Cost 5 dólars in Brazil. And 5 dólars for a leather (bainha) . But If you get a sugarcain machete from Pandolfo Company with 4090 steel and two handle grip. It'll be your last machete
Nice Jason! I’m from Central America so naturally I love my machetes too. I used to wrap my machetes with cord too(leather cord) and wrap a small diamond stone for field sharpening into it. That way anywhere you are you can get it razor sharp again.
Reason for the varnish on the blade is that it is high carbon steel, which easily rusts. If you don't want the varnish OR rust, you can wipe on some Lanolin (Woolwax) which is extremely tenacious and nicely prevents any additional rusting.
I'm an axe/hatchet guy but yeah machetes are cool and I'd argue better for self defense than the axe/hatchet knives are also pretty good survival tools since they the easiest to carry with least amount of weight axes and hatchets along with machetes are kind if clumsy to carry on a backpack but a knife can be put in a pocket and concealed with ease
I bought my first and only machete 25 years ago in Ecuador while on holiday for $2 only so I can have a nice handmade sheath and hang it on the wall unaware that it would help me learn some vital skills and put food on my table still got it now rests under the bed as I am retired I get it out and keep it sharp and rust free lots of good memories
the wrap can be done with a single length of cord, the extra piece to pull the end in is not needed. you just form the loop out of that initial tag end that you laid down
Jason, get a small container of PVC pipe cleaner & add dye of the color you want to use. They make a purple & clear PVC cleaner. The purple has dye in it, and as a plumber, we were required to use the purple cleaner, so the plumbing inspector knew we had cleaned the pipe & fittings before gluing them together. I hope this is helpful.
A tip: When smoothing out corners and edges with sandpaper wrapped around a plastic squeeze bottle. The bottle supports the sandpaper better than your hand and also flexes around curved surfaces.
I'm a big fan of Tramontina machetes, I own several sizes and shapes, but my to go ones are the bolo pattern and, my favorite, the 10 inch minimachete (I wonder if they make them anymore, at least in my contry I cannot find them anymore, just the 12 inch ones). Event that's small, it's very "potent" and versatile and, being so light, you can even carry it in your back pocket. That mini machete, an Opinel, and a very light saw is my outdoor equipment, just enough for my needs, as I don't pretend I'm a "survivalist" or "buschrafter".
I am in the process of making a machete for a friend. I prefer to make one from scratch, However, your efforts to refine an inferior product and elevate it to something much better are applauded. You took that handle from something painful, to something that would feel good in the hand and really make the user enjoy it. Nice job! I'm sure anyone who received something like this would give you a huge thanks for your effort.
Thanks for sharing this. I did something similar to an even cheaper machete which had saw teeth on the spine. It’s now my preferred tool for playing in and around trees. The saw blade on the spine needed more set and is great for limbs over 3 inches in diameter.
I love everything you did, the one thing I would change is I would NOT extend the 90 degree spine to the tip of blade and keep a " hand sized " area with a rounded edge/grip. So when using the machete as a draw knife it would be comfortable.
Since Ontario went out of business I've been searching for a new brand. My findings are that tramontina is the replacement cheap 1070 steel. And imacasa as a beater brand 1075 even cheaper better steel but tramontina is temperd better an holds a better edge.
I was going to get one but couldn't find one Amazon Walmart machete specialist. But yeah I'd like to have one. Definitely someing missing from my collection. One I've been really digging is the imacasa 25 inch panga. Awesome to clear land with.
Jason, add a loop for a wrist lanyard before you begin your paracord wrap. In Florida heat, bushwhacking makes you sweat rivers. Id pay $55 bucks for your modded machete (even tho I've already done the mods myself). Great instructional w reasons for each step. Thanks!
Hello Jason. My name is Micah and the machete is also my favorite tool. Thanks for sharing your mod ideas. I disagree with a tramontina being called cheap. My first flea market chicom Latin style machete with hard plastic handle was cheap. Cost my mom $5 and after chopping through a fallen 14” pine tree the blade was more wavy than the ocean and my hand was raw blistered and bleeding. Loved it. I’m more picky now. Any tramontina is a great platform to start with and I like the ring of the steel when in use.
Funny, I modified myself a Tramontina to fit my needs better. But if you want to use it a „survival“ tool (whatever that is) you want to go with the cutting edge as close to the handle as possible. This is quite some work. Did you know that the blade of a Tramontina is already coated with a lacquer to protect it against rust? I removed all of this and used gun blue to darken and protect the blade. And I also shortened the blade. I don’t your exact environment but bigger is not better ;) I as well deep fried the handle (after reshaping) in sunflower oil to get it saturated as I live in wet environment. But I need to admit, all that needs more work and thoughts.
Nice mod, well done. I like to take cheap tools and mod it myself just like you do, but one thing I would add to make it even more useful - I would add a 2" portion close to the paracord with a more shallow angle for fine carving tasks. BTW: the easiest way to get rid of the burrs from sharpening is running it across the face of a piece of wood
A buddy of mine saw some of these machetes in a surplus store traveling one time, and he commented on the crudeness of the handle, now I figure they are made that way so the end user can customize the handle to their liking.
@@ONThreeyour totally welcome brother much love and respect and I can be having a horrid day and new on three or survival dispatch video of yours comes out and the clouds part😁🇺🇸✊🏻off to salyer land I go lol🤣.jj he’s a crazy dude too!
I just finished sanding the handle and sharpening a new machete for work… only to return to the store and get another one. This project looks fun and a way to turn a decent machete into a personal diy machete. Like the Old hickory butcher knife mods
Tramontina... I don't know, but I have a ton of experience with "Hermentias Collins" which are also very inexpensive but with excellent fit and finish from the start.
Boy is my wife gonna be mad at you! Now I've got to go out and buy a $20 machete, boiled linseed oil (and I think we're low on mustard) and it's all your fault! Lol! Great video! Thanks for the inspiration. Btw, I'll take wood over man made material any day. Same as I'd rather hold a book in my hands than a Kindle or iPad...
nice, i refined my cold steel kukri a few years back used blueing to give it a color case hardened look in tiger stripes. and added a hook on the back end. work knives have a certain coolness when you work on them.
My Tramontina Bolo cost me $15.00 3 years ago. I keep it Razor sharp and use a glove on my right hand, when I use it. The best Knife I have for the price !
Please show other useful tools for the project, like hand-held disk and belt sanders. Also, for best penetration, get the wood VERY dry. You can put hang it on the hot side of a building in the sun or bake it in the oven at 120 degrees for a little while. Then, put the wood down in the oil and let it soak for several days. It may take a while to finally dry out, but it's worth it. I've done it on several projects.
I would love to own one of your machetes Jason. I guess $50 to $80 bucks would be in my budget, but I know that is too low. I enjoyed watching the work you did however. Thank you for sharing.😊
Do all of this to an Ontario machete, they are a bit thicker and made for North America. I have been running in Ontario machete for 30 years, they are darn near indestructible and do not cost much.
Awesome! I think it’s a great idea. I look at it in three ways. Budget guys. Regular guys. And money buckets. I’m a budget and diy guy myself so in that range if I were not to just do it myself and support someone else it would have to be $25-$40 range. If I ever became a just buy it guy, then I’d probably be willing to pay up to $50 on the high end. Money buckets those guys really don’t care much about the price. And probably won’t even use it. So the question is, who is your target audience really? I think you’ll sell no matter the range. And technically you could have tiers for all of them.
Here's the neat trick you can do get one of those big wire wheels of brass or bronze or copper your choice whichever you feel like brazing on with friction just a good drill get you enough torque and speed to get a lot of that transferred to the machete or just plain electroplate it. A cheap silver coin or similar easy.. I wonder what would happen if you did a combination of both the wheel first and then electroplated a bit huh
I doing thai for 45 Years and the tranontina is the worst of the all brand of machetes I have lot the experience I never will choose a tranontina machete for partner.
I only use a machete for light yard use cutting up coconut tree fronds and palm fronds to pack in my garbage bin so It’s nice hearing real world experience feedback from someone who uses a product a lot. Thanks. Do you have recommendations for good machete for heavy use?
I have had one for a few years, I shortened it down and profiled it more like a village parang shape and convexed the edge, I have to say it's worked great for me, that said I'm not living in a jungle environment.
You don't like wrapping athletic grip tape around the handle like for hockey sticks I like that slightly tacky feel to it plus with a lanyard you feel super confident that things not going anywhere you don't want it to, right?
@@ONThree Sweet, we try to attend every Hiawassee Mountain Fair we can. We love visiting the local artists booths and I’ve even entertained the idea of having a booth there eventually.
For ones you are right about the best survival tool. But the rest , naaah I can see you have no experience with machetes. The tip sharpness it’s need very much . I well I grew up in Costa Rican jungles we use machetes since kids , 24. 26 . And 28 to cut through jungle thickness I got one just like that tramontina Amazon. 12 lol
I agree. A sharpened tip would be very handy. However, I use my machetes a lot and the tip is always taking a lot of abuse. I could spend a lot of time sharpening it only to have it dull again after a few minutes. Thanks for watching.
@@ONThree okay I was wondering if RU-vid had treated you the same as many of the 2A channels I watch. Great video by the way I love the Paracord idea. Take care bro!
If you're using a knife to cut grassy/weedy stuff more than fat, woody stuff, consider putting a single bevel on the blade. I believe they cut significantly easier. Convex is better for hard chopping of wood.
