Make your own cheap tactical sword!
Oct 28, 2012 21:32:41 GMT
Post by Odingaard on Oct 28, 2012 21:32:41 GMT
Not everyone out there can spend $400-$500 or more on a tactical sword, but with the Zombie Apocalypse and the End of the World right around the corner, many people would like to own a dependable, servicable, and inexpensive tactical blade. In this post, I give you one alternative, which you might find of interest.
I will be honest here, I have always been a big fan of 'working tools', which are things like entrenching tools, tomahawks, axes, and machetes. I have a number of these items around my house, in my shop, in my deployment bag, in my vehicle trunk, etc. Over the years, I have benefited greatly from practical experience; or at least enough to still be alive and have learned a thing or two about dynamic situations in which such tools could be applied.
I will not argue against the practicality of a longer blade; so to each their own in this realm. In my personal experience, a longer blade just does not work well in tactical situations. First off, since my primary, secondary, and tertiary weapon platforms are all firearms, sticking a full-sized katana or European blade into my gear just does not make any type of sense. Secondly, deploying a long blade in a restricted enviornment, such as a hallway or in a crowd of zombies is tactically difficult. Lastly, the bulk of adding a longer bladed weapon and scabbard to an effective modern day kit just does work well for me; moreso when trying to maintain a 'grey man' image (blending in with the population rather than standing out with lots of black MOLLE and velcro).
I started this little project with a Cold Steel Gladius Machete. I own a number of Cold Steel machetes, axes, knives, and e-tools. I have used and abused them here, I have used and abused them in the Middle East and other places; so as far as I am concerned, they are durable tools for the money. I've had very little problems out of the Cold Steel machetes, so they are prime canidates to be make a bit more tactical, many of their designs need a little bit of tweeking to make them just right. I recommend the Gladius version, due to the acute thrusting tip and subtle leaf-blade shape, which cuts really well. However, you could do the same with any of their machetes.
The first thing I did to this machete was stripped off the black paint with acetone. It pretty much wipes right off. What does not come off, you can knock off with a green Scotchbrite pad. I actually left a bit of the paint on mine, because once atain, this is a tool, not a masterpiece.
The next step was a bit more involved. I hand-filed the rough file marks out of the edge of the machete and blended the edge a bit to give it a better profile. The slow way to do this is with various files, ending with a diamond hone and/or 800 grit sandpaper. The real easy way to do it is with a Dremel 180 grit flapper wheel, which you run along the edge to erase the marks. If you do it with the wheel, just be sure to only use a medium speed so you don't overheat the edge. If you are not pick, you can leave it the 180 grit finish and be quite alright. If you want more of a polish, just hit the various grits of sandpaper starting at 200, 400, 600, etc... until you get the blend you want.
Thirdly, you want to sand out the finger grooves, as the stock Cold Steel machete does not have them. This gives a huge amount of grip security with the blade, and makes it feel more comforable in the hand. You can do this a few ways. The first way is to do with with a Dremel sanding drum on LOW speed - too fast and you will melt the plastic. Another way is with a rounded file, which is more controllable than the Dremel. The slowest way, but most controlable is with 120 grit sandpaper. Once you have completed, you can clean these grooves up with various grades of steel wool, starting with coarse and working until fine. As for me, I don't worry about cleaning them up too much, because this is a tool, not a work of art. Having some rough texture in the grooves is fine by me, as it adds grip.
Lastly, get a piece of 550 cord and make a lanyard. The lanyard should wrap around your wrist while gripping the machete, while seeming to 'lock' you hand down on the blade. Too loose of a lanyard will make it easier to lose the weapon, but too tight will make it where it will easily slip off. If you let go of the handle, the machete should stay on your wrist, but come off with moderate pressure.
So, there you have it. Not a big project by any means, but you have a tactical sword which cost you a total of about $40. It's not as fancy as an expensive one with a fancy name attached to it, but it will serve it's purpose. And the best part of all is that by using these machetes, you can have several of them around and not break the bank!
I will be honest here, I have always been a big fan of 'working tools', which are things like entrenching tools, tomahawks, axes, and machetes. I have a number of these items around my house, in my shop, in my deployment bag, in my vehicle trunk, etc. Over the years, I have benefited greatly from practical experience; or at least enough to still be alive and have learned a thing or two about dynamic situations in which such tools could be applied.
I will not argue against the practicality of a longer blade; so to each their own in this realm. In my personal experience, a longer blade just does not work well in tactical situations. First off, since my primary, secondary, and tertiary weapon platforms are all firearms, sticking a full-sized katana or European blade into my gear just does not make any type of sense. Secondly, deploying a long blade in a restricted enviornment, such as a hallway or in a crowd of zombies is tactically difficult. Lastly, the bulk of adding a longer bladed weapon and scabbard to an effective modern day kit just does work well for me; moreso when trying to maintain a 'grey man' image (blending in with the population rather than standing out with lots of black MOLLE and velcro).
I started this little project with a Cold Steel Gladius Machete. I own a number of Cold Steel machetes, axes, knives, and e-tools. I have used and abused them here, I have used and abused them in the Middle East and other places; so as far as I am concerned, they are durable tools for the money. I've had very little problems out of the Cold Steel machetes, so they are prime canidates to be make a bit more tactical, many of their designs need a little bit of tweeking to make them just right. I recommend the Gladius version, due to the acute thrusting tip and subtle leaf-blade shape, which cuts really well. However, you could do the same with any of their machetes.
The first thing I did to this machete was stripped off the black paint with acetone. It pretty much wipes right off. What does not come off, you can knock off with a green Scotchbrite pad. I actually left a bit of the paint on mine, because once atain, this is a tool, not a masterpiece.
The next step was a bit more involved. I hand-filed the rough file marks out of the edge of the machete and blended the edge a bit to give it a better profile. The slow way to do this is with various files, ending with a diamond hone and/or 800 grit sandpaper. The real easy way to do it is with a Dremel 180 grit flapper wheel, which you run along the edge to erase the marks. If you do it with the wheel, just be sure to only use a medium speed so you don't overheat the edge. If you are not pick, you can leave it the 180 grit finish and be quite alright. If you want more of a polish, just hit the various grits of sandpaper starting at 200, 400, 600, etc... until you get the blend you want.
Thirdly, you want to sand out the finger grooves, as the stock Cold Steel machete does not have them. This gives a huge amount of grip security with the blade, and makes it feel more comforable in the hand. You can do this a few ways. The first way is to do with with a Dremel sanding drum on LOW speed - too fast and you will melt the plastic. Another way is with a rounded file, which is more controllable than the Dremel. The slowest way, but most controlable is with 120 grit sandpaper. Once you have completed, you can clean these grooves up with various grades of steel wool, starting with coarse and working until fine. As for me, I don't worry about cleaning them up too much, because this is a tool, not a work of art. Having some rough texture in the grooves is fine by me, as it adds grip.
Lastly, get a piece of 550 cord and make a lanyard. The lanyard should wrap around your wrist while gripping the machete, while seeming to 'lock' you hand down on the blade. Too loose of a lanyard will make it easier to lose the weapon, but too tight will make it where it will easily slip off. If you let go of the handle, the machete should stay on your wrist, but come off with moderate pressure.
So, there you have it. Not a big project by any means, but you have a tactical sword which cost you a total of about $40. It's not as fancy as an expensive one with a fancy name attached to it, but it will serve it's purpose. And the best part of all is that by using these machetes, you can have several of them around and not break the bank!
?). I like the "ting" sound, but not enough to take the coating off unless I am sure it will help. I don't otherwise dislike the coating.
