While it was a huge pain to get this (again, thanks, Gene!), I am pretty darn happy to have it in my possession!
I helped with the pattern for Miketribal's replica, which was a modified version of Ghostsolider's pattern a few years ago and was very pleased with the result. Now that I have an original in hand... wow... were we ever off! The overall design is good and the overall length is good, but some of our proportions are off by a considerable margin!
Here is the original handle as well as a comparison to Mike's replica. While I can't make Mike's replica match the original precisely, I am definitely cutting it down to match as closely as possible. You can already see where I have been marking out lines...
Another thing to note. Mike's machetes were 3/16" thick, which I thought was extremely thick. However, the original is 1/4" thick!
Also, I am considering peeling the wrap off the handle to see, once and for all, what it is (I believe it is leather), but I can tell you for sure that the black twine material is synthetic deer sinew, like this:
Simulated Sinew - Black (4 oz Spool) | Artificial Sinew, Sinew | Crazy Crow Trading Post
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I helped with the pattern for Miketribal's replica, which was a modified version of Ghostsolider's pattern a few years ago and was very pleased with the result. Now that I have an original in hand... wow... were we ever off! The overall design is good and the overall length is good, but some of our proportions are off by a considerable margin!
Here is the original handle as well as a comparison to Mike's replica. While I can't make Mike's replica match the original precisely, I am definitely cutting it down to match as closely as possible. You can already see where I have been marking out lines...
Another thing to note. Mike's machetes were 3/16" thick, which I thought was extremely thick. However, the original is 1/4" thick!
Also, I am considering peeling the wrap off the handle to see, once and for all, what it is (I believe it is leather), but I can tell you for sure that the black twine material is synthetic deer sinew, like this:
Simulated Sinew - Black (4 oz Spool) | Artificial Sinew, Sinew | Crazy Crow Trading Post
View attachment 150268
View attachment 150269
View attachment 150270