They aren't bolos but since you asked...
I had problems with a Tram handle's rivets loosening (granted, it was after quite a bit of use). That's what started me on swapping out the scales instead of just sanding them. I think the one on the left in your pic looks oversanded as you mentioned. It seems to me that the concave handle would bunch the fingers together and, combined with a bit of sweat and a bit of grit wouldn't be much fun.
I use mine mainly for clearing shelter sites and harvesting shelter materials but I don't do much chopping with it. I typically use the baldric for it to drag longer/thicker lengths into camp for firewood and lay out a star-shaped fire, actually burning the log's length down - WAY less effort than chopping.
I've changed mine a bit to suit me better...(sorry for the phone pics!)
A bit of a thumbramp helps with finer work especially for notches, shaving bark off, and for shaving a surface flat. What thee pics don't show is that the first 6" of the edge (closest to the handle) is much sharper than the rest. The scales are cherry with brass pins and treated with linseed oil.
This is a back-edge a couple inches long that helps with drilling (hence the guard as well) and is amazing for splitting bark prior to peeling it off in a sheet. Using the belly works, but not nearly as well and it's tougher to keep the cut straight - it wants to wander and follow the bark. That's been my experience with red cedar bark anyway. It also lets you sharpen the edge right up to the tip (not really an issue with bolos from the looks of it)
These are the sheaths I'm doing now - 1/8" mahogany ply with yellow cedar for the mouth and for the welt. The whole mess has a layer of 6oz glass and epoxy over top and weighs less than the tram itself. The best part...it's not one of the soft pouches they're shipped with ! The baldric terminates in a double fisherman's knot so I can 'open' it to slip the sheath in and tighten it down. The wider yellow cedar mouth stops it from dropping all the way through. While I'm hiking, it rides in the sidestraps of my pack tucked into a 'bottle pocket'. The baldric comes out when I stop for the night and drop the pack. The sheaths are amidextrous because...well...see my username, nuff said
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Cherry handle, cherry/teak scabbard:
This sheath is right-handed (D'oh...long story) so it's mainly a wallhanger, lol. The handle is about perfect though and has about 10 coats of spar varnish so it feels great in the hand. I made a leather frog for this one that now serves as the belt part of the baldric for the other sheath.
Not sure if it's clear in the pics, but I like to hit 'em with an orbital sander loaded with a 100G disc. It smoothes out the tooling marks and really seems to make them easier to clean. Trying to carve or even just feather a stick with a gob of pitch on the sharp bit is no fun.
I want to try a bolo so I'll probably do a sheath like the (green) plywood one with a slit and a couple leather straps like that Condor one. How do you like it so far ? I'm not a fan of the crappy pouches they come with, I wrapped mine with gun tape (OD duct tape, 100MPH tape) but after an unplanned slide partway down a bank the mach cut right through it. Again, cedar bark to the rescue - not pretty but it worked. Been sold on hard sheaths for these things ever since.
blade of German 420HC steel
Pretty rare to find a SS machete isn't it ? I'm looking forward to seeing how it fares for you.
