Old machete

[Wildthang]

One of the girls Grandad died about 1 1/2 months ago, and he made sure that I inherited all of his guns and knives. On the wall of his study was an old machete, and he had made a wooden plaque for a display.
This thing is huge! Blade is 22 inches not including the handle and it has a phenolic type handle. It is stamped Legitimus and Collins with a crowned arm logo. It is in excellent condition.
After reading up on this machete I found out that it is most likely a WW2 machete, or at least could be. I also read that they are a very good tool and almost indestructible. I will try to post a picture of it soon.
So what a surprise, I just thought it was an old machete that he used when he hunted! I would probably cut my leg off using this thing because of the size! Is there a certain technique to using a machete of this size? Actually I have never used a large machete, so if there is a certain way to use one of this size I would be very interested to hear about it!

[crashdive123]

Other than just general safety and paying attention to what you are doing I don't think any special safety precautions apply.

[Faiaoga]

There are a number of videotapes and discussions about machete use on the internet. One good source for machetes and their use is Machete Specialists, a USA company. Work cautiously and carefully.

[TXyakr]

How thick is the blade and what style (shape) is it. There are definitely techniques to using any blade and especially a long one. I have seen some good demo videos and many poor ones. I grew up with jungle "woodsmen" in the Amazon who could do amazing things with a long or short machete. I have spent hours clearing brush with one, prefer a gas powered weed wacker if possible.