I'm almost done reading Yossi Ghinsberg's book "Jungle" in which he survives being lost in the Amazon for about 3 weeks. The story was part of Discovery's "I Shouldn't Be Alive" series. Yossi's story backs up the wisdom of having a machete as your primary tool in the jungle. I have read other accounts explaining how the Amazon natives do everything from cleaning fish to felling trees with their machetes.

All the machetes I've ever seen in person were el-cheapo $4.99 versions with poor sheaths and, I suspect, poor steel. Does anyone have experience/knowledge on truly high quality machetes, or machete-like tools, to share?

Lots of folks swear by the Ontario brand.

Mine is a 12" version I got in Panama many years ago, don't know the brand, but it works for me...

Not sure, but most of the machetes I have seen have been thick bladed and modestly tempered, intentionally so. The tool is designed to cut through soft foliage and not shatter when you miss and hit a rock. Missed swings that don't find rocks occasionally find thighs-kevlar chaps seem useful for those machetists who cannot curb their enthusiasm.

My preference is the Brazilian made Tramontina, and yes, it's cheap. A machete is supposed to have soft steel for quickly resharpening in the field with a milbastard file. It's going to roll on the edge and get dull.
That big soft, flexible blade is also going to give your arm less vibration that becomes exausting.
Ontario,ColdSteel, Linder are all to RIGID and tend to fracture with hard impact and wear out the user.
The nicely made brit Martindale crocodile line makes several interesting patterns, but costs to much.
You can find vendors for Tramontinas online.
5,000,000 amazon natives can't be all wrong.

An old, well serviced Collins might be the best you will ever get, they don't make machetes that good any more.

Otherwise, Barteaux (French) is pretty much top notch as far as quality, no frills modern working machetes are concerned.

Martindale models may come close but they are tempered slightly softer in general. Some of the Martindales are forged out of thicker stock, not just stamped out of a thin steel sheet, so they are more appropriate for heavier vegetation.

Tramontina is cheap, not nearly as well made but should still be usable. After all it's the stuff that a lot of people in the third world use these days.

Ontario machetes don't really have a good reputation. I hear the grips are especially prone to shattering.

At any rate, avoid stainless steel! A good machete blade needs to be very tough and springy. Carbon steel (say 1050 to 1095 and other simnilar compositions) is the way to go.

I bought a $1.99 one 35 years ago and used it for a summer
cutting lines for surveys and trail construction in Washington State. It has soft
steel which is easily sharpened with a file and stone.
Large nicks in the blade from hitting stones don't seem
to effect its function.

Use a pulling stroke, it will do a lot that a hatchet or
pole axe will do and when cutting overhead it will save a lot of energy.

I used a wrist cord so a slip won't have the blade flying
through the air. This is important when working around
others and also is an energy saver. Kind of like the straps
on Cross Country Ski Poles.

Having bounced it several times off my shin and leg, I don't
think chaps are needed. Gloves are tho when you sharpen it.

I have also used it to make snow blocks for a shelter,
similar the the Inuit's man's knife.

Great info guys; thanks.

I forgot to ask: what length machete is considered the most widely useful?

Gerber, got mine at Gander Mt, love it, reasonable price, nice sheath.

I would agree with Chris. The cheap ones work fine. And you
don't curse if you hit a rock.

If you are going to mostly carry it for occasional use,
then short 12" or so is nice to carry.

If you are going to use it everyday, then a 18+ inch one
cuts better. Wrist size pines in one swing.

Clearwater has broken the last four thighmasters that he has owned; portions of the fourth are embedded in his living room ceiling. For those with less muscle tone, consider personal protective equipment.

how about one of those i seen in the catalogs with an end you could cook a pancake on??

I really like my 12" Ontario, but I think the handle could stand to be improved, ditto for its 18" brother. I've used a Tramontina, and while I think it might have felt better to use, I didn't like having to stop and sharpen it that often. But avoid the walmart specials- they are made out of recycled cookware I think.

In any case, gloves, eye protection, and if you are like clearwater, at lease one greeve is pretty much a must have. :P

I have one of the longer length Cold Steel kukri style Perang machetes. I took a file to it, and then a couple stones. It'll shave hair and is rugged with a good handle and acceptable sheath. I have used it to cut bamboo poles successfully. It also has a good carving edge close to the handle and a good slicing section near the tip. I like the weight-forward aspect of the kukri design. Helps put power in your stroke, I think. Roger on using gloves when sharpening it with a file....a verrrrrry good idea.

Frankly, if you have to think about investing in Kevlar pants I'd suggest finding someone who is skilled with a machete and ask him to teach you the correct technique.

Remember that a 'machete' is different to a 'big knife' - maybe plenty of cross over, but specific purpose (especially the type of vegetation to be cut) differs. If you want to clear lots of green stuff, go machete. If you are working primarily with hardwood, you might want something else

Comes with a cheap sheath, or sometimes not, bright green, I recall mine had and I ended up having the wife create a more durable (and safer) replacement.

I also got a nice gurkha style from Cutlery Corner.net that had allen screws to removes their cheapy grip and replaced with para cord, good steel, cheap sheath. About 14"? I think it came in one of their over the top 100+ knife packages (I give the cheapies away as gifts and keep the better ones as barter knives).

Probably very true.
Having assisted in the repair of self-inflicted machete wounds, table saw digit amputations, and nail-gun injuries, empirical observation suggests the typical victim is an experienced user of the device involved who was either working when too tired to be careful or was working off the clock on a weekend project at home. I have lots of friends who choose not to wear kevlar while on duty, or gloves while starting IV's, based on the rationale that their skills preclude the need. I hope that they are right. On the other hand, chainsaws are currently sold with so many safety devices installed-tip-guards, kick back guards, etc.-that it is nearly impossible to actually cut wood with them. I

NurseMike-

What were the injuries and mechanism of injury with the
machete's?

I am not a machete expert, I did use one in the double and triple canopy in the tropics though.

My only complaint on machetes, and it is much less critical than the advice above is to find something with wood grips over weak plastic or faux rubber. My hand does not fatigue as fast with a wood handle. The others rattle my hand something fierce.

Perhaps that is just a personal issue rather than technical.

Thigh laceration X2, hand lac X1. Mechanism of injury? BFK versus affected part. Cause of injury? Walking and slashing, blade bounced off the tree and hit the leg, holding the branch while cutting the branch.

Post Script: Were these experienced woodspersons, bushcrafty and seasoned? Nope-they were just guys with new machetes. When your only (or newest) tool is a machete, all of your problems look like shrubs.

Took care of a guy who was using a chainsaw (Machete+technology) to lop limbs from the top of a tree while he was suspended at the top of the tree by a rope- lopping proceeded as follows: limb, limb, limb, rope....so he fell 15 feet to the ground, while holding a running chain saw and landed in the foundation planting. Injuries: bruised his shoulder a little. Better to be lucky than good.

Hey, I think I'm gonna steal that and use it as my sig line.

"... suspended at the top of the tree by a rope...limb, limb, limb, rope..."

Hahahaha. I know that I shouldn't laugh at others misfortune, but that one has all the earmarks of a $100k winner on AFV...

I always wear my safety gear when working with a chainsaw, I have seen the damage they can do. But for 20 years I never even nicked my kevlar pants; then one late, hot afternoon cutting a survey line I drove a wide-open Husquvarna 266 into my left thigh, made it through 2 of the 3 layers of protection. Really gives you that H*ly Sh*t, feeling in your stomach.

My son hit the back of his left hand with a machete (actually a Fiskar 12" brush hook) a couple of years ago, while clearing shooting lanes in the deer bush. He was tired at the end of a hot day and had taken his gloves off. I used every bandage in my mini-1st Aid Kit plus some shop towels and duct tape to patch him up.

I usually carry my short/thick brush hook or a Sandvick Brush Axe instead of a machete, but I think my St. Lawerence Forest/Boreal Forest enviroment is much different than the jungle. I do think that a longer, thinner machete would be better in the lush jungle. But I am just guessing, I have never been to a jungle.

Mike

I stole it from somebody, but it was about hammers and nails.

Wow! You're right! My boss looks exactly like a shrub (poison oak).

It is obvious in hindsight, but starting with a really sharp machete left me much less tired at the end of the day. And probably safer, too. I used to sharpen mine with a file and that was good enough. Last time, though, I took it to the next level with a guide-rod sharpener, like I would a regular knife. The difference was amazing. I was mainly cutting saw-briars, blackberry vines, and small limbs along a property line.

Mine's an old unit I've had since I was about 12, typical of what you can get at a military surplus store, but I don't know if it is actual military issue. Medium length, medium hardness steel. I haven't found anything I like better.

I'm thinking about giving it a dual-bevel edge next time I use it...

Steve

440 is surgical stainless steel, your machete s probable just a carbon steel. Does it have a patina, dark staining on the non painted part.

I have a Kabar one, but Imagine any abroginal would be happy with a cheap wal-mark $4.99 special. It is amazing what people that live primatively DON'T have but make due with. I am sounre on of them have $300+ knives, LOL
cheers

I have found that wrapping the handle with cloth tape, like that used on tennis rackets, helps a lot. Not having to grip so hard to hang on keeps the hand from tiring so fast.

If the handle is wood or slick plastic scraping tit with the edge of a knife to roughen it also helps.

A lanyard sized so you can loop it around your little finger, up the palm ,and around the hand to the attachment point on the handle further steadies the hand. This arrangement is used on night sticks and improves the grip while allowing you to easily let go.

I have found the Trimantina and USGI, usually made by Ontario as I understand it, units to be solid and workable.

If you do try to cut thicker and harder wood you need to came at it at an angle and take off thinner pieces so the blade doesn't get stuck.

Atoz, 'Surgical Steel' is an advertising ploy to sell knives. There has never been a specific steel designated for medical instruments.

Agree on the Tramontina brand. I have two for a while now. I think I payed $10 for both. May of two years ago, I helped out at the local cemetery, cleaning up about an acre of overgrown land. The vegetation was mostly scrub, including some young trees up to about three inches in diameter. Two guys used chain saws to drop them, while two others would drag them out of the way and use hand saws to cut them up and burn them. They thought I was nuts for using a machete, but after a few hours they were impressed by what I got done.
The only excitement was when the president of the cemetery decided to 'borrow' a gas can from one of the guys using a chain saw, in order to burn a huge sticker bush. He sprayed the bush with the gas, lit it, and it fizzled. So what does he do?
Oh, yes, he did!! He threw some more gas on it. Evidently it was still burning because it flashed up, the flame following the stream of gas from the can right to him. He fell over backwards, while burning, then gets up and starts running! Luckily, the one guy near him realizes whats going on and tackles him, pulls off his shirt and uses it to pat the flames out. Again luckily, just next to the cemetery is a hospital.
So, once we get everything cleaned up, the rest of us go down to the hospital to check on him. He's covered in wet towels and his face, neck, and upper arms are bright red. He's pissed off at himself for doing something so dumb and worried about calling his wife. The nurse was asking him about the cemetery, saying she didn't even know it was there. He says "it's right up the road, you can walk here." Then I say "Or run here, if you happen to be on fire," and then he yelled at me for making him laugh.
At first, he looked like he had a bad sunburn, but a few days later, when that skin died and turned black, he looked terrible.

For one of the best handles on a machete, I think Meyerco got it right. It's combination of tactile soft rubber and hard polymer in just the right places, and molded around the grip tang with a hard plastic knuckle guard as well is the most ergonomic system I've ever worked with. I have one of their longer machetes with the sawtooth back, and though others here have criticized that design because of the sawtootch cut in the spine creating a weak point in the blade and making it prone to snap off under the right stress, mine has done wonders in the Florida bush. They make another one that is shorter and does not have a sawtooth spine but is quite thick. You could chop wood with that one. Both are made of 420 stainless, and cost $30 retail. You can find better deals if you shop the web. I got one just like mine for a friend who frequently uses a machete in the Florida bush to get to pipelines, meters, valves and other such facilities. He says the Meyerco is the best he's ever used. He has a Tramontina he got for use in Honduran jungles after a hurricane, but will retire it to use this new one I got him. He says it trims palms branches like a knife through butter (I put it on the wheel before I gave it to him).