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Post by GUEST on Mar 23, 2011 7:40:25 GMT
Marbles Large Workhorse Machete Blade Lenght 18in 1070 steel Thickness 2mm Width 1 3/4in base flaring to 2 1/4in Grip hardwood 6 1/8in Overall length 24 1/8in Another great machete from Marbles the Large Workhorse made in El Salvador. Got it from Smokey Mountian Knife Works for $14.95 plus shipping. The price includes a heavy duty nylon sheath and sharpening stone. This is a brush style machete which is very light in the handle. Agian it's got Marbles bright orange blade coating. On one side it has 3 fullers painted in with a black coating. The edge was very sharp and smooth out of the box ready to go to work. The grip is hardwood held on by 3 brass rivets. There is a large brass landyard holein the end of the grip. It is painted orange on the end. There are some graps between the grip and tang no big deal. Agian it came with Marbles heavy duty nylon sheath with 3 utility pockets. The bottom pocket has the 2X4in medium course sharpening stone. The top 2 pockets are empty. Like always the machete sit lower in the sheath than I like, but then again I don't plan on doing any quuick draws with it . Only 1 1/2 in of the grip sits out. I would have ever thought I would have a lighter brush style machete which will cut as well as the Ontairo G.I. machete this one does. The first hardwood sapping was a 1 1/2in dia. it cut through it with little effort The 2nd hardwood sapping was 2 3/4in dia it took 2 strikes to cut this one. With a light weight brush style brush this was great. Pros Lightwieght but will cut with heavier machetes Comes with nice nylon sheath and sharpening stone Sharp smooth edge ready to go Cons Some graps around the grip to tang area. Some might not like the bright orange paint Bottom line Get this machete it is one of the best deals going. If you get it through Smokey Mountain Knife Works, you get machete, heavy duty nylon sheath and sharpening for $14.99 plus shipping
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Greg
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Posts: 1,800
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Post by Greg on Mar 23, 2011 8:02:35 GMT
I'm starting to have my suspicions that you are working for Marbles or SMKW But seriously, I was impressed with the 2 3/4" tree. I think this is the machete for me. Oh, I meant to ask you, how is the temper on the Marbles? Not a deal breaker, especially at $15 bucks, but if the grip shifted in mid swing and the machete hit sideways, would it take a set or does the temper seem to be decent? Edit: Is that the Large Workhorse Jungle Machete? Your picture looked a little squished and I'm not sure if this is the same product as shown here: www.smkw.com/webapp/eCommerce/pr ... 12718.html
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Post by GUEST on Mar 23, 2011 9:32:57 GMT
Went and did a flex test agian flex it along ways both ways it returned to true each time. Yes that the same machete, How about getting the wrip wrapped one, if it had of been in stock I would have gotten it.
Wish I did work for Smokey Mountian knife Works or Marbles I could save alot of money.
I like the Marbles but if things got tough I would still go for my Ontario GI machete. I like it's heavier construction and 1095 steel.
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Greg
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Posts: 1,800
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Post by Greg on Apr 8, 2011 16:01:19 GMT
So, instead of making a new thread on the wire wrapped version of this machete, I thought I'd just post a little addon to Fallen's.
The wire wrap is copper with an epoxy back fill. From taking a couple of dry swings, the epoxy had flaked off in my hand. I'd imagine that in actual use, it will all fall off, so I'm not sure why they used the epoxy in the first place.
The wire wrap definitely adds to the grip, but it's boarder line cheese grater. I'll be able to form a better opinion after the wound on my hand heals and I can properly use a blade again.
Oh, and it looks like if I wanted to take the wire wrap off, that I'd just have to cut one part and unwind it (after the epoxy breaks up.) It's held at both ends by a small hole in the grip, so if you are thinking of getting this machete, you might as well get the wire wrap and see if you like it. As long as you have a pair of wire cutters, you're golden.
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Post by GUEST on Apr 8, 2011 16:34:50 GMT
Have you did any cutting with it yet, other than the wire being rougher than you would like what fo you think of it.
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Greg
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Posts: 1,800
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Post by Greg on Apr 8, 2011 17:51:10 GMT
HOLY semprini! Ok, when I get a machete, I expect a good working edge. This one came sharp enough to take my arm hairs off. After finishing a couple other chores I decided I had some time to go up into the woods to play around a bit. I was AMAZED. Not only did the machete sing after most of the cuts, but I was able to tackle some pretty thick deadwood. Here's a pic of the epoxy flaking off as well as the epoxy still left inside the wire. I see what they were trying to do. They were trying to soften the bite of the wire but not loose the grip. Here is one of the first cuts I made with it. I was close enough to my yard to just toss it in the grass to pick up later. I was blown away that it did this good on a first cut. I'm not sure what the wood is, but it was dry and dead. Not that I care about cutting down living trees if they need cutting down. Edit: Oh, and I forgot to add. I LOVE the sheath it comes with. At first I wasn't to crazy about how much of the handle stuck out, but after feeling how loosely it fits in there, I now know why they went that route. But the more I think about it, the more I like it. There is no way that the machete will accidentally fall out of the sheath, even if I were rolling down a hill. Furthermore, I LOVE the pockets! Sharpening stone aside, the other two pockets are the perfect size to fit an Altoids can in. Personally I have a couple Altoids can's that I have as a bug-out-can. Bare minimum essentials that would make the first 48 hours of any disaster livable. So I can pop one of tho's cans into the pocket and the other pocket can probably fit 20 or more feet of paracord. I'm liking what I see so much that I'll probably buy another to toss in the car. Screw Cold Steel. Their machetes handle like trucks compared to this puppy. AND you get so much more bang for your buck. Machete AND sheath WITH pockets for the same price that you could buy a cold steel. Consider me converted
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Post by f.m. on Apr 8, 2011 18:26:06 GMT
I think I may get a marble's swamp master one of these days. I've also heard good things about tramontina (for the price) but they seem to be going out of stock nearly everywhere.
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Post by GUEST on Apr 8, 2011 19:00:57 GMT
The Tramontina are ok I guess, I haven't got one. I've seen them in military surplus stores they don't come with as good as edge as the Marbles do.
Greg glad you like yours I did want to over sale, the Marbles. Now I know I might not like the wire grip handle, is does look nice. The Swamp Master will out cut the Large Workhorse. Those are impressive cuts on dead wood, dead work is harder to make a clean cut on than green wood.
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Post by f.m. on Apr 8, 2011 19:14:59 GMT
Interesting, I've only seen the cheapo no name ones in surplus stores, like the wal mart kind.
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Post by Tendrax on Apr 15, 2011 6:19:58 GMT
I think you guys have sold me on marbles machete's. As much as I love my coldsteel magnum kukri, I'm slowly liking it less and less for zombie scenarios. Lol.
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Greg
Senior Forumite
Posts: 1,800
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Post by Greg on Apr 15, 2011 13:28:28 GMT
Yeah, the whole "easily draw your weapon" thing is one area that Cold Steel is horrible in.
But I did just notice something. The profile of my machete is different from the one in the first picture. Fallen, what is the width of your blade right above the handle? Mine's 1 1/2" then it looks like it swells out to 2 3/8" at the widest.
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Post by GUEST on Apr 15, 2011 14:41:54 GMT
My is 1 3/4in swelling out to 2 1/4in, the grip on your's look's different too besides the wrip wrap.
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