the UPS lady just showed up with some new South/Central American beauties for me
got a little order in from Machete Specialists
they have great pricing, good selection and, fast cheap shipping
for them
lets start off with a guide to who's who:
(on left)
Tramontina 13 Inch Sugar Cane Machete
Machete Specialists 13 Inch Cane Machete Sheath
Tramontina 14 Inch Bolo Machete - bought one of these last year... was so pleased and impressed with it i needed to buy another one
Machete Specialists 14 Inch Bolo Machete Sheath - my other one lives in a Marbles 14 Inch Bolo Camp Knife Belt Sheath which is really nice but doesnt fit as well as i would like... the Machete Specialists sheath fits perfectly
Tramontina 12 Inch Bush Machete
Machete Specialists 12 Inch Bush Machete Sheath
(on right)
Imacasa 10 Inch Calabozo Bill Hook
Imacasa 16 Inch Cuma Occidente Bill Hook
here are the Tramontinas
made in Brazil
the 14 inch bolo i bought last year is simply amazing... i used around the house here to trim back some branches and such the first night i got it... it did well but needed an edge put on it in a bad way... so i spent a little time on it with a file and a stone and it took an edge that you could shave with if you were so inclined
a week or so later i took it camping and it did absolutely everything i asked it to do
and out performed the camp axe that my friend brought with him by a large margin at everything other than for splitting a few very hard pieces of wood... the thin blade of the machete would tend to bind in the very hard pieces, it simply does not have enough wedge to it... but it did everything else, chopped down trees, cut up branches into manageable sized logs, split wood, cleared brush, sharpened sticks, etc... just about everything i needed a blade for, other than eating, i used the machete for and it worked amazing
after that i used it at my moms place to clear away a ton of weeds, overgrowth and such... i was amazed how well it worked... especially since it is completely wrong for that type of job
can not say enough about that machete... very inexpensive, very well made, simply an amazing performer...
so i figured id try some of their other designs
as i was saying above, after clearing the weeds and overgrowth up at moms place i started looking at some of the different designs that would be better suited to that type of work... i was stuck between these 2 Bill Hook style ones from Imacasa
but for the price ($13-16) i said fuck it and grabbed both of them
the overgrowth wont stand a chance this year
here are the Imacasas
made in El Salvador
yeah these should do just fine
i highly recommend either of these companies
they make real deal no bullshit no frills machetes meant for real use
they are made for and by people for whom the machete is a daily tool
they are not made to look cool, they are made to function (though there is a certain beauty to the form of function )
they use no bullshit materials like high carbon steel and hard wood... no fancy finishes or materials here
no built in saw backs, or bottle openers, or screwdrivers or, microwave ovens... just a big sharp blade
and they are priced to be used and abused ($6-16 each)
if you want a tool that will get the job done and be there for you no matter how poorly you treat it... look no further
this has got to be the best made, hardest working "disposable" tool ive ever seen
one more group shot
cant wait to get these sharpened up and broken in
got a little order in from Machete Specialists
they have great pricing, good selection and, fast cheap shipping
for them
lets start off with a guide to who's who:
(on left)
Tramontina 13 Inch Sugar Cane Machete
Machete Specialists 13 Inch Cane Machete Sheath
Tramontina 14 Inch Bolo Machete - bought one of these last year... was so pleased and impressed with it i needed to buy another one
Machete Specialists 14 Inch Bolo Machete Sheath - my other one lives in a Marbles 14 Inch Bolo Camp Knife Belt Sheath which is really nice but doesnt fit as well as i would like... the Machete Specialists sheath fits perfectly
Tramontina 12 Inch Bush Machete
Machete Specialists 12 Inch Bush Machete Sheath
(on right)
Imacasa 10 Inch Calabozo Bill Hook
Imacasa 16 Inch Cuma Occidente Bill Hook
here are the Tramontinas
made in Brazil
the 14 inch bolo i bought last year is simply amazing... i used around the house here to trim back some branches and such the first night i got it... it did well but needed an edge put on it in a bad way... so i spent a little time on it with a file and a stone and it took an edge that you could shave with if you were so inclined
a week or so later i took it camping and it did absolutely everything i asked it to do
and out performed the camp axe that my friend brought with him by a large margin at everything other than for splitting a few very hard pieces of wood... the thin blade of the machete would tend to bind in the very hard pieces, it simply does not have enough wedge to it... but it did everything else, chopped down trees, cut up branches into manageable sized logs, split wood, cleared brush, sharpened sticks, etc... just about everything i needed a blade for, other than eating, i used the machete for and it worked amazing
after that i used it at my moms place to clear away a ton of weeds, overgrowth and such... i was amazed how well it worked... especially since it is completely wrong for that type of job
can not say enough about that machete... very inexpensive, very well made, simply an amazing performer...
so i figured id try some of their other designs
as i was saying above, after clearing the weeds and overgrowth up at moms place i started looking at some of the different designs that would be better suited to that type of work... i was stuck between these 2 Bill Hook style ones from Imacasa
but for the price ($13-16) i said fuck it and grabbed both of them
the overgrowth wont stand a chance this year
here are the Imacasas
made in El Salvador
yeah these should do just fine
i highly recommend either of these companies
they make real deal no bullshit no frills machetes meant for real use
they are made for and by people for whom the machete is a daily tool
they are not made to look cool, they are made to function (though there is a certain beauty to the form of function )
they use no bullshit materials like high carbon steel and hard wood... no fancy finishes or materials here
no built in saw backs, or bottle openers, or screwdrivers or, microwave ovens... just a big sharp blade
and they are priced to be used and abused ($6-16 each)
if you want a tool that will get the job done and be there for you no matter how poorly you treat it... look no further
this has got to be the best made, hardest working "disposable" tool ive ever seen
one more group shot
cant wait to get these sharpened up and broken in
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