Tramontina 12" Machete with Wooden Handle for Clearing Brush and Cutting Trails

J. S. Lee: Let me start off by saying that I have spent much of my career as a research biologist, tromping through some of some pretty dense and challenging landscapes in Brazil, Central America, the Caribbean, and SE Asia. I have carried all sorts of sharpened tools, and spent a good deal of time looking for that ultimate knife. I've spent more than I'd like to admit in the search. Ultimately, I always come back to this $15 bugger. It just works...for all kinds of things. I was introduced to the 12" version in Brazil, and the guys there all use Tremontinas in the Amazon. It's like standard issue (the bolo and 18" ones). Everyone has one. I'm not kidding. Anyway, I picked up the 12" version because I could wear it off a belt easily enough, and dang if I didn't end up using all the time. I used it for minor clearing, batoning, carving (just choke up and use the base of the blade), food prep (excellent for popping the top off coconuts)... I've even filleted a fish with the thing. Rust? Yes it will...but nothing a bit of sandpaper won't fix. For $15, you will not wince at the idea. It can take a very good edge, and will last you many years. It's a tool, not an heirloom, so you won't hesitate...

United States on Oct 20, 2023

Franklin Nguyen: made in Brasil, not china

United States on Aug 05, 2023

RinnyRinny: This is my second Tramontina machete and a really solid choice. I would not think of it as a machete but more of a big knife, because I can't do the same work with this blade when I compare it to just the 2" longer (14") Tramontina Bolo style machete I have, but they're a great pair to have together, and this is a good choice for many applications regardless

This knife is meaty enough to fell saplings and do big work, but I can still fit it (and its sheath) in my coat pocket. Great camp knife! I adore this machete, it's made of good steel and has a decent heat treatment on it too, which gives it great durability. You need to know how to sharpen your machete on the fly to wield them most effectively, but this baby will last a good time in between touch ups.

The biggest complaint I have is that my blade came with such an uneven grind that I had to COMPLETELY reprofile the entire edge. You should always expect to have to fine tune a machete when you get it, and they should come dull, that isn't a problem for me; but the edge was ground so badly that it took me four days hard work with a file and stones to just be able to use the machete at all.

While that was a...

United States on Dec 03, 2020

bolter: Great for cutting small bushes

Canada on Nov 22, 2019

Flip Phone 808Flip Phone 808: Funny, I started with a plastic handled 22" Tramontina, hated it, and finally worked my way to this 12" wooden handled model, and love it! 2mm thick, 10.5 oz of (light) chopping weight. Don't buy the plastic handled model! Those plastic handles, while impervious to moisture, are short, so the back of the handle digs into my palm or the heel of my hand. I had read reviews saying to get the wood handle model, and now I know why. I will also add, start small (12") and MAYBE work your way up in length, if you feel the need, after you use the shorter blades. This thing is $10 something and amazing! I made a crude sheath by cutting two pieces of flexible cutting board and stapling them, but you might want to get the $14 with a sheath. Or get the $10 Ontario BSH sheath.

It arrives with a lacquer clear coat, and mostly dull. I sanded off the clear lacquer coat so I could patina the blade. Slices of meat, banana sap, frozen strawberries, vinegar, mustard? Whatever, live and learn. More importantly, I filed on the blade to sharpen it, all the way to the tip. I read somewhere you're supposed to leave the tip dull for safety and for digging, but I didn't know that, and some of the...

United States on Jun 13, 2017