DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  
  DUS 162 
Second  Edition  
2017 -05-dd 
 
 
 Reference number  
DUS 162: 2017 
© UNBS 2017   
  
Machetes  — Specification  
 DUS 162: 2017  
ii © UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  
 Compliance with this standard does not, of itself confer immunity from legal obligations  
A Uganda Standard does not purport to include all necessary provisions of a contract. Users are 
responsible for its correct application  
© UNBS 2017   
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in any 
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without prior written 
permission from UNBS.  
Requests for permission to reproduce this document should be addressed to  
The Executive Director  
Uganda National Bureau of Standards  
P.O. Box 6329  
Kampala  
Uganda  
Tel: +256 41 4 333 2 50/1/2/3  
Fax: +256 41 4 286 123  
E-mail: info@unbs.go.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  DUS 162:2017  
© UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents   
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  1 
4 Type  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  1 
5 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  3 
5.1 Blade  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................  3 
5.2 Handles  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  3 
5.3 Jointing  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  3 
5.4 Mechanical properties of the blade  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 4 
5.5 Purpose  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  4 
5.5 Workmanship and finish  ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................  4 
6 Dimensions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............  4 
6.1 General  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  4 
7 Tests  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................  6 
7.1 Tensile test  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  6 
7.2 Hardness test  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  6 
7.3 Bend test  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  6 
8 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  6 
8.1 Lot ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  6 
8.2 Sample size  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............  7 
9 Marking  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  7 
Annex  A (informative)  some of the shapes of machete  ................................ ................................ ................  8 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  9 
 DUS 162: 2017  
iv © UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  
 Foreword  
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a parastatal under the Ministry of Trade , Industry and 
Cooperatives established under Cap 327 , of the Laws of Uganda , as amended .  UNBS is mandated t o co-
ordinate the elaboration of standards and is  
(a) a member of International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and  
(b) a contact point for the WHO/FAO Codex Alimentarius Commission on Food Standards, and  
(c) the National Enquiry Point on TBT  Agreement  of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).  
The work of preparing Uganda Standards is carried out through Technical Committees. A Technical 
Committee is established to deliberate on standards in a given field or area and consists of key stakeholders 
including govern ment, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties.  
Draft Uganda Standards adopted by the Technical Committee are widely circulated to stakeholders and the 
general public for comments. The committee reviews the comments before re commending the draft standards 
for approval and declaration as Uganda Standards by the National Standards Council.  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee UNBS/TC 4, Mechanic al Engineering 
and Metallurgy . 
This second edition canc els and replaces the first edition ( US 162:2000), which has been tec hnically revised.  
 DRAFT  UGANDA STANDARD  DUS 162: 2017  
 
© UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  1 
 Machetes — Specifications  
1 Scope   
This Working Draft Uganda Standard prescribes requirements, necessary dimensions, workmanship and test 
methods and sampling criteria of straight blade, curved blade, and double edged blade  machetes (panga) . 
2 Normative references   
The following referenced documents referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content 
constitutes requirements of this document. For date d references, only the edition cited applies. For undated 
references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
DUS ISO 6892 -1, Metallic materials — Tensile testing — Part 1: Method of test at room temperature  
DUS ISO 6508 -1, Metallic materi als — Rockwell hardness test — Part 1: Test method  
3 Terms and definitions   
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.  
3.1  
size 
length of the cutting blade excluding the handle  
3.2  
machete  
broad blade used for cutting vegetation  
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:  
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp  
4 Type  
4.1 The machete my either be of:  
a) straight  blade DUS 162: 2017  
2 © UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  
 
 
Figure 1 — Straight blade machete  
b) curved  blade , or  
 
Figure 2 — Curved blade machete  
c) double edge blade type  DUS 162: 2017  
© UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  3 
 
 
Figure 3 — Double edge blade machete  
4.2 Different shapes other  than those given in 4.1 may exist depending on the purpose for which the 
machete is made provided that it meets the requirements in clause 5 and passes the tests in clause 7.  
5 Requirements  
5.1 Blade  
The blade shall be made or manufactured from steel with  the c hemical composition as shown Table 1 below . 
Table 1 — Chemical composition of the blade  
Constituent  Minimum  
% Maximum  
% 
Carbon  0.50 0.80 
Manganese  0.60 1.5 
Silicon  0.15 0.35 
Sulphur  - 0.06 
Phosphorous  - 0.06 
5.2 Handles   
5.2.1 The ha ndle shall be made of a material  that facilitates complete bonding with the blade and firm grip 
of the user. If it is made of wood, it shall be hardwood  with a specific gravity of 0.66 to 0.80 after seasoning to 
not more than 20 % moisture con tent. 
5.2.2 All handles shall be shaped or profiled to match the human hand.  
5.3 Jointing   
The blade and the handle shall be firmly jointed  and the joint shall not have any harmful protrusions such as 
burrs and s harp edges . Where rivets are used, they shal l be countersunk into the handle and metal edges 
recessed into the handle .  DUS 162: 2017  
4 © UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  
 5.4 Mechanical properties of the blade  
5.4.1 The ultimate strength shall not be less than 1200 MPa (1.2x 109 N/m2) as tested in accordance with 
8.1 
5.4.2 The machete shall be heat treated to hardness of 45 to 50 HRC to impart wear resistance and impact 
toughness as tested in accordance with 8.2.  
5.5 Purpose  
The manufacturer shall declare the purpose for which the machete is intended.  
5.5 Workmanship and finish  
5.5.1 The machete shal l be free from cracks, flows and other defects.  
5.5.2 All burrs, flashes and sharp edges shall be removed except the cutting edge.  
5.5.3 A coating of protective paint or grease shall be applied.  
5.5.4 Unless agreed to between purchaser and supplier the cut ting edge shall be sharpened to 30º to 50º 
angle  
6 Dimensions  
6.1 The necessary dimensions shall be according to Table 2. Different dimensions  
Table 2 — Dimensions  and tolerances  
Parameter  Minimum nominal dimension of each type of 
machete  
mm Tolerance  
Curved blade  Straight 
blade  Double edged 
blade  
A 190 400 550 ±5% 
388 
445 
B 145 145 145 ±8 
C 122 20 20 ±2 
D 20 20 20 ±1 
E 45 45 45 ±2 
F 48 20 20 ±0.5 
G 2.5 2.5 2.5 ±0.2 
H 80 - ±5 
t      2.0  
 
 DUS 162: 2017  
© UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  5 
 
 
NOTE  These dimensions apply for a double edged blade machete  
Figure 4 — Straight machete showing dimensions  
 
Figure 5 — Curved machete showing dimensions  
6.2 Different dimensions other than those given in 6.1 may be allowed depending on the purpo se for which 
the machete is made provided that it meets the requirements in clause 5 and passes the tests in clause 7  DUS 162: 2017  
6 © UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  
 7 Tests  
7.1 Tensile test  
Machetes shall undergo tensile test. The test shall be done in accordance with ISO 6892 -1. 
7.2 Hardness test  
The hardness shall be tested in accordance with, DUS ISO 6508 -1 (B and C scales) . 
7.3 Bend test  
7.3.1 The machete shall be bent 50 times through 45 º angle on both sides before it develops any cracks.  
7.3.2 The machete shall be held down as shown below in Figur e 4 and bent forward and backward through 
one cycle and it shall not show permanent deformation , rupture or  any sign of failure  
 
Figure 6 — Bend test (dimensions in millimetres ) 
8 Sampling  
8.1 Lot 
8.1.1 If the entire shipment is o f homogenous quality then in effect, the shipment shall comprise a single lot. 
A sample of specified size may then be selected directly upon opening the shipment.  
8.1.2 If the lot is composed of boxes (for instance, each from a different manufacturer) then  sampling shall 
be conducted in two stages. First select a sample number of boxes and then select a sample of machetes 
from within each selected box.  
8.1.3 Once the samples have been selected, they s hall be l egibly marked (for example 1, 2, 3, etc.) and th e 
box from which they were taken also marked so that each can be sourced back to the box from which it was 
taken.  DUS 162: 2017  
© UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  7 
 8.2 Sample size  
A Zero-based Acceptance Sample shall be selected based on an  Acceptable Quality Value of 2.5 %. The 
sample sizes to be selecte d are as indicated in Table 6 
Table 2 — Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) of 2.5% 
Lot size  Sample size  
Less than 90  7 
91 to 150  11 
151 to 280  13 
281 to 500  16 
501 to 1 200  19 
1 201 to 3 200  23 
3 201 to 10 000  29 
10 001 to 35 00 0 35 
35 001 and above  40 
9 Marking  
9.1 Each machete shall be marked with the following particulars:  
a) manufacturers name and/or trade mark;  
b) batch or code number; and  
c) size of machete . 
9.2 Each packaging material shall have the following information legibly marked on it;  
a) manufacturers name and/or trade mark;  
b) batch or code number;  
c) size of machete purpose of the machete ; and 
d) country of or igin DUS 162: 2017  
8 © UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  
 Annex  A 
(informative ) 
 
some of the shapes of machete  
A.1 Machete type M208 General  
 
A.2 Machete type M206  
 
A.3 Machete  type M212  
 
A.4 Machete type M204  
 
 DUS 162: 2017  
© UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  9 
 Bibliography  
[1] Agricultural hand tools in emergencies — Guidelines for technical and field officers  
[2] US 162:2000  Specification for machetes (panga)  
 DUS 162: 2017  
© UNBS 2017  – All rights reserved  11 
 Certification marking  
Products that conform to Uganda standards  may be marked with Uganda National Bureau of Standards 
(UNBS) Certification Mark shown in the figure below.  
The use of the UNBS Certification Mark is governed by the Standards Act, and the Regulations made 
thereunder. This mark can be used only by those licensed under the certification mark scheme operated by 
the Uganda National Bureau of Standards and in conjunction with the relevant Uganda Standard. The 
presence of this mark on a product or in relation to a product is an assurance that the goods comply with the 
requirements of that standard under a system of supervision, control and testing in accordance with the 
certification mark scheme of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards. UNBS marked products are 
continually checked by UNBS for conformity to th at standard.  
Further particulars of the terms and conditions of licensing may be obtained from the Director, Uganda 
National Bureau of Standards.  
 
 DUS 162: 2017    
 
ICS 65.060.01  
Price based on nn pages  
© UNBS 2017– All rights reserved