Best profile machete for light brambles

[Will Batayte]

So I've been hiking this remote stretch of woods thatis absolutely full of deer and coyote. So far I've found 3 antlers, a buck skull with antlers still attached, and a live orphaned coyote pup. The pup has since been nursed back to health and is being rehabed by a licensed rehabilitator to be released back into the wild. Ok so back to the knife related content. The area is full of these low growing thorny bushes. The stems are woody and quite tough and the bushes make certain area's unpassable. I have tried a gerber hook shaped brush machete, a cold steel barong machete, and a cold steel jungle machete. All my cold steel machetes have been convexed to a razor edge on my kmg. So far the barong did the best. But only if hit at a presicise downward or upward angle so the plant couldn't move away from the blade. This area is also heavily covered in blackberry and raspberry bushes which the machetes cleave through perfectly. So what are your preferred machete profile for this type of thin woody growth? I'm thinking maybe something long light and fast. Maybe the 18" or 24" latin machete. Or maybe even a cutlass style machete. The heavier blades tend yo knock it back rather then cut and get tiring to swing. I think the extra length would be great because these are waist high and the machete kinda pulls the thorns toward the hand on the strike when it doesn't cut.

 

[zhyla]

I don't have an exact answer for you but I find the 18" Latin machetes to be the most comfortable to swing. I've got 4 or 5 different types of machetes and have settled on this. Longer or thicker blades wear you out and are harder to build up speed, which matters a lot for bush whacking. I also don't really trust anything but South American machete manufacturers. Knife companies seem to always make the blades too thick and don't understand it's a disposable blade. I've used the Latin style on things as tough as bamboo -- speed is everything.

My other piece of advice is that technique is really important. As you discovered, angle and the geometry of what you're cutting matters a lot. Often an angled attack is necessary for tougher stuff so that the blade can bite into the material.

Good chopping!

 

[alex]

I use an 18" latin style down here in the Everglades for thin springy stuff like brambles and the thinner the machete the better it seems to cut the springy thorn type vines. I sharpen mine to a very thin convexed edge and like zhyla said above don't try cutting vines at 90 degrees but at an angle and with just a wrist snap. A very sharp, thin, and llight machete can cut like a laser with very little force. Always cut away from you if possible or keep something between you and the blade like a walking stick if cutting inwards towards yourself. If you are having to swing hard your machete isn't sharp enough and it's too easy to lose control and cut yourself badly or even amputate a limb.
The thin edges are surprisingly durable and very easy to maintain with just sandpaper and stropping at the end of the day. A 16" or 18" Tramontina is ideal and very cheap. The ones longer than 18" are harder to use and unwieldy.

Check out Baronyx.com (42blades on here) for a good selection of machetes.

 

[Will Batayte]

Yeah I think I'm going to pick up an 18" latin machete. I am extremely aware of my edge when using big blades and am careful of possible glancing blows. And every blade I own is hair shaving sharp. Big or small I keep em sharp! Thanks fellas.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

A guarizama or colima machete would work well. Keep the edge angle thin and it'll minimize glancing blows. The Silky "Yoki" billhook/machete is a great choice as well. Very fast in the hand with just the right forward balance and the hook catches woody stems like nothing else.

 

[gadunz]

Less chance of bouncing back & cutting yourself/severing leg artery.

 

[DShiflet]

The Silky "Yoki" billhook/machete is a great choice as well. Very fast in the hand with just the right forward balance and the hook catches woody stems like nothing else.

I just got one of these myself, and was thinking it might be a good choice...

 

[Grease]

The profile of the blade matters a lot less than the profile of the edge. Put a thin, hair popping edge on a machete of any style and it'll slice right through most soft woody targets. Most of the bramble/blackberry tangles I have around here are no problem to my collection of machetes.