Machete Modifcations Tutorial Part One

[SavageBodybuilding]

Thank you for the very informative video sir

[danilosteinke]

so falto o video em portugues rsrsrs

[FrancoAtiirador]

Hi, congratulations for the tutorial, I have some machete and I liked the changes you made​in your, I'm just a question. The part you scratched with a pen has to be made of two equal sides, or only one side? Sorry I do not know English, did the translation of my question. I thank the attention. I

[Colhane]

@FrancoAtiirador O corte esta feito nos dois lados da lamina. Eu falo no video que eu nao mostro o outro lado porque e o mesmo processo. Eu devo refazer este vd em Portugues.

[ZjAc0]

Nice tip for marking it with the marker! Now i can see a better difference when filing my machete

[godofimagination]

What kind of steel is that? will those mods work with any steel?

[godofimagination]

What kind of file is that?

[Colhane]

@godofimagination A fine single cut mill file.

[godofimagination]

@Colhane Would a double cut work?

[Colhane]

@godofimagination No, a double cut will score the steel deeply. A single cut removes the material leaving behind a much smother surface.

[godofimagination]

@Colhane do you have to have a file to make a convex edge on a store bought machete like that?

[Colhane]

@godofimagination No but it saves lots of money and time doing it that way. The only quick way of doing it is with a belt grinder. I remove the steel first with the file then sand the convex by hand over a mouse pad. To remove all the steel that way would be costly in time and sandpaper.

[jwatterson69]

Great original mods!! Looks like blind horse knives liked them too,check out their new machete($110?) and "Their" modifications. Looks suspiciously like they took your ideas and are now trying to rip people off. You represent all that is good about you tube, sharing and teaching not profiteering!!!

[lordaleksandre]

Tramontina Cane knife, best cheap cane knife money can buy, and like every fine fixed blade, gets better with use!

[icelandicigs]

so safety warning, dont cut your hand. lol.

great video

[justyoustupid]

what kinda axe is in the background

[darkelf0172]

what is the grade of the file and sandpaper you use?



[WuTangMMA]

Man the rounded back edge is a good idea. Do you think I can do these modifications with a belt sander? Normally what I use to sharpen my machete and axe, but I've never tried to put much control into the way I sand. I find that a belt sander is faster and more even then a file.

[Colhane]

@WuTangMMA I'm not sure what your set-up is like but ia know professional knife makers have done these mods with belt grinders and it really speeds up the process. My shop is kind of "unplugged" so I use what I have. I've done alot of these with a file and have gotten pretty good at it. I normally finish the convex off with sandpaper over a mouse pad and since most of the steel is already shaped with the file it cuts down on cost and labor.

[WuTangMMA]

@Colhane Ok thanks I'll probably have to go buy a cheapo machete from Wall Mart to practice on before I try it on my ka bar.

[Colhane]

@WuTangMMA You can pick up a Tramontina online for about $6 at smoky mountain knife works. Cheap machetes are usually too thin to profit form these modifications. I highly recommend the 14 inch Tramontina Bolo or the 14 - 16 inch Latin pattern.

[WuTangMMA]

@Colhane Hm I guess they're sold out right now, I'll wait a few days because $6 is a good price. Anyway I live in the Pacific Northwest. I plan to eventually modify my Ka-Bar cutlass machete. It's got a really thick 11" blade, which is great for up here because I'm cutting through branches more than vines or thorns.

By the way, thanks a lot for the tips. I am really impressed, both with your videos and with how fast you got back back to me about my questions.

[iamjeeves]

5:09  "acute right angle" wtf dude. no sense here.

[Colhane]

@iamjeeves That would be "square", or a sharp right angle. I don't script these things and my geometry teacher is now dead and gone, acute was a wrong word.

[MedManTheBrave]

great vid.. v educational and useful

[camerl2009]

what type of machettes are these

[Colhane]

@camerl2009 They are the 16 inch Latin Pattern Tramontina.

[1BattleRattle]

Great Job!  Really like the mods. Very ingenuitive.

[cliffcox66]

Whats your take on the Collins machete?

[solidgearman]

Why do you sharpen the spine at 4:37 ?

[Colhane]

@solidgearman I don't sharpen the spine. As it comes form the factory it is just a rough stamping not a useful edge. I first file it flat to a 90 degree angle then round off the forward portion. The flat 90 degree edge is used to make wood scrapings and the rounded portion is more comfortable to hold when using the blade as a draw knife.

[dfpjosh]

A good tool to use to get the reverse edge at an exact right angle is to use a snowboard edge tool. You can get them for like $10 at any sporting goods store and they are designed to put an exact right angle for a biting edge on a snowboard.

[Colhane]

@dfpjosh Good tip! There aren't too many of those for sale here in Brazil but I'll have to look for one the next time I'm in the US.

[blindside357]

How much are those(machetes) in brazil?they sell at a corner store near me for $13 i live in nova scotia canada

[Colhane]

@blindside357 They sell here for about R$ 15.00, just under $10 US.

[bocoin]

@blindside357 I paid aroun 8$ us for mine

[CaptSyn]

Thanks. I've got a Tramontina 18 inch blade. Since watching this video set, I've made the same mods, with the exception of the compound grind. I'm not sure how to do that as it currently has a full scandi grind, and I don't have the clamps or a vice yet. I think I made a mistake letting my grandpa take down the factory blunt edge with a bench grinder. I've noticed the scandi doesn't work well in my yard trimming branches and brush, so I certainly don't want it in the bush.

[masluxx]

if you are using a machete now to break trail, you seriously might want to try using a Christmas tree knife. Instead of a arm swing, all a Christmas tree knife takes to do the same job is flick of the wrist. Then again typical i would have spent several days breaking trail at a time. rying to swing a machete as fast as we moved for that many days would have been impossible.

[jamzva]

tramontina es a good one try machetes Imacasa from el Salvador

[Colhane]

@jamzva I would like to but they are not sold here in Brazil.

[Sccuba182]

Not sure if you would know the answer but you seem knowledgable! what would u recommend for sharpening a Cold steel Ti-Lite? SUBBED!

[zvz2ezzvz]

can sometell me where to buy machetes?

[fraudioc]

thanks a lot for you wonderful tutorial. I made you mods on my 14 inch Tramontina Machete and now is the perfect bush tool. I already made a narrower bevel near the handle but I never tried the modification on the spine and are really useful. Thanks a lot for sharing this

[rahuu]

do you burnish the edge of the section that you use for scraping? It woud give you a very sharp burr that would act as a micro blade. Look up how to burnish a bench scraper and you can apply that technique to the machete. It could make work on the the shavings a bit easier.

[Colhane]

@rahuu Thanks for the tip, I will look that up. I draw file the spine when I want a really flat right angle but that's as far as I take it. In my "Machete Fire" video you can see this mod in action. The spine will go dull eventually and I touch it up with a file.

[possumvideos]

why do you file top of the edge on the rest of the blade?

[CiceroWagner1]

Senhor Colhane sou seu grande fã, parabens pelos seus ensinamentos, um abraço e fica com DEUS.

[RedMohawk25]

Great demonstration on how to mod it, thanks for showing us!

[OBrien19]

this video is exactly what i'm looking for, thanks

[kgmachine]

Hi mate does your machete stain black when cutting into some trees

[Colhane]

Yes, the tropics are very hard on carbon steel. Green coconuts are one of the worst. If you leave a machete stuck in a coconut it will get black very quickly. Patina does not affect function though.

[TheTntuser]

Do you think a 28" machete is too big? I was thinking 22" or 28".

[Colhane]

I don't own anything over 20 inches. A 28 inch machete is huge. They have their place, it's kind of like asking if a 3 iron is too much club. Depends on the job. For general purpose machete work a handier blade will get more use. Longer blades tend to be very terrain or task specific.

[kgmachine]

Yes I think so, just extra weight and danger i seem to think 14-18 is the utility length

[RDPproject]

Top quality work there mate.

5*

[kwarnisplayer]

Where do you find the 16" Tramontina? I've only found the 14" model with the rounded handle online.

[Colhane]

I live in Brazil and buy them locally. I have heard the 16 is hard to find up there. Check w/ Smoky Mt or the Machetespecialist.

[kwarnisplayer]

@Colhane

Neither of them stock the16" model. :(

[1kperday]

Cool vid. Why bother to file the forward part of the back side flat before rounding it over though?

[Colhane]

The spine is very irregular as it comes from the factory. I've found I get better results quicker that way.

[flipster12000]

That knife must not have been tempered very well or the file would have just skated off the cutting edge. I do like your ideas though so I will try to incorporate them into some of my designs. Good work.

[devonkeim]

Machetes are not hardened as much as knives, if they were they would snap or shatter when chopping.

[Dmajorproductions]

how long did it take to grind down the Scandinavian edge? im trying to make a bushcraft knife

[Dmajorproductions]

can you put a scandi edge on the entire edge?

or will it chip when you chop stuff?

whats the practical use of clip point? because im getting a cold steel 12 inch bowie machete and im wondering weather or not to sharpen the clip point

[Colhane]

A full length scandi wouldn't hold up under repeated impacts. You would get edge damage easily. A full length convex is much stronger for chopping. I prefer a scandi for making fine cuts. That's why I use both.

[Dmajorproductions]

so for a 12 inch knife, scandi 3" and convex the rest? for the back first 3 inches make it square the rest rounded, then what should i do with the clip point?

[Brasilikilt]

Ah, I did something very similar to one of those Japanese "Hand Forged Bolo" knives.

I also bet that you have been to "Rei do Facas" in downtown Rio....

[Colhane]

I don't get down to Rio very often but the next time I go I'll be sure to look it up.

[PowderburnMI]

Great job as usual, Mac. 8-)

[calld2serve]

I just purchased a kukri machette. I am going to add your modifications to the Kukri. Should make quite the tool

[Colhane]

That's one I haven't seen yet.

[calld2serve]

I made the modifications to the kukri machette. It works great. The blade is carbon steel so it is really sharp and durable. Machette was about $20 dollars.

[Colhane]

I'd love to see a photo.

[calld2serve]

Ok I did a video response with pics of the kukri.

[diligentj]

Excellent! 10 points for style and content. It's obvious you have spent time teaching - looking forward to more from you.

[gagalmg]

that tramontina is carbon ?? correct?

[Colhane]

1075 from what I hear I haven't been able to confirm it.

[andreafatica]

very interesting man!

[bushcraftbartons]

WelI see your back where you belong bro...great vid thanx....

[iSurvivalSkills]

Excellent vid thank you!

[hoosierarcher]

Good vid, taking a 5 dollar machete and making it nearly priceless aka from a nearly unitasker to a multitasker.

[Colhane]

The machete literally touches everything you do in the bush here from cutting trail, clearing camp, building shelter, making a fire, getting water, harvesting food, etc. To have it optimized for one task is a real mistake. The key is to optimize the correct parts of the blade that you use for the many tasks you need to do.

[CallsThunder]

Thanks so much for sharing. I've been looking forward to your return.

[aokspage]

Thats great

[giutoniolo]

Mac, I´m glad your back to Brazil and making vids too! Great mods you´ve added to your machete bro! Nice job!

[Colhane]

We need to get out to the bush and shoot some video together. I say that in the American way of, "Let's put something on the calendar". I think we can learn alot from each other.

[eeriebadfish]

thanks for the great ideas

[CatemacoRock]

i am so glad you posted a new video. 5/5

[ninjuggalo420]

WoW bad ass vid thank you for your knowledge

[MrEasyRollins]

Creat Video,thanks Dave.

[clancy6969]

Nice vid, I love my 12 inch tramontina, modded it up from a thread I think you posted on bladeforums.

[Colhane]

I've posted this on a few forums in the past. I have been planning to make this video for a while but I've been in the US for the past 14 months.

[doctom54]

Another great video. Thanks

[TerriLi]

Good to see ya back doing vids.

[Ggreenvideos]

Nice work Dave :o) *****5/5*****

[nephildevil]

great vid!

but i oughto mod my wooden table into a workbench first tho hehe

[michalhantl]

Awesome way to make a machette more useful!

[YuddaLevy]

Great video...thank you.

[hobbexp]

thanks , its was interesting to see, 5/5

[twistcut]

Good stuff, happy to see you putting up some video again too.

[Colhane]

It's good to be back where I belong.

[madcow1001NL]

They should put that warning on all knives.

Don't cut your hand :P

nice video

[K1RKH4MM3T]

Thanks for this, its awesome

[kinzuaBrian]

Great vid! Great modifications to a tool that gives ya multiple functions! THX PA brother

[theholyfallout]

thank you! Great information.