tsellati Posted April 4, 2011 Share #1 Posted April 4, 2011 I recently acquired the following machete made by Ontario Knife. All I can say is that it is USGI issue based upon the presence of the "U.S." stamp on the blade. It certainly has a "serious" row of teeth running the length of the machete's top edge :thumbsup: - My question is what era does this machete belong to and who might have been issued these combination machetes and saws? Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tankerman Posted April 5, 2011 Share #2 Posted April 5, 2011 I do not believe it is actually an "issue" item. I've looked at 100's of US machetes over the years and do not believe this is an item purchased by the military. IMO ONTARIO just made up an item to sell. The saw blade would just gnaw at wood and not actually saw. However, I defer to others more knowledgeable. FRANK... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsellati Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share #3 Posted April 5, 2011 I do not believe it is actually an "issue" item. IMO ONTARIO just made up an item to sell. FRANK... I wondered whether this was the case as I have a pretty extensive collection of machetes and am constantly on the look-out and have never come across an issue machete like this one. The saw blade would just gnaw at wood and not actually saw. FRANK... Yeah, I figured that out already after trying to cut through a small log :thumbdown:. Looking at an actual saw I see that the saw's teeth alternate pointing to opposite sides of the blade. Is there anything one can do reduce the gnawing and improve the sawing action of this machete? Part of the reason I picked it up is because I thought it might be useful when camping and hiking pulling double-duty as a machete and a saw. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig_pickrall Posted April 5, 2011 Share #4 Posted April 5, 2011 The offset teeth is called "set" and it is done before the edge is hardened. I think it would be difficult to impossible to add set after the edge has been hardened. It is possible this blade has not been hardebed but then it would not be useful very long as a saw. This style blade is realitively new as it has only been around the last 10 years or so. It is commerical and easily found in catalogs and at sporting goods stores. The one thing that I see different about this one is the squared off blade. Is there any sign it has been cropped off or sawed? Normally the blades have the typical end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbertson Posted April 5, 2011 Share #5 Posted April 5, 2011 My guess would be that it's a machete that's been altered by cutting off the tip. I know Ontario made commercial versions of their 18" machetes with saw backs...I don't know if the teeth were useless like those or not. The blade marking is odd... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsellati Posted April 6, 2011 Author Share #6 Posted April 6, 2011 Is there any sign it has been cropped off or sawed? Normally the blades have the typical end. Good question. From the looks of it, it does not appear as though the end of the machete has been cropped. I say this because the end does not have sharply angled edges and the finish on the end's edge appears to be identical in color and wear to the blade's surface. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsellati Posted April 6, 2011 Author Share #7 Posted April 6, 2011 The blade marking is odd... Out of curiosity, what appears odd about the blade marking? Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Still-A-Marine Posted April 6, 2011 Share #8 Posted April 6, 2011 I copied a picture from the Ontario Knife Company web site. I had to lighten up the image to see the marking. It looks like the marking on Tim's machete. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsellati Posted April 6, 2011 Author Share #9 Posted April 6, 2011 I copied a picture from the Ontario Knife Company web site. I had to lighten up the image to see the marking. It looks like the marking on Tim's machete. Bill Bill, Thanks for posting the picture from the company website. So, coming back to the issue of whether my example has been bobbed, it is interesting to note the company photo shows 47 teeth and mine has 50. If my example were bobbed I suspect it would have fewer than 47 teeth. Alternatively, Ontario may have made these machete/saw hybrids in different lengths. In which case, mine may have started life as a 22" or longer version and then been bobbed back to its current length and tooth count. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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