just thought i would share what i've been working on with you guys.

12" blade, 6" handle.  1.75" wide, 1/8" thick S7 heat treat by Paul Bos to 57 RcH.  maple scales with brass hardware. 



pre-handle testing:


here with its prettier brother in cocobolo with brass:


now onto the attempted destruction testing:
It started out with a maple handle, but I destroyed it during testing part 1, beating the whole thing through a large log with a masonry hammer. The photos are from part 2, where I beat the blade through a larger, knottier log with a large iron tamping bar. Part 2 took two people, myself and Theo Newman.


here you can see the blade going straight through a huge knot:


After testing part 1 and 2 the edge was still shaving sharp. Not too surprising, but I expected the knots to dull the blade at least a little bit.

Flex test. It returned to true after bending it a little farther than shown in the photo. I would estimate we took it to about 70 degrees. We didn't want to try any farther because noone was wearing safety equipment and we didn't want to risk injury. And we were satisfied that this machete would hold up to just about anything at this point.



Two weekends later I was camping with some friends and we found a shovel that i wanted to try fixing up (the handle was broken off inside the socket). Not having proper tools, I used my machete and a 2.5 pound sledge to cut the 1/4" mild steel pin that was through the socket. This resulted in some edge deformation, but no chipping. The edge damage could be fixed in a minute or two with my regular sharpening setup or a file and a sharpening stone.



After pounding on the spine of the blade with a masonry hammer, iron bars, and a small sledge, the only damage to the knife was that the spine is deformed and mushroomed. The edge has held up well to impacts with common things found in the woods and with things that should never be cut with a knife blade. Overall I am very pleased with the way this machete performs, and I intend to continue making these.

i currently have it downstairs stripped of its wrapping.  i'm going to put new maple handle scales on it.  for the future versions i have a more tapered design, it goes down to .25" narrower at the front of the handle.  it doesn't sound like much, but it makes a big difference in terms of balance and heft.  also planning on using micarta for the handles-much tougher than maple.

this one has been a blast to try breaking, it was fun to make and i am probably going to have several waterjet cut to make my life a little easier (these take alot of grinding in the handle contours)

hope you enjoy!

Looks like a very functional piece of kit.  Good work!   I have an old Brazilian-made machete that's actually quite nice; looks a lot like yours in general dimensions, but the blade stock is not nearly so heavy.    Very useful item; I used it to strip an Osage Orange bowstave down to one ring...Worked just as well as a drawknife.

It's always good to know the limitations of your tools... that's why I buy Cold Steel knives, because they can take rediculous amounts of abuse, and still keep functioning.  

Oh yeah, and nice machete!

. look up the requirements to be in the American Bladesmith Society. Now,there is a tough test!
  Nice to see that you are really trying Siguy. Keep up the good work

have you ever made a sword siguy?

Actually one more thing:


Anyone else spot siguys mistake here ?
SAFETY GOGGLES MAN !
Had that thing gone you'd have been in serious trouble.
sheesh - I'm not particularly safety conscious, but even I'd have had goggles on at this point lol

I'm a believer in safety goggles, as well.  It's easy for people to just dismiss the need for them, though.  Happens too often, I think.  No one's gonna give you a new eye if you put one out.  And I have to imagine that life with one eye has gotta suck, especially if you like doing outdoor activities, everything from slinging to skydiving would be affected by loss of the depth perception that binocular vision affords you.

long sleeves - get caught in stuff - me if i'm going for something dangerous - short sleeves all the way lol

You really don't want to wear long sleeves while woodturning - for example.
Even used to roll the sleeves of my labcoats up in college, saves you catching glassware with the darn things.
Picking blackberries - long sleeves get caught in the brambles and the more you pull the more they dig in. Sleeveless you just get the odd scratch

Goggles and ear defenders are pretty much my limit. Gloves occasionally.