{"product_id":"hand-forged-machete-oak-handle","title":"Hand Forged Machete, 18 Inch Blade with Oak Handle","description":"\u003cp\u003eGrass, briar and vine take up an afternoon, not a minute. The work is repetition, hundreds of swings at soft green stuff that gives way when the tip is moving fast. That is what this one is built around. An 18 inch blade in 1095 high carbon, hung on oak, balanced even along its length so nothing pulls at your wrist on the twentieth pass down a fence line.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSpecification\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBlade length\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e18 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOverall length\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e23.5 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHandle length\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e5.5 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBlade steel\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e1095 high carbon\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBlade finish\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDark forged flat, bright bevel\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBlade shape\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eStraight blade, squared tip\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eTang\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFull tang\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHandle\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOak, three brass pins, lanyard hole, no guard\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSheath\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eStamped leather belt sheath with a snap strap\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEngraving\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e20 dollars per blade\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMade in\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eForged and finished by hand in High Point, North Carolina.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWarranty\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eLifetime warranty against defects, free sharpening for life.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe blade\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e1095 high carbon, 18 inches, left dark from the forge with the bevel taken bright. The profile is straight, the tip is squared, and the weight sits even from the handle out. A blade carrying mass ahead of the hand bites harder in green wood, but it drags your arm back on every return, and that return comes hundreds of times. Even balance gives up some bite and hands back the hour. The edge is thick and slightly convex on purpose, since a thin one chips on the first hidden stone. Carbon steel goes grey with use and spots if it is left wet.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe handle\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eOak, 5.5 inches of it, over a full tang running the whole way to the butt. Three brass pins hold the scales on. There is no guard, which reads as careless until you swing one. Your hand moves along a long grip as the work changes, forward for control and back for reach, and a guard stops that. 5.5 inches leaves room for two hands when a stem needs both. The lanyard hole is at the rear. A damp handle and a hard swing part company quickly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe leather sheath\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eVegetable tanned leather, stitched by hand, with a welt in the seam so the thread sits back off the edge. It is cut to this blade's own outline, so the point has nowhere to wander inside. The face is stamped, the belt loop takes a wide belt, and a snap strap holds the handle down. It goes away dry. Leather holds damp against steel and the steel suffers for it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWho it suits\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is for the person with a fence line, a ditch bank or a back acre that grows over every summer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnyone clearing grass, briar, bramble and vine by hand\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSmallholders walking a boundary once a month\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePeople who want reach without a blade that tires the arm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnyone happy to touch an edge up with a file\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat comes in the box\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe 18 inch machete\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe stitched leather belt sheath\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA care card\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLifetime warranty and free sharpening\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eEvery piece is different\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvery blade is forged, ground and sharpened by hand, so no two leave here the same. The dark forge finish lands where the fire and the hammer put it. Oak grain runs how the tree grew it, pale in one handle, browner in the next. What turns up will be close to the photographs, not a copy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eLooking after it\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eWipe the sap off when you stop. It is wet and a little acidic and it marks bare steel by morning. Dry the blade, wipe oil over it, then let it go into the sheath dry. Grey is fine. Rust is not, and a green pad takes that off. Keep the edge up with a mill file, the way long blades have always been kept. More is on our \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/knife-care-sharpening\"\u003eknife care and sharpening page\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003ePut a name on it\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eLaser engraving is 20 dollars per blade and you add it here on the product page. Around 30 characters fits, so a name or a farm name works better than a sentence. We send a proof image before the laser runs, which adds 3 to 5 business days. It is free on orders of 10 or more. The \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/engraving\"\u003eengraving page\u003c\/a\u003e has the rest.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eQuestions buyers ask\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow long does shipping take?\u003c\/strong\u003e Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWill it rust?\u003c\/strong\u003e It will if you let it. 1095 darkens to grey with use and spots if it goes away wet.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy a straight blade with the weight even?\u003c\/strong\u003e Nothing out front pulls the tip down, so the blade comes back up on its own and each swing costs less. Grass and vine want speed, not mass.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIs 18 inches too much?\u003c\/strong\u003e Not for standing growth. The reach keeps you out of the briar.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow do I sharpen it?\u003c\/strong\u003e A mill file, drawn along the bevel. A long blade is kept that way and a fine stone is not needed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIs it sharp when it arrives?\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes, sharpened by hand before it ships.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor mass carried ahead of your hand on thicker stems, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/bolo-machete-buffalo-horn\"\u003ebolo machete on buffalo horn\u003c\/a\u003e is the one, and the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/kukri-machete-walnut-handle\"\u003e15 inch kukri machete on walnut\u003c\/a\u003e does the same in a shorter blade. This one sits with the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/machetes\"\u003emachetes\u003c\/a\u003e, the plain blades are under \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/high-carbon-1095\"\u003e1095 high carbon steel\u003c\/a\u003e, and \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/all-knives\"\u003eevery blade we make\u003c\/a\u003e is in one place.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Viper Edge USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44144655335542,"sku":"VEF-MAC-HC-1201","price":125.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/2427\/9670\/files\/machete-05-carbon-oak_41c1d1a1-f28c-43a8-8613-61619b682c1b.jpg?v=1788841916","url":"https:\/\/viperedgeforge.com\/products\/hand-forged-machete-oak-handle","provider":"Viper Edge USA","version":"1.0","type":"link"}