I'd been shopping for a machete to take down some stuff (a tree, actually) that was close enough to my cement-block garage that I might hit it, and didn't want to ruin my Estwing hatchet, and because I wanted something with a bit more reach.
It took me more than a few hours of searching through reviews to find something that I felt comfortable ordering. I didn't want to pay too much (maybe $30 or so), since I anticipated damaging the tool.
What I really wanted was a Woodman's Pal, but at a fraction of its price. Nothin' doin.' On to the alternatives. I finally arrived at the United Cutlery UC2819 Colombian Panga Machete, and it was a tossup between that and a United Cutlery Kukri machete at a similar price. I ordered here:
http://www.knife-depot.com/knife-433310.html
They were out of the Kukris, and one was a sawback. A bit later on, I found that Amazon had the same item for slightly less. They also had the Kukris in stock. Oh well.
I placed the order a little after midnight on the 27th, and it was on my doorstep this morning. No email to confirm shipping, but the web invoice did give the estimated delivery date as today.
It looked nice when I got it out of its sheath; seemed sturdy enough. The blade steel is 3mm thick, and the edge is hollow-ground, which surprised me, but the grind is uniform and the edge is VERY sharp.
Due to seeing a lot of reviewers telling of handles falling off or getting loose, I was a little concerned about the thing having a full tang. It does (full length, at least); the edge of the steel is visible along the top of the handle. The handle is quite generously-sized.
One reviewer pointed out that this thing is misnamed; the blade shape isn't really a panga. I don't care. The overall look of it calls up images of pirates.
The sheath is okay, but a little cumbersome to use when putting the blade away. The machete has a lanyard on it, but it's plain silly -- a piece of soft nylon cord tied in something that looks like a hangman's knot, but with no way to loop it around your wrist, which is what I would expect to do with it. I took it off.
Out the door and around the garage. I found that there were more things needing removed than I had remembered, but I went at it. Bottom line was a bunch of trees, all about as thick as my fist, give or take a little.
First, three or four sumacs that I realized would be in the way of the ones I'd been thinking of as the problem. They were more horizontal than vertical, which allowed me to cut into them about equally from each side. Easy work. Sumac has a beautiful grain; too bad it's structurally useless.
Took out a couple that were just nearby; species unknown, but I figured I should get rid of 'em. Finally, on to the ones that were up close to the garage. I don't know what kind they were either, but they have a dense, uniform grain and the wood is very light in color. Heavy in weight, though. The bad boy had divided its trunk into about four or five stalks, close together. taking these down one by one was a little tricky; at times I had to chop in between the trunks, and sometime the blade got bound up and twisted a tiny bit, so it was hard to get it out.
Work, work, work -- I haven't done this much physical labor in years, and it was about twenty years since the last time I used a machete (one of those thin things made in El Salvador, I think). I had to take lots of breaks. About two-thirds through the job, I got a blister on the inside edge of my thumb and it broke, so I had to bandage that and change gloves. I enjoyed it, though. "Arrr," I thought, "take that, ye scurvy blaggard!"
The blade kept its edge through all of it, and the handle is still as solid as ever, after about two solid hours of whacking. There are a few places on the blade where I've bent its edge in tiny waves, but the spine of it is still straight. No chips, cracks, or dull spots; it's ready for more.
So, I'm calling this one a good deal. If you need this kind of machete, you won't be sorry.
It took me more than a few hours of searching through reviews to find something that I felt comfortable ordering. I didn't want to pay too much (maybe $30 or so), since I anticipated damaging the tool.
What I really wanted was a Woodman's Pal, but at a fraction of its price. Nothin' doin.' On to the alternatives. I finally arrived at the United Cutlery UC2819 Colombian Panga Machete, and it was a tossup between that and a United Cutlery Kukri machete at a similar price. I ordered here:
http://www.knife-depot.com/knife-433310.html
They were out of the Kukris, and one was a sawback. A bit later on, I found that Amazon had the same item for slightly less. They also had the Kukris in stock. Oh well.
I placed the order a little after midnight on the 27th, and it was on my doorstep this morning. No email to confirm shipping, but the web invoice did give the estimated delivery date as today.
It looked nice when I got it out of its sheath; seemed sturdy enough. The blade steel is 3mm thick, and the edge is hollow-ground, which surprised me, but the grind is uniform and the edge is VERY sharp.
Due to seeing a lot of reviewers telling of handles falling off or getting loose, I was a little concerned about the thing having a full tang. It does (full length, at least); the edge of the steel is visible along the top of the handle. The handle is quite generously-sized.
One reviewer pointed out that this thing is misnamed; the blade shape isn't really a panga. I don't care. The overall look of it calls up images of pirates.
The sheath is okay, but a little cumbersome to use when putting the blade away. The machete has a lanyard on it, but it's plain silly -- a piece of soft nylon cord tied in something that looks like a hangman's knot, but with no way to loop it around your wrist, which is what I would expect to do with it. I took it off.
Out the door and around the garage. I found that there were more things needing removed than I had remembered, but I went at it. Bottom line was a bunch of trees, all about as thick as my fist, give or take a little.
First, three or four sumacs that I realized would be in the way of the ones I'd been thinking of as the problem. They were more horizontal than vertical, which allowed me to cut into them about equally from each side. Easy work. Sumac has a beautiful grain; too bad it's structurally useless.
Took out a couple that were just nearby; species unknown, but I figured I should get rid of 'em. Finally, on to the ones that were up close to the garage. I don't know what kind they were either, but they have a dense, uniform grain and the wood is very light in color. Heavy in weight, though. The bad boy had divided its trunk into about four or five stalks, close together. taking these down one by one was a little tricky; at times I had to chop in between the trunks, and sometime the blade got bound up and twisted a tiny bit, so it was hard to get it out.
Work, work, work -- I haven't done this much physical labor in years, and it was about twenty years since the last time I used a machete (one of those thin things made in El Salvador, I think). I had to take lots of breaks. About two-thirds through the job, I got a blister on the inside edge of my thumb and it broke, so I had to bandage that and change gloves. I enjoyed it, though. "Arrr," I thought, "take that, ye scurvy blaggard!"
The blade kept its edge through all of it, and the handle is still as solid as ever, after about two solid hours of whacking. There are a few places on the blade where I've bent its edge in tiny waves, but the spine of it is still straight. No chips, cracks, or dull spots; it's ready for more.
So, I'm calling this one a good deal. If you need this kind of machete, you won't be sorry.
