H1Spyderco Machete?

[Naperville]

A question;

Many here have advocated for a straight edge like a Seax. My logic tells me that a slight curve, like a Wakizashe or Katana would have the advantage of single point contact on a cut. Thoughts?

So far, we seem to have a blade, 15" - 18", a hook at the back of the handle, (5" - 6"), 2.5 - 3mm thick. Preferably rust resistant? Warp proof,

How hard?

sal

A slight curve is not an issue. I agree with the full tang. I am no sword maker but I think the longer blades will have issues with warping over shorter blades, all things being equal.

As far as hardness and thickness of the blade goes, I just don't want it bending or snapping on contact with something hard like an oak. It has to be able to absorb the shock of an immovable object. Shorter and thicker may be necessary, just not too heavy.

[vivi]

slight curve is good. perfectly straight edge is nice in some ways,but a mild curve is good too.



the middle two are a bit more upswept than I personally find useful.

Something like the bottom one works better for me.

Think of it like the Police and Military blade shapes VS Benchmades go to blade shape. Subtle continuous curve VS a straight edge with a fairly upswept belly towards the end.

Maybe stretch out the Mule / Temp 2 style blade shape to 16" and refine from there?

I would again caution against making it too thick. People in this thread don't seem to realize two different types of cutting tools are being requested.

If we're going to make a chopper,make a proper chopper. Give it a thick, heavy blade out of something very tough like S7 or 3V.

If we're going with the original request - an upscale, highly corrosion resistant machete, it needs to be designed as a high performance tool.

Trying to create a hybrid of the two at the price point this would go for would not be a smart move in my opinion.

Machetes work best around the 2-2.5mm range IMO.

The 3mm thick terrachete has plenty of stiffness and chopping power, and is frankly a touch on the heavy side for its size for chopping through thinner pieces of wood, briars, and non-woody vegetation.

machetes and choppers share a lot of similarities, but they are different tools.

[Mushroom]

Exactly and I wholly agree. I think the distinction between machete and chopper needs to be more emphasized in this thread.

That’s also why I was so adamant that the market for such a high end, expensive, machete is nearly nonexistent. If it’s H2, made in Japan, we’re not escaping the inevitable - it will be very expensive.

If what we end up with is some hybrid version of a machete and a chopper, that already nearly nonexistent market shrinks even smaller.

[Fireman]

A question;

Many here have advocated for a straight edge like a Seax. My logic tells me that a slight curve, like a Wakizashe or Katana would have the advantage of single point contact on a cut. Thoughts?

So far, we seem to have a blade, 15" - 18", a hook at the back of the handle, (5" - 6"), 2.5 - 3mm thick. Preferably rust resistant? Warp proof,

How hard?

sal

You could have both with a double edge.

[Fireman]

[zhyla]

That’s also why I was so adamant that the market for such a high end, expensive, machete is nearly nonexistent.

I tend to agree. But the market can surprise us. There are titanium crowbars.

I think ergos can be improved. And that’s almost an afterthought with many machete brands.

[JoviAl]

A question;

Many here have advocated for a straight edge like a Seax. My logic tells me that a slight curve, like a Wakizashe or Katana would have the advantage of single point contact on a cut. Thoughts?

So far, we seem to have a blade, 15" - 18", a hook at the back of the handle, (5" - 6"), 2.5 - 3mm thick. Preferably rust resistant? Warp proof,

How hard?

sal

For me a tip weight biased Seax design with a completely straight edge would be the dream - I find the energy transfer with my straight edged machetes and choppers to be notably superior than my traditional parang and Latin designs. Over the years I’ve stopped buying curved blades as they seem to slide in the cut more than hack. To some this might be an advantage

A straight edge is a delight to work with on a bench stone or electric sharpener too for rapid sharpening.

As to hardness I would bow to your good judgement on that one. For price management I would assume a homogeneous SE H2 would be preferable over a more complex to produce PE san mai (although I would LOVE a spyderco san mai machete!). Oh man, now I’m picturing how incredible a san mai machete would be and look

[JoviAl]

Spyderco would have an idea.

Corrosion resistance is just one item to think about and there are vary levels of this attribute in at least two dozen capable steels.

What needs to be found is a steel that stays sharp and does not warp or bend when cutting into bark. What values or attributes must something have that is hacking bark for 4 hours straight? Can it stay sharp?

Is H2, 1V or 4V a possibility? Is the answer by some magical default H2?

I’ve yet to find anything except carbide chainsaw chain that stays sharp for more than a couple of hours of work. Even my Cruwear SE Temp dulls after about 600-800 hacking cuts in green materials. Anecdotally H1 can usually be relied upon to go a bit longer in green stuff, but it doesn’t seem to tolerate drier woody stuff as well (although it sharpens in literal seconds).

On a side note I was using my SE Cruwear Temp today at work and even though it was freshly coated with frog lube it had started to spot corrode on the flats of the blade and a bit on the serrations by the time I stopped for lunch. I was hacking up exclusively a few hundred palm fronds so I was really surprised, as in my previous experience Cruwear is usually pretty good with resisting rust spotting. It wasn’t even raining, but it was really hot so maybe that had something to do with it

Have you ever tried 1V or 4V? Sal needs to see what a 4V - 16 inch long blade can do with the right machete thickness and hardness. Maybe it would chip?

The only 4V I’ve got is a St Nicks Military. Not tried 1V on account of it supposedly being prone to rust. I’d be keen to try it but worry the climate here would ruin it.

[Fireman]

What do you all think of a two handed machete? Forward position for more balance and rear position for hacking. I do like the idea of a 1/4” threaded pommel that can take plastic spacers or metal weights to change the balance.

[Naperville]

Spyderco would have an idea.

Corrosion resistance is just one item to think about and there are vary levels of this attribute in at least two dozen capable steels.

What needs to be found is a steel that stays sharp and does not warp or bend when cutting into bark. What values or attributes must something have that is hacking bark for 4 hours straight? Can it stay sharp?

Is H2, 1V or 4V a possibility? Is the answer by some magical default H2?

I’ve yet to find anything except carbide chainsaw chain that stays sharp for more than a couple of hours of work. Even my Cruwear SE Temp dulls after about 600-800 hacking cuts in green materials. Anecdotally H1 can usually be relied upon to go a bit longer in green stuff, but it doesn’t seem to tolerate drier woody stuff as well (although it sharpens in literal seconds).

On a side note I was using my SE Cruwear Temp today at work and even though it was freshly coated with frog lube it had started to spot corrode on the flats of the blade and a bit on the serrations by the time I stopped for lunch. I was hacking up exclusively a few hundred palm fronds so I was really surprised, as in my previous experience Cruwear is usually pretty good with resisting rust spotting. It wasn’t even raining, but it was really hot so maybe that had something to do with it

Have you ever tried 1V or 4V? Sal needs to see what a 4V - 16 inch long blade can do with the right machete thickness and hardness. Maybe it would chip?

The only 4V I’ve got is a St Nicks Military. Not tried 1V on account of it supposedly being prone to rust. I’d be keen to try it but worry the climate here would ruin it.

OK. You are the man on the ground dealing with the elements.

1V, 3V and 4V are not good steels for a rust proof machete. Maybe H2.

[Naperville]

What do you all think of a two handed machete? Forward position for more balance and rear position for hacking. I do like the idea of a 1/4” threaded pommel that can take plastic spacers or metal weights to change the balance.

I never used a two handed edged tool. They make sense for some uses. Do they have them for machetes? I'd have to google that.

[Fireman]

What do you all think of a two handed machete? Forward position for more balance and rear position for hacking. I do like the idea of a 1/4” threaded pommel that can take plastic spacers or metal weights to change the balance.

I never used a two handed edged tool. They make sense for some uses. Do they have them for machetes? I'd have to google that.

https://machetespecialists.com/products ... -machetes/

See some here

[Naperville]

What do you all think of a two handed machete? Forward position for more balance and rear position for hacking. I do like the idea of a 1/4” threaded pommel that can take plastic spacers or metal weights to change the balance.

I never used a two handed edged tool. They make sense for some uses. Do they have them for machetes? I'd have to google that.

https://machetespecialists.com/products ... -machetes/

See some here

Make it so then! I think the power generated would make Jovial's work a bit better.

[Bill1170]

I agree that people have been discussing two different tools. Light and thin for small stuff, heavier and thicker for cutting harder and/or larger diameter plants.

I used my cut-down Latin machete today to remove a giant bird of paradise that was occluding a younger, better-looking specimen in the same cluster. Those plants are almost entirely water, and a stainless machete would be very welcome, much easier to keep clean. I wipe the blade off when I’m done and apply some WD-40 to scavenge remaining water and provide a light air barrier for when the tool is stored.

[JoviAl]

What do you all think of a two handed machete? Forward position for more balance and rear position for hacking. I do like the idea of a 1/4” threaded pommel that can take plastic spacers or metal weights to change the balance.

I never used a two handed edged tool. They make sense for some uses. Do they have them for machetes? I'd have to google that.

They use them frequently over here for sugar cane, although rather than using them two handed the longer handle tends to be used for granting additional reach when cutting at floor level without having to bend right down, then you slide your hand up to nearer the blade to have more control while removing the grassy leaves up the side of the main stem. The long handle is a real mechanical advantage if you want to reach far or swing with tremendous force, although folk don’t normally use them for thicker stuff out here unless they’re caught short without a saw as the handles tend to work loose.

[JoviAl]

What do you all think of a two handed machete? Forward position for more balance and rear position for hacking. I do like the idea of a 1/4” threaded pommel that can take plastic spacers or metal weights to change the balance.

I never used a two handed edged tool. They make sense for some uses. Do they have them for machetes? I'd have to google that.

https://machetespecialists.com/products ... -machetes/

See some here

Those cane machetes are exactly what I was referring to, although locally they’re usually made crudely out of a sheet of thicker steel to let the pendulum motion of the swing do the work rather than having to thrash the snot out of it. I don’t deal much with sugar cane so I just use a billhook when I need to, works much the same as I don’t sharpen the inside of the hook so I can manipulate stems without damaging them.

[JoviAl]

Ive decided to put my money where my mouth is and put some serrations one of my machetes. I figured it’s time to test my theory that one would be highly effective. The old Mk1 eyeball was employed on the first iteration of serrations.

I’ll pretty them up and make them progressively more Seki and less Taichung as I go along, to see if their pointy-ness affects initial bite and energy transfer. Once it’s done and I’ve tested it a bit I’d like to send it over to @vivi to get his hot take (if you’re keen Vivi?).

I figure if I hope Spyderco to one day make a serrated machete,, the least I can do is take the first step in proving one viable.

[vivi]

I'd definitely be willing to put one up against a coarse edged PE machete to see how viable the idea is, I just hate to think what shipping would cost you.

[vivi]

What do you all think of a two handed machete? Forward position for more balance and rear position for hacking. I do like the idea of a 1/4” threaded pommel that can take plastic spacers or metal weights to change the balance.

I never used a two handed edged tool. They make sense for some uses. Do they have them for machetes? I'd have to google that.

absolutely.

[JoviAl]

I'd definitely be willing to put one up against a coarse edged PE machete to see how viable the idea is, I just hate to think what shipping would cost you.

Great

Shipping from SG to the USA is surprisingly reasonable. I send all manner of ported chainsaw stuff to folk over there and it’s always less than I expect (within reason).