i gotta admit that maybe my idea of a good machete might be different because in all actuality i dont use a machete for real machete tasks.machetes arent designed for north american hardwoods really.

i dont do much vine clearing,trail making with my machetes and is why i like the strength of the high carbon machetes like ontario and cold steel.i've never used a tramontina.

i googled linder machetes and people had good things to say about them but they all felt the need to work on the edge out of the box due to its thickness.

i've never heard of them before this.the ones i saw all seemed to be stainless,low saber ground,convexed edge with wooden handles and they say solingen on the blade.

they seem fairly priced as well

the BRK&T was the best machete i've ever used but just too expensive to treat like that and i found the polished micarta handle to be slippery

I have a 12" Tramontina, but I want to get the edge done up nicer. I haven't had a chance to use it before my wife bought me an Ontario SP5. Just barely shorter and much more comfortable.

Not a ton heavier either, and much more suited to North American vegetation as Northern1 was pointing out.

I gotta go outside and beat these two up! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

I got a long, twenty-four incher from Ecuador I use to whack at weeds...