Why have a rounded tip on a machete?


I used to flatten the tip on mine but have recently converted to the round. It's for digging mostly and it helps me be a little more accurate with chopping roots.
 
Machetes are for chopping, obviously.

Getting as much blade weight as far forward as possible, thereby increasing the power/force of a chop, is the primary reason for the wide, rounded point. Using it to dig is not generally recommended because it rapidly dulls the blade. A DULL MACHETE IS DANGEROUS TO ANYONE IN THE VICINITY. A sharp one bites and holds; a dull one bounces or ricochets and flies.

Also, the tip of a narrow-pointy blade is more likely to break off during a chop, flying who-knows-where.
 
Because that machete lives in a commie country or state...

If you learn machete use and technique from people that use them every day, you'll see that a sharpened tip is normal.
Grass cutting, skinning, skiving, etc, need to be sharp to the tip. Not rounded over.

I've seen and used machete that have been sharpened to a point.
Poking holes, deft slicing, sliver removal, etc.

Modify the tool for the intended use.
 
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Cicatriz said:
Because that machete lives in a commie country or state...

If you learn machete use and technique from people that use them every day, you'll see that a sharpened tip is normal.
Grass cutting, skinning, skiving, etc, need to be sharp to the tip. Not rounded over.

I've seen and used machete that have been sharpened to a point.
Poking holes, deft slicing, sliver removal, etc.

Modify the tool for the intended use.
Click to expand...

The aforementioned commie machete?

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Digging seems to be the answer. We chop with our shovels and dig with our machetes, rock on!

I think if I dig much around here with mine it will end up rounded.
 
Cicatriz said:
If you learn machete use and technique from people that use them every day....
Click to expand...
Actually, I did. I'm pretty good with one, or was until this old body went kaplooey.

Also, I did not mean to suggest a completely round tip, just a standard machete tip like the ones on milsurp machetes and etc. (Half-) Rounded, not pointy.
 
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I find the rounded/unsharpened tip is helpful for light digging/chopping at roots. Helps add weight for chopping, like tap chopping coconuts and such.

You arent digging fighting holes with one, but you can scratch out a cat hole, or chop out some bamboo shoots without worrying about dinging an edge.
 
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