Learning About Machetes
Jul 1, 2023 19:37:33 GMT
Post by pgandy on Jul 1, 2023 19:37:33 GMT
I love machetes, now. That wasn’t always the case, far from it. The military first introduced me to a machete. And I must say with distaste on my part. I was disappointed in the results and would usually get a blister. Looking back on it, the cause was that like most gringos I didn’t know how to use one. After all, what is there to know about that simple tool? It has a blade at one end and a handle at the other. How simple could it be? Any fool should instantly figure it out. It never occurred to me to say “Hey sarge, how does it work”. That was fortunate, as he probably knew no more than I did, and I would have received his wrath, along with the laughing comments from my buddies making life unbearable.
I’ve have since relocated to Central America where a machete is king. My first maid taught me much as she used one for about everything from opening packages to pruning. Even taught me how to dig with one. There are things she omitted and/or didn’t know. I have watched videos on YouTube on their use, we didn’t have such in those days. While interesting, even the three authors that I most like, haven’t taught me anything. And there was one obviously didn’t know anything about machetes, showing me how to use one. That only shows with a camera and the help of YouTube one can be an authority these days. And in keeping with YouTube’s policy, once they see me more than once tuning in on a subject, they load me down with videos on that.
Then I got to thinking; I was going about it wrong. I was watching videos by gringos on the subject and learning nothing, I should be watching the videos made by Latinos. I learned far more about kukris by watching Nepalese going about their everyday lives than elsewhere.
I came across the video below and was so impress that I subscribed. I don’t know if this fellow is a land owner or a hand growing bananas. No matter, he knows his job and the machete. He probably had a machete since the time he began walking. Watching him reminds me when I was growing bananas with good information concerning both. I’ll recap what he is saying. He says that two machetes should be involved, each having one of two grinds, one for hard targets such as wood and the other with a more acute edge angle for soft targets such as grass. I thought his machete most unusual with its flat tip. I came to find out he makes them by cutting the pointed tip off, then sharpens. A more efficient method for digging than I use which is with the factory point. He will go through a machete in about 3 months. He uses the traditional file method to sharpen and like most if not all Lantinos I’ve seen he uses a triangular file. When I used a file, it was a 10” mill file. I can only guess why a triangular file is preferred, but it’s common. He digs with one hand and I was taught to use two hands, one on the handle and the on the spine at about the mid-point to support the blade. In the video he shows the digging grip which is different than the cutting grip. He also appears very dirty. It’s probably his working clothes. I found that banana juice from the trees will stain any and everything it comes in contact with. Those blue bags hanging from the trees are to put the banana stalks in after cutting them free. It may also be to mark which stalks to cut. I don’t know if the colour is important, I used black bags and the biggest advantage I found was to keep the fruit flies away, otherwise they will come in by the thousands for a feast. He can’t show all in one video and if you don’t understand Spanish it’s a pleasure just to watch how efficient he is. A true artist with a machete.
I’ve have since relocated to Central America where a machete is king. My first maid taught me much as she used one for about everything from opening packages to pruning. Even taught me how to dig with one. There are things she omitted and/or didn’t know. I have watched videos on YouTube on their use, we didn’t have such in those days. While interesting, even the three authors that I most like, haven’t taught me anything. And there was one obviously didn’t know anything about machetes, showing me how to use one. That only shows with a camera and the help of YouTube one can be an authority these days. And in keeping with YouTube’s policy, once they see me more than once tuning in on a subject, they load me down with videos on that.
Then I got to thinking; I was going about it wrong. I was watching videos by gringos on the subject and learning nothing, I should be watching the videos made by Latinos. I learned far more about kukris by watching Nepalese going about their everyday lives than elsewhere.
I came across the video below and was so impress that I subscribed. I don’t know if this fellow is a land owner or a hand growing bananas. No matter, he knows his job and the machete. He probably had a machete since the time he began walking. Watching him reminds me when I was growing bananas with good information concerning both. I’ll recap what he is saying. He says that two machetes should be involved, each having one of two grinds, one for hard targets such as wood and the other with a more acute edge angle for soft targets such as grass. I thought his machete most unusual with its flat tip. I came to find out he makes them by cutting the pointed tip off, then sharpens. A more efficient method for digging than I use which is with the factory point. He will go through a machete in about 3 months. He uses the traditional file method to sharpen and like most if not all Lantinos I’ve seen he uses a triangular file. When I used a file, it was a 10” mill file. I can only guess why a triangular file is preferred, but it’s common. He digs with one hand and I was taught to use two hands, one on the handle and the on the spine at about the mid-point to support the blade. In the video he shows the digging grip which is different than the cutting grip. He also appears very dirty. It’s probably his working clothes. I found that banana juice from the trees will stain any and everything it comes in contact with. Those blue bags hanging from the trees are to put the banana stalks in after cutting them free. It may also be to mark which stalks to cut. I don’t know if the colour is important, I used black bags and the biggest advantage I found was to keep the fruit flies away, otherwise they will come in by the thousands for a feast. He can’t show all in one video and if you don’t understand Spanish it’s a pleasure just to watch how efficient he is. A true artist with a machete.