Machete recommendations?

[johnnylabguy]

I use a machete in my woods for cutting poison ivy and grapevines that love to strangle out my trees, and occasionally for finishing off some stringy wood while splitting. The handle on my cheapie job just started getting wiggly so I picked up this Fiskars for $20 off amazon. I don’t think it will be worse than the el cheapo but at first glance it’s definitely not the usual quality fiskars product I get for a decent price. I’ll test it this weekend. Made in China but at that price expected. It doesnt have to be too fancy bouncing around in the back of the gator to wack vines here and there. Just has to work and hold up. Thought I’d check in here for anyone’s thoughts on a decent one for smaller vines the hatchet or saw aren’t needed for.

 

[Middle River Firewood]

Any Ontario Knife machete is going to be of superior quality. (coming from much machete wielding experience as a surveyor)

 

[rwoods]

Hard to beat a WWII US machete. Ontario or other military supplier. Ron

 

[johnnylabguy]

Thanks guys! I knew I should’ve asked here first before buying! Did use the fiskars today with the boys and it works fine. But would much rather buy American as I see the Ontario’s are indeed. Good price on a D handle 18” too:

I expect I’ll be buying one soon as my helpers are getting older. The almost 13 yr old got his first taste of chainsaw usage today too. With much tutoring and oversight of course. He’s far from fully ready for that but can handle a machete just fine.

Thanks for the info!

 

[hanniedog]

Contact Danny Trejo he is the Machete Man.

 

[ATpro]

Try a Cane knife, much better that a Machete, it will cut brush much better and has the power to even cut small trees much like a Bush Axe without wearing you out. I make mine out of old sawmill band-saw blades, you can use old handsaw blades also, or just buy one. I like to make my own because they are thinner, have less weight, and cut better and are ease the sharpen. Keep them sharp and they will cut with just one swing. Keep the brush hook sharp and it's very useful on vines. I used one everyday when I cruised timber and ran land lines, Liked the 2 handed one for that, it was much better than a Brush Axe to have to haul around.

Here are three difference styles.

 

[McCullocutter]

South American machetes are very good quality and everything a machete should be. Namely light and thin. Ontario machetes are more wood cutting machetes and will tire you out quicker than a lighter South American traditional machete. 24” is great for keeping away from thorns. You can generate a lot of power in a 24” blade swing and get a LOT of brush cleared with those. 18” is a general purpose machete length. The parang, particularly a 18-20” version is one HELL of a tool that really is everything a machete should be. The Golok design is similar to the parang and it uses the curved blade that creates a more efficient shear effect when swung. It cuts easier than a straight blade due to reduced surface area in the slice. It has some very well thought out design features. Namely it’s a very efficient chopper due to curved blade geometry. Bolo designs are great for cutting harder stuff with that weighted tip. Latin style machetes are mainly made for quick swings and long light use. Parangs and goloks are better suited to woody material like saplings, bamboo. The long parang is a good design but if you’re clearing mainly brush it is very hard to beat a 24” tramontina. Also effective to dispatch snakes or fend off animals if needed. It can be slow in the swing in a defensive situation but it’s nice keeping dangerous stuff 24” away instead of a shorter machete.Brands to look for are:

Tramontina
Imcasa
Hansa
Bidor

All of these except Bidor will cost you about $25 max for a very very good machete. Bidor is about $50 for each design.

The Ontario machetes seem to be made without an understanding of they way a machete is to be used. It’s just inefficient. Heavy in the wrong ways, no curved blade. Made to be stout but not really perform as well as it could. Reminds me of Estwing axes. Very heavy duty and seems to have more of the undesirable features than benefits. Hard to break tools at the cost of poor center of gravity. Estwing ax has ridiculously thin concave cheeks. Weird handling characteristics both on the Ontario and Estwing edged tools. Saw back and rubber handle machetes are not something that is a helpful feature on a machete. Look at the people who use them around the world day in day out. That is the perfect example of a design perfected. Marketing and what looks good sells here, but it is far from optimized.

Keep in mind those are usually sharpened to a courtesy grind and it’s often sent to the customer fairly dull to be ground the way you want it. Bear in mind the South Americans use machetes daily and make a very good product for their price, they know exactly what works well.

 

[idn6]

The handle in the OPs machete looks odd to use and not very durable. Anyways, if you plan to use it on light tasks it should work ok.

 

[old guy]

I find the Gurkha kukri the best brush cutter I've ever used, tho I have not used many. I have never liked the canadian machete.

 

[OC455]

Kerhaw makes the Camp 18.


I have the Camp 10 and it is sharp and heavy duty.

 

[abbott295]

McCullocutter gives a lot of good information, although I would like to correct his 'South American' to LatinAmerican. And I think it is Imacasa instead of Imcasa. (Industria Maquinaria Agricola Centro Americana, S. A.) Made in El Salvador. That is the manufacturer; as the name says, they manufacture agricultural machinery. Think disc blades and cultivator sweeps; good steel.

I think they sell under several brand names; Corneta is one. I liked them the best when I was in Guatemala. There is a store in Carrollton, Ga. that sells them in various lengths for under $10.

I am liking a 22 inch blade (not overall length, watch that in advertising) more than a 24; a little better balance, I think. 18 is a good general purpose length.

Hand file for the best edge. Just like a chainsaw, a grinder can easily overheat the blade, ruining the temper.

I also don't like a two edged blade (sawtooth on the back) Sometimes you want to push (bear down) on that edge, either way you are using it. Or hammer on it even.

 

[Marine5068]

I use a machete in my woods for cutting poison ivy and grapevines that love to strangle out my trees, and occasionally for finishing off some stringy wood while splitting. The handle on my cheapie job just started getting wiggly so I picked up this Fiskars for $20 off amazon. I don’t think it will be worse than the el cheapo but at first glance it’s definitely not the usual quality fiskars product I get for a decent price. I’ll test it this weekend. Made in China but at that price expected. It doesnt have to be too fancy bouncing around in the back of the View attachment 799864 gator to wack vines here and there. Just has to work and hold up. Thought I’d check in here for anyone’s thoughts on a decent one for smaller vines the hatchet or saw aren’t needed for.

I have a 4 of them.
2 are simple, cheap types for tossing around in the Jeep for camping and such.
Straight blades with cheap cotton sheaths.
One is a vintage Martindale, Bolo style for cutting heavy brush and small saplings.
This was handed down to me from my Grandfather to my Father then to me.
I one I use regularly is made in South America for cutting sugar cane.
It's great for what you are thinking, light weight, thin and flexible, sharp, and not too expensive.
I need to make sheaths for the latter 2.
But I think you did well buying the Fiskars just for their warranty.
Don't all of their tools come with a lifetime warranty?
Tell us how it performs.

 

[abbott295]

I picked up a cane knife today. It needs a little sharpening, but I gave it a few test swings and it seems like it could be useable. Got enough heft to it to cut through stuff, but it seems a bit short; just not used to it, fourteen inch blade, about 21 overall. The hook can be used to pull vines (poison ivy) off after they get chopped. I guess I had never laid hands on one before.

And apparently I got the name of the company wrong too, Implementos Agricolas CentroAmericanos, S.A. de C.V., but it is IMACASA.

 

[Marine5068]

Thanks guys! I knew I should’ve asked here first before buying! Did use the fiskars today with the boys and it works fine. But would much rather buy American as I see the Ontario’s are indeed. Good price on a D handle 18” too:
View attachment 800404
I expect I’ll be buying one soon as my helpers are getting older. The almost 13 yr old got his first taste of chainsaw usage today too. With much tutoring and oversight of course. He’s far from fully ready for that but can handle a machete just fine.
View attachment 800407
Thanks for the info!

Is that some Ash on the trailer there?
Looks like it.

 

[ATpro]

For the cane knife I use a file to sharpen them, You want to sharpen them from the heal to the tip. Take the knife and lay on a board with the handle off the end so the blade lays flat and clamp the blade down. The reason you sharpen from heal to tip is so the serrated edges go back and will grab and cut as you swing. You can finish it off with a stone or steel if you want it sharper. If the blade is thick you can take some of the jaw off each side so it will cut better instead of chopping. I use the 2 handed one in the woods mostly because it has better reach. Be careful they are a powerful tool and you will find you don't have to swing it as hard as you would a machete and sometimes 2 light chops are better than one big chop. If you sharpen the hook it will cut vines also simply by hooking and pulling, a few light strokes with chainsaw file works good for that.

 

[SS396driver]

I have a Gerber machete. And this one it's nice for small stuff the works well . And it self sharpens ya just plug it in when I get my forge done I will make one to my specifications

 

[CentaurG2]

Good old woodsmans pal is hard to beat. Get em new or buy an old one off fleabay. Great tool.



https://www.woodmanspal.com/

 

[ChipChomper]

I like Tramontina out of Brazil. They are inexpensive, simple, and readily available online. Despite the inexpensive price, the bolo machete I have seems to be well-made, and I can get it sharp enough to shave hair off my arm with a raker file and a kitchen knife steel in relatively short order and it holds an edge pretty well imo. Tramontina machetes do not ship completely sharpened so you have to cut your own edge on the last few inches toward the tip with a file (or grinder I suppose).

 

[Jere39]

This Gerber will never be confused with fine cutlery, it rides in the box on my ATV and is great for hacking brush to clear exit and access paths through to where I am sawing. I like fine tools, but am happy with serviceable when the tool will be treated like I treat this:



Almost never where the sheath on my person, but it does keep it a safer among my other tools, gloves, chains, rope, water bottle, . . . in my ATV box