i have a machete i bought at a swapmeet a while back. i have a bastard mill file to sharpen it. its cut in only one direction on each side. my machete does get a bit sharp but never surgical. is it bad technique? what else can i use? i dont know of anyplace around me to get professional sharpening tools.
I took an inventory of my cars to see which I liked and here is the vote talley: FWD: 0 RWD: 6 It is like this, I have owned FWD cars. But I do not like the way the tires wear out so fast on the front end. A FWD car uses the front tires for steering, traction and they do most of the braking. This results in the adhesive force being split too many ways all at once. When the limits of adhesion are reached- it does not happen a little and there is little warning. At least with RWD I can still use throttle steer when I get into trouble on a turn. Try the same thing in a FWD car and you will end up in a ditch. Don't give me that snow excuse! Too many drivers expect the car they drive to make up for a lack of driving skills. If the roads are bad enough to keep a RWD car off of the road the driver needs AWD or 4WD. Considering the power loss in a AWD because of the extra moving parts, a 4WD is a better choice. Yes, FWD is nice and the best tool for most drivers. But I am not a driver that fits into the class with most drivers! I grew up with RWD and drove them in blizzards. With the right tires (and chains if needed) I can get a car over roads that most drivers would not even take a 4WD. Don't get me wrong- there are times I don't go any where and when I say I am staying off the roads other drivers should too.
Front wheel drives work basically the same way rear wheel drives do except all the drive gears are within the transmission. Front wheel drives are better in snow and wet conditions because the weight of the engine and transmission are over the drive wheels. Weight increases friction/traction.
Get a wet stone from your local sporting goods store.
A machete is a chopping tool. You don't need a surgical edge on it and it would not hold that type of edge. I keep mine like my axes. Just barely sharp enough to shave the hair on my hand. Tip for using a mill bastard, always file into the edge. Make a file cleaner out of a piece of 20 ga. or heavier sheet copper. Take a strip about 3 long and 1 wide. Turn a 90 degree lip on one end, about a quarter of an inch wide. Rub it back and forth in the direction of the ridges on the file until you make teeth on it. Use it to clean the file whenever you pick up a gall in the teeth. It will make filing a lot easier. Use a coarse whetstone if you like.
fwds have the transmission and the rear differential built together in the front trans axle. rwds have a separate trans and rear end. and yes, fwds are better in snow, because the steer wheels also pull and as long as they are pulling forward, they will go where you point them. where as a rear wheel drive has to push the steer wheels along and they will slide around on the ice. also, going through snow or mud, the front wheels can be carried though by the momentum of the car where the rwd has to be pushed further to get the drive wheels through the obstacle.
