Hand Forged Machete, Carbon Steel with Rosewood Handle and Tooled Sheath

A machete is what you reach for when the growth is green and there is a lot of it. This one has a 14 inch blade in 5160 spring steel, 20 inches overall, with full tang rosewood scales and a hand tooled leather sheath. It is thin enough to flex and long enough to reach, so an afternoon of cutting brambles and cane does not wear your arm out. Made by hand in North Carolina.

Specification

The blade

The steel is 5160 spring steel, the steel the traditional makers name. It is tough, so a hard swing into a green stem will not chip it, and it comes back on a stone or a file. The finish is the dark gray left from the forge, faint hammer marks still showing, with the bevel ground wide and polished mirror bright. At 14 inches the blade is long and thin, which is the point, because it flexes and sweeps. The honest trade is that carbon steel darkens with use and rusts if left wet.

The handle

The scales are oiled rosewood, a dense close grained wood that fills the hand and does not turn slippery when you are sweating. 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. A lanyard hole is drilled through the butt, and a wrist loop is worth using on a long blade.

What it clears

This length suits green growth and light woody stems. Brambles, briars, cane, saplings the thickness of a thumb, weeds along a fence line, the vines that swallow a shed in one summer. It is a clearing blade rather than a splitting blade, so seasoned hardwood belongs to an axe. Trail work, food plots and shooting lanes suit it.

The leather

The sheath is vegetable tanned leather cut for this blade, so it sits without rattling. A wide belt loop is stitched to the back, a snap strap closes over the handle, and a welt is sewn in to keep the stitching clear of the edge. All of it is stitched by hand in cream thread. The face is hand tooled with a basket weave stamp inside a carved border, struck one impression at a time. Other sellers stop at genuine leather.

Who it suits

This is for someone with ground to keep, who would rather own one blade made by hand than replace a stamped one every spring.

• Landowners keeping fence lines and trails open
• Hunters cutting shooting lanes and access paths
• Campers who want one long blade in the truck
• Anyone buying a gift for someone with land

What comes in the box

• The hand forged 14 inch machete
• The tooled leather sheath with snap strap
• A care card

Every piece is different

Each blade is forged, ground and sharpened by hand, so runs stay small and no two come out the same. The hammer marks, the rosewood grain and the tooling will not match the photograph exactly.

Looking after it

Wipe the blade dry after use and never put it away wet. The gray patina that builds on carbon steel is normal and protects it. 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 handle. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. Free on orders of 10 pieces or more. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

What is a machete used for? It clears green growth, cane and brambles with a sweeping cut.

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

Why is the blade thin? A thin blade sweeps through green growth instead of wedging.

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

How sharp is it out of the box? It is sharpened by hand and cuts on arrival.

Can you engrave it? Yes, engraving is 20 dollars for around 30 characters.

For more reach the bush machete with a walnut handle runs 18 inches, and the cane machete with a rosewood handle hooks forward at the tip. More sits in machetes, rosewood handle knives and bushcraft blades.