I like. I want.

 

That's real sweet looking! Would come in handy for any outdoorsman!

 

That hook was nice for limbing in tight spaces. Kinda like the original.

 

I need to take up this hobby, the big knife throwing part anyway.

Might instill some necessary fear in the new neighbors.

 

For general brush cutting it is worthwhile just leaving it stock and profiling the rear edge, up to and including the hook. It certainly extends the blade life in the field chopping sugar cane(two blades). Paid for college. (Motivated too, cuz that is nearly as suck-ass a job as roofing.) The rear hook makes a great edging tool for lawn work and vine pulling.

 

For general brush cutting it is worthwhile just leaving it stock and profiling the rear edge, up to and including the hook. It certainly extends the blade life in the field chopping sugar cane(two blades). Paid for college. (Motivated too, cuz that is nearly as suck-ass a job as roofing.) The rear hook makes a great edging tool for lawn work and vine pulling.

I have about 5 of these Cane machetes in Original condition for heavy bush cutting. I am a wholesaler (part-time) for Imacasa and Tramontina. I enjoy moding them for the fun of it. This one is more of a CQ self defense weapon. You know when the inevitable zombie apocalypse comes.

I have so many machetes I can use them as throwers.

no spin throwing a 12" Tram machete

 

That hook was nice for limbing in tight spaces. Kinda like the original.

I bet you are just a blast at parties. After you talk about how much better the one was last year and bitch about the food.

 

I enjoy moding them for the fun of it. This one is more of a CQ self defense weapon. You know when the inevitable zombie apocalypse comes.

I have so many machetes I can use them as throwers.

Yeah, its inexpensive enough it makes a good experiment blank. The steel is a bit soft, but for 15 bux, WTF.

The ones with the longer handle are handy too.

 

Out of curiosity, do you see much difference between the Imacasa or Tramontina steels, use, etc.?

 

Yeah, its inexpensive enough it makes a good experiment blank. The steel is a bit soft, but for 15 bux, WTF.

The ones with the longer handle are handy too.

......and I get them for considerably less than that price. As far as the steel, 1075 high carbon steel if heat treated properly is relatively hard with a HRC in the 48-50 range. Machete's need to have some flex anyway so they will not break on harder objects.

 

Out of curiosity, do you see much difference between the Imacasa or Tramontina steels, use, etc.?

Its basically a tossup between the two. Imacasa (El Salvador) is the parent company of Condor. Tramontina (Brazil) has been in business for many many years. I would say the steel used in both brands which is generally 1070 or 1075 High carbon is about the same quality of heat treatment. Obviously you get a dud every now and then at this low price point but in general these machetes are real hard use tools that sharpen up nicely and hold an edge pretty well. I can get them to paper cutting sharp on my 1" belt sander. I have personally tried to destroy a couple of these machetes just to see how much abuse they can take, and believe me they can take a lot of hard abuse.

Other machete brands like Cold Steel, Ontario Knife Company, Bellotto (Brazil), Hansa (Ecuador) Martindale (Great Britain), Marbles (many models made by Tramontina) are all good working blades. Stay away from the junk sold at Walmart and Home Depot.

What kind of edge can you put on a Tramontina machete....
http://s6.photobucket.com/user/jimcope/media/Videos/MVI_1003.mp4.html

 

I have an ESEE Lite Machete, which is essentially an Imacasa with an ESEE G10 handle. I also have an Ontario 12" thick blade that I favor for general work. The ESEE/Imacasa is more for bush work. I've just run across an old 14" Tramontina bolo that is of thicker steel like the Ontario 12", plus it doesn't have the bit of hollow grind at the edge the Ontario does. So, I can get a full convex grind on it. I'm looking forward to tuning it up and testing. It's kind of an in between blade that might suit my needs.

If you're experimenting with grinds, consider this multi-grind concept. The idea is to make the machete into a true multi-purpose tool. There is the standard convex edge, a scandi edge, a square edge and a rounded edge. This first video describes what the edges are for. He has other videos that cover the actual mods and general machete use. I was thinking of producing these at one point.
Without a doubt, machetes can't be beat for utility, especially for the money.