Martindale Machete 18"

S

Simple Man

Joined
Nov 6, 2001
Messages
2,558
I recently found this old Martindale machete at a flea market. I have been looking for a good one as the on I have is a cheap china special that I really believe just appeared in the shed one day. I typically use a Tramontina at work, but have heard of the Martindale.

It appears to have some ribbing, pretty thick spine at the base and starts tapering about 1/2 way down the blade. It has about 18" blade length and around 5" across at the widest point. I'll get it cleaned up and better pics. Is there any way of dating these? I have not found a bunch of info about them.

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Cleaned up pics, I took it out back and it swings pretty well. Much nicer than the warped and bent mystery machete.

AND a bonus, a KY chrome sheath. ;)

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(Moved to the right place)
 
Handle looks in great shape. I found one that doesn't have that upswept shape. The steel is in good shape but the handle has a split. From what little I know, they were made with really good steel.

Nice find.
 
Martindale make machetes for the british army . I think for the last 30 years or so . Nice find .
 
Google ralph martindale ltd. Co.uk . And you will find more info on it .
 
Hi Sim,

Nice find indeed! I find lots of old Carbon Knives, Axes/Hatchets etc. but finding old Machetes appear to be far and few. I did however find ONE Machete last year and it's a beaut. A vintage 18" COLLINS Machete that nice and light weight. Congrats on your awesome Machete find.

Regards,
HARDBALL
 
Martindale "crocodile brand" is a good machete. As a Peace Corps volunteer in Western Samoa (1970s) I lived in a Samoan village with a Samoan family. To clear brush, plant taro, trim the lawn and do everything else, a Martindale machete was the only tool needed - always with a wooden handle, always 18 inch blade and never with a sheath. The pattern you show with the upswept tip was not used; I think you show a "panga" pattern more common in Africa. The bush pattern we used had a point that could be used to pry coconut meat out of the shell, so the bush pattern is the only one I ever saw. Western Samoa was a Commonwealth country, which may explain import of British tools.

I am quite familiar with both Martindale and Tramontina machetes. Both are effective and good quality for the price.

Faiaoga ("schoolteacher" in Samoan) :cool:
 
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Circumstantially based on patina/rust patterning and small details of construction I'd guess it was probably made no earlier than the 70's but most likely in the late 80's to early 90's. Just an off-the-cuff guess though. Martindale is good stuff--I just wish they corrected their post-heat treatment blade warping.
 
Very cool. I find that machete style to be too tip heavy for general use though. The one I have I cut the swept part off.
 
Cool, thanks for the info guys. This one looks straight. I plan on using it a bit before I decide to cut it down or not, but I kinda like the heft so far. I'm sure it is not vintage old, but it's not made yesterday either.
 
Yeah--don't chop it! Martindales have nice distal taper to 'em and should handle just fine without modification. Just sharpen 'er up and go. :)
 
Naw, I can sharpen as well as any "Pro", not bragging, but around here....I have seen more knives ruined by "Pros" than by not.

I already touched it up with a grinder wheel, then with my paperwheels. Most definitely a higher finished edge that is needed, but.....I could not resist.

I still kept the 45*ish grind on the middle 1/3rd, and thinner edge on the tip 1/3rd. I did not take it to full shaving though.
 
Baryonyx, are there any sheaths (canvas maybe?) that are made to fit something like this? It is a full 5" or so at it's widest.
 
Make a PVC sheath like I did. It is a fun weekend project. Just get the cheapest heat gun you can OR lay aluminum foil over your propane grill surface. Heat until the plastic starts to deform under gravity. Squish flat between two boards and viola! Instant sheath. It is really easy and gets cheap once you start mass producing them. The pipe I bought from Blue Home Improvement was 5" diameter before I flattened it. I had to cut some off the side, that is why there are chicago screws. And you could lighten it by drilling out holes.
 
Bring the edge down to 15° per side and as fine as you can reasonably get it. In my opinion a machete should at least be paper-slicing sharp. :)

As far as sheaths go, Machete Specialist is the only place I know that has generic sheaths made for panga pattern machetes.
 
I thought about that Squash, I have some pipe in the shed. May be worth a try one slow day.
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OK, I'll take a look. Thanks
 
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