Advice on machete pattern for all around Eastern woodlands?

The List:
Baryonyx Machete (unfortunately not available)
Condor 14" Eco Survivor (No Experience, but I hear it is good.) I would choose another handle type and hence different machete.
Condor 15" Bolo (Might be an excellent choice)
Condor Bushcraft Parang. (Very good and similar to my Village Parang.)
TOPS .170 (probably out of my price range)
Svord Kiwi (No experience)
Ontario 12" Cutlass Machete (okay, but the Condor choices are better in my opinion.)
Condor Pack Golok (Used this one a lot and like it. It is a matter of choice between the Parang shape and more rounded lest pointy shape.)

I would add the Duku Parang or Mini Duku Parang to my choices. The longer blade may seem like it would be ungainly in the woods, but you probably won't notice much difference between the Village or Bushcraft Parang as far as carry goes. One point that I think could be useful is the sheath of the Duku Parang is a traditional leather machete sheath and as a result easy to pull the blade or versus using the snaps on the other ones. You have to watch that you don't cut the sheath or yourself putting the ones back into the sheath that have the snaps.
 
I've always like the Cold Steel "Heavy Machete". You'll need to put a decent edge on it before using it though. The Magnum Kukri machete is a good one too, but again, you'll have to put a working edge on it. I don't know why Cold Steel can't (or won't) put a working edge on their machetes. I've own three, and they all needed sharpened before they would cut anything - even palm fronds.
 
A handful of Cold Steel's machetes have additional sharpening done on them by staff in the USA, but even that work still leaves the edges uneven and thick. They need to train their grinding crew better before they'd be able to reliably put a truly good working edge on them out of the box.
 
I must say again that i have the exact circumstances as you. I live in Massachusetts. I work for the department of conservation. I needed something i could beat on. My dad is a surveyor. The gerber compact parang has done the job. You can walk in any store amd get it for 20$ or less.
 
That short bolo looks nice!

I ended up going with the Svord machete. The compact size was the final decision maker. I'm looking forward to trying it out.
 
The Svord is a really nice piece of work--I think you'll enjoy it. :)
 
50-60 years ago Sandvik of Sweden introduced a 'brush hook' with an axe handle, D-shaped guard and a removable and simple to re-sharpen blade. These are darn near bullet proof (if safety is an issue and for most folks this is very much so). These of course don't have fashion 'cachet' or 'macho' appeal but they do get the job done efficiently with near-zero injuries and gov't of Ontario (and probably so too gov't of Canada) got entirely away from machetes/bill hooks/axes and all manner of dangerously exposed edge pointy things when they started issuing Sandviks to employees for trail and brush clearing already 40 years ago. 10 years ago my daughter was an Ontario Junior Forest Ranger posted to Killarney and then to Algonquin Park for a summer and the only name she knew for the tool they used every day was "Sandvik". She said it was absolutely amazing how fast they (team of sturdy 17 year old young women) could clear fire succession poplar groves 2-3 inches thick, roadside alders, and bramble thickets with these.
I notice that Bahco (also Swedish) seems to corner the market for new sales of these currently.
 
Personally I consider the Sandvik-style brush axes to be the equivalent of safety scissors. They're great to hand to folks that lack the tool literacy to safely operate an appropriately selected conventional brush clearing tool, but for those well versed in the use of manual brush cutting tools they're not an optimal choice.
 
Huntsman Knife Co. said:
As for parangs, I haven't made a machete version yet, but I've made a chopper version thats a little uner 3/16th or so thick and in my testing its been a total beast but its obviously more of a chopper/machete hybrid or heavy machete than an actual machete. I'm a big, big fan of the parang blade shape but for north america, I think a more bolo esque shape with some more height is better in a compact blade.

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Nice parang there mate! I approve.

Im really liking my condor duku parang.
 
Congrats on the choice...I've wanted to handle one of the Svord machetes, but there don't seem to be many reviews. Please post up some pics and impressions once it gets some use!
 
a light billhook if you can find it. I've never used one but they say that the fiskars ones are pretty good. Or better, buy a billhook from baryonyx here. The sickle-like blade is great against vines.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Personally I consider the Sandvik-style brush axes to be the equivalent of safety scissors. They're great to hand to folks that lack the tool literacy to safely operate an appropriately selected conventional brush clearing tool, but for those well versed in the use of manual brush cutting tools they're not an optimal choice.
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I concur.

They work. But under heavy use the blades can come loose.
 
I've had one the ring-choil machetes about a year and find it absolutely perfect for Tennessee/Kentucky habitat. It is, in my opinion, not really a superlight pure machete, but will do the job perfectly well on briars and vines and such, even tall grass-just maybe a bit heavy for cutting cane from sunup to sundown. Will also handle saplings, bushes and brush, and a little bigger than saplings, as well as split wood if you gotta. Seems to be excellent steel and well-treated and ground. I honestly thought the grip was a bit bulbous when I got it, but he knew what he was doing-very comfortable and very secure. It costs a bit more than a machete out of a bundle, but it is, I think, dang near custom-level work and I consider it an excellent long-term investment. No, I don't work for him. I am glad I got mine when I did, because it appears he may be slowing down on knofe-making for other pursuits-hope I am wrong about that but if he's going to school like I read, it's gonna take a lot of time and work-"been there, done that."
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Personally I consider the Sandvik-style brush axes to be the equivalent of safety scissors. They're great to hand to folks that lack the tool literacy to safely operate an appropriately selected conventional brush clearing tool, but for those well versed in the use of manual brush cutting tools they're not an optimal choice.
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Can't entirely nor personally disagree with you on this but when carmakers have to start selling cars that sense stopping distance, back up on their own and can parallel park themselves then you know that increasingly more naive/inexperienced and trusting ordinary folks cannot be expected to 'not injure their feet or legs' nor do something else stupid that would invoke (taxpayer-funded and unionized civil servant administrated) hospital visits such as is increasingly leading "free" Canadian gov't health care into serious debt.
I have used Sandviks often over the past 40 years and they're wonderfully safe and they work great. The unused vintage 'hawk-nosed' Walters brush axe (whatever they're called) I was gifted 25 years ago has never left my garage. Too scary for me!
 
IMO the simple answer to OP question is the 14" Tramontina Bolo machete. It short enough to be packable and and long enough for brush. Just wear leather gloves--and you'll minimize hand injuries. The Tram is thin enough for light brush and grass and the Bolo sweet spot allows it to be used on heavier limbs effectively. I have longer machetes for dedicated brush cutting but this is my favorite all-rounder. It's decent quality and inexpensive.
 
thunderstick said:
IMO the simple answer to OP question is the 14" Tramontina Bolo machete. It short enough to be packable and and long enough for brush. Just wear leather gloves--and you'll minimize hand injuries. The Tram is thin enough for light brush and grass and the Bolo sweet spot allows it to be used on heavier limbs effectively. I have longer machetes for dedicated brush cutting but this is my favorite all-rounder. It's decent quality and inexpensive.
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I thought of this too...if the user is willing to sacrifice length, this could be a great choice. I love my Tram bolo, especially for longer treks through the woods.

I'd say grab a Tramontina or Imacasa/Marbles bolo and sheath, fix it up with a nice convex edge, sand and oil the handle to your liking, and pack it in. Then, when you encounter the thorns, make a quick "grabat" (sp?) or helper stick. I think Joe Flowers has a YouTube video showing how people in Latin America make and use a grabat. Then when the thorns are a bit much, use the grabat to lay them over or create tension, and cut them from the bottom which minimizes the "backlash" and wrath of North American Rubus (blackberry) and other thorny vegetation.

I've also found thick blackberry is sort of like Velcro...if you lay it over and cut it, it sticks to itself and the nearby vegetation which should help to move through them a good bit. I sometimes simply mash them over with a soil auger or shovel and it works well for when I am carrying too much stuff to use the machete (or if the patch is too small to worry about cutting and I just need to make it through quickly).
 
If the user also wants a little more chopping power, you can always cut down a Tram bush machete, either like the one below, or give it a parang-style tip...that way the cutting edge is almost flat to the tip, reducing the possibility of the vegetation slipping off the front of a pointed machete. Mine is still a little longer than the bolo, but chops harder and offers a bit more reach. I'd go with whichever fit in the pack the best.

 
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The Tram bolo isn't nearly as effective on canes as the Svord--no contest there. It'll still cut 'em, but it's better suited to branches, saplings and other brush.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
The Tram bolo isn't nearly as effective on canes as the Svord--no contest there. It'll still cut 'em, but it's better suited to branches, saplings and other brush.
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Good to know, thanks!

In the interest of regional plant names, what do you guys mean by canes? Here in the southeast, cane is either invasive bamboo that can grow large, or it's more commonly used to describe the Arundinaria grass/canes that grow along the margins of wetlands and swamps. Therefore, cane is very easy to cut here with a bolo as it's thin and grassy. Is the "cane" referenced a larger type of bamboo like our invasives from China?
 
Canes as in the individual stalks of brambles, which were one of the primary targets mentioned by the OP. The bolo would do better on cane, but the Svord is better on bramble canes. Curse the rather imprecise nature of common vernacular for these things, eh? :D
 
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