H1Spyderco Machete?

[zhyla]

most machetes have such poor corrosion resistance, they dull from that as much as anything else. my trunk machete needs sharpened often simply due to rust forming on the bevel so easily.

Has not been my experience at all. Obviously they're getting wet constantly from hacking at plant material, so they do rust, but they also don't need to be particularly sharp to be effective.

H1 is incredibly tough,not just rust proof. I've been batoning and prying an aqua salt since the 2000's with no damage at all. Stuff that would easily roll or chip 1095, cruwear, etc. in my experience.

H1 is soft. The 1070 steel that is common in your typical semi-disposable machete can get 1 or 2 HRC harder, but it's typically hardened to around 55 HRC. Maybe at the same hardness H1 beats 1070 for toughness. I really don't know. But I am skeptical that you're going to have a meaningful advantage in toughness against something that is already pretty tough.

I'm with you on serrated machetes though. Maybe others are running too polished and / or too thick of an edge. My machetes bite through foliage incredibly well right off the belt sander, or refined to 200-300 grit with diamond stones. I rarely take them past that.

I don't have much of a yard to maintain right now but when I did the machetes would get touched up now and then with a coarse bench stone. It's really the velocity that matters more than having a great edge. Most people talking about machetes and not swung an 18" - 20" latin machete thru some light brush. That singing sound never gets old.

Cut stuff with it Joking aside doing hacking cuts with SE has been a bit of an unexpected revelation for me. It could very well be my specific use case of hacking solely in woody/fibrous materials, but I find when I hack at something the SE points dig in viciously and the blade’s impact force seems to be directed straight into the cut, whereas with my PE machetes they tend to slide and deflect in the cut a lot more. Heavier ones like my Silky Nata are better at resisting deflection, but they still don’t bite as hard as my SE JM2 which takes much less effort to use (being several times lighter than the Nata). I’m not saying PE machetes are bad, they just don’t perform as well for my use case.

You may be missing a common technique of angling the blade/cut in very fibrous or woody targets. This is Machete 101, you don't try to chop perpendicular in a 1" tree branch, you hit that at a 45 degree angle.

A serrated machete is for mall ninjas. In real use those points would be battered to nothing in no time.

[JoviAl]

most machetes have such poor corrosion resistance, they dull from that as much as anything else. my trunk machete needs sharpened often simply due to rust forming on the bevel so easily.

Has not been my experience at all. Obviously they're getting wet constantly from hacking at plant material, so they do rust, but they also don't need to be particularly sharp to be effective.

H1 is incredibly tough,not just rust proof. I've been batoning and prying an aqua salt since the 2000's with no damage at all. Stuff that would easily roll or chip 1095, cruwear, etc. in my experience.

H1 is soft. The 1070 steel that is common in your typical semi-disposable machete can get 1 or 2 HRC harder, but it's typically hardened to around 55 HRC. Maybe at the same hardness H1 beats 1070 for toughness. I really don't know. But I am skeptical that you're going to have a meaningful advantage in toughness against something that is already pretty tough.

I'm with you on serrated machetes though. Maybe others are running too polished and / or too thick of an edge. My machetes bite through foliage incredibly well right off the belt sander, or refined to 200-300 grit with diamond stones. I rarely take them past that.

I don't have much of a yard to maintain right now but when I did the machetes would get touched up now and then with a coarse bench stone. It's really the velocity that matters more than having a great edge. Most people talking about machetes and not swung an 18" - 20" latin machete thru some light brush. That singing sound never gets old.

Cut stuff with it Joking aside doing hacking cuts with SE has been a bit of an unexpected revelation for me. It could very well be my specific use case of hacking solely in woody/fibrous materials, but I find when I hack at something the SE points dig in viciously and the blade’s impact force seems to be directed straight into the cut, whereas with my PE machetes they tend to slide and deflect in the cut a lot more. Heavier ones like my Silky Nata are better at resisting deflection, but they still don’t bite as hard as my SE JM2 which takes much less effort to use (being several times lighter than the Nata). I’m not saying PE machetes are bad, they just don’t perform as well for my use case.

You may be missing a common technique of angling the blade/cut in very fibrous or woody targets. This is Machete 101, you don't try to chop perpendicular in a 1" tree branch, you hit that at a 45 degree angle.

A serrated machete is for mall ninjas. In real use those points would be battered to nothing in no time.

That’s a somewhat bold statement considering you don’t profess to have used SE H1 for hacking. I’ve used mine almost every working day, commercially, for coming up to 2 years, hacking everything from Tembusu to coconuts. I’ve hit stones, the odd nail and bits of mesh fence (which do the usual amount of damage you’d expect), but from normal hacking in woody materials the points are absolutely fine, as you can see from the pic below

As for using machetes, they are a tool of our trade - we are professionally trained on how to use them effectively and spend countless hours iterating on our technique, so yes, I am aware that the angle of the cut (amongst countless other things like torso position, leg position, shoulder rotation, grip, etc) are important.

[vivi]

most machetes have such poor corrosion resistance, they dull from that as much as anything else. my trunk machete needs sharpened often simply due to rust forming on the bevel so easily.

Has not been my experience at all. Obviously they're getting wet constantly from hacking at plant material, so they do rust, but they also don't need to be particularly sharp to be effective.

H1 is incredibly tough,not just rust proof. I've been batoning and prying an aqua salt since the 2000's with no damage at all. Stuff that would easily roll or chip 1095, cruwear, etc. in my experience.

H1 is soft. The 1070 steel that is common in your typical semi-disposable machete can get 1 or 2 HRC harder, but it's typically hardened to around 55 HRC. Maybe at the same hardness H1 beats 1070 for toughness. I really don't know. But I am skeptical that you're going to have a meaningful advantage in toughness against something that is already pretty tough.

I've seen a toughness advantage in H1 over 1095, 1075, SK5 etc., often ran harder than my Aqua Salt was run. I see no reason to expect the opposite in a larger blade.

I really am curious what region you live in after our talks regarding corrosion resistance. Your experience with corrosion is so different than mine, living in the subtropics next to a lake and frequently visiting coastal regions in FL, SC, etc.

I genuinely have my machetes dull from corrosion before anything else. Cutting through weeds, tall grasses, briars, small branches etc. is not hard on a machete edge. But corrosion is a constant battle for me. See below:



trunk machete, cold steel kopis 18".



condor terrachete



cold steel slant tip machete



cold steel kukri machete



tramontina 18" used a single time on dead pine



tramontina 20" used for yard work twice



scrpayard s7 dogfather that was stripped and reground. polished off rust many times over the years.



ontario bushcrsft machete 5160. rusts if I look at it funny.

all are wiped down dry before being put in theirs sheaths.


I'm very interested in an H1 machete for that reason and the toughness aspect. the price wouldn't be fun but I'd pony up for something that unique.

I use machetes a lot here. I maintain a lot of trails in the area, including 5 miles of private trails I carved with non-powered hand tools. Use them hiking in wilderness areas, camping, for yard work, etc.

[JoviAl]

most machetes have such poor corrosion resistance, they dull from that as much as anything else. my trunk machete needs sharpened often simply due to rust forming on the bevel so easily.

Has not been my experience at all. Obviously they're getting wet constantly from hacking at plant material, so they do rust, but they also don't need to be particularly sharp to be effective.

H1 is incredibly tough,not just rust proof. I've been batoning and prying an aqua salt since the 2000's with no damage at all. Stuff that would easily roll or chip 1095, cruwear, etc. in my experience.

H1 is soft. The 1070 steel that is common in your typical semi-disposable machete can get 1 or 2 HRC harder, but it's typically hardened to around 55 HRC. Maybe at the same hardness H1 beats 1070 for toughness. I really don't know. But I am skeptical that you're going to have a meaningful advantage in toughness against something that is already pretty tough.

I've seen a toughness advantage in H1 over 1095, 1075, SK5 etc., often ran harder than my Aqua Salt was run. I see no reason to expect the opposite in a larger blade.

I really am curious what region you live in after our talks regarding corrosion resistance. Your experience with corrosion is so different than mine, living in the subtropics next to a lake and frequently visiting coastal regions in FL, SC, etc.

I genuinely have my machetes dull from corrosion before anything else. Cutting through weeds, tall grasses, briars, small branches etc. is not hard on a machete edge. But corrosion is a constant battle for me. See below:



trunk machete, cold steel kopis 18".



condor terrachete



cold steel slant tip machete



cold steel kukri machete



tramontina 18" used a single time on dead pine



tramontina 20" used for yard work twice



scrpayard s7 dogfather that was stripped and reground. polished off rust many times over the years.



ontario bushcrsft machete 5160. rusts if I look at it funny.

all are wiped down dry before being put in theirs sheaths.


I'm very interested in an H1 machete for that reason and the toughness aspect. the price wouldn't be fun but I'd pony up for something that unique.

I use machetes a lot here. I maintain a lot of trails in the area, including 5 miles of private trails I carved with non-powered hand tools. Use them hiking in wilderness areas, camping, for yard work, etc.

That slant tip machete looks like a real beaut. I’ve not tried that sort of Seax design yet at work but I’m keen to for the ease of sharpening on my belt sharpener. Is it decent in use?

[vivi]

yep, I highly recommend picking one up. For most my machete uses I strongly prefer the straight edge blade shape - it's better at slashing through undergrowth than latin style machetes. dead simple to sharpen too. it was one of the first blades I tried using my belt sander on.

[JoviAl]

yep, I highly recommend picking one up. For most my machete uses I strongly prefer the straight edge blade shape - it's better at slashing through undergrowth than latin style machetes. dead simple to sharpen too. it was one of the first blades I tried using my belt sander on.

I’ll check it out

So much of our tool purchasing at work boils down to “what can we easily maintain?” these days. I don’t know if it’s the same in your line of work as a chef, but the demands on our time are always focussed on ‘how much work can we squeeze into a day’, which never accounts for the tool maintenance you need to factor in to be efficient and effective in completing that work. A quick knife to sharpen that can handle being put away dirty now and again is way more compelling to me and my team than the absolute ultimate in edge retention.

[James Y]

It would be interesting to see how H1 (now H2) edges would hold up to chopping branches and the like.

Would they be better in PE or SE? I've never owned or seen a machete in SE, other than having seen a few with sawbacks.

If it could be made to stand up to such work, I would love an H2 machete.

Jim

It holds up extremely well, especially in SE. I use my JM2 almost exclusively at work doing forestry management and syntropic regenerative agriculture. Anywhere between 1000 to 5000 hacking cuts per day in green materials with touch ups on my CBN double stuff when it needs it, 184 days a year for the last ~2 years.

IMG_5487.jpeg

As for coconuts (or any other part of the palm for that matter), I’ve not had any issues processing them at all. I’ve actually been pruning coconuts this week and processing it into green mulch and they’re a bit of a non-event. I’ve been banging the drum for a H1 SE chopper for ages and have enquired with a number of custom makers to try and get one made (H1/2 SE Kukri specifically) but nobody besides Spyderco seems to have access to it.

Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences!

Jim

[zhyla]

I really am curious what region you live in after our talks regarding corrosion resistance. Your experience with corrosion is so different than mine, living in the subtropics next to a lake and frequently visiting coastal regions in FL, SC, etc.

I genuinely have my machetes dull from corrosion before anything else. Cutting through weeds, tall grasses, briars, small branches etc. is not hard on a machete edge. But corrosion is a constant battle for me.

I'm in a much drier climate (coastal, but not particularly wet). Most of my machete usage has been suburban, and a lot of with whacking at bananas, birds of paradise, etc -- wet, mostly soft stuff. My machetes all have rusted. For me most of the damage to the blade is typically swinging the blade low to the ground and encountering rocks.

I have one 25 year old dirt cheap Chinese machete I found in Home Depot for $5. It's not as pretty as my Tramontinas but it holds an edge a bit better. It's the most prone to rust for whatever reason and that certainly doesn't do good things for the edge but I think the geometry wins out in the end.

I have to admit, I may just be sharpening them more frequently than you are, which changes the game significantly.

That’s a somewhat bold statement considering you don’t profess to have used SE H1 for hacking.

Sounds like you've got plenty of experience with a machete. Machetes experience an order of magnitude more force on the edge because of how much faster they are moving and the momentum involved. I believe you guys that H1 is tough stuff, but it isn't magic. You're eventually going to whack into some harder branch than you intended and roll those teeth over.

[Fireman]

Has anyone used chapstick on their machetes? I’ve had relative success with keeping the rust away with that. Did someone say DLC Machete?!?!? that gets my mall ninja juices flowing. A 2mm LC200N would be the Goldilocks of stainless machetes. I love the liveliness and effectiveness of the Tramontina but the handle is as ergonomic as 1970s Lego’s. Has anyone else played with the Medford machete? I want to reprofile the edge from a hollow to a convex. I feel with that heavy of a machete blade it needs the convex edge. I have been quite smitten with the condor Pack Golok. It has been the beater short machete of choice lately. I’ve been on the hunt for the Bravo 1V for a while so I settled for the Bravo 3 What a beast of 3V!

[zhyla]

Chapstick or any wax (for such a large blade, you may want something more economical) should work fine. But for an actual user machete it might be overkill.

I also want to pick up a Condor at some point. Maybe when I have my own backyard again...

[Naperville]

Has anyone used chapstick on their machetes? I’ve had relative success with keeping the rust away with that. Did someone say DLC Machete?!?!? that gets my mall ninja juices flowing. A 2mm LC200N would be the Goldilocks of stainless machetes. I love the liveliness and effectiveness of the Tramontina but the handle is as ergonomic as 1970s Lego’s. Has anyone else played with the Medford machete? I want to reprofile the edge from a hollow to a convex. I feel with that heavy of a machete blade it needs the convex edge. I have been quite smitten with the condor Pack Golok. It has been the beater short machete of choice lately. I’ve been on the hunt for the Bravo 1V for a while so I settled for the Bravo 3 What a beast of 3V!

I heard that Renaissance Wax is what is used by some museums for old armor and swords, but I suppose any car wax would do.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

An important question about this. In the initial testing phase how would you make sure the blade is not so hard that it becomes brittle and that it chips or breaks past a certain length, unlike say carbon spring steel which is known to be tough and resilient enough?

I think you would also want the grip to be FRN and the blade full tang. The grip should be screw construction for easy replacement of the handle and cleaning. Just my opinions.

You can also make a set: a large Kukri like chopper machete with a smaller utility knife with a blade say in the 3.5 to 4 inch range made of the same steel that fits into a smaller sheath.

[Fireman]

Here is my custom full flat grind kitchen machete. It is so lively in the hand



The Medford is heavier and more of a short sword

[bearfacedkiller]

I have a bark river machete in 1V that I bought because I like nice knives but in the end I still think that a machete should be cheap enough that you can accidentally hit rocks, chop stumps and roots out of the dirt and maybe even dig holes. I am often too careful with my Bravo machete which for me defeats the purpose.

I prefer large choppers over machetes anyway. I would love a large Spyderco chopper. I had a Schempp Rock but it was too lightweight to chop well in our eastern hardwood forests and always got left at home in favor of my Becker BK4. If Kabar ever drops a Magnacut BK9 I might never need another large knife.

[Doc Dan]

Would H1/H2 be cost-effective? I wonder if it would be too expensive for such a beater. I would certainly like to see a machete out there in those steels in the hands of a few people that could test it in actual jungle conditions. Then we could get some feedback.

I also wonder how 12 C 27 or one of the others in that same line like 14 C 28 N would do in a big chopper because they're very tough.

[PM2Josh]

I’m going to say the same stuff I always say in machete threads: machetes are cheap, light, thin blades intended for constant abuse.

Worried about corrosion? That’s what painted machetes are for. The edge is getting damaged and sharpened constantly so corrosion isn’t really a problem.

Often people say “machete” when they really mean “North American chopper”. I can’t imagine what a large chopper in H1/2 from Spyderco would cost.

As for the SE vs PE question… what exactly would you do with a serrated chopper? That’s confusing.

Well in history there were serrated swords discovered.
Serrations grab. Thats how I got a 2 inch scar on the front of my shin down to the bone. I can actually see use with the grabbiness of serrated edges on grasses and softer material.

At the expense of sharpening time. Nothing my Lansky serrated sharpener cannot handle.
Still, I concur that a plain edge would be easier to maintain in field use.

I got no issue with cheap affordable machetes. But it would not hurt in 2025 to have something made to a higher standard by Spyderco or try pushing the enve!ope with more modern superior materials.

It's not like an H2 machete with G10 handles is going to put Tramontina or Imacasa out of business.
I just like the concept of advancing machete design. As Spyderco like the concept of advancing blade steel technology

It's all good. Not gonna throw my 9 machetes in the trash can if Spyderco ever decide to make an H2 or other steel of a Spyderco machete.

[PM2Josh]

Would H1/H2 be cost-effective? I wonder if it would be too expensive for such a beater. I would certainly like to see a machete out there in those steels in the hands of a few people that could test it in actual jungle conditions. Then we could get some feedback.

I also wonder how 12 C 27 or one of the others in that same line like 14 C 28 N would do in a big chopper because they're very tough.

Lets be real. It won't be cost effective. I love Spyderco. But they are a bit more expenxive than Tramontina. And I woukd expect such a product to run from $200 to $600 depending on the steel choice.
This definitely won't be an item a local landscaping crew sill buy to replace their Tramontinas.

Maybe AEB-L would be more cost effective. 12c27 does not do well in larger blades. I remember Moraknife discontinued a larger bladed knife due to the breaking and handle issues a few years ago. I think the knife Was called the pathfinder. But it could have been caused by the rat tail tang they incorporated in the design.

[PM2Josh]

I have a bark river machete in 1V that I bought because I like nice knives but in the end I still think that a machete should be cheap enough that you can accidentally hit rocks, chop stumps and roots out of the dirt and maybe even dig holes. I am often too careful with my Bravo machete which for me defeats the purpose.

I prefer large choppers over machetes anyway. I would love a large Spyderco chopper. I had a Schempp Rock but it was too lightweight to chop well in our eastern hardwood forests and always got left at home in favor of my Becker BK4. If Kabar ever drops a Magnacut BK9 I might never need another large knife.

It would definitely be a niche product. But I would smack my credit card down on the atm machine to try it out.

[PM2Josh]

Here is my custom full flat grind kitchen machete. It is so lively in the hand



The Medford is heavier and more of a short sword

That is nice. Well done.

[James Y]

Would H1/H2 be cost-effective? I wonder if it would be too expensive for such a beater. I would certainly like to see a machete out there in those steels in the hands of a few people that could test it in actual jungle conditions. Then we could get some feedback.

Great points.

Jim