Dave Markowitz
Member
A Harbor Freight store opened up nearby at the beginning of the month, and because I've become a tool junkie since buying my house three years ago, I took a ride over on Sunday. I bought a couple of things, including a Chinese-made machete for about $5.
This machete would look right at home in any third world country (and I'm sure plenty of them are shipped there). It has an 18" carbon steel blade and plain, unfinished wooden handle scales held on with three rivets. The handle is pretty comfortable although we'll see how true that is after I've used it a bit. It came with a cheap canvas belt sheath that looks like it would fall apart if subjected to much use.
This machete is the dullest piece of cutlery I've ever bought. Out of the box, if you held it so that you were looking edge-on, the edge was actually flat. The bevel grinds on the sides of the blade didn't meet. So, I spent some time with a file and my Dremel tool to put a usable edge on it.
After dinner tonight I took the machete out back to give it a try. I used it on some hardwood sticks ranging from ~1/2" to a bit less than an inch in diameter that I had laying around from pruning a tree last weekend. I laid the sticks across a log and whacked them with the machete. The thicker sticks were severed in one or two whacks.
I also used it to clear some weeds which it did well. I deliberately let the machete hit a rock or two (but not straight on), to see how it would handle the impact. It doesn't seem damaged.
After the sticks and weeds I attacked some overgrown forsythia at the back of my yard. The pesky plant was no match for the big knife.
Having swung the machete in earnest now, I can also understand how it could be a very formidable weapon. I plan to touch up the edge, possibly reshaping it a bit with my belt sander. I'll also apply some BLO to the handle scales. Obviously, this wasn't a serious test but for under $10, I got a very usable cutting implement for the yard.
This machete would look right at home in any third world country (and I'm sure plenty of them are shipped there). It has an 18" carbon steel blade and plain, unfinished wooden handle scales held on with three rivets. The handle is pretty comfortable although we'll see how true that is after I've used it a bit. It came with a cheap canvas belt sheath that looks like it would fall apart if subjected to much use.
This machete is the dullest piece of cutlery I've ever bought. Out of the box, if you held it so that you were looking edge-on, the edge was actually flat. The bevel grinds on the sides of the blade didn't meet. So, I spent some time with a file and my Dremel tool to put a usable edge on it.
After dinner tonight I took the machete out back to give it a try. I used it on some hardwood sticks ranging from ~1/2" to a bit less than an inch in diameter that I had laying around from pruning a tree last weekend. I laid the sticks across a log and whacked them with the machete. The thicker sticks were severed in one or two whacks.
I also used it to clear some weeds which it did well. I deliberately let the machete hit a rock or two (but not straight on), to see how it would handle the impact. It doesn't seem damaged.
After the sticks and weeds I attacked some overgrown forsythia at the back of my yard. The pesky plant was no match for the big knife.
Having swung the machete in earnest now, I can also understand how it could be a very formidable weapon. I plan to touch up the edge, possibly reshaping it a bit with my belt sander. I'll also apply some BLO to the handle scales. Obviously, this wasn't a serious test but for under $10, I got a very usable cutting implement for the yard.
