Dirty Bob's Machete Project

[RustHunter87]

That's awesome I have a bolo machete that is in need of a sheath, i was going to make it out of thin ply wood and mount it on the four wheeler but using a old trash can sound much lighter and cheaper, thanks DB.
By the way you machete looks handy, came out nice, but how slick does the apoxy on the wrap get when wet?

 

[Dirty Bob]

I haven't used it in wet conditions yet, but the usual cord wrap that I do is more rough than smooth. The fact that the grip is smaller than the guard and the pommel "locks" the machete into my hand pretty well, so I'm not too worried about using it with wet hands. I usually wear some thin work gloves, anyway.

Thanks for the kind words,
Dirty Bob

 

[Dirty Bob]

More on the trashcan sheath and another machete project

Here's a photo showing the welt of a trashcan plastic sheath. I put it together with contact cement and double-cap leather rivets from Tandy Leather. The brass post was made from round stock. I should have made it longer. I was thinking to be able to tuck the sheath under my belt, but I've mostly carried this in a pack.

Here's a short machete made from an OKC 12" with the old-style D-grip I hated. It was loose, and it was too big for my hands. I did away with the large ricasso and added canvas Micarta stocks with homemade Loveless-type rivets that I made from some screws. It's been an awesome substitute cleaver in my kitchen, where it normally resides. It also goes along as a wood splitter and general big knife when picnicing and barbecuing.

I coated the brass post with epoxy on the inside of the sheath, to prevent a metal-on-metal scratchy noise. It made a small line through the blade's patina.

Finally, here's a closeup of a Loveless-type rivet. I coated the threads with epoxy before assembly. After I filed off the excess and finished the hilt, I used a center punch to make two dings on each rivet head, to totally lock the threads for all time. This machete and sheath are 20 years old and have held up well.

All my best,
Dirty Bob

 

[JShirley]

That's AWESOME! Good work.

Any additional detail you can give or show about the sheath would be appreciated- I'd even welcome a full thread, if you felt so inclined.

John

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Good job.