# Survival > Survival Kits & Survival Products >  To sharpen a machete .....The Adventure.

## hunter63

I had posted the "Good deal I got of 5 machetes from Sportsman's Guide...."
Well,.... they need sharpening .....

Brought out a couple of the machetes from the basement out to the garage shop..I don't like to do a lot of metal grinding in the area of my re-loading set up.

Going to start on a bolo and a version of the Woodsman pal with the brush hook.

The adventure started.....
Went to get my hand held grinders from storage cabinet .....Snowblower is blocking tool cabinet as it's parked by the door for easy exit....
Winter almost over.....so decided to get the SB out of my way. 

To do that, I had to move DW car out... to get to the summer SB parking spot.....(most likely will snow now....LOL)

Car out, but 2 coolers still in the way ...DW needed them for cleaning and defrosting one of the freezers.

So went to put them back on the shelf....but the dog cages(2) stored up there next to that spot... had fallen over.
Couldn't stand them up and shove cooler in that spot unless I was up a bit....so grabbed my OSHA approved wooden chair to reach them.

Had to wait on DW to come and hold the cooler till I was ready to stand up the cages and slide the coolers.
Got that done with out any serious cussing...

I use these coolers all the time in the back and forth to "The Place"....and don't know why the dog cages tipped over(?)....so decided to bungee them up so as to not fall over every time I need them....I had taken the down and out them put then back 100 times...no problem(?)

To anchor bungee needed a eye screw .....but had to take down the bag of decoys down to get at a stud.

To make it easier to screw the eye bolt in ...got the 18 v battery drill box out ....and box of bits....battery almost dead...but enough to get a pilot hole started. 

Went to my garage bungee stash...several had UV and were about to snap....sooooo into the back of the truck...get a new one out of the storage bag.
Couldn't reach that stud from the chair...bring in a step ladder.... after moving a 5 gal bucket of wheel weights (bullet stuff).

As long as I had the ladder there....added another screw eye  for the decoy bag.
So... coolers back... cages bungeed up.... decoys back in place.....
Time for the Snowblower to be parked under that shelf.

As long as I was cleaning out the spot...got out shop vac....cleaned dirt and leaves that had blown in over the winter.
Parked the SB.......

So as long as the vac was out...did the rest of the floor on that half of the garage...setting rubber mats outside to dry off.
(bottom of the rubber mate gets damp
Pulled DW car back in.....then backed out the truck from the other side...to finish the other side of the floor.
Vac now full...emptied out in compost bin.

At this point I have everything done....JUST TO GET OUT THE HAND GRINDER........

Machetes on the bench, grinder on the bench...needs new metal grinding wheel.
Maybe tomorrow.....

Time for a nap......

Some days are like this ...seems more  and more lately ?????

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## kyratshooter

The machete with the hook and wide blade is called a cane knife and was designed for work in sugar cane.  It  does quick work on corn stalks.  Not heavy enough for the normal machete work.

I keep the Tami version on my back porch for those inspirational runs down to the fence row to work five minutes before I give up ad head back for my own nap.

When you do get the grinder working you will be amazed at the sparks that fly off that blade!  there is some real high carbon steel in some of them.

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## hunter63

These say Made in Colombia...and there is a couple o names on them.
One is marker with crossed files of Nicholson steel, don't know.....?????

Somewhere.... I have a vice that flops down to hold things in a horizontal plane...used it for lawn mower blades....That would work slick....
Think it's out at "The Place"
Hummmm maybe a HF trip today...need grinding wheels....also.

I know they throw sparks.....that's why I moved out of the basement shop.

Besides the bigger *'(?) bench grinder is out there.

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## hunter63

Checked out the vices I have here...do have an articulating vice in the basement...like this...
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Also was looking at this one....
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Can't see it too good, but the vice on the bench....at "The Place-shed shop"......just above middle fuel jug....has a flop over feature to get to horizontal.

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## hunter63

Found a "Low Profile" cheapo at Menards.......and after thinking about it....need to hold the blade horizontal ...and not go broke. 
Came up with "2 boards and the vice...in vice"

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Good start with the angle grinder.....may move to basement for belt sander.....

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## randyt

sometimes I'll put the angle grinder in the vise and move the blade over the grinder wheel

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## hunter63

I hear ya....I have as well....even used the hand belt sander that way....
Wanted a lower plane  to hold the work....

Can be removed from the bench vice...clamp in a Workmate...and have a portable vice as well......

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## kyratshooter

Fancy rig!

I would have probably just clamped it to the bench top with C clamps.

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## hunter63

> Fancy rig!
> 
> I would have probably just clamped it to the bench top with C clamps.


LOL....And what is the fun in that....?....LOL
Vice was about................................ $25 bucks
Bucket with gamma seal....................$10 bucks (different project)
lumber from bargain bin....................$ 4 bucks
Total for my projects                          $39 bucks


DW came along....Things are much cheaper when I go by myself....LOL
Easter cards.....................................$  10 bucks
Gas Grill....small...............................$ 120 bucks
2 rugs (she collects rugs(?)................$   30 bucks
Bag of candy.....................................$ ...2 bucks
Total                                                  $ 162 bucks

She wins!!!!

Couple of MickyD's Geezer cones...........$2.14 cents.
Happy wife......LOL

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## crashdive123

Sooooo...only $162 to sharpen a $2 machete......nice.   :Whistling:

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## hunter63

> Sooooo...only $162 to sharpen a $2 machete......nice.


Precisely.......Bhohahahaha

Oh well my first wild turkey was about $1000 bucks a pound....

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## kyratshooter

$162 and eight days to get the job done.

You have finished, right?

Sometimes I think we were twins separated at birth.

I spent the whole afternoon yesterday trying to figure out how to get a 30 minute job done.  I still have half of it to do and I flattened a tire on my utility trailer in the process.  That means a trip to Harbor Freight and I have a half dozen things on the HF shopping list already.

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## Wildthang

Wait a minute, you guys talked about almost everything under the sun, and not about sharpening a machete. Sooooooooo, did you get them sharpened???

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## hunter63

> Wait a minute, you guys talked about almost everything under the sun, and not about sharpening a machete. Sooooooooo, did you get them sharpened???


So that's what we were talking about.....kinda slipped my mind (whats left of it)
Hahahaha....Old guy stuff....
Getting the mail can make a 1/2 hour adventure. 

It's not about sharping machetes....per se...It's the adventure of getting a "round2it"...or in the south.. "Fixin' on it.

Answer ....Yeah two pretty much done....need to finish off with file..... 
3 to go yet......

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## Wildthang

> So that's what we were talking about.....kinda slipped my mind (whats left of it)
> Hahahaha....Old guy stuff....
> Getting the mail can make a 1/2 hour adventure. 
> 
> It's not about sharping machetes....per se...It's the adventure of getting a "round2it"...or in the south.. "Fixin' on it.
> 
> Answer ....Yeah two pretty much done....need to finish off with file..... 
> 3 to go yet......


Okay I feel much better now......LOL

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## hunter63

I guess some if these threads should come a warning....This thread has rating of "GA"....Geezer Alert....

Which may or may not, have a much of a meaning to the general public.... but does have a subject...to start with, ..at least.

Survival of Greezers does rely on... or lack of... experience, cunning, deceit, treachery, ...along with hopefully....memory, concentration, focus, direction,  as well as naps...or not.

Hope that helps ?

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## crashdive123

Y'all shouldn't feel bad.  I sharpen my machete with a belt sander that I paid $1000 for and it was 15 years old when I bought it.

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## hunter63

> Y'all shouldn't feel bad.  I sharpen my machete with a belt sander that I paid $1000 for and it was 15 years old when I bought it.


Beats a flat rock...Right?

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## crashdive123

It sure does.

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## Rick

> Beats a flat rock


I see what you did there.

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## wantit

I've always just held it over my thigh and used a file on it. Machetes hit rocks, nails, all sorts of stuff. So I dont want a hard blade, which chips-out. I can fix a "turned" edge or a blunted one (if not too bad) with the file in a few minutes. It's not like I need to shave with it. :-) If it's a bad nick, then the benchgrinder and Dremel can fix it.

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## jake666

hi everybody

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## madmax

Bizarro 1st post.

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## kyratshooter

Bizarro screen name too.  Most people would have avoided that tag.

As well as obviously missing the introduction section.

"Hi everybody" in a thread on machetes?  What are we supposed to do with that? 

Is this what happens when you dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?

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## hunter63

> hi everybody


Hunter63 saying Hey and Welcome.....

Joined in 2014 and today is your first post?

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## Alan R McDaniel Jr

When I was a kid mowing grass in Morgan City, LA.  I had a cane knife that I used to edge sidewalks.  I'd whack a couple of times and drag the hook back through the groove.  I had a heavy blade Bolo that I used for my swamp walks.  The cane knife was sorta self sharpening on the concrete sidewalk edge but I used a file on the Bolo.  My dad would have had a fit if I had ever even looked like I was going to approach a blade with a grinder.  I use a bench grinder for all my rough sharpening chores now.  

My biggest problem these days is that all my fingers on both hands have turned into thumbs.  When I go out to the shop nowadays I just knock everything onto the floor and then pick up what I need.  I'm going to drop anything I touch anyway.

Alan

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## hunter63

> When I was a kid mowing grass in Morgan City, LA.  I had a cane knife that I used to edge sidewalks.  I'd whack a couple of times and drag the hook back through the groove.  I had a heavy blade Bolo that I used for my swamp walks.  The cane knife was sorta self sharpening on the concrete sidewalk edge but I used a file on the Bolo.  My dad would have had a fit if I had ever even looked like I was going to approach a blade with a grinder.  I use a bench grinder for all my rough sharpening chores now.  
> 
> My biggest problem these days is that all my fingers on both hands have turned into thumbs.  When I go out to the shop nowadays I just knock everything onto the floor and then pick up what I need.  I'm going to drop anything I touch anyway.
> 
> Alan



Been doing the same....like everything is 1/2 " from where it looks like it is....?

Go out in the shop and just throw everything on the floor ...then pick up what you need...then drop it again.

Actually was supposed to train an apprentice OTJT trainee

No tools. so use mine....then just dropped them and walked on them....
One day......Gone.

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