My day-to-day machete tasks include opening young coconuts, chopping wrist-sized or smaller wood for beach bonfires, making tent-stakes and frames for sun shades, and cutting lime wedges to squeeze into the previously mentioned coconuts. None of these tasks need a heavy blade, I don't need to cut much brush, and I like being able to stash the blade in a small day pack, so I decided a thin 12 was the right size for daily use.
These requirements narrowed my search to small latin machetes. I also wanted to stick to a budget. Because of availability in the US, I limited my choice to Tramontina and Imacasa. I decided to leave out Ontario. I like the Ontario knives I have used, but their machetes are a little thicker than I wanted. I also left Condor off the list. I now have several Condor machetes (which I think are fantastic), but for a traditional machete I didn't want to pay the premium over an Imacasa for the (almost) finished edge and leather sheath. I don't mind sharpening, and I always end up making my own lefty sheaths.
Narrowing the choice down to Imacasa and Tramontina was easy. Some people swear by one, some love the other. I really needed a side by side comparison of blades by both companies. I couldn't find this sort of thing with the search function.
Because we're talking about ~$10 blades here, I decided to just buy both an Imacasa and Tramontina and find out for myself which I liked better. That was about a year ago. I've now had plenty of time with both blades to give a well informed comparison between 12 Imacasa and Tramontina machetes.
The knives we'll compare here are the Imacasa Pata de Cuche and Tramontina Bush machete, both with 12 blades. The Imacasa has an injected handle; the Tram has wood. Both are basic carbon steel: Tram uses 1070, Imacasa uses 1075. I won't do any side-by-side chopping tests or edge-holding tests on rope. This will be more of a discussion of my impressions of how the two machetes stack up after a year of day to day use.
First off, these are low budget working blades. You won't get a beautifully finished 12 knife for ten bucks. What you do get are tough blades of a good carbon steel. The handles on both machetes come a bit rough and the factory does no more than grind in a hint of an edge. The Imacasa handle took a little work with a 3M foam sanding block to knock down the lines from the molds. I find that I really like the plastic handles from Imacasa and Condor. I always smooth out the casting lines and sometimes will thin them down just a little, but they are always comfortable and secure to use. The Tramontina's handle took a few minutes with a rasp to get it flush with the tang, a little work with a sanding pad to smooth and round it out, and finally a few coats of boiled linseed oil to finish it. The handle on the Tram took much less work to get in shape than those of wood handled Imacasas, but more work than poly handled Imacasas. I originally thought I would prefer the feel of the wood handled Tram, but it was quickly apparent that I prefer the handle on the Imacasa. It has a better shape for my hand and I like the surface texture of the polypropylene after some light sanding with 60-grit. I don't have especially big hands, but the Tram feels a little cramped and less secure.
Now, let's talk about the blades themselves. About half of the Imacasas I've bought come with a little bit of bend in the blade. This twelve incher is no exception. It's not enough to notice while using it, but it is clear when you sight down the spine. Buying in person you can pick out a straight one, but through the internet it might be hit or miss. I've never seen one bad enough to hurt performance and I can live with this in such an inexpensive blade. I have tried to straighten the little bends and wobbles on a couple of Imacasas I've pounded on them with mallets and hammers, tried to bend them in vices or bending jigs, and even put a blade across two block of wood and stood (then proceeded to jump) on the bent section. After wailing on these things, I can't get the blades to change shape in the slightest. In use, the tiny bit of bend doesn't bother me at all. The Tramontina arrived perfectly straight without any hint of curve or twist. I've only owned one Tramontina, but the others I've seen have all been pretty straight.
Both these blades come without an edge. Even a little twelve inch blade is a lot of work to put an edge on with a file, but it'll get there with a little effort. The Tramontina feels a little softer under a file than the Imacasa. After a lot of use it has become clear that the Imacasa does hold its edge longer. I keep the Imacasa pretty thin and as long as I stay away from the ground, I just touch up the edge with a leather strop loaded with chrome oxide after a day's use. I've been leaving the Tram's edge a little thicker (because of the softer steel), but it still usually needs some work on a stone after a day out. The Tramontina is 1.85mm thick at the spine with no taper. The Imacasa has distal taper. The spine is 1.55mm at the handle, and 1.20mm near the tip. This sounds very thin, and it is, but that doesn't mean that these blades are fragile. Like I said before, I've put the Imacasa across two blocks and jumped on the blade between, and it just springs right back. I've come to love the thin springy blade of a good machete. I don't have a good scale, but both blades feel very close in weight. I can't tell any difference between the overall weights, but the Imacasa feels quicker with more neutral balance while the Tramontina is more forward weighted. These carbon steel blades will rust if you let them. I live on a boat, so things tend to get salty. I usually clean and touch up the edge when I'm done for the day, and then wipe it down with petroleum jelly. I know some other oils work better to protect from corrosion, but I don't feel too bad just wiping off excess petroleum jelly and using the knife for food prep. It takes some attention, but it's not a lot of work to keep these steels from corroding
OK, let's put these machetes to work. Tramontina and Imacasa make tough and well designed tools. I would not be sorry to have either of these knives with me in the woods, garden, or on the beach. The bottom line here is that you can't go wrong with either blade. Aside from the difference in handles, which really comes down to personal preference, the blades differ functionally in two ways. First is the distal taper vs untapered stock, which changes the balance and flex of the blades. Second is the blade shape. The Tramontina has a straight edge for about 8 before it sweeps up to the tip. The Imacasa has much more belly, with curve along almost the entire cutting edge. For most tasks, I prefer the Imacasa. I'm not sure how much of this is due to the belly, and how much is because of the thinner tapered blade, but this knife seems to bite deeper and have a more satisfying and easier to hit sweet spot. I just find the Imacasa to be a more versatile, well rounded blade. The Tramontina seems to work better for slashing through soft green stuff. I was surprised by this. I thought the thin blade, narrower edge angle, and greater tip speed of the Imacasa would give it an advantage here, but when I was clearing some out of control weeds last spring, the Tramontina seemed to work slightly better for me. Maybe this is due to the long section of straight edge (?). Chopping dry (wrist-sized) wood, both machetes seem pretty evenly matched. The Imacasa swings faster and bites deep, but the forward weight of the Tramontina helps it keep up. On dry branches that can be cut in one chop, the Imacasa has the advantage. It also beats out the Tramontina for anything involving green wood. Lastly, for cutting the tops of young coconuts and slicing fruit, bread, rope, etc. the Imacasa is an easy choice for me. That thinner blade is hard to beat.
Overall, I prefer the Imacasa. The better edge holding, more neutral balance, and more comfortable handle makes it my go-to small machete. There is something else about the overall package something I can't quite explain that just feels better to me. The Tramontina is a little lifeless in my hand, while the Imacasa feels like an extension of my arm. The balance and flex are just right. The fit and finish of the Tramontina is better out of the box, and the heavier blade would make it a close choice for a camp blade if I lived further north (though I would probably grab my Imacasa 14 bolo in that case). For my current needs I think the little Imacasa is the perfect blade. It does everything I ask of it and is small and light enough that I can EDC it. I almost always have a thin slicer such as my Opinel #9 or Green River patch knife, but about half the time I also carry my 12 Imacasa. This machete is so versatile I don't even miss the small knife on those days I only carry the Imacasa. I know most people don't EDC a machete, but it's rare that I go a day without using mine, and nobody in the islands gives a second glance when they see a machete. I would not want to pull it out in the middle of most US cities though...
Some final notes:
I would like to try out the Imacasa Chumpa machete. It looks like this style has less belly to the blade, so it might be a better knife to compare alongside the Tramontina Bush machete. I think this is the same blade Condor sells as the Eco Survivor El Salvador Machete. Condor only offers the 14 and 18, but I would be interested to try the 12 blade in this shape. It looks like the regular El Salvador by Condor is the same shape, but thicker stock that the Eco Survivor or Imacasa's offerings.
I don't have a bigger Tramontina Machete, so I can't say if my observations carry over for that, but in the limited use I have put my 18 Imacasa to, it is clearly a great knife. If I needed a long blade to clear brush, grass, thorns, etc., this would be the first tool I'd grab.
Whatever machete you choose (and you really can't go wrong buying a few to try), make yourself a good sheath for it. Leather, kydex, PVC, plastic from an old 5 gallon bucket, whatever material you like... If you only use it in the garden, your machete is probably fine without a sheath, but if you want to carry it, a good sheath will make life better (and safer). I've made a few different styles of sheath, but regardless of what style I'm carrying, I most often either throw it in a backpack or carry it on a loop of 1 webbing worn over my right shoulder with the knife hanging at my left hip (I'm a lefty).
And that is all I have to say on the subject. Thanks for reading. I hope this might help someone who is unsure of what Machete to buy. These really are such fun and useful blades. Do yourselves a favor and go get a machete (or a few).
