DEAS  188:2019 
ICS 25.140.30  
 
 
© EAC 201 9                                                                                                                          Second  Edition 201 9 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Machete  — Specification  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  DEAS  132: 2019  
ii © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
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 DEAS  188: 201 9 
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated  by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when goods and services are exchanged 
within th e Community will be removed.  
The Community has established an East African Standards Committee  (EASC)  mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards  (EAS) . The Committee is composed of representatives of the National 
Standards Bodies in Partner Stat es, together with the representatives from the public and private sector 
organizations  in the community .  
East African Standards are developed through  Technical Committees that are representative of key 
stakeholders including government, academia, consumer  groups, private sector and other interested parties. 
Draft East African Standards are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments received are discussed and incorporated before finalization of stand ards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for development of East African Standards.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee EASC /TC 042, Production and General 
Engineering . 
This second edition cancels and replaces the first editio n (……….), which has been technically revised.  
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be subject of patent 
rights. EAC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
 
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS  188: 201 9 
 
© EAC 201 9 – All rights reserved  1 
 Machete  — Specification  
1 Scope  
This Draft East African Standard specifies requirements, sampling and test methods for machete. It applies to 
general purposes curved blade and straight blade machete.  
2 Normative references   
The following documents are referred to in t he text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes 
requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applie s. 
ISO 6892 -1, Metallic materials — Tensile testing — Part 1: Method of test at room temperature  
ISO 9556, Steel and iron — Determination of total carbon content — Infrared absorption method after 
combustion in an induction furnace  
ISO 10700, Steel and iro n — Determination of manganese content — Flame atomic absorption spectrometric 
method  
ISO 439, Steel and iron — Determination of total silicon content — Gravimetric method  
ISO 10714, Steel and iron — Determination of phosphorus content — Phosphovanadomolyb date 
spectrophotometric method  
ISO 671, Steel and cast iron — Determination of sulphur content — Combustion titrimetric method  
3 Terms and definitions   
No terms and definitions are listed in this document.  
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 Types  
4.1 The machete may either be of:  
a) straight blade as shown in Figure 1; or  
b) Curved blade as shown in Figure 2.  DEAS  188: 2019  
2 © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
 
Figure 1  — Straight blade  machete  DEAS  188: 2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  3 
 
 
Figure 2 — Curved blade  machete  
NOTE – Different shapes ot her than those given in clause 4 .1 may be allowed depending on the purpose for which the 
machete is made provided that it meets the material  requirements in clause 5 and passes the tests.  DEAS  188: 2019  
4 © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
 5 Requirements  
5.1 Dimensions  
The blade dimensions shall be as specified in table 1 and 2 and shall have a minimum thickness of 2 mm.  
Table 1 — Dimensions for the straight blade machete — Tolerances ± 5 % un less otherwise  
All Dimensions  in millimetres  
Nominal blade length  
A ± 5 B 
± 5 C D E F t (min)  H G 
± 0.5  
411 152 75 26 48 50 2.0 95 3 
462 152 75 26 48 50 2.0 95 3 
 
Table 2 — Form dimensions for curved blade machete  
 
Dimensions are in millimetres  
Nominal blade length  
A ± 5 B 
± 5 C 
± 4 D E F t 
(min.)  H 
± 3 G 
± 0.5  
305 152 126 26 48 50 2.0 85 3 
400 152 126 26 48 50 2.0 85 3 
457 152 126 26 48 50 2.0 85 3 
 
5.1.1  The type of machete and dimensions shall be as specified in Tables 1 and 2 of this standard.  
5.2 Material s 
5.2.1   Blades  
Blades shall be made from suitable carbon steel of chemical  composition as given in Table 3 . 
Table 3 — Chemical composition  
 
Chemical, %  Minimum  Maximum  Test method  
Carbon  0.5 0.8 ISO 9556  
Manganese  0.60 1.5 ISO 10700  
Silicon  0.15 0.35 ISO 439  
Phosphorus  - 0.05 ISO 10714  
Sulphur  - 0.05 ISO 671  
 
5.2.2  Handles  
For purposes of this standard, machete shall be considered complete only when fitted with handles.  DEAS  188: 2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  5 
 Handles shall be made from hard wood of specific gravity ranging from 0.66 to 0.8  well seasoned to not more 
than 20 % moisture content (dry basis).Other comparable materials may be used provided that they are free 
from any defects rendering the handle unreliable or harmful to the user.  
Where rivets are used, they shall be made of steel . The rivets shall be staggered as given in Figure 2 and 3, 
dimensions E and G.  
Any other suitable method of fastening may be used provided it fits the purpose.  
5.3 Hardness  
The machete shall be given suitable heat treatment to give hardness reading 38 HRC  to 46 HRC. Testing 
shall be done in accordance with ISO 6508 -1, Method for Rockwell hardness test.  
6 Tests  
6.1 Tensile test  
Machetes shall undergo a tensile test that shall be done in accordance with ISO 6892 -1. 
6.2 Bend  Test 
The machete shall be held down as shown in Figure 4 and bent forward and backward through one cycle and 
it shall not show permanent deformation, rupture or any sign of failure.  
The machete shall be bent 50 times through 45º angle on both sides before it develops any cracks.  
 
All dimensi ons in Millimetres  
 
 
Figure 4 — Bend test  DEAS  188: 2019  
6 © EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  
 7 Sampling  
7.1 Lot 
7.1.1  If the entire stock is of homogenous quality then in effect, the stock shall comprise a single lot. A 
sample of specified size may then be selected directly upon opening the stock.  
7.1.2  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 hoes from 
within each selected box.  
7.1.3  Once the samples have been selected, they shall be legibly marked (for example 1, 2, 3, etc.) and the 
box from which they were taken also marked so that each can be sourced back to the box from which it was 
taken.  
7.2 Sample size  
A zero -based acceptance sample shall be sel ected based on an Acceptable Quality Level of 2.5 %. The 
sample sizes to be selected are as given in Table 4 . 
Table 1 — Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) of 2.5 %  
Lot size  Sample size  
Less than 90  7 
91 to 150  11 
151 to 280  13 
281 t o 500  16 
501 to 1 200  19 
1 201 to 3 200  23 
3 201 to 10 000  29 
10 001 to 35 000  35 
35 001 and above  40 
 
8 Marking  and Packaging  
8.1 Marking  
The machete shall be legibly and indelibly marked with the following;  
a) the manufacturer’s name or trade mark, th is should be as near the handle as  possible;  
b) nominal blade length (in  mm);and  
c) country of origin;  
8.2 Packaging  
8.2.1 Each packaging material shall have the following information legibly marked on it;  
a) manufacturers name and/or trade mark;  DEAS  188: 2019  
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved  7 
 b) batch or code numb er;  
c) nominal blade length (in  mm);  
d) application of the machete; and  
e) country of origin.  
8.2.2  The machete  shall be suitably protected from corrosion during storage.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DEAS  132 : 2019    
 
© EAC 2019  – All rights reserved