Excellent modifications, I did almost everything you did to mine.. I love the 12" Tramontina. It's really a great size & light weight too... perfect for just about any outdoor chores. Amazon has the sheath that fits this perfectly. Maybe add some preserving oil to the wood. I used mineral oil on mine.
@@markmaresca4066 Thanks! How did your mod go? I agree, it is a great blade. I have a video coming soon on making a leather stacked handle for this knife. Thanks for watching!
It is a full tang. Tramontinas are the best affordable latin machetes ever made. Some advice: from the tip, 6" inches back from rhe tip convex your edge.also never use a grinder on a machete they are thin and will overheat fast and ruin the temper, use a file and stone,
This is a machete. It is used for cutting grass and soft wood. Or, green wood. I live in Panama. We can buy a machete with 12 inch blade for 5 to 6 dollars. The price is the same for all blade lengths. They come with synthetic handles. Its not meant for self defense or cutting hard wood. You buy them dull. Sharpen them using a file. A machete if useful if you live in the tropics where there is a lot of green organic material that has to be cut. In many places people cant afford lawn mowers or weed wackers. They cut the grass with a machete. Typically this tool would not be useful in the US where other tools are used. Also, machetes are generally made using high carbon steel. The blades usually have fairly soft steel so they can be sharpened quickly while working with them. Generally, the worker will have a file with them to keep the machete sharp in the field.
There is no correct way to modify a machete, if at all, as it’s a tool and whatever suits the owner is correct. That machete appears full tang to me. As for the unsharpened tip, that is common with Latin machetes. The purpose is to prevent the tip from cutting through the sheath. I’ve seen this happen. Digging can be part of a machete’s tasks and on my Latin style machetes I sharpened most tips. Not so much for digging but to cut subterrain roots. Having said that, there is a technique of cutting off the tip and sharpening for cutting underground roots with machetes and I’ve also seen Filipino bolos with the same flat tips. I have two Cold Steel machetes made with points. I’ve never had an occasion to use the points in the nearly 20 years I had them but have on several occasions seriously cut myself with the points by looking at my work and wrongly moving my offhand. I’ll list a video below of a man that routinely cuts the tip off and sharpens for digging. He also explains how to hold a machete for digging. I noticed that he uses one hand and I was taught to use both, the offhand for supporting the blade. Sorry you if don’t understand Spanish, in that case just watch. His motions are like poetry in motion. Chao from Costa Rica. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jO5UnBXy8uE.html
Couldn’t agree more with all the above you mention. Been using the Tramontina for 10 years in Guyana and for the jungle I find that not having a sharp tip is much more useful for both safety and for utility of the tool. When all this is said I seen people make them as well. Pretty sick modification though. Wouldn’t work in the jungle for long though as the tool is sharpen with a metal file several times a day. I find a too thin edge causes the machete to get dull instantly as you will be beating it through so many types of material.
I’ve had many tram scales off. They are roughly half tang but plenty strong. To me the weak point are the aluminum rivets. Depending on your skill level the stock grips can be removed reshaped and sealed then reinstalled with some epoxy and your choice of steel hardware for a long lasting dependable grip. If you have more skills and equipment they scales can be replaced with a custom set up. I like a longer laminated wood grip attached with epoxy and stainless steel tube rivets.
