An example of this type of machete :
The review consists of :
This machete was donated for a review by Matt Sutton, mainly to contrast the behavior against the brittle failure seen with the Ontario machetes on hardwoods. The Tramontina is a straight backed blade with wooden handle slabs and no sheath. It is made from 0.08" thick steel, has a 14" blade and weighs 332 g. The edge bevel is about 0.20" wide and ground at 11 degrees per side.
With Busse Battle Mistress as a benchmark, the Tramontina was used to cut light grasses. Both blades cut the vegetation easily as they were both very sharp however the Battle Mistress had a higher rate of fatigue as it was heavier in hand and shorter. Through strawberry bushes and other similar stalky vegetation, a 36 square foot section of land was cleared with each blade. both went through the vegetation with similar low resistance, however the Tramontina lost its edge very quickly. Moving back to light grasses it just pushed them around and just slipped on some poly rope unable to make a slice, the Battle Mistress still cut the grsses easily. Restoring the edge on the machete just required a few minutes work. A couple strokes with a butchers steel to straighten the edge, and about a few wipes of a fine DMT hone (Diafold), finishing with a final bevel with a ceramic rod.
To better gauge the edge retention, the sharpness was first measured by slicing through a roll of fabric using a 6" section of the blade, 6.3 (3) slices were needed. The machete then chopped through eight sections of 1x8 spruce board, averaging 33 +/- 2 chops per section. Next about 300 chops were made limbing some small trees in a low light area. The machete now took 64 slices to go through the fabric roll, under 10% of optimal performance. It didn't suffer any gross damage, just wore down evenly. It took 15 strokes per side with a 600 grit DMT diafold and then 2 passes per side with a 800 grit ceramic rod to restore the edge back to shaving sharp and optimal performance on the fabric.
To estimate the effect of binding on efficiency, the Tramontina was compared to a 20" Sirupati khukuri chopping some pine. The machete took about 40% more chops to cut through the pine, not surprising as the khukuri is heavier and more forward balanced. However the machete also took 220% more time. The Tramontina was very inefficient as it would bind readily. When the force was reduced to the point that the penetration was so shallow the blade would not stick, then so many notches had to be used that the chop count increased rapidly. It was more efficent to use more force and deal with the wedging.
The Tramontina is a lot softer than the Ontario machetes, verified by a quick attempt with each blade to cut/chop into the other. Some metal cutting was done with the Tramontina and some other blades to check the durabiilty for more utility work :
The Tramontina held up much better than the Ontario in the higher stress impacts. It will indent more readily in the start, but as the force is increased the indentation just increases whereas the Ontario's start to fracture and suffer much more extensive damage. Part of ths is due as noted to the difference in edge profile.
This difference, while extreme as it is on metals, tends to carry over into wood working, as the Tramontina has been used for many sessions of cutting small diameter hardwood from dead tree branches with no problems. The edge does go dull fairly quickly, it will have little to no fine cutting ability after a session of 750 chops, but it does not fracture or grossly indent/ripple.
As a check on ductility, it was bent to passed 180 so that the grip was pointing towards the tip of the blade. It took a large set past 45 degrees, But a little work in a vice and it was restored to about 90% .
With a little fresh water poured on the blade, after 12 hours later the areas that had been covered in water were completely orange with rust. This could be cleaned with an abrasive pad but left a dark patina. As a less drastic check, just a sprinkle of water was applied to the blade and after half hour rust formed readily. After 2 and a half hours there were dozens of rusts spots about 2-3 millimeters in diameter.
The handle on the machete is a very simple one similar to the Ontario grip, two wooden slabs on a full tang. Matt modified the handle to increase comfort and security as follows :
The wood was basically unfinished as it came from the factory. There was a gap about 1/16" wide and 1/8" deep between the handle scales for the entire length of the handle. I threw it on the belt sander and cut the handle scales flush with the tang. I also hand sanded the rough spots and finished with a coat of Lin-Speed.
The handle is comfortable on brush cutting and for extended chopping on hard woods. The biggest problem with the handle is that it is not overly secure. The forward lower guard and back swell are not that prominent. As soon as the hand got a little slippery the machete was difficult to control. It would twist easily upon impacts and slip forward. As an extreme check it was coated with mineral oil, it then became near impossible to use.
The Tramontina is a standard small machete pattern, designed for performance on grasses and other light vegetation. It does not do well on harder woods as it lacks the chopping power, wedges badly, and has low edge retention, however it does not take gross damage as has been the case with many other long blades such as the Ontario Machetes, RCM, RTAK, and Patrol Machete. The Tramontina bolo has the same steel but the blade designed is geared for heavier wood work.
The machete was not sharpened for a full two inches in front of the handle, this is a safety feature found on most machetes, it does limit precision cutting. It can be used in a forward grip to reduce the leverage disadvantage, but gripping really thick steel is fairly uncomfortable. A harder steel would increase the edge holding ability, but care needs to be taken here as many blades which attempt that end up without the necessary durability as noted. A laynard hole in the handle would be appreciated.
Comments can be sent to : cliffstamp[REMOVE]@cutleryscience.com or seen in the following ARCHIVED thread :
| Last updated : | 01 : 10 : 2006 |
| Originally written: | Wed Oct 20 09:57:12 NDT 1999 |