Bolo Machete, Hand Forged with Buffalo Horn Handle

Green stems are the awkward ones. They bend away from a light blade and spring back instead of parting, and soon you are working harder than you meant to. A bolo answers that by putting its mass out where the cut lands. This one is 16 inches of 1095 high carbon with a water buffalo horn handle. It is what people reach for when grass turns to something thicker.

Specification

The blade

1095 is plain high carbon steel and it comes back sharp under a file. The flat is left dark from the forge with the hammer marks still in it, and the bevel is ground bright. The profile swells into a heavy belly ahead of the middle, and that mass is the point. A machete cuts by speed, so the bolo gathers what weight it has out where the tip is moving fastest. The edge is thick and slightly convex on purpose. Carbon steel darkens to a grey patina and spots if it is left wet.

The handle

Water buffalo horn is dense, and no two pieces come out the same colour. The tang is full and follows the whole handle outline, with three brass pins through the slabs. A lanyard hole sits at the back and you should use it, because 16 inches of blade does try to leave your hand after an hour. Five inches of handle lets you slide your grip back, or get a second hand on for a thick stem. No guard to catch when you shift.

The leather sheath

The sheath is vegetable tanned leather, cut and stitched by hand, with a welt between the two faces so the stitching never sits against the edge. It is cut to this blade's own outline, since the belly runs wider through the middle than a straight machete. The face is stamped, pressed a strike at a time. It rides on a belt loop, and a snap strap holds the handle down.

Who it suits

This one is for the person whose clearing runs into stems too thick for a light blade and too small to be worth an axe.

• Anyone cutting green saplings and thick stems
• People clearing a fence line or a grown over track
• Anyone who wants the weight ahead of the hand
• Land owners with more ground than a lawn

What comes in the box

• The 16 inch bolo machete
• The stamped leather belt sheath
• A care card
• A lifetime warranty against defects

Every piece is different

Every blade is forged and ground by hand and no two come out alike. The hammer marks land where the hammer put them. Horn is a natural material, so the colour and the streaking in yours will not match the photograph. The belly is filed by eye and settles differently each time.

Looking after it

Wipe the blade dry after use and do not leave it wet in the sheath overnight. Give it a thin coat of oil before it goes away for the winter. The grey patina is not a fault, so leave it alone. Keep the edge with a file, worked along the angle already there. The horn likes a little oil too. More sits on our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per blade and you add it on this page. Around 30 characters fits. The dark flat under the spine gives the letters room. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and that adds 3 to 5 business days. Engraving is free on orders of 10 or more. The engraving page shows what fits.

Questions buyers ask

Why does a bolo carry its weight forward? The belly swells ahead of your hand, so the mass arrives with the tip. That is what lets it bite a green stem instead of skating off.

Is 16 inches short for a machete? Shorter than a grass blade, yes. The bolo trades reach for load at the tip, and on thick stems that is the better trade.

Will it rust? It can. The steel goes grey with use and spots if you leave it wet. Dry it and oil it.

How do I sharpen it? A file, along the angle already on it. The edge is thick so it takes a hidden stone without chipping.

How long does shipping take? Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.

Can I swing it with two hands? On a heavy stem, yes. The lanyard hole is there so it stays with you.

If your work is mostly grass and vine, the 18 inch machete with an oak handle keeps its weight even. For an edge that meets the work at an angle, look at the parang with a stacked leather handle. The rest sit in machetes, 1095 high carbon steel and bushcraft knives.