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James, my thinking was that this blade would provide the benefits of both a machete and the full tang tomahawks we see so often these days. It has the heft of the tomahawk but with a much longer cutting surface and the curvature of a parang. Once I take some better picture I plan to put it thru...

Hey guys, Thanks for the input and kind words. I will certainly take the knuckle clearance issue into consideration and will be moving the pin back as well. Believe it or not, my intended use for this knife is typical machete work, brush clearing, limb chopping, etc. Any thoughts on using it...

Hey Darrin, Thank you for the input. That's exactly what I was looking for, constructive criticism. I agree with you on the handle pin. The reason it is so close to the top is that the handle was originally supposed to be about an inch longer. However, after looking at it on the knife I decided...

Hello everyone, I am relatively new to the knife making community and have just finished my 5th knife. It's a new design that I call the Butcher. It's made from 1095 and is approximately 16 inches long. The blade shape is similar to an ellipse in that it tapers at the front and near the spine...

Where do you get the blanks cut? Thanks in advance. Mike

Rex- it's funny that you mention thats it's hard to be original when designing knives. Because, as I was typing the description for my first knife post I debated whether or not I should put that it was my original design. I decided not to put that because I honestly do not know if this design is...

David- Thanks so much for the chart. I will copy and keep that in my notes. Ken- Thanks for the videos. I watched them and learned a lot about proper heat treatment and tempering. After doing the brass rod test, it became painfully obvious that the culprit was improper heat treating. As...

David, at what temperature should I temper the 1084 blade to get the hardness closer to 55? Thanks Mike

Thanks for all the help guys. I appreciate you taking the time to give me advice. I will work on getting a more even heat treat and will try to get a better photo of the bend posted soon. Thanks again, Mike

Hey Ken, Thanks for the response. The steel is 1084 and I heat treated it in a coal fire. It was then tempered in the oven twice. Once at 375 degrees for 2 hours and again at 400 degrees for 1 hour. I did have some concerns that the fire might not be big enough to get the entire blade to...

I had a chance to test out my first machete today. I beat it up pretty good, cutting vines, pine, and oak, as well as digging. For the most part, the blade edge held up well. Especially considering the abuse I was giving it. But I did get one small bend on the edge, about mid blade. It happened...

I just wanted to thank everyone for the kind words and advice. It is greatly appreciated! Thanks Mike

Thanks for the advice. I did some heavy testing today and the handle did tend to spin a little in my hand. I will work on a fix for that. Mike

I agree about adding a swell on the handle. I have a condor village parang that has a large swell at the end of the handle. I use that for my grip most of the time, especially when cutting vines where you really need some snap to your cut. Mike

Hello everyone, This is my first post. I wanted to share my first machete. I have previously made two smaller knives, but nothing this big. The machete is made from .140 thick 1084 steel. I did my best to give it a hammered/ natural finish. However, I do not have the proper tools for that yet...