Machete Wood

So my goal was to find a better machete than the one I take with me camping. My old one doesn't hold an edge well and gets nicks way to easy. The TMW was packed super safe, lots of bubble wrap. No sheath (that would be a nice added feature to have but can make my own. Overall edge was workable but I took some time to file down some spots, especially the tip and then used a stone to get a good yard edge. Not razor sharp but sharp enough. I only used it for about 15 minutes cutting thorny vines, English vines, then some small limbs and bushes that were encroaching on my trail. Very good clean cuts, cut up to 2 inches with 2 whacks. I have looked at expensive one's but knowing what I will be using it for just cringe at the price point. The TMW is great value for the money holds an edge and ergonomically better than my old machete. I highly recommend.

This machete is just amazing. I bought the first one about a year ago and I bought the second one for a friend just recently. It sharpens up nicely, and very easily and will keep that edge very well. Although the edge didn't go all the way to the tip when I got it, I never put an edge on that part and I have had zero problems. The weight distribution is good and allows for a powerful swing without much effort which is good if you are going to have to swing this for an extended period. This machete is also incredibly durable, it has hit glass, metal and sheet rock and still has a near perfect edge. The only problems I've had with this blade were from other people not giving any attempt to not damage it and those two incidents led to a tiny chip in the blade and a chip in the handle neither of which affected performance at all. While I am certain there are better machetes out there, none of them will only be $20, this is the most cost effective machete I could find and I love it. So if you are planning to use this machete as a tool not a toy like I did or exercise ANY caution at all, this machete will serve you well. Highly recommended!

Wow, this thing is a steal at the $18 I paid for it. The quality of the steel is excellent. The feel is comparable to Victorinox when sharpening it and judging by the edge it keeps. It comes dull so get a large fine file, work bench, and clamp and carve out an hour of your afternoon to put an edge on it. Hand file it first then get out a good sharpening stone to put the final razor edge on it. Don't use an electric grinding wheel or you could ruin the hardened edge it if gets too hot. I used a Dremel power tool to shape the handle to fit my palm perfectly. They leave the handle roughly shaped so you can customize the fit exactly to your hand. I followed up with hand sanding, putting a dark walnut stain on it then clear coated it with outdoor poly urethane to make it water proof. This machete should last a lifetime. It is high quality through and through. The full tang handle fits tight, no slop in the rivets. I used this for off trail hiking and was cutting through 3" limbs with one swing like it was nothing. This is the perfect size in my opinion for very thick bush. I've tried a 10" machete but it is too short to get enough whipping action to cut through smaller lighter stuff. The 18" machete is perfect for close quarter chopping through dense brush. Anything longer and you can't get enough space to swing. I was thinking about drilling a hole to put a lanyard through it but don't think it is necessary. It feels secure in my hand even with a hard swing. Don't be fooled by its plain looks. That was the only thing causing me hesitation at first. My camp 10 machete by Kershaw has it beat in the coolness category in looks but in usefulness and quality this easily holds it own niche. If I"m staying on the trails or car camping I prefer the 10" Kershaw camp ten since it is an all around perfect camp tool but for cutting through thick bush it does not stand a chance against the 18" Tramotina.

I have tried a bunch of machetes. They usually won't take a good edge, and they certainly won't hold it. A few chops and they are dull again. This Tramontina is the exception! I had always heard their machetes were the best. Now I believe it. It had a very poor edge on it when it arrived. I clamped it in a bench vise and spent about an hour working on it with a file to get a decent edge on it. I finished it on a stone. The machete is sharp enough now to shave hair off my arm, and it holds its edge well when working. A machete must be made of fairly soft steel of course, or it would break, but this one holds an edge well considering the softness of the steel. It keeps cutting nicely for a long time. I have tried the Cold Steel and Ontario machetes, and they don't compare favorably to this one. The Ontario seems to have comparatively poor edge geometry. It doesn't cut as cleanly or bite as deeply. The Cold Steel also disappoints. I have heard that some folks like the machete as a do-everything outdoor tool. I find I can clear brush with this one pretty well, and I imagine it would also be good for cutting sugar cane and slicing open coconuts, but it does not do everything well. A hatchet or even one of my Bowie knives would be better for chopping wood. The machete is also a little too clumsy for delicate work. This will not be replacing my Bowie knives in my camping kit. The machete I received does not match the one pictured. The blade is bare steel, without the gold coating. The construction is a little crude. The handle is an awkward shape and has a sharp edge along the back side. It bites the hand a little. I'm sure a little whittling and the application of some kind of tape would help a lot. But this machete gets full marks for the quality of the blade. Why can't they all be this good?

The Tramontina machete are made from high carbon steel which I believe is 1070 or 1075 steel. The manufacture sends them out sharp but states machetes will need a final sharpening for max performance. This 18" blade machete feels excellent and well balances for high velocity maneuvers. The 4.5" wooden handle does fit my large hands good and feels solid. The wooden handle offers more of a sure grip for me The wooden handle seems to be much more comfortable than other machetes made from synthetic compositions. It's my opinion Tramontina make quality Machetes at a affordable price point. Unfortunately the pair order from Amazon website arrived without packaging protection for shipping. Consequentially, they arrived in unsatisfactory condition. I sent that pair back to the retailer and requested Amazon refund my purchase. I then purchased another pair from Home Depot and got three day free ship. That pair arrived well packaged and zip tied in original sheath from manufacture in perfect condition. I'm extremely pleased with them and Home Depot's quality service. I will keep them close at hand forever. I have to say, "Thank you Amazon" for the refund. Additionally, the retailer's poor standers should not reflect on Amazon's services or Tramontina manufacture company. Thank you Amazon for your support in this transaction. Thank you Tramontina for the quality Machete priced within my budget. Sincerely, Machete guy.

These are great machetes, I have a shop that I can easily make these, but this maker is known as the gold standard of machetes. It's high carbon steel, and it's very easy to sharpen. They do ALWAYS come dull, but that's par the course with this maker. Luckily I have a 2" belt grinder to whip an edge on it. But even if you only have a hand file, carbon steel is easy to sharpen with a file, now if you're Fred Flintstone, and only had a rock, that might take half a day ;) What I do is remove the factory handle, and replace it with a micarta handle, then it takes about a minute to sharpen depending on what kind of grind I want on it, depending in its use. If I don't make it from scratch, I only buy this brand of machete, then customize it.

I found this machete listed on one of those top 10 gear lists. Don't buy one of those fancy Gerber toys. This inexpensive, made-in-Brazil machete performed quite well on my overnight hike in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. It sliced through mountain laurel branches like they were dandelions. The handle is not very ergonomic and a bit rough texture and one could sand it to make it softer in the hand but that's to be expected from a no frills tool from South America. After chopping a few things, the handle felt like it was wiggling loose ever so slightly. But still a very well-fabricated tool. The blade is super sharp straight from the manufacturer. The whole machete feels heavy in your hand, as well it should. I will buy another when this one has worn out, which I believe will be many years from now, we'll see.

I just got this machete today, and I have to say, I'm disappointed. The reviews I'd read led me to believe this was a really good machete for the price. This turned out to be false. Right out of the box, I knew something was up. The blade was in horrible shape; it was pitted and scratched all to hell, and had...stuff all over it. I couldn't tell you what it was. Several different colors and textures of...stuff. None of it was oil for the carbon steel blade, I can guarantee you that. The edge, besides being horribly dull, looks like someone had been hitting it off a telephone pole. It's nicked, worn, and almost unusable. Re-sharpening it is proving to be a real challenge, because the edge is in such bad shape. The sticker which you see in the photo is also present. And about half of another one. It seems like someone partially removed the sticker, then put another one on top of the remains of the old one. The only thing I can assume is that I received a used machete that had just been re-packaged and sold as-is. It's a real shame, because it seems like this would have been really good if it were in proper condition. EDIT: I've spent a while repairing this, and now that it doesn't look like someone found it at the bottom of a lake, I can safely say that this is really good for the price. Assuming you get one that isn't in a state like mine was. I'm upping my rating to 3 stars. I would have given it a 4, but the condition it arrived in was completely unacceptable. Good machete, bad quality control.