Hi Guys, This isn't so far fetched.
One must consider what the machete is primarily used for, that being the cutting and chopping up of vegetation and plant life that is undoubtedly going to get moist and soaked with dew, rain and other sap and gunk that would make your hands very slippery, and if a person who's been doing this all day, or even for an hour or two was to encounter a large enough limb to cut, the obvious way to cut that limb is with a sawing motion. Now, if the blade is sharp enough, one should have no trouble slicing into it, however, if the blade is just the slightest bit dull, or serrated, then the blade could very well catch, and, with no guard where the blade meets the hilt, a hand could very well slide forward, and if the edge of the blade is flush with the handle and hilt, there would be nothing to stop the hand from sliding forward, and, like Dale said, cut fingers, tendons, and other sinewy flesh that would cause you to lose your fingers, and/or function in your fingers/hands. Victor
