fistful
member
I was clearing out some vine, creeper and other nonsense today, using a Barteaux machete with a saw on the back. Especially because the machete blade was dull, I found that the saw cut instantly through most of the branches, which was especially useful in tight places. I have used the saw for other projects and found it most efficient. Anyone else have a Barteaux?
Now I will babble about my machete project. While stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, I ordered my machete from a hardware store in Florida. Only later did I notice that one of the local Army surplus places had two or three models readily available, although they didn't have the model I had ordered. I wish I had spent the sixteen bucks to get another one.
The machete has a thin blade about sixteen inches long, with a saw on the back. The blade was of carbon steel and had no coating or bluing. I obtained some cold blue from a local gun shop and treated it a few times. The handle was a bright orange color, and made of a soft plastic. It had a knuckleguard that made the saw rather difficult to use. The saw on my Leatherman cut through the guard most easily, and I was able to leave a bit of the guard in front as a quillion and left a little bit of a hook in the rear. I bought a black, military pattern plastic sheath for it, the type with built-in sharpener. The blade fits well when inserted upside down, and I put a length of nylon webbing through the belt frog, to wrap around the handle. I added a snap to the nylon webbing.
The difficult part was attempting to paint the handle green. I abused it thoroughly with sandpaper, and tried some paint for plastic car/airplane models. Doesn't stick very well.
Now I will babble about my machete project. While stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, I ordered my machete from a hardware store in Florida. Only later did I notice that one of the local Army surplus places had two or three models readily available, although they didn't have the model I had ordered. I wish I had spent the sixteen bucks to get another one.
The machete has a thin blade about sixteen inches long, with a saw on the back. The blade was of carbon steel and had no coating or bluing. I obtained some cold blue from a local gun shop and treated it a few times. The handle was a bright orange color, and made of a soft plastic. It had a knuckleguard that made the saw rather difficult to use. The saw on my Leatherman cut through the guard most easily, and I was able to leave a bit of the guard in front as a quillion and left a little bit of a hook in the rear. I bought a black, military pattern plastic sheath for it, the type with built-in sharpener. The blade fits well when inserted upside down, and I put a length of nylon webbing through the belt frog, to wrap around the handle. I added a snap to the nylon webbing.
The difficult part was attempting to paint the handle green. I abused it thoroughly with sandpaper, and tried some paint for plastic car/airplane models. Doesn't stick very well.