Bush Machete, Hand Forged 18 Inch Carbon Steel with Walnut Handle

A bush machete is the long one, the blade for a whole afternoon of clearing. This one has an 18 inch blade in 5160 spring steel, 24 inches overall, with full tang walnut scales and a hand tooled leather sheath. The bush pattern widens through the last third, so the weight sits out at the end and the blade does the work. Made by hand in North Carolina.

Specification

The blade

The steel is 5160 spring steel, tough enough to take a hard swing without chipping and easy to bring back on a stone or a file. The finish is the dark gray left from the forge, faint hammer marks showing, the bevel ground wide and polished mirror bright. At 18 inches the belly widens through the last third, so the heaviest steel sits furthest from your hand and the tip carries speed. The trade is reach, because a long blade wants room to swing, and carbon steel rusts if left wet.

The handle

The scales are dark walnut with a close straight grain, the wood used for tool handles because it takes shock without splitting. The tang is full, so the steel runs the whole 6 inches of the handle and shows as a line all round the scales, with three brass pins through it. There is a lanyard hole at the butt, and a wrist loop is worth using here.

What it clears

This is the length for open work. Tall weeds and grass, cane, briars and bramble thickets, saplings along a fence line, the vines that close a trail in one wet summer. The reach lets you cut low without bending double and clear an arm span at a time. It is a clearing blade, so hardwood belongs to an axe.

The leather

The sheath is vegetable tanned leather cut long for this blade, so it holds without rattling. A wide belt loop is stitched to the back, a snap strap closes over the handle, and a welt keeps the stitching clear of the edge. It is stitched by hand in cream thread. The face is hand tooled with a running chevron pattern inside a carved border, struck one impression at a time. Others stop at genuine leather.

Who it suits

This suits someone with acreage and a growing season that gets away from them, who would rather buy one blade made by hand than a stamped one every spring.

• Landowners clearing pasture edges and property lines
• Trail crews and path clearers
• Hunters opening access lanes
• Homesteaders keeping briars back

What comes in the box

• The hand forged 18 inch bush machete
• The tooled leather sheath with snap strap
• A care card

Every piece is different

Every blade is forged, ground and sharpened by hand, so runs stay small and no two finish the same. The hammer marks, the walnut figure and the tooling differ from the photographs. Yours is its own piece.

Looking after it

Wipe the blade dry after use and never put it away wet. The gray patina that comes with use is normal and protects the steel. Sharpen with a stone or file, following the bevel already there. Oil it before storage and let the leather dry away from heat. More is on our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per piece and you add it on this page. Around 30 characters fits on the blade or the walnut. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. Free on orders of 10 or more. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

What is a bush machete? It is a long machete whose belly widens near the tip, so the weight sits at the end.

Is 18 inches too long? Not on open ground, where the reach saves your back. In tight growth a shorter blade suits.

What does full tang mean? The steel runs the whole handle in one piece and shows all round.

Will this steel rust? It can, so dry it after use and oil it.

Will my blade look exactly like the photo? No, the marks, grain and tooling vary on every piece.

How long until it ships? Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days, and returns are accepted within 30 days.

For a shorter blade, the hand forged machete in rosewood runs 14 inches, and in the same walnut there is the Damascus machete. More sits in machetes, bushcraft blades and gifts for him.