Tramontina Machete Wood

Wow, this thing is a steal at the $18 I paid for it. The quality of the steel is excellent. The feel is comparable to Victorinox when sharpening it and judging by the edge it keeps. It comes dull so get a large fine file, work bench, and clamp and carve out an hour of your afternoon to put an edge on it. Hand file it first then get out a good sharpening stone to put the final razor edge on it. Don't use an electric grinding wheel or you could ruin the hardened edge it if gets too hot. I used a Dremel power tool to shape the handle to fit my palm perfectly. They leave the handle roughly shaped so you can customize the fit exactly to your hand. I followed up with hand sanding, putting a dark walnut stain on it then clear coated it with outdoor poly urethane to make it water proof. This machete should last a lifetime. It is high quality through and through. The full tang handle fits tight, no slop in the rivets. I used this for off trail hiking and was cutting through 3" limbs with one swing like it was nothing. This is the perfect size in my opinion for very thick bush. I've tried a 10" machete but it is too short to get enough whipping action to cut through smaller lighter stuff. The 18" machete is perfect for close quarter chopping through dense brush. Anything longer and you can't get enough space to swing. I was thinking about drilling a hole to put a lanyard through it but don't think it is necessary. It feels secure in my hand even with a hard swing. Don't be fooled by its plain looks. That was the only thing causing me hesitation at first. My camp 10 machete by Kershaw has it beat in the coolness category in looks but in usefulness and quality this easily holds it own niche. If I"m staying on the trails or car camping I prefer the 10" Kershaw camp ten since it is an all around perfect camp tool but for cutting through thick bush it does not stand a chance against the 18" Tramotina.

These are great machetes, I have a shop that I can easily make these, but this maker is known as the gold standard of machetes. It's high carbon steel, and it's very easy to sharpen. They do ALWAYS come dull, but that's par the course with this maker.Luckily I have a 2" belt grinder to whip an edge on it. But even if you only have a hand file, carbon steel is easy to sharpen with a file, now if you're Fred Flintstone, and only had a rock, that might take half a day ;)What I do is remove the factory handle, and replace it with a micarta handle, then it takes about a minute to sharpen depending on what kind of grind I want on it, depending in its use.If I don't make it from scratch, I only buy this brand of machete, then customize it.

This machete is just amazing. I bought the first one about a year ago and I bought the second one for a friend just recently. It sharpens up nicely, and very easily and will keep that edge very well. Although the edge didn't go all the way to the tip when I got it, I never put an edge on that part and I have had zero problems. The weight distribution is good and allows for a powerful swing without much effort which is good if you are going to have to swing this for an extended period. This machete is also incredibly durable, it has hit glass, metal and sheet rock and still has a near perfect edge. The only problems I've had with this blade were from other people not giving any attempt to not damage it and those two incidents led to a tiny chip in the blade and a chip in the handle neither of which affected performance at all. While I am certain there are better machetes out there, none of them will only be $20, this is the most cost effective machete I could find and I love it. So if you are planning to use this machete as a tool not a toy like I did or exercise ANY caution at all, this machete will serve you well.Highly recommended!

I have tried a bunch of machetes. They usually won't take a good edge, and they certainly won't hold it. A few chops and they are dull again. This Tramontina is the exception! I had always heard their machetes were the best. Now I believe it.It had a very poor edge on it when it arrived. I clamped it in a bench vise and spent about an hour working on it with a file to get a decent edge on it. I finished it on a stone. The machete is sharp enough now to shave hair off my arm, and it holds its edge well when working. A machete must be made of fairly soft steel of course, or it would break, but this one holds an edge well considering the softness of the steel. It keeps cutting nicely for a long time.I have tried the Cold Steel and Ontario machetes, and they don't compare favorably to this one. The Ontario seems to have comparatively poor edge geometry. It doesn't cut as cleanly or bite as deeply. The Cold Steel also disappoints.I have heard that some folks like the machete as a do-everything outdoor tool. I find I can clear brush with this one pretty well, and I imagine it would also be good for cutting sugar cane and slicing open coconuts, but it does not do everything well. A hatchet or even one of my Bowie knives would be better for chopping wood. The machete is also a little too clumsy for delicate work. This will not be replacing my Bowie knives in my camping kit.The machete I received does not match the one pictured. The blade is bare steel, without the gold coating.The construction is a little crude. The handle is an awkward shape and has a sharp edge along the back side. It bites the hand a little. I'm sure a little whittling and the application of some kind of tape would help a lot. But this machete gets full marks for the quality of the blade. Why can't they all be this good?