To give you my crude definition of a machete, keep on reading. The machete is a cleaver like tool that looks like a massive knife. The length can range anywhere from eighteen to twenty four inches. The blade is normally thin; about three inches take or leave a few centimeters.



Machete collecting is not going to appreciate in value and bring your great-great-great grandchildren a future of unbelievable wealth. You would be lucky at all to find much of an investment in a machete; besides finding another avid collector to pawn yours off to. So, undertake this hobby for the simple please of having massive knives hanging all over your walls.

To begin with, I look for a machete with a blade that is sturdy and fastened snugly and tightly to the hilt of the handle. The last thing you want when tromping through the jungles of Panama and chopping down brush is to have your blade go flying through the air leaving the handle in your sweaty grip.

The best way to ensure that you have a nicely fitted blade and a solid handle is to simply observe. Look for welds. You should see none. If you do, take the machete, hand it back to the vendor and with a snarl on your lips, tell him or her that you are no fool.

The blade should be the full tang version? When I say tang, I am not speaking of the famous drink consumed by astronauts. The tang is the part of the blade that extends into the handle. The handle is then attached to the tang snugly. Sometimes, the tang is visible and other times the handle fully encases it making it unobservable when held in the hand.

The full tang guarantees a very sturdy machete that will last you quite some time. You will not find your blade swooshing through the air as mentioned earlier. A full tang is a guarantee of quality and rugged made blade.

If you study the machete a bit, origins, locations and the people that create and use them, you will find some very interesting stories. Machetes are commonly used to clear vegetation. But, they have been used as an offensive weapon more often than one should desire to recall.

The use of a machete to clear vegetation is very swift, and to be quite honest, a lot of fun. For a quick guide to clearing vegetation, keep on reading. Simply grasp the machete in your hand tightly. You will want your wrist locked to prevent spraining and injury. The clearing motion is the motion of the letter X. Simply swing down across your front, hacking into the vegetation. Then, raise the machete and hack the other direction.

Now, I will not give you a guide on how to use the machete as an offensive weapon. Why you ask. Well, I am an ethical man and my desire is to bring peace to our fun-loving planet, not gruesome violence. And, when I say gruesome, I mean it with all of my heart. Also, I am reluctant to give classes on the use of a machete to further violence as I am quite fond of other methods. Enough of that, let's continue with other interesting machete collecting topics.

I am captivated by the Kukri machete. Why you ask. Well, let me give you a bit more of useless Kukri machete information before we get into why I am captivated.

The name is pronounced khu-khoo-ree. Kukri can also be interchanged with the word Khukuri. This blade is frighteningly curved to form a very intimidating appearing blade. The Kukri was used as a tool and of course, as a weapon.

The Kukri blade is also known as the Gurkha blade made famous by the Gurkha fighter from Nepal and parts of India. The Gurkha forces used the Kukri in the Anglo-Nepal Was as well as the First and Second World War. How would you like to be facing a screaming Gurkha warrior coming at you full blast with one of these nasty curved machetes in his hand? Not me.

Now, let me tell you why I am crazy about this machete. To be blunt, I think it is the ugliest and scariest looking blade ever created. That, my friends, is why I like it. Simple toys for simple men.

Let me give you another tip when it comes to machete collecting. If you ever plan on doing any hacking with it, pick one out made from high carbon steel. My reason for this is that it keeps a very good blade, easy pretty easy to sharpen and you will not find it rusted the day after you put it to work.

You will find a slew of machetes out there on the market. Look them over real good and never be afraid to send an email to a vendor and ask questions if you are doing your shopping online. If the vendor does not like to answer questions, I always reply to questions, then move along.

You will find quite a bit of high-end blade manufactures producing some very nice machetes. I do not want to name any in this article to keep it unbiased, but I do have my favorites. Please feel free to contact me if you ever need any further advice or pointers. I am always glad to help and do enjoy good blade talk.