sharpening a machete

Depends on how dull you mean..

Use a chefs steel on it - it should get to a decent edge. But its a machete, it doesnt need to be razor sharp.
 
I agree, this type of blade gets such a beating that whatever you do you have to understand that it's going to get dull anyway soon enough.
 
For use in the bush a small mill file is sufficient for a machete. The edge will get all bashed up and a filed edge is sharp enough for most work.

If you want to get fancy and spend some time you can get a frighteningly sharp edge on any machete. I have recently been experimenting with various grades of sandpaper. I clamp the machete down to the workbench with the edge facing outwards.
machetesharpeningwb3.jpg


I use the file to correct any dings or nicks in the edge and carry the grind all the way to the tip. I will usually file until I get a slight burr but sometimes I'll remove the machete from the bench and finish the edge on a EZ-lap diamond stone before proceeding to the final polish.

Note: Don't be afraid to take a file to a machete. I ressurect worn blades all the time by clamping them edge up in a vice and filing the edge right down until they disappear. Then just file away until the edge comes back and the machete will look like new, ready to get all new dings on the next trip.

I then wrap the file with a fold of 220 and sand off the file marks and burr. Repeat with 320, 400, and 600. It doesn't take all that much time and the result is truly impressive.

I like a nice durable convex edge up front at the sweet spot of the machete and at the base of the blade the edge resembles a scandi grind like a Mora. That way the edge will hold up to chopping where you chop with it and will shave like a knife where you have the most control.

On the spine I will square off the back of the blade for the first four inches. When the blade is scraped against a dry piece of wood it will produce handfulls of fine curly shavings for firelighting and the edge will spark a ferro rod very well.
tramontinatinderhotsparaz9.jpg


The forward part of the spine I round off so it won't tear up my hand when scraping or using the blade like a draw knife or mess up a baton if I'm pounding against it.

That's what I do, anyway. I have a 12 inch Ontario set up like this strapped to my pack right now. Mac
 
I have always had trouble sharpening an axe or machete with a file. I get pretty frustrated with the activity. I have sharpened my Ontario with the Chef's Choice electric sharpener. Blade is tad thick for the sharpener, but it is fast and you come out with a very sharp edge. Takes a lot of metal off if you are not careful. Guess I'm just lazy when it comes to sharpening a blade that I don't consider high quality.
 
a file is the only way i can sharpen one of these.

I've tried stones and got nowhere.
 
it'll chop but it but it I'd like it a little sharper...I'm not looking to widdle with it or anything, but I'd like it to reliably chop... Thanks guys...
 
I use a small file with a handle, the handle is important to save your fingers:eek: after the file I use a lansky puck in small circles working my way up the edge. A word of caution, if you use a puck be sure to keep your finger tips from extending below the edge of the puck, if you want to keep them. With this method I routinely put an edge on that will shave leg hair. Chris


EDIT: Mac, that is a good tip about the spine, I am going to fix mine up like that.:thumbup:
 
The file is ok for rough reprofiling or taking out nicks. Then I use a small diamond rod to get the edge really sharp. I've used coarse stones, too, with success.
 
Good tips, Pict, but do you find it necessary to take out all the little nicks? I sharpen my Tramontina bola with a file just so it's rough-sharp, nicks and all and I haven't really noticed any difference in its chopability (Docword). The other thing I do (a tip from the now defunct American Survival Guide) is to spray the blade with any old rust preventative paint I have laying around (like Tremclad). The parts that get used, don't rust up because of the use, and the parts that don't, because of the paint.

Doc
 
Convex edge all the way. Done it on my Axe loved it. Found an old beat up and rusted with not much handle left machete and put a convex adge on it. Its AWSOME holds the edge very well even choping some wood. Thats my second edge i did a convex on and im not going back.

sasha
 
A round chainsaw file works great for me on new machetes,I don't get to fancy just file 1/8 to 3/16 in from edge then finish with a finer file or lansky tool stone.

I don't worry about every nick and ding in the edge,but on most of my machetes I sharpen the tip of the blade at a steeper angle so the ocasional rock etc. has less effect,and sharpen the lower part thiner for making fuzz sticks etc.
 
I just use a flat file on my old Bolo. I don't worry about nicks and chips. Just file 'til it feels sharp.

A shaving sharp edge won't last long on soft machete steels so I just don't bother.
 
Take down the shoulders of the edge some, and it will cut some things better. If you get the thing sharp, it will stay that way for a while. Not like a knife, but still pretty sharp. Realize too that the Ontario is a high carbon steel, not like most machetes, and tempered pretty hard.
 
pict said:
For use in the bush a small mill file is sufficient for a machete. The edge will get all bashed up and a filed edge is sharp enough for most work.

If you want to get fancy and spend some time you can get a frighteningly sharp edge on any machete. I have recently been experimenting with various grades of sandpaper. I clamp the machete down to the workbench with the edge facing outwards.
machetesharpeningwb3.jpg


I use the file to correct any dings or nicks in the edge and carry the grind all the way to the tip. I will usually file until I get a slight burr but sometimes I'll remove the machete from the bench and finish the edge on a EZ-lap diamond stone before proceeding to the final polish.

Note: Don't be afraid to take a file to a machete. I ressurect worn blades all the time by clamping them edge up in a vice and filing the edge right down until they disappear. Then just file away until the edge comes back and the machete will look like new, ready to get all new dings on the next trip.

I then wrap the file with a fold of 220 and sand off the file marks and burr. Repeat with 320, 400, and 600. It doesn't take all that much time and the result is truly impressive.

I like a nice durable convex edge up front at the sweet spot of the machete and at the base of the blade the edge resembles a scandi grind like a Mora. That way the edge will hold up to chopping where you chop with it and will shave like a knife where you have the most control.

On the spine I will square off the back of the blade for the first four inches. When the blade is scraped against a dry piece of wood it will produce handfulls of fine curly shavings for firelighting and the edge will spark a ferro rod very well.
tramontinatinderhotsparaz9.jpg


The forward part of the spine I round off so it won't tear up my hand when scraping or using the blade like a draw knife or mess up a baton if I'm pounding against it.

That's what I do, anyway. I have a 12 inch Ontario set up like this strapped to my pack right now. Mac
Click to expand...

I can see myself setting up a machete like that and tripping over a coke bottle and slicing myself in half....LOL....Wife finds me in the morning and says....Damn, I get his Harkins and Emerson WhooooHaaaa!!!!
 
Use a nice sharp 8-inch bastard file (with a handle on it). If you want the edge any more refined than that, use the file first and then give it a few strokes with one of those carbide chip V sharpeners. Good grief, you're not going to peel apples or shave with the thing! :D
 
DOC-CANADA,

No I don't think it's necessary to remove the dings and nicks. When they accumulate to look like a serrated edge I will work over the blade and return it to near original. Either that or I give it away to someone out in the country and gain a friend for life. Never underestimate the purchasing power of steel when given away.

T-BAG,

I never leave a blade set up like that! That is a small corner of my tiny workshop, not exactly a traffic area of the house. When I'm working on a blade my son has to sit on his stool and watch from the other side of the shop.

ALL,

A machete will remain sharp forever, right up until you start whacking at stuff with it. A very sharp machete will remain sharp surprisingly long depending on what you are cutting. They will do soft grasses forever, and need to be very sharp to do it well. Bamboo on the other hand will dull anything.

In normal use the tip will get blunted, the forward part will get dull and the base will remain basically untouched. If you need any part to be really sharp then really work over the base of the blade.

In the bush I use a small, fine, single cut mill file. This is light years ahead of what the majority of machetes get sharpened against in the Two-Thirds World. Rocks, cement slabs, and the ever so popular grinding wheel are the most common. Besides I like the reaction I get from 99% of Brazilains when I hand them a really sharp machete "Nossa Senhora, Mac! Isso não é facão, é navalha!"

Mac
 
Dr. Mudd said:
Use a nice sharp 8-inch bastard file (with a handle on it). If you want the edge any more refined than that, use the file first and then give it a few strokes with one of those carbide chip V sharpeners. Good grief, you're not going to peel apples or shave with the thing! :D
Click to expand...

I am pretty sure I live in the "Real World" and I prefer my machete as sharp as possible. Sure it gets dull, so does every knife, but it works much better til it does. But I like my hoes sharp, lawnmower blades and every other edged device I use, I don't follow the "Why bother, it will just get dull again crowd" if that is so why spend the time to sharpen anything further than a cursory sharpening with a coarse stone. I may not shave or peel fruit with it, and it is for sure not the right tool for those jobs, but if I wanted to I could. Chris
 
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