Machetes

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For a machete look up condone imacasa and tramontina. They make good working machetes and the condor, and imacasa are a little stiffer than the tramontina so will handle beefier brush and other dirtywork
 
I'm really interested in the Ontario SP8 machete, seen it in several videos. I'm happy with my Cold Steel Kukri machete but it's seen a lot of abuse around the house and campsites, and over time I've decided that it's a bit long to carry around on my belt with the other things on my belt rig. The SP8 looks to offer the same chopping power in a smaller size and the front blade in place of a traditional point is good for scraping/prying.

Ronin, you ever used one, or got a comment on the steel?
 
The steel is excellent and so is is the temper on the steel. Ontario tends to make good steel. The knife in my opinion is more of a novelty. The flat tip is supposed to be for prying but, it's beveled on both sides equally which doesn't work well for prying. The saw back doesn't saw well and is only good for making notches for traps and its still not that great at it. The sharpening is OK but for real chopping you will need to convex the blade yourself. It does splitting fine but, because of the saw back it wrecks your baton stick. If your willing to modify the knife it'll do a lot better at some of these jobs. After I dremmeled flat the saw on the front half of it batoning was much smoother. I also took my sharpmaker and convexed the edge to 25° it worked great at chopping after that. Most guys that do videos for knives are friendly with the knife company so they will modify the blade like I'm saying and not tell the viewer so that the knife sells. If you make these mods You will be happy with it but if not you may be disappointed with its chopping ability out of the box. It didn't clear brush well until i made the mods... However that said, I do like Ontarios stuff. I just mod almost everything I get. lol.
 
I'm looking at the Ontario Knife Works Bushmaster machete. I can't get much information on it as my internet is very limited. But what I could find out on it sounds like what I'm looking for. I'm not interested in knife fighting or playing ninja with it. My main use for it would be on the trap line cutting brush, stakes and small trees.
Is anyone here familiar with this model? I don't mind making modifications to it as Roninsensei mentioned above.
 
Artic I had had some experience with the bush craft I haven’t seen a bush master. I’m not a fan of it being stainless steel but ontario more than likely got the heat treat right. That’s the only real complaint. It’s a good thickness and sharpens well. I do think it’s way overpriced. Even if it was in carbon steel. 75 dollars was as cheap as I could find it. I could get 3 cold steel jungle machetes for that. Lol
 
Roninsensei said:
I’m not a fan of it being stainless steel but ontario more than likely got the heat treat right.
Click to expand...
According to their web site, the Bushcraft is made of 5160 steel:
The Bushcraft Machete is designed to be the perfect complement to the Bushcraft Field Knife or to stand alone as a rugged and durable machete. Comes with a 16 inch 5160 steel blade,
Click to expand...
5160 is spring steel. It does have some chromium, but not nearly enough to be considered stainless. It is what automotive leaf springs are made of so it can stand up to the elements pretty well without pampering.
0.55–0.65% C
0.75–1.00% Mn
0.70–0.90% Cr
 
Roninsensei said:
Artic I had had some experience with the bush craft I haven’t seen a bush master. I’m not a fan of it being stainless steel but ontario more than likely got the heat treat right. That’s the only real complaint. It’s a good thickness and sharpens well. I do think it’s way overpriced. Even if it was in carbon steel. 75 dollars was as cheap as I could find it. I could get 3 cold steel jungle machetes for that. Lol
Click to expand...
I think your right, it was the Bushcraft. I was going off memory since I don't have internet here at home.
It was a little pricey at $75 though. I liked the size and shape of it and think that it would fit my needs.
When I get access to the internet again I'll check out Cold Steel too.
 
I have the Cold Steel "Latin Machete" and honestly I'm not that impressed with it. It DOES have the most comfortable handle of any machete I've used however. Most machetes raise a blister on my pinky.

The machete seems to lack enough spine to do any kind of heavy chopping, and the edge won't hold a very sharp edge. The blade twists, which deflects energy on chopping limbs.
 
DrHenley said:
According to their web site, the Bushcraft is made of 5160 steel:

5160 is spring steel. It does have some chromium, but not nearly enough to be considered stainless. It is what automotive leaf springs are made of so it can stand up to the elements pretty well without pampering.
0.55–0.65% C
0.75–1.00% Mn
0.70–0.90% Cr
Click to expand...
745031D2-A0D7-4E6B-A734-361983F77198.png
 
They changed it Dr. I have experience with the new one. I have friends with connections lol and they get to test a lot of stuff for free. Some have YouTube channels others are survival school teachers. All use the crap out of their gear. This one friend in particular is an outspoken Ontario fanboy so he calls me when he gets new stuff. Lol. 420 isn’t a terrible stainless I simple don’t see paying nearly 80 bucks for a machete. Even if it’s 5160. Lol which is a much better machete steel. If you like it artic it’s early enough to find it still in 5160 however.
 
Where are you seeing that? I was going by the description on this page:
http://ontarioknife.com/tools/machetes/bushcraft-machete.html

420 is a piss poor choice for a machete. Won't hold an edge worth squat, but at least it is easy to sharpen. There are much better stainless steels to choose from these days, and not all are expensive.
 
The pic is from their actual sale site. Yours is the company info site. This is the site where you buy it from them direct.
 
Dr I’m not a fan of any style Latin machete. They are too thin for me and don’t have enough heft for a good chop. But for the South Americas where the bushes are an easy go the thinner machete makes sense. Hear we have thicker stuff too hack and we need a heftier blade. Hence my love for the jungle machete.

 
Thanks for all the information guys. But now I'm more unsure than before. I'm not a big fan of stainless either for something like a machete. I don't have any brand loyalty yet, but I do like the Ontario one being made in the US though.
Maybe if I can find one in 5160 I'll order it. I haven't had a machete since I was a kid so my experience with one is a little outdated.
My main use for a machete will be on the trap line. I have a new area along a couple lower elevation rivers that is thick with willows, and other small trees and cattails.
 
You do realize that is a dealer site, not the Ontario Knife company site, right? Odd a dealer would have more current information than the company, but I've seen that before. Especially when IT is outsourced.
https://ontario-knife-store.com/about-us/
About Us

As a knife enthusiast, I'm proud to say I offer the full line of Ontario Knives. My history with Ontario Knives goes back about 15 years now and while Ontario hasn't been the only brand of knife I've carried throughout the years, they've certainly been my favorite. I've exclusively carried Ontario knives for the last 9 years because I believe in them that much.

OKC offers great quality knives at a completely reasonable and affordable price. I know of no other brand that I can say that about as consistently as I can about Ontario knives. Not only are their knives of the utmost quality, so is their staff. In all the years of working with them, they have gone above and beyond to support us distributors time after time.
Click to expand...
 
I just noticed...

$155.50 if you buy it direct from OKC vs $74.95 from the dealer (Ontario Knife Store). That's a helluva premium!

I see their shorter mil spec machetes are 0.125" at the spine and made of 1095 steel (Same as USMC Ka-Bar). As Crocodile Dundee would say, "That's a machete!"
My CS Latin Machete is only 0.080" at the spine and made of 1055 steel.
 
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