What an heirloom! Multicolored handle is a great idea.
IOW don’t mess with the babushka!
More like they can be made longer with less weight forward from the handle is my guess.
A machete isn’t a kitchen knife; their blades are actually pretty dull. But one good whack and you could hack through a 1.5 inch tree limb ( or if you want to go the Rob Zombie route, an arm).
Don’t mess with granny indeed…!