Will that Be a Gaucho Grind or The El Premio Edge?

Are you a beginner with machetes and sharpening? Don't worry, we got you covered!

We help a lot of people just starting out with machetes. The most critical step with any new agricultural machete is the first grind from the factory. If you want the most from these machetes, let us do the hard work. We can do the first grind and sharpen for you.  Not only will we put the best possible edge on these machetes to suit our unforgiving Aussie environment, these machetes will be a breeze to keep tipped up in the field.

If you need help working out which of the two sharpening styles that we offer will suit you, Click on this link for all the information you need. The Basic rundown:

The Gaucho Grind

This edge will suit those planning on working their machetes hard! Most will call this style of edge wickedly sharp. This edge is easy to keep 'tipped' up with basic sharpening equipment. Whether you're a beginner sharpener or seasoned pro, it's a very forgiving edge to keep performing.

Would you like some more information? Here is a link to our Gaucho Grind sharpening service.

The El Premio Edge

Now this sharpening is a 'cut above the rest'. It is a machete with a high end bushcraft knife's edge. We grind, hone, strop and test every El Premio edge by hand. This is a hair popping razor's edge. This edge requires some finer sharpening equipment to keep tipped up. This is the level of sharpening that we use on our farm. They are a joy to use when they are this sharp!

Would you like some more information? Here is a link to our El Premio Edge sharpening service.

What is the 'Plus' option with the sharpening service?

This is simple to answer. Some people like a blunt tip for grubbing style work in the dirt. Less edge means they are slightly safer to use. Others like a pointy sharp tip as it increases the crafting ability of the tool. The Gaucho Grind Plus and the El Premio Edge Plus just means we sharpened your machete all the way to the tip.

If you're interested in some more technical information on our sharpening, such as Thin Edge Convex versus other edge geometry, click on this link.

What is a Postal Slip?

If you're ordering a sharpening service from us, we simply cannot ship it safely to you unless it's in a hard PVC sheath. They are much sharper than a factory sharpened machete and the standard packaging methods all failed our safety tests. They are just too sharp! Take a look at the sheath options we have available. We have one for every budget starting at $5 for a Postal Slip.

What is a CardScraper Edge and why would I want it?

This is one of our favourite camping mods that we can put on any machete. It's basically a very old fashioned way of sharpening a spring steel card to use as a micro plane on timber.... It shaves off super fine fluffy tinder to help you light a fire. A cardscraper edge doubles up as a great place to strike your ferro rod fire steel. The bonus, It's a very robust edge that is incredibly easy to keep sharp in the field.
If you're interested in seeing this in action, here is a cued up Youtube clip on shaving super fine and fluffy tinder.

Small Cosmetic Blemish A.K.A the 'Tramontina Touch Mark

Sometimes Tramontina starts their sharpening a little heavy for our liking. This leaves a small cosmetic blemish after we sharpen your machete. Thankfully, they are not very big and won't effect the performance of our sharpening or your machete. The small marks will often disappear completely within a few resharpens.

They range from a tiny smudge mark to a patch the size of a squished grain of rice. We will be uploading some photos shortly.

All our current stock of Tram Bolo's are sharpened this way. For the foreseeable future, we are upgrading the level of sharpness on these machetes to make sure they are properly stropped with a very keen craft ready edge!