Yes I do use a machete in that environment and just like any other blade it's called rust. When dealing with brackish or salt water rust will happen regardless of what you do.zhyla wrote: Do you use a machete much in that environment? Do you have trouble with corrosion that affects the blade performance?
When going through swamps, marshlands, creeks, rivers, sounds and in my area in general you will get wet at some point. What's wrong with superior edge retention and increased toughness in a machete made from a steel like Z-tuff?zhyla wrote: LC200N/H1 make a ton of sense if you're using the knife around salt water a lot or are taking it in water a lot. And the higher end steels offer superior edge retention in an EDC knife which has obvious advantages.
I don't think anybody is calling a machete strictly a slicing tool. I can say my Imacasa machetes are sharper than most peoples pocket knives around my area. I mean they look at me funny when I shave hair from my arm right before I process seasoned hickory and fatwood for a fire. My machetes do have what most would call fine edges but they hold up perfectly. I make the geometry on my machetes are correct and if you have a good machete with good steel and good heat treat then nail the geometry the tool can door a lot.zhyla wrote: I think this is an assumption that probably needs some data or expert to weigh in on. Machetes are not slicing tools that get fine edges and are babied like a pocket knife. Here is an example of what a machete looks like after a weekend of use:
Doesn't matter what steel you make it from if your edge comes into contact with rocks. Don't get me wrong I have had my share of hitting rocks with my machete in my younger days but I learned really quickly not to do that. Just like any of my tools I do my best to preserve them and take care of them. I don't look at my machetes as a cheap disposable tool like a lot of people do. I want to bring quality, attention to detail and performance to machetes.zhyla wrote: Making that blade out of what we normally think of as super steels isn't going to necessarily make it survive contact with a rock better. If you just "want" it in a different steel, fine, but I think most people are assuming expensive steel equals better performance.
Maybe there is a more ideal machete steel out there. But I feel like most of our communal knowledge about steel revolves around CATRA-style edge retention under slicing conditions, not the use pattern that machetes see (primarily chopping fibrous material, and occasional contact with hard objects). I would love to hear Larrin's thoughts on this.
Lot's of people do believe better steel automatically equals better performance but most of the members here I believe are more educated than that. As always Larrin's thoughts and input would be greatly appreciated.
Mule Team Army 001
Stable Mules; Z-Max, Z-Wear, Magna Cut, SRS13, Rex 76, Rex T15.
Great work! I envy everyone who learned something that results in a physical product (something you can touch, take into your hands and look at it from all sides), more so even if it's a "practical piece of art" such as this. Way to go!