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Marbles Machete
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A good machete like the
marbles machete is yet another tool in the outdoorsman's
arsenal. A machete is just hard to beat when it comes to
trail clearing, shelter building, and general campsite
clearing and construction. Light backpacking generally
doesn't incorporate a machete, just because of the size and
weight, but if you plan to be out in the woods on an extended
outing, its definitely a tool worth
considering.
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There are several different styles
of marbles machete: The Bolo, shown here is our preferred
style, but thats just a matter of personal preference.
The blade comes shaving sharp, and the first thing that you
realize when you sheath and unsheath it is the ease with which
you can cut your hand removing it from the sheath. The
front third of the blade is sharpened on the top, and if you
are not paying attention when you remove the machete it'll
bite you right between the thumb and index finger...
as shown below. If you have the sheath strapped to your pack
or your belt this probably wouldnt be an issue.
The blade thickness on the marbles machetes
is just about ideal, thick enough to
deliver a good sturdy blow, but not so
thick that its too heavy to swing for more than
a few minutes. The blade is also fully tanged through the handle as
you can see below. The wooden handle is fairly plain in
appearance but surprisingly comfortable in the hand.
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When it comes to limbing trees and saplings the
marbles machete excels, handling even hardwood limbs of an
impressive diameter. The key of course is to maintain a
good sharp blade, the performance of a machete is noticibly
decreased after the blade starts to dull. By the very
nature of the job that a machete performs, it will require
more frequent sharpening than most knives. Just like an
ax, the blade of a machete is a chopper, not a cutter, so the
constant impact to the blade will dull it fairly quickly,
depending of course on the quality and hardness of the
steel. A metal file run toward and along the blade,
followed by some fine tuning on a stone will sharpen a
machete well in just a few minutes.
The sheath, which is open down the top spine of the blade (as shown above), is
a good quality nylon sheath. The Marble's Logo is embroidered
in orange on the front. There is a large
pocket which holds a good size sharpening stone (sharpening stone is
included), and two smaller pockets for holding whatever else
you can fit in them... a good idea would be some bandaids,
guaze, triple antibiotic ointment and a bandage... seriously.
Swing a machete long enough, and you will end up
cutting yourself, whether its from the blade, or from a sharp
limb or splintered branch falling on you after you cut it.
The machete is held in the sheath with two velcro straps.
A beltloop at the top of the sheath lets you wear
the machete on your side, but its fairly big and
cumbersome and just not really practical to wear on a
belt, especially if you are on the move.
I bought
this marbles machete from smoky mountain knife works for $14.99, with
the sheath, a really good value. If you have ever
used a cheap machete, you will appreciate the difference
just a few more bucks will get you.
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