Ontario Knife Company1-18 Military Machete

Right out of the box, this machete is DULL. However, even right out of the box, it still cuts. I don't have a whetstone or any other type of sharpener/honing tool, and I wanted to test it out straight from the box anyway. I was able to chop down 1.5" tree limbs better than my axe cuts anything. It was too dull for the super soft foliage, like leafy plants and tall grass, but it took down 2-3" trees very easily. The blade edge is still in-tact (if a slight bit duller now) and the blade is not bent or misshapen. I have abused this machete for three days now and it is still going strong and in better shape than I am. I have been using it to clear weeds out of my paddock and around my horse shed. I havs hacked down close to 10 small trees in the past three days with this machete alone. I have been able to clear out the back fence of my 1 acre paddock and have even found my lost wagon which I haven't seen in the past7 years due to the weed overgrowth... And our lack of a weed whacker. I am able to do with this machete, the job of a bush hog. Just... 10x slower. But who doesn't need a little workout from time to time, anyway? (I know I do... A lot.) As I mentioned, I have not been nice to this machete. I figured, if the military use it, it is built to withstand abuse. After all, I'm sure it's not just a machete to soldiers. It's a survival tool and that means it can be a lot more than just a blade. I have yet to actually sharpen the thing though the more I use its factory-dull blade, the harder it is to cut things, naturally. This has required me to find a workaround to get the job done, which includes using the ground and stones as a form of leverage. The ground provides a hard enough surface for me to cut through anything, and sometimes will hit a stone or I can ONLY hit a stone in order to cut what I was trying to cut. Not once has the blade chipped, bent, or cracked. You really can not beat a better machete, especially for the price. I doubt this thing will ever break, but at this price, if it does, you can easily just replace it. My only gripe about this is the handle. The top is round but the bottom is squared off which puts uncomfortable pressure on my fingers and has started to cause blisters. It's a minor inconvenience that a pair of gloves could easily cure, but if you have the means, you may want to have the handle remade for a more comfortable grip. Even still, this thing is way too good to pass up. Forget all of your doubts and go for it - I highly doubt you will be disappointed. I am so glad I bought this.

There aren't a lot of tools that give you as much bang for the buck as a machete and the price of under twenty bucks is pretty crazy for what you get. Hell, even if you don't need a bad-ass machete, buy this one anyway.. just "because" :) There are a lot of machetes to choose from, many are thin 1/16" "mystery metal", wobbly, made in China junk, while others are WAY overpriced ALSO made in China, (oh the audacity!) like fancy Gerber's or whatever. Seriously, screw that nonsense, because THIS is the I-18 Ontario "meat & potatoes" boss of the brush. Put another way, what would Jason from Friday the 13th reach for? THIS ONE, provided of course, he remains a bad-ass and doesn't suddenly follow the current PC trends to adopt a more reflective "humanist" approach, with soft fragile feelings he desperately needs to share... and "discuss" lol. I won't say just because it's US military issue, it's the best (even though it is, to me) True, there are specialized high quality "Woodsman's Pals" with a unique shape and a polished fit and finish that the US forestry service uses, but you wanna drop like, a hundred plus $ on a machete? Personally, I don't need it that bad when I can get this for the price of two lunches at McDonalds. It has the time tested, capably well balanced, no-frills Cutlass shape that will step up to do all "machete tasks", and then some. And unlike much of the anemic, wobbly, worthless and weak competition, it's 0.125" (1/8th inch) thickness will deliver heft and power to obliterate heavier brush and even send chunks of wood flying. This is a relative heavy-weight, for machetes. For me, I think that's a good thing because it will clear everything from the very green soft "juicy" foliage, to the hard core woody thickets with a lot of branches. What type of environment are you clearing? If it's a mix of both, go with this. If it's just tons of soft juicy green stuff, get a thin fast and light "wobbly" one, because this will tire you out unnecessarily because of its heft. I sing this thing praises, but it's because of the bargain price in mind. This is not perfect, nor is it refined. The handle is kind of crude and can get uncomfortable with some "hot spots. Also, it comes with a rather crude edge. I think Ontario must have different classes of sharpeners at their US factory in up-state New York.. and I imagine the "lawnmower blade sharpener level" people are tasked with putting an edge on these. So, you won't be slipping this out of its cardboard sleeve upon arrival to watch it "float" through a sheet of paper. However, it's also not a butter knife and will easily slice you open badly right out of the box if you're not careful. Perhaps that is why they ship them like this, son that they don't hazardously cut their way out if the box, and can take the stresses of being tossed carelessly in military warehouses without a fragile razor edge being subject to damage.. well, just a thought, because the edge stinks. Again, I forgive these things as it's a US made big hunk of tough steel for under twenty bucks and you'll have to put a little work into promoting this soldier to "be all he can be". Most importantly, the edge angle is established so you just need to hone it some, however you can just take it out of the box and start clearing brush, but I'd strongly recommend taking a few minutes to make the job five times easier with a diamond or ceramic rod, or even a cheap 8" x 2" rectangular sharpening stone you can find in the hardware sections of "dollar stores". It has a powdery, black, matte, non-reflective zinc-oxide coating (I believe it's zinc oxide) to protect the steel as it is NOT stainless. However, it is 1095 carbon, which takes a wicked edge easily, holds it for a pretty long time and is really robust for this application since it's not prone to chipping. It is hardened to the mid to lower fifties on the Rockwell scale, so it's forgiving under shock, as machetes ought to be since they boss their way through hazards unknown, sometimes encountering a concealed cable, rock or a really hard hunk of wood. Although this particular I-18 is the US military issued model, you'd be hard pressed to find any current members since 2001 mentioning how dependable it was in the "sand box" but some Vietnam guys sure will, and it's the same one they were issued. Ontario knows "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", so this is the same one those guys swung through the dense brush of southeast Asia over forty years ago. 👍 IN USE: I already have a 12" Ontario model with the saw-back spine, and except for the saw teeth and the blade blank being cut 6" shorter, it's the same. With that one, I've beaten the snot out of it and it's still 100%. You know how they say, "this is a certain tool, so don't use it as a screwdriver, axe, prybar, etc, etc, etc.. Pfft! lol. Just to see what it could take, I batoned this through super hard wood that was ridiculous, like it was a stone, and it didn't snap the blade on it. No, I wouldn't try to hang off it, use it as a step-up or pry a door off the hinges (it's tough, but it's not supernaturally tough) My point being, this is the machete you will buy ONCE, use it for extreme brush clearing and even survival duties, chop down a tree, clear logs blocking a path, etc. and you'll never need to buy another one. So, to sum up. It can rust, so take some sensible care of it, the exposed edge in particular, especially if you're in a corrosive environment near the salt water, for example. You'll have to roll up your sleeves and refine the edge to reveal its ability to slice time-space as the factory edge is crude. The handle will antagonize the paws of girly-men, so use gloves if pushing pencils and paper cuts is your most hazardous routine (just kidding, I have some callouses and it can still get irritating when swinging it a lot) But most of all, it's awesome for under twenty bucks. Just make sure you get at least a cheap sheath for it, but even the whole combo won't set you back thirty bucks. Now, if the caveats sound reasonable to you, buy it with confidence. It get's a 5/5* from me👍

This is a nice piece of steel. I agree with most of the other reviewers that the blade on the 6145 is of high quality. For around 20$ though, you have to fully understand that this is not a high end machete otherwise. The handle is cheap as expected, but Ontario should really provide rounded corners on the 'finger' side of the handle. It is very uncomfortable in my opinion. I immediately took out my dremel tool and ground down that side of the handle to provide a radius similar to the one on the back of the handle. Handle is of a durable, but 'soft' plastic. Like HDPE - milk jug material, or similar. It was easy to form into the shape I desired. The handle also did not match up with the full tang blade very well, but I think that is to be expected, to some degree. I then took tennis racket tape and wrapped the handle. At that point, I thought the modified handle was nearly perfect for my use. It's no joke that this will work your forearms, shoulders, etc swinging this thing around. Another thing I noticed about the blade is that it is not quite perfect in it's shape or weight distribution. It is so much mass, I felt like the blade needed to be about 3-4" shorter. Also, since the blade is has so much depth (think airplane wing) that if you don't swing straight, it wants to drift off-course. All that said, for a 20$ machete, I think it is a great value for the price and I can overlook some of these short-comings, hence my 4 star rating.

I used to have the Corona 18" saw-back machete (which I reviewed) and it was a total turd. I tossed it in the trash can and bought this one instead. This professional machete was only $2 more expensive than the Chinese-made Corona machete that I threw away. If I'd have known then... Many of the earlier reviewers complained of the machete arriving dull. Mine didn't. Mine arrived razor sharp, seriously. As in, I sliced a sheet of paper in half with a single, gentle stroke...right out of the box. The seller for the one I received was Ontario Knife Co. and it came from the Amazon Fulfillment Center. I don't know if other sellers in other parts of the country are shipping "unfinished" tools or not--but as I said, mine arrived razor sharp. There have been lots of complaints about the handle being uncomfortable or slipping--or feeling like it will slip--out of the hand during use. I think I understand the problem with the handle: It's not because the handle scales are plastic; it's because they are too small for many of us. I wear Medium surgical gloves and Size 7 military dress gloves. That basically means I have medium/average sized hands for the average American male. The handle on this machete is too small for me. Yes, it's a bit squarish and boxy as some reviewers have pointed out; however, that doesn't mean the grip is large. It just means it's not an ergonomic shape. What I found is the grip doesn't fill my hand at the heel of my palm and my hand wraps around the handle (at the hilt) to the point that my thumb is all the way over the first knuckle of my index finger. It makes sense if you think about what the military needs to consider. These machetes need to be usable for soldiers with smaller hands who won't have a means of making the handle smaller in the field. Soldiers with medium to large hands can always wrap some 550 cord (parachute cord) around the handle while in the field to make it thicker if need be. Some reviewers have also mentioned that the scale rivets come loose after awhile and the handle falls apart. At the point when that happens to mine, I will make some comfortable, ergonomic wooden scales that fit my hand well and attach them with screws. As you can see in the photo, this is a "Latin style" machete. The tip is slightly wider than the edge closer to the bolster (like a Parang style) which puts the weight of this machete near the tip. This aids in giving you more power in your strike. Yet, this machete doesn't feel heavy and I can (and you probably can too) easily use this for hours without much fatigue. Overall, this is an amazing design and this particular machete is an amazingly efficient and TOUGH workhorse! Once you figure out how to make the handle more comfortable for you, you won't be disappointed by this machete. Made in the USA from 1095 high carbon steel. If you didn't already know, 1095 is an incredibly strong blend of steel and nearly indestructible even with hard use. Don't waste your money on a more expensive machete which will likely be of lower quality than this anyway...get this one. You won't regret it. This has been issued to the US military since the 1940's and has been used on the battlefields of numerous engagements. This machete is a professional soldier's machete; the real deal. UPDATE EDIT: With all the reviews written about this tool, I know my little review won't push anyone over the edge one way or the other as far as buying this or not, but I wanted to add some additional detail about the handle on this thing in case I can help someone else. Since the handle is a bit squarish, I found that I was getting a sore spot that wanted to become a blister on my thumb. Fortunately, the last few inches at the bolster is not sharpened on this blade. I was able to choke up on the blade a little by allowing my index finger and thumb to hold the blade while the rest of my hand was on the grip. That seemed to help. I also wrapped the handle in sports tape. I rolled up 3 small lumps that I then taped to the handle. One lump was put on the back of the handle where the heel of my hand rests. The other 2 lumps were laid across the handle on the front so that one sits between my pinky and ring finger and the other sits between my index and middle finger (if I were holding the handle and not grabbing the blade as mentioned earlier. I wrapped the handle in sports tape with these 3 bumps under the tape. That seems to have helped a lot with holding the tool; however, like I said the handle is kind of square shaped under your thumb and tends to irritate it so I had to choke up on the blade. The cutting power of this machete is insane! While that "Lowes Special" (the Corona machete) was bouncing off twigs and vines, this machete was slicing right through 1" thick dense wood Azalea branches in 1 stroke (2 strokes if the branches gave way when hit). I'm so glad I bought this! Goofy handle or not, the blade on this thing is all business and no B.S.

This is a great tool. I used to use a machete to cut sighting lines in my surveying days; wish we had these. I read many reviews and watched a lot of YouTube videos before buying this knife. I also researched the various machete types. Machetespcialists.com and Wikipedia.org provide a good overview and in depth write up on each blade. At any rate, I finally settled on this military issue machete sold by Ontario Knife Company. Each style of machete is going to have a particular task for which it will excel. For general brush and trail clearing the Ontario Military Jungle Machete is a great choice. Pros for this blade follow: 1) 1095 steel. Most machetes are going to be shipped with no edge. This steel will hold an edge very well. I used a belt sander to put an edge on mine and it's still razor sharp even after chopping through 1' thick logs and general brush clearing. 2) Full tang construction with lanyard hole. Very solid and the lanyard hole is a must for a machete. After a lot of work, your grip may relax a bit. The lip at the end of the handle and the lanyard help reduce the chance of the blade flying out of your hand. 3) Construction of the blade. With the taper of this blade and it's thickness (about 1/8"), it makes it ideal for chopping tasks. Some Golok Style Machetes such as the Condor Village Parang don't have any taper at all which causes an abrupt stop to your chop translating all the energy back to the hand. This translation of energy is much reduced in this blade and will give you many years of service. The overall length of the machete is 22-23" with the handle being about 4" with a true cutting edge (depending on how you grind it) to about 15". Weight is 1 lb 6 oz. 4) Zinc Phosphate coating. This isn't going to last very long but where ever it stays stuck to the blade, all the better. You will need to keep this blade oiled. Used this in the rain last weekend and it started to rust in a few hours. Cons: 1) No sheath. For $20 you're getting a great blade so I really can't complain. Retail price on the 6145 Machete is $35 so you're getting a good price off Amazon. I bought a plastic sheath for my machete (another review by me) separately. 2) This blade came shipped to me very carelessly. It's only protection within the shipping box was a thin cardboard wrap. In other words, there was no plastic packaging or anything really identifying this knife. Amazon probably purchases this blade in bulk and the blades come from Ontario Knife in a box of 20-30. Just guessing on this but there weren't any company markings on the cardboard wrap. The blade is marked 'Ontario Knife US'. Just the fact of how well this blade has held it's edge, I know I have the real deal.

Mine Works Fine! Honestly, my Ontario Knife Co 1-18" Military Machete is nothing fancy. Laying there straight out of the box it strikes me that it resembles a lawnmower blade repurposed into a machete. Now. Having said that, I put my brand new machete through its paces yesterday, whacking small brush and cutting down a two inch pine tree. It didn't break in half. It got the job done admirably. (My lightweight former Walmart cheapie wouldn't even cut wait-a-minute vines. Bad decision, that.) But it's not as fancy as one of those way expensive Brazilian models. Doesn't come with a leather case and the handle is plastic. Being military, I'm thinking mebbe when in military use when it gets dull, throw it away and get another one. Not being in the military or otherwise in gubment my funds are limited, so after reading the reviews, this machete was pretty much a no brainer for me. For me it's got to be serviceable and it had to last. When mine came in the first thing I did was hit it a lick with my Smith's 50582 Axe and Machete Sharpener. Mine came in fair sharp....not honed. And it cut that old pine tree chop chop. Now, I believe it is sharper. The Smith's sharpener worked fine, quick, and easy. Then when my Ontario Knife Lightweight Machete Sheath, Black came in, I put the machete into it, all sharp and slicked up with oil. They say these things rust pretty easily...and I want to keep mine shiny...weeel...as shiny as black is anyhow. I purchased the offer at the bottom of the page which includes the machete/sharpener/case. And I must say, that case is PERFECT. Sitting there all tricked out it is one wicked looking piece of work. I LOVE it. The handle is plain straight plastic, so I went looking. I considered sports tape..but decided on the very acutely manly paracord route. You can see it in the photo included. You can find an example of how to wrap paracord on YouTube ..... Dirt simple and the result really sets the blade off plus gives an excellent non-slip grip. As I said, very manly...in keeping with this military piece of hardware. You won't be ashamed to show off your handywork to your woodland pals. Guaranteed. Get it. You'll be thanking me.

This USA made military machete by OKC is the one to get. Only downside is that it doesn't come with a sheath. The plus side of that is you will get to pick out the sheath you want for it. There are several canvas style sheaths, as well as the hard plastic military version with sharpener included. The latter is the one I got right here on amazon. Beefy full tang and straight as an arrow, and despite what some of the other reviewers say, mine came with a paper cutting sharp edge - see my vid. Keep in mind that I did that with the factory edge. I then ran it a few times over my ceramic rod and it really sharpened it up nicely. Not sure if this is 1095 or 1075 high carbon steel. Depending on who's listing the specs you could see it either way. Doesn't matter, they are both excellent and tough outdoor steels. I found the handle to be pretty comfortable and slightly grippy despite how it may look. I may wrap it in some sports tape if I feel it's necessary, but I will run it as is for now. The large pommel peak, which incidentally is also part of the tang, prevents your hand from sliding off the back. Get one now and don't look back!

This machete is the best constructed machete in this style that is that I have ever come across. It is very thick and extremely sturdy. 1095 High carbon steel. This thing feels like it well never break. I have used it extensively since i purchased it and it has held up great. The only cons to it, and depending what you are looking for can be big cons are: it arrives to you with sharpness less than that of a butter knife. I mean this thing had no edge at all. It took me a good hour to put a solid edge on this blade, and I have own a ton of knives, machetes, hatchets etc... basically I'm an active outdoors man. I know how to sharpen a blade and it took a while. The other con is the handle. It is uncomfortable. Very squared off and slippery. Overall though, you won't find a stronger and well built machete, after a sharpening and wrapping of the handle (I used hockey tape) this thing is unbeatable.

Eine super Machete und ein netter Anbieter.

A beast of a machete, as other have noted it’s much thicker than your standard machete. Comes with an OK edge, 30 minutes with a file put a good enough edge on it for me. (Steel is real tough, requires a lot of consistency compared to sharpening my 1065 axe head). The handle is hot garbage. But I knew that when I bought it. I plan to sand it and round it out a bit (it’s a little too square for my preference). I love it because it’s obvious the blade is made to be tough and durable, it will take a beating. Although I expect the handle to loosen up sooner or later, so thinking of how I’m gonna deal with that when the time comes.

This Machete is really well made, came with a perfect edge from the factory and the balance is fantastic. There is a reason the military has continued to use these machetes for such a long time. Just keep the blade properly oiled and this will last a lifetime. I did with it came with a sheath, but for the low price that may be asking too much.

When it arrived I put it through some hard testing in the woods. The steel is obviously very high quality and the edge held up even after a week of hard use. If I have one issue it is simply the handle scales. The fitting is pretty good but not completely flush with the tang and because of that, it is not really usable without gloves, since it will tear up the skin on the hand.

This is a pretty sturdy machete it feels very well built. The handle feels a bit weird but you can fix it with hockey tape. My only complaint about it is that it scratches very easily. (Also if your wondering the machete doesn't come with a sheath. You have to purchase it separately )