I've got a few of Ontario's machetes and am very satisfied with the performance. Then I saw their "economy" line of machetes and had to try one out. For reference, a military-issue 18" Ontario machete (NSN 5110-00-813-1286) costs around $22 in stores, while the economy model of the same length costs about $14. The economy version is model LC18, and doesn't come with a sheath, but they're available separately for around $5. The machete is still US-made and still high-quality.
The Handle: The handle of this machete is subdued black plastic and is triple riveted. It's 5-1/2" long and just thick enough to fill my hand. There's a toe in the butt to prevent the machete from flying out of your hand on a hard swing.
The handle is comfortable for normal use without gloves, but to be honest, the handles are the only reason this is an "economy" model instead of a standard-issue model. The fit is good, and the finish is adequte enough for a machete. See below for these handle imperfections. The photo above also shows the imperfections in the riveting.
This is a view of the "bottom" of the handle. Toward the blade, you can see how the handles extend past the full tang.
This is the side of the handle that wasn't shown above. You can see more of the riveting, as well as a few shadows from where the handle slabs aren't flush with the blade tang.
The "top" of the handle shows more...
And the butt...
The handle also has a lanyard hole in the butt, and will accomodate non-gutted 550 cord. The machete has a fully-exposed tang, as shown in the previous photos. The lanyard hole and handle texture...
I'm going to be perfectly honest; I don't see how this is an "economy" model machete. I've seen several machetes that were first-rate production pieces that came with the same (or worse) fit and finish than these. A few Tramontinas had very rough wood or chipped / rough plastic handles, and more than a few of my Cold Steels came with rough molding marks on the handles. I'll say that my Ontario military-issue model has better fit and finsih than the economy model, yes, but even the economy model is very acceptable for machete use. Let's be honest; this is a $15 machete that's made to be used and thumped on, not an expensive safe queen.
The Blade: The 18" machete has an 18" long (16-3/4" edge) blade made of 1095 carbon steel with a black oxide coating. It looks very diamond-like in shine and feel, and almost resembles Parkerizing. I sanded the blade on mine just enough to get rid of the shine while keeping the black finish, and it's a lot smoother (the photos here are before the sanding). The edge is flat ground from about 1/5 way up the blade. Out of the package, it was somewhat dull. For my machetes, I like them sharp enough to cleanly slice paper but not sharp enough to shave with. The Ontario had an okay utility edge that would slightly rip cardboard, but it took a considerable amount of sharpening (compared to other machetes) to get it where I wanted it.
The left side of the tang is stamped, while the right side has none...
The blade is just a hair under 1/8" thick and is pretty stiff, considering this is a machete. I've used it a bit and was concerned about the rigidity; I felt it might snap due to being so stiff. It didn't break, crack, chip, or roll. It bent when going through a knot, but it sprang back on its own. Edge retention is very nice, and I think it holds its edge longer than any other machete I own. When it needs resharpening though, I use a bastard file followed up with a ceramic rod. It's not easy to resharpen compared to other machetes, but it's still easy enough.
Compared to a Cold Steel 12" Bowie Machete for size...
Consider the economy line of Ontarios if you don't mind a rough working tool. It still won't break and it will still perform like its more expensive counterpart, and you can use the left over money to buy a sheath for it.
The Handle: The handle of this machete is subdued black plastic and is triple riveted. It's 5-1/2" long and just thick enough to fill my hand. There's a toe in the butt to prevent the machete from flying out of your hand on a hard swing.
The handle is comfortable for normal use without gloves, but to be honest, the handles are the only reason this is an "economy" model instead of a standard-issue model. The fit is good, and the finish is adequte enough for a machete. See below for these handle imperfections. The photo above also shows the imperfections in the riveting.
This is a view of the "bottom" of the handle. Toward the blade, you can see how the handles extend past the full tang.
This is the side of the handle that wasn't shown above. You can see more of the riveting, as well as a few shadows from where the handle slabs aren't flush with the blade tang.
The "top" of the handle shows more...
And the butt...
The handle also has a lanyard hole in the butt, and will accomodate non-gutted 550 cord. The machete has a fully-exposed tang, as shown in the previous photos. The lanyard hole and handle texture...
I'm going to be perfectly honest; I don't see how this is an "economy" model machete. I've seen several machetes that were first-rate production pieces that came with the same (or worse) fit and finish than these. A few Tramontinas had very rough wood or chipped / rough plastic handles, and more than a few of my Cold Steels came with rough molding marks on the handles. I'll say that my Ontario military-issue model has better fit and finsih than the economy model, yes, but even the economy model is very acceptable for machete use. Let's be honest; this is a $15 machete that's made to be used and thumped on, not an expensive safe queen.
The Blade: The 18" machete has an 18" long (16-3/4" edge) blade made of 1095 carbon steel with a black oxide coating. It looks very diamond-like in shine and feel, and almost resembles Parkerizing. I sanded the blade on mine just enough to get rid of the shine while keeping the black finish, and it's a lot smoother (the photos here are before the sanding). The edge is flat ground from about 1/5 way up the blade. Out of the package, it was somewhat dull. For my machetes, I like them sharp enough to cleanly slice paper but not sharp enough to shave with. The Ontario had an okay utility edge that would slightly rip cardboard, but it took a considerable amount of sharpening (compared to other machetes) to get it where I wanted it.
The left side of the tang is stamped, while the right side has none...
The blade is just a hair under 1/8" thick and is pretty stiff, considering this is a machete. I've used it a bit and was concerned about the rigidity; I felt it might snap due to being so stiff. It didn't break, crack, chip, or roll. It bent when going through a knot, but it sprang back on its own. Edge retention is very nice, and I think it holds its edge longer than any other machete I own. When it needs resharpening though, I use a bastard file followed up with a ceramic rod. It's not easy to resharpen compared to other machetes, but it's still easy enough.
Compared to a Cold Steel 12" Bowie Machete for size...
Consider the economy line of Ontarios if you don't mind a rough working tool. It still won't break and it will still perform like its more expensive counterpart, and you can use the left over money to buy a sheath for it.
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