Machetes

trailbum

trailbum

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My question is this,

Are the real thin machetes junk or do they hold up ok for lets say 3" and under wood. Here are some cheaper ones I'm looking at.

Tramontina are 1.25mm thick $6

Cold steel are 2mm $10

Condor El Salividor are 1/8 inch $25

Hansa are 1.2 mm $12

Imasca bolo are 1.5mm $15

Ontario 12" are 1.25 inch $25

So out of this list which do you recommend as one you use, and like.
Are the thicker ones better.
How are the cold steel compared to the rest.
 
trailbum said:

My question is this,

Are the real thin machetes junk or do they hold up ok for lets say 3" and under wood. Here are some cheaper ones I'm looking at.

Tramontina are 1.25mm thick $6

Cold steel are 2mm $10

Condor El Salividor are 1/8 inch $25

Hansa are 1.2 mm $12

Imasca bolo are 1.5mm $15

Ontario 12" are 1.25 inch $25 Should be .125"
So out of this list which do you recommend as one you use, and like.
Are the thicker ones better.
How are the cold steel compared to the rest.
Click to expand...

Dont buy a Tramontina, buy 10, Trams are by far my favorite.

I also have a highly modded 12" ontario which is very handy too.

I have had the most expirence with tram and ontario, been very happy with both.

Depending on the wood (hard, soft, green, etc) you should be more then fine with the trams. Give the 14" bolo a try, its a sick design :thumbup:
 
All of the ones you mentioned will hold up great, even on stuff OVER 3" depending on the pattern you choose. It's hard to go wrong with a piece by any of those companies, though I recommend Condor, Imacasa, and Hansa the most. Tramontina and Cold Steel run their machetes a bit softer than I prefer. Hard to beat Tramontina on price, and hard to beat Cold Steel on availability though. :p
 
I only have experience with Ontario 12". I had to sharpen the blade and point a good bit to suit me but it will definately "hold up". If you hit a knot in hard wood the blade will kind of bend around it a little but I was able to bend it back into place with a brass bar and sharpen it right back up. If you are going light I really like a machete. I really like the ESEE one but it is bigger than 12".
 
Some will taper towards the tip, while some won't. You are in New England? Perhaps the Condor Golok then?
 
My favorite of those are the condors and imacasas. I honestly don't like The cold steel ones very much I've got 4 different ones from them but they don't get much use, condor el Salvador in stainless is my favorite machete.
 
I own 2 imacasa machetes, and theyre great and affordable. The #152 22 incher works with excellence in the tropics, but I'd say its a bit too big for the northern woods. A 12-inch imacasa rambo works anywhere and can do anything. The bolo you were looking at should work fine, as it's far more of a chopper than either one of mine. I've heard really good comments about condor (also salvadorean) and ontario machetes though.
 
Imacasa makes Condor, so if you like them you'll REALLY like Condor. :p However you might reconsider the "too long for the northern woods" thing. A 20"-24" machete is my go-to chopper up in these parts. :):thumbup:
 
I have 4 Trams, 12", 14", 18", & 22", each has their own use/strengths. I used to only want thicker blades like on the Linder, but with a sharp Tram I can cut thicker limbs (2&1/2" to 3" thick:eek:) and my arm lasts longer!:thumbup::cool:
 
Thinner blades have less resistance during the cut as they don't have to force as much out of the way of the blade. While weight DOES play a strong role in cutting performance a lot of that influence comes from where mass is distributed, both laterally and distally. A broad, thin blade will out-chop a thicker, narrower one of equal blade length. :)

Edit to add: It should be noted that both pieces in the above comparison should have equal overall mass.
 
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I like the Trams, and Cold Steel, Ontario and Condor...If you want a heavy duty machete..get the Condor Golok..very cool machete.
 
I have a 2 foot long Imacasa Colima that's about as thick as my twelve inch Tram and it sails through 1inch branches and will destroy a 3 inch branch in no time. Weight distribution AND length are more important than thickness as far as machetes go IME.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Thinner blades have less resistance during the cut as they don't have to force as much out of the way of the blade. While weight DOES play a strong role in cutting performance a lot of that influence comes from where mass is distributed, both laterally and distally. A broad, thin blade will out-chop a thicker, narrower one of equal blade length. :)
Click to expand...

unless it is too broad and slow to swing. A thin blade will move faster having more speed behind it, but it won't out-chop a thicker one. But a thicker 18" machete will out chop a 1/8th inch if they have the same grind. Its not a theoretical question either. I've done the test a bunch of times. Same exact blade, same grinds, different thickness.
 
You're absolutely correct, and what you're saying goes along exactly with what I'm saying. If you have two pieces of same length, width, and grind the thicker one will win. If you have two pieces or equal length, overall weight, distal mass distribution, and grind, the broader thinner blade will out-chop the narrower, thicker one. To use hyperbole imagine a two-by-four as a knife. If the "2" side was the sharpened one it would chop better than if the "4" side was the sharpened one.

In the comparison I made you still have the same amount of metal, it's just about where it's being put. So if the broad and thin one was to slow to swing the other one would be too. If you start changing the amount of metal involved than of course the game changes. :)
 
EMT_Lee said:
I'd bow out of this one, and let Joe do the talking. ;)
Click to expand...

Did you read what I wrote? It should make perfect sense. See the below image, imagining each as the blade stock of three different blades of equal blade length.

MassDistribution.jpg


A will chop better than B (which is the exact same amount of material, but turned 90 degrees) but C will out-chop A because it has the same vertical mass, with added horizontal mass which gives it a higher sectional density (which is measured in units of pressure over surface area.)

So...please compare like terms and you'll see there was nothing contradictory about what I said. ;)

FortyTwoBlades said:
A broad, thin blade will out-chop a thicker, narrower one of equal blade length.
Click to expand...

FortyTwoBlades said:
If you have two pieces of same length, width, and grind the thicker one will win. If you have two pieces or equal length, overall weight, distal mass distribution, and grind, the broader thinner blade will out-chop the narrower, thicker one.
Click to expand...
 
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Ah. I figured you had missed the rather critical difference of compared terms. Wouldn't be the first time someone had done that, but all the same :foot::p
 
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