Tramontina Golok Field Test

[vjanda1]

A tattooed blade crazy missionary in full camo.

Wicked !

Keep up the good work :)

[Colhane]

@vjanda1 LOL Blade crazy yes, but the tats are not me, that was a shot of Giuliano who is wearing more ink than Marvel Comics.

[Beachcrib]

That blade is much lighter in the hand .. Then a 12 inch Ontario? Im pretty interested in getting a lighter short blade for my Florida area. But I do love my Ontario .. Real work horse. Would you ever make a video discussing all the Machete brands that are valued? Pros and cons of the machete makers?

[Colhane]

@Beachcrib It is a bit lighter than the Ontario and has a more comfortable handle. I really don't have broad experience with all brands of machetes, just the ones sold here in Brazil. The 12 inch Ontario is a great blade, 1095 is good stuff.

[sundagaluh]

Golok diferent with machete...

[Colhane]

@sundagaluh Yes, that is very true. I use that term for lack of a better name because here in Brazil the golok profile is unknown. I patterned the shape of this blade loosely on the Martindale Golok #2, this style also resembles the Parang but again is also different especially in the handle. I find this blade shape very useful and much better than the standard Latin pattern machete common to Brazil.

[samueldegouvea]

dear colhane,

what are the main advantages of glok front a conventional machete?

caro colhane,

quais são as principais vantagens do golok frente à um facão convencional? moro em Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brasil, e você, mora em qual cidade?

[whatever7x7]

looks like a sharpened blade from a lawnmower +_+

[bigbuckaroo2]

I am a professional land surveyor here in the US....Missouri...and for 25 years I worked out in the field....

Lots of day in day out machete use.

My favorite became the 22" Martindale Crocodile from England. I used the wire wrapped handle for years...

As long as the wire remained tight, I had no problems with it.

That being said, I eventually switched to the wood handled ones, and rounded them off and smoothed them...

Good stuff.

Great videos!

[Colhane]

@bigbuckaroo2 Most surveyors I have talked to seem to prefer the longer blades. When I'm clearing land I do too, the job is pretty task specific as far as the way you use the blade. In terms of doing the wide variety of tasks required for jungle living from processing game and raw foods to building camp as well as clearing I find a shorter blade far more convenient. When we're going to be doing alot of off trail hiking as long as someone in the group has a long blade that is usually fine.

[Colhane]

@bigbuckaroo2 As for the wire wrapped handle the problem was not so much the wire but the sharp edges on the inlet center portion of the wood handle, way too sharp. The micarta wrap I did is perfect IMO as it also seriously strengthens the handle. You can see it in my Golok Handle Update video.

[shimono1000]

MUY BUEN MACHETE CUSTOMIZADO MAESTRO !!!!! GRACIAS POR ENSEÑARNOS Y COMPARTIR SUS CONOCIMIENTOS CON TODOS NOSOTROS ! SALUDOS DESDE PARAGUAY.

[EnterTheMuffin]

you, sir, are a truly ingenious individual! bravo on your beautiful piece of work

[intezam]

Sir, why do some of the Tramontina machetes have wire wrapping on the handle?

The way the wire looks, it'll give you a sore hand after some time. Why do they do it?

[Colhane]

@intezam Unless you are using gloves that handle design is a meat grinder. I also use it as the basis for my favorite handle. I replace that area with a micarta wrap, hard as stone, smooth to the palm. Check out the "Golok Handle Update" video for a closer look. As is that handle is useless, fixed right it is my favorite.

[nopainnogainfreenet]

thats a good looking tool, you dont need the british stuff that is thick and overpriced

[007TheReaper007]

★★★★★ツ

[BushcraftTom]

Great machete!

[jopalo31675]

That keystone patch....28th ID....Pennsylvania Guard? Oh, great vid..love your modifications!!!

[Colhane]

@jopalo31675 It very well might be. I'm not in the Guard but I did pick those BDU's up in PA for a grand total of $5. I left the patch on because it reminds me of home. I need to get a patch for Minas Gerais (my state here) so when I'm back in PA it will remind me of home. I'm confused.

[jopalo31675]

@Colhane $5 dollars for BDU's is not bad. That would be pretty cool walking around with Brasilian fatigues in PA. I had friends who would spend half their year in Brasil also(Brasilian wives). They work here for 6 months then return home. They are Italian and their wives are from Brasil.There is a small Brasilian commuity here in NY.

[Colhane]

@MrMilo13 The material is put on in overlapping layers, saturated with resin as I go. Filing/sanding it cuts across those layers and makes it look like that. The stuff is extremely strong too and reinforces the handle well.

The link to the photo MrMilo13 is referring to is in the "more information" section at the bottom.

[Colhane]

@MrMilo13 Strips of woodland camo cloth impregnated with epoxy resin wrapped around the handle in the space where the cord was. Once hardened I filed it flush with the wood, gave it a sealer coat of superglue and sanded it smooth as glass. It made a very cool pattern. I made a post about it on Bushcraft USA titled "mojo micarta golok handle", with photos.

[Colhane]

@MrMilo13 I already fixed the handle. I did an epoxy micarta wrap in that space using strips cut from an old pair of woodland camo BDU's. It turned out great.

[tobeaSEAL]

This was really hard to watch I could only see you head and hands

[Colhane]

@tobeaSEAL Woodland works well here.

[tobeaSEAL]

@Colhane Just making sure you know I am just kidding, not blind

[KonstantinKuehn]

hey awesome machete! and sheath! i have a question about the sheath. how did u make it?? could u maybe make a video explaining the process of making and molding a leather sheath and making it hard like that? ive always wanted to make one like this but was unable to get reliable information!

thanks

konstantin

[Colhane]

@KonstantinKuehn My leatherworking skills are fairly unrefined. There are better tutorials out there then any I could make. Once you learn how to wet-form the leather, which is not difficult, it is a pretty straight forward process. Hardening the leather is just a matter of heating the finished sheath and either dunking it or repeatedly heating and painting it with beeswax.

[harvestblades]

Another good vid brother. Now in the description you said it has your standard scandi/convex mod but in the video you said you did a shallow convex near the handle. I assume this was just a slip. I may be down in Jan. so I will have to look you and Giulliano up.

[Colhane]

@harvestblades On this one rather than take the base of the blade all the way down to a full scandi I stopped short of that and sharpened with paper over a mouspad leaving a very low angle convex. I want to see if it holds up better and still works for me. So far so good.

[CTOL1]

Love them blade mods

[colerogersreviews]

very nice. do you think the golok chops better than the latin pattern?

[Colhane]

@colerogersreviews The golok profile moves the sweet spot closer to the tip which is also the fastest part of the blade. I was shooting for a 14 inch blade that hits as hard as 16 inch Latin machete. Edge geometry also has a lot to do with how well a machete chops. This blade has an aggressive convex.

[sae1095hc]

Interesting mod!

You specified that it started out as a "Heavy Tramontina", how thick is that blade stock?

[Colhane]

@sae1095hc It isn't thicker than a normal Tramontina but the blade was very wide up front making it front heavy.

[wulfesinger67]

hey nice job on the blade! are those your new jungle boot i glimpsed? how are they working out?

[Colhane]

@wulfesinger67 That was Giuliano in that shot but yes those are his new boots.

[jtimmis]

love your vids. just wondering if you ever heard of a marbles machete made in central america and what do you think of it? thanks!

[Colhane]

@jtimmis There are many good brands of machete out there. I have never used Marbles but only because they aren't sold here. I hear they're good tools.

[RDPproject]

Looking really good and is very functional by the looks of it.

[Hoffa3381]

No joking when you said real Chopper!

[bill8176]

sweet



[xXxCatsnakexXx]

Good Job!

[bearpatch1]

Dave as always fine video on your mods. great info and demo.

thanks for sharing your knowledge and talent in this area. 5/5* thanks,---JC

[johnwilsonriley]

Question! In your travels have you come across any improvised effective digging tools! Other than the typical folding shovel?

[Colhane]

@johnwilsonriley No, not really. I don't ever carry anything specific for digging. I just cut a digging stick or use the machete.

[Charlz9mm]

excellent job!

[YuddaLevy]

Great video as always. I would love to see how you made the leather sheath.

For those of us that dont have a Tandys nearby....i would like to see how you do it in Brazil...thanks again Mac.

[texascarl]

Looks good.

[billynightmare]

ok Giuliano made me cringe a couple times when he was using that Golok , apart from that awesome vids keep um coming :)

[12GaugeLosAngeles]

Man... i envy you, live far away... yet so close to us. You must be getting some hot mamasitas heh?

[Colhane]

@12GaugeLosAngeles Just the one I'm married to!

[LANPARTYDUDE]

@Colhane that still counts ; )

[Texasoutback]

If you want I can send you some 550 cord to wrap the handle.

[Colhane]

@Texasoutback Thanks for the offer. Last week I filled that area with an epoxy micarta wrap on woodland camo. It turned out great.

[JUSTTHEBEST12]

@Colhane do you think you can show us how you made the golok at to how you cut and were to find the machete to mod after all you could always use another one lol

[bushcraftourway]

i wouldnt want to go to the rainforrest, it seems like such an awquwards place to live

[giutoniolo]

@bushcraftourway The whole place is alive at night!! Spoookiee!!

[Colhane]

@bushcraftourway No, I just make it look awkward.

[daw9y]

I use horse leg rap on my handle love it you can get it at vet supply shop if you are not back in the states and if you dont have a way to get it i can send you some let me know

[mem7048]

Nice tattoos, why don't you ever expose them?

[giutoniolo]

@mem7048 @mem7048 Those are not Mac´s tattoos dude! Thats me (Giuliano) there! And thanks for the comment on my tattoos bro!

[Colhane]

@mem7048 Maybe because they're not mine! That's Giuliano.

[ryanjd2006]

@Colhane hahaha i knew someone would ask that!

[Colhane]

@ryanjd2006 I knew that was coming as soon as I uploaded the video.

[guiltybystander77]

@Colhane

Do you know of any good sites for buying the original machete you made this out of?

I'm really interested in that bird's head handle.

[Colhane]

@guiltybystander77 I would check with Machetespecialist. It isn't a common model from what I've seen available online. I buy them here (Brazil) at a tool distributor about a half hour away. I've had people ask me to pick them up here but with shipping it really doesn't pay.

[bassfuryvi]

really appreciate the mods etc...I have the 23" sawback Ontario but haven't needed to use it for hours at a time ..thanks foe the info!

[mikeelliott1971]

ty for the vid