Spyderco Forums

This is so funny, as I had thought about taking one of my machetes and to SE the edge of it and see if it works any better on these vines of the Mustang grape.

This thing has been killing me lately lol. My new Kukri BK21 has been awesome so far, least I haven't bent the thing...

Jeb wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 24, 2025 4:53 am

This is so funny, as I had thought about taking one of my machetes and to SE the edge of it and see if it works any better on these vines of the Mustang grape.

This thing has been killing me lately lol. My new Kukri BK21 has been awesome so far, least I haven't bent the thing...

I mean, we could serrate a kukri…

Yes I can, I actually have one of two I am eye balling for a little test drive lol

Jeb wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 24, 2025 5:26 am

Yes I can, I actually have one of two I am eye balling for a little test drive lol

I had been considering making an SE Kukri a while back but couldn’t find one in a steel rust resistant enough to justify buying it in the first instance. I’d be interested to see how it goes in a more temperate environment.

I had one of these for a specific brush clearance task and it was very effective.

https://varusteleka.com/en-gb/products/ ... rbon-steel

9 1/2 inches carbon steel blade, 1 1/2 hand grip, 2 distinct bevel angles.

Fireman wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 23, 2025 9:47 pm

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.

JoviAl wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 23, 2025 10:42 pm

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.

These two comments make me wonder if the ideas could be combined. So, instead of just a longer handle that's always there, have a 1/4" threaded end on the handle that an extension could be screwed into for the extra reach either at floor level or even up high. Or, instead of a screw attachment, perhaps a square ratchet/socket could be used where a small lever would let it disengage. That may be safer and would prevent it rotating unexpectedly. That reminds me a bit of train car pintle connections, not super tight, but still strong.

ChrisinHove wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 24, 2025 6:54 am

I had one of these for a specific brush clearance task and it was very effective.

https://varusteleka.com/en-gb/products/ ... rbon-steel

9 1/2 inches carbon steel blade, 1 1/2 hand grip, 2 distinct bevel angles.

I looked at buying a heap of those last year but the shipping was crazy to here. For the same price I can get Silky Natas which are very similar and wickedly effective, they just rust like crazy.

I have a group of Syntropic farmers visiting my site tomorrow from Malaysia and Indonesia about some research into footfall mitigation in woodland I’ve been doing. I’ll have a chat with them about what they look for in the machetes they use commercially - they literally have one in their hand all day in their line of work.

JoviAl wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 24, 2025 3:04 am

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.
IMG_5512.jpeg
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.

Nice! Way to put your own time and rescources into furthering the experiment. I am not a serration fan yet, but I am very curious to hear how this might turn out. Excellent work.

Wow, what a cool discussion. How did I miss this?

I don’t have a dog in the fight, since I’m not often using a machete, but to promote a lens of practicality over the entire project, in the interest of seeing it come to fruition…


Steel type: Sounds like stainless was one of the main project design parameters, and would be a major separator from other similar products. Since the discussion also revolved around the potential for a serrated edge, keep it H2. It’s tough, and corrosion resistant. Has the ability to do really well with serrations. Perfect!


Thickness: Going thin will be more true to an actual machete VS a chopper, which again was one of the main design parameters. 2 to 2.2mm. Signifiantly thicker would possibly defeat the purpose and stray too far from the concept of ‘avg general use machete’ which I think you need on a product like this to maintain some sort of market viability. And thicker might also be insanely expensive, both in materials and processing.

Shape? I’ll defer to the real experts here on this one. But what I will say is that if the project leans toward the ‘SE’ persuasion, having a more dramatic curve that promotes more blade ‘slide’ through materials, while under normal circumstances this may not aid in the case of a plain edge, but it could be of incredible benefit to a serrated edge, that jumps up significantly in cutting power as it is drawn through material. Something to ponder…


Handle: Here is where we can hopefully save a ton of $$$ is development and production costs? Keep the shape of the JM2, exactly. So then you can use the JM2 scales, without changing a single thing. Think of how much it would cost to develop a new handle shape and create a new mold, versus just telling Seki to make more JM2 scales. Could save a ton on the project, and maybe even streamline how quickly this project could get off the ground. The other option would be the Mule handle, of which scales are already in existence and available. This of course already assumes a 100% full tang no question.


Length: 14-15” seems right, and maybe could save a bit of $$$ over a longer blade?


This is a super fun idea!

There is a lot of mention of H2 so far, which I understand, but I wonder if some other less expensive stainless might be preferred for reasons of cost. It seems I'm on a kick suggesting AEB-L or 14C28N for everything lately, ha ha, but maybe one those would be a good middle ground between the common cabon steel machetes and a full on salt?

I would be much more likely to consider buying something like this if it can be made cheaper, and I'd imagine 14C28N would help reduce cost over H2. It also could open up the options for place of manufacture. Golden made machete? OK, well that might be more expensive, but I kinda like the thought all the same.

Scandi Grind wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 24, 2025 11:00 am

There is a lot of mention of H2 so far, which I understand, but I wonder if some other less expensive stainless might be preferred for reasons of cost. It seems I'm on a kick suggesting AEB-L or 14C28N for everything lately, ha ha, but maybe one those would be a good middle ground between the common cabon steel machetes and a full on salt?

I would be much more likely to consider buying something like this if it can be made cheaper, and I'd imagine 14C28N would help reduce cost over H2. It also could open up the options for place of manufacture. Golden made machete? OK, well that might be more expensive, but I kinda like the thought all the same.

I also like the idea of 14C28N or AEB-L steels. I have mused about the day that Spyderco would offer a budget line in 14C. Maybe with this machete it could be the start of something great.


While I hold no opposition to Golden and in some ways prefer it, I wonder if it would have to come from Seki if they utilize a JM2 handle/scales. Or could they edm out the blades here, and contract out the scales from Seki? Best of both worlds?

JoviAl wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 24, 2025 3:04 am

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.
IMG_5512.jpeg
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.

I love your practical spirit of inquiry! I’m very interested to read what comes of this experiment.

I was interrupted. My guess is that the SE will perform better on softer vegetation but not better than PE on harder wood.

JoviAl wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 24, 2025 3:04 am

Ive decided to put my money where my mouth is and put some serrations one of my machetes.

Looking forward to seeing your findings. My predictions are:

* For light brush where the velocity of the blade normally overcomes the material easily you'll see no improvement (because it's already maximally effective).
* For heavy stuff (e.g. 3/4" limbs, bamboo, etc) you'll see damage to the serrations and a tendency to get stuck.
* For medium stuff in between there may be an improvement of some kind.

Btw these serrations look pretty good (nice and regular) but I'll share a tip that I think custom knife makers use. You can get a round file and a metal rod of the same diameter as the file and zip tie them together. You cut the first serration and then lay the smooth rod in it to set the distance to the next.

Don't take these too seriously - these are 2 minute sketches. Just some quick visuals.

Jumpmaster handle (at scale) with a 15" drop point blade


Quick take on a bush machete, or latin style machete, with a slightly dropped tip and wider belly radius. 15.8" blade


Drop point style 15.3" blade


Seax style 15.8" blade

The Jumpmaster scales work for my paw, but I think the Drop point would also work fine. Just something on the end of those scales to hang onto is the main thing lol.

Mushroom wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 24, 2025 6:08 pm

Don't take these too seriously - these are 2 minute sketches. Just some quick visuals.

Jumpmaster handle (at scale) with a 15" drop point blade


Quick take on a bush machete, or latin style machete, with a slightly dropped tip and wider belly radius. 15.8" blade


Drop point style 15.3" blade


Seax style 15.8" blade

What program do you use to make those?

Evil D wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 18, 2025 12:51 pm

If you search there was an incident involving a Rock Salt and a coconut that did not end well. Maybe chopping a coconut is asking too much?

viewtopic.php?p=550757#p550757
This was back before I knew how to chop into a coconut. But the fact that the edge deformed up into the hollow-grind after a poor strike on a coconut is concerning for use of H1 as a heavy duty chopper, in my opinion.

zhyla wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 24, 2025 3:06 pm

JoviAl wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 24, 2025 3:04 am

Ive decided to put my money where my mouth is and put some serrations one of my machetes.

Btw these serrations look pretty good (nice and regular) but I'll share a tip that I think custom knife makers use. You can get a round file and a metal rod of the same diameter as the file and zip tie them together. You cut the first serration and then lay the smooth rod in it to set the distance to the next.

That is a game changer of a tip, thanks @zhyla! I’ve been puzzling out how to get a good end result with a variety of tools, but invariably I’d prefer the old engineer’s adage of ‘simple solutions to complex problems’. I probably have a chainsaw file guide that I can weld a rod to.

Mushroom wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 24, 2025 6:08 pm

Don't take these too seriously - these are 2 minute sketches. Just some quick visuals.

Jumpmaster handle (at scale) with a 15" drop point blade


Quick take on a bush machete, or latin style machete, with a slightly dropped tip and wider belly radius. 15.8" blade


Drop point style 15.3" blade


Seax style 15.8" blade

You’re a talented guy Mushroom! That Seax design sings to me, as does the initial JM2 handle option.