My father-in-law gave me the blade a year or so ago. A few weeks ago I was trying to figure out what to give him since all the other gifts I'm giving to that side of the family I have made this year. I cut 5 1/2" off the handle end and reshaped the handle. The blade is now 13" long. The oak is from a barn that was built in the 1860s right down the road from my father-in-laws house. The hand loop was hand cut and braided split grain. The sheath is made from cherry w/ a leather welt all glued and sewn together and the belt loop is from scrap sheath leather pieces. All sealed w/ mineral oil/beeswax paste I make. I glued a piece of leather pants material onto one scale of the sheath to give it some friction and you can hold this thing upside down and shake it and the machete does not fall out. When it is put into the sheath it snaps into place. that's my favorite part.
This one is going to be tough to give away, but like my wife said, it;s staying in the family. thanks for lookin, you all have a gooder!! dpgratz
