Ontario 18" D-Guard Machete, orange handle

This machete is replacing one I gave to one of my InfoSec friends. This is my favorite machete style and size.

[www.bladehq.com]

The first large outdoor knife I ever used (well...used effectively) was an Ontario 18". Good inexpensive and durable tool.

I knew ahead of time that heavy machete patterns were prone to overpenetration when used with excessive enthusiasm. And yet I still managed on one occasion to get that machete stuck hard enough in the end of a firewood round that it took me twenty minutes to get it out. I hope noone was watching.

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You are one of the only people I have heard speak positively about the D-guard. What is your main reason for preferring it?

A few possibilities come to mind:
- retention of the knife (especially since the unguarded handle design is pretty weird)
- protection of your hand from evil vegetation etc.
- its high visibility (due to orangeness) when dropped
- peer pressure from pirate friends
- other

...all of which seem fair enough.

I have only used the unguarded handle style and so I am curious.

alkali,
Retention, along with my hand not sliding forward on the blade. I also usually use a wrist thong for retention also

I used the 18" Ontario Machete and the 8" Cold Steel Drop Forged Survivalist in 52100 for some yard work that needed to be done at my Mom's house. The Machete has a more resilient coating than the previous version of the Machete I owned(and easier to clean), which I gifted to my friend so he'd have something for home defense, since he moved to Oregon from New York City, and didn't have a firearm. The newer Machete also has a nicer edge grind, and overall grind, in general. The Machete took about half as many light chops to do the work of what took medium to hard chops with the Cold Steel 8" Drop Forged Survivalist. Also, my old Machete would give me some hand discomfort with the end of the D-Guard being a pinching/hot spot. Not so on the new Machete. I am not sure why, if I have a better technique now, was doing different work, or the handles are different or improved. There is a bunch of firewood that was purchased before the wood fireplace was changed to a gas fireplace (I think that was a mistake, but what do I know), so I might try chopping and making some chopping videos. I also found a Habor Freight Hatchet at my parents, which I sharpened, and is by the door with some pepper spray for home defense, (since my Parents, against my advice, don't have any firearms at their house), and I would like to bring my Fiskars hatchet and Gerber Hand Ax over to their house to compare also.