Brushing and Battoning on a Budget

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pinnah

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Jul 28, 2011
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I need some advice on a chopper. It's not the kind of thing I've payed much attention to in the past.

Things have changed on the property. I need to clean out some east coast underbrush from a section of wood. It's mostly vines, shrubs, brambles, junk saplings and low hanging branches.

I'm looking for something more hatchet like than my machete and more machete like than my hatchet and axe.

I also need to press it into battoning duty. Actually, my wife will. We have a new outdoor fireplace and my wife won't be splitting down kindling with an axe (especially after watching the last season of Alone) but she can handle battoning well.

I need to keep this on a tight budget. Something in the $50 range.

Would something like the Buck Reaper work? I'm grasping at straws here.
 
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You want the Condor Golok.
It will do it all.
Chops and batons like mad.

Runs about $60 with a high quality leather sheath.
 
Condor bushcraft parang is good
But for that price my favorite is the gerber gator golok
Excellent chopper and battoning knife
 
I'm hearing a theme here, the southeast Asian patterns excel at thick brush. Condor's home territory in Central America is faced with the same tough jungle growth.
 
So you're looking for what would effectively be a heavy machete like object (golok, khukri, or parang specifically), or a large "chopper" knife. With a $50 budget though, you're more likely to be looking at the machete like objects.

Condor Golok (over budget by $10)
Condor Parang (they have a few versions, lengths, handle materials, generally over budget by ~$5-10)
Kabar/Johnson Adventure Blades Parangatang (over budget by $20)
Kabar Grass Machete (14in blade, 1/8in thick, so not as heavy as most of the condors (which are 3/16-1/4in thick). Under budget)
Kabar cutlass machete (11in blade, but with more mass over the front in comparison. Under budget)
Kabars Zombie killer lineup. They are gaudy, with silly green handles. But they're also mostly redesigns of older proven patterns (making them "zombies" in more than one way). The "pestilence" chopper in particular is a re-imagining of a WW2 folding machete, which might work for you. Its a touch short though (10in)

Those are most of the ones that I can think of off the top of my head that are in that rough price range and "usage category". If it were me, I think I'd be looking long and hard at Condors offerings, as well as checking out if something that is more middle of the road like the grass machete might work for you.

And I missed this last season of alone. What happened with an axe that got your wife afraid of them?
 
I've done a lot of clearing and I've found that a heavy chopper tires me faster than a light one. Having said that, I'd recommend a Tramontina machete. Easy to sharpen with a bastard file and most of all, inexpensive. The handle will have some hot spots but they're also easy to shape with a sanding block or a file.

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I use a Cold Steel Kukri Machete. It was somewhere around $20, and it really chops. Easy to sharpen, and takes a beating.

Though I've never used one, I did spot a Camillus Carnivore machete that looks neat. If you try that one, come and give me a review. :D
 
Not quite sure what battining is (something done to hatches on ships maybe?), but I would recommend either a Case Peanut (limited edition of course), or the Busse Chuckette. You'll have your bases covered with either. :thumbup: HTH.
 
Danke42 said:
Someone got sloppy at the end of the day and chopped their hand. Led to a tap out.
Click to expand...

Ouch. Looked up that clip, and wow, can't imagine what made them try that. Even if they'd not missed, they'd have split the log they were holding in their hand, leading to the same type of injury, just on their index finger and thumb instead of just behind the thumb on the hand.
 
I have the Mini Duku Parang which is the same except it has a wooden handle. It's my favorite small machete : light, handy, easy on the hand and delivers a healthy wack with some skills. Condor has many models of this size that could match your needs. However, in my experience (and that means Mediterranean forest), brush clearing is best done with a short billhook (the italian version is called "roncola") and even better with a long handled billhook. It's a very versatile and efficient tool. 42Blades probably distributes these as he has tons of very efficient brushclearing tools (including italian and russian brands), you should find something up your alley. Rightaway, my good old billhook which I used for absolutely everything from campsite clearing, tent pegs pounding, digging out stones, cutting up meat, hacking vegetables to cutting and splitting firewood, you name it (except cleaning my nails...)



And here my long handled billhook (the most recent, but they haven't changed in 40 years) :

 
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You want a billhook or a manaresso (an Italian class of chopping tool that's like a cleaver made for wood.)
 
You asked about the Buck Reaper. I used it to clear some new bamboo, and it worked pretty well. The edge rolled a bit, but didn't chip. I used loppers for the harder/older cane. I suppose you could baton with it, though I think the "full tang" is skelletonized.




 
singularity35 said:
I've done a lot of clearing and I've found that a heavy chopper tires me faster than a light one. Having said that, I'd recommend a Tramontina machete. Easy to sharpen with a bastard file and most of all, inexpensive. The handle will have some hot spots but they're also easy to shape with a sanding block or a file.

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Click to expand...
Excellent advice, money well spent.
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