Those of you who are believers in machetes for wood processing, including batoning (especially batoning the thicker machetes), know what you are talking about!
As an experiment, I took my Ontario 12” machete (0.125 thick) and a baton to a nasty, narly, well-dried piece of Texas cedar (Ashe Juniper) about 14” long and 9”-10” in diameter. I didn't try to go right down the middle to begin with, but I was taking off some serious chunks. There were times when that blade was pretty well flexed, and I was having to baton it pretty hard. I chickened out on a few splits and backed out, but I just kept on going with some others. In the end, I had a bunch of split cedar, a blade that was still straight, and no apparent edge damage. One can do a lot more with that blade than you might think.
However, I also had some seriously loose handle rivets. I was able to remove and save without damage the three main rivets, but the “pinkie” rivet seems to be better connected. So now the handle scales are held to the blade by that single "pinkie" rivet.
I’m sure this rivet issue has happened to many users of these machetes. I expect the easy answer is to reinstall the rivets with locktite, likely the “red” stuff. But I thought it prudent to check with the collective brain trust in case there is a better answer. Some screws similar to “Chicago screws” or perhaps a screw on each side with a central threaded tube might be better. Either of these would be especially useful if I ever wanted to remove the handle scales.
Another question is should I consider different scales entirely? I have heard of using some interesting things for replacement scales, the most interesting being “horse trailer mat.” Would something like this provide some advantages with regard to hand shock?
Machete users seem to modify their tools even more than most knife users. So, I would truly appreciate some “education” and suggestions, particularly where to source whatever you may suggest.
Thanks so much,
Gun Doc
As an experiment, I took my Ontario 12” machete (0.125 thick) and a baton to a nasty, narly, well-dried piece of Texas cedar (Ashe Juniper) about 14” long and 9”-10” in diameter. I didn't try to go right down the middle to begin with, but I was taking off some serious chunks. There were times when that blade was pretty well flexed, and I was having to baton it pretty hard. I chickened out on a few splits and backed out, but I just kept on going with some others. In the end, I had a bunch of split cedar, a blade that was still straight, and no apparent edge damage. One can do a lot more with that blade than you might think.
However, I also had some seriously loose handle rivets. I was able to remove and save without damage the three main rivets, but the “pinkie” rivet seems to be better connected. So now the handle scales are held to the blade by that single "pinkie" rivet.
I’m sure this rivet issue has happened to many users of these machetes. I expect the easy answer is to reinstall the rivets with locktite, likely the “red” stuff. But I thought it prudent to check with the collective brain trust in case there is a better answer. Some screws similar to “Chicago screws” or perhaps a screw on each side with a central threaded tube might be better. Either of these would be especially useful if I ever wanted to remove the handle scales.
Another question is should I consider different scales entirely? I have heard of using some interesting things for replacement scales, the most interesting being “horse trailer mat.” Would something like this provide some advantages with regard to hand shock?
Machete users seem to modify their tools even more than most knife users. So, I would truly appreciate some “education” and suggestions, particularly where to source whatever you may suggest.
Thanks so much,
Gun Doc
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