Chopping Shootout Video Completed. Cold Steel, Gerber, SOG

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noss4

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Jul 7, 2006
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I decided to put some of my knives in a chopping shootout. two you can still purchase and two you can not. Their no longer in production.

Rules: Chop a pressure treated 4x4 in one minute. A timer is used for each blade. I sharpened all blades the best I could before the competition.

Outcome:
The Gerber Hatchet won the contest. Followed be the Cold Steel kukri then the SOG TigerShark. Last the Gerber Predator.

The Hatchet had the most force and cutting power and almost cut all the way through the 4x4

The Cold Steel kukri machete was a very close second. It chopped a deep notch only shy about 3/4 of an inch from taking the crown.

The TigerShark is an older model made about 16 years ago. It has a convex edge and no blade finish. The SOG TigerShark was not far behind the CS Kukri. This knives is very impressive with it's convex edge. It has a lot of chopping power. The TigerShark took deep bites into the wood and made a wide v notch. It's to bad SOG doesn't make them the same today.

The Gerber BMF Predator. This was a Cutlery Shoppe.com exclusive also made about 16 years ago. This knife came in dead last far behind the three. I don't know the steel used but it is hard to sharpen. I worked with it for a while to get the best edge I could. The BMF does not cut deep into the wood with each blow resulting in slow working time and a lot of energy.

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Videos are in three parts. located at www.knifetests.com

Enjoy the videos. They were made for you. :thumbup:
 
Nice work, noss. Without trying to deminish your work, I would like to see the same test between more closely matched competitors. The Gerber and SOG never stood a chance against the other two, so I see this more like two separate tests: Kukri vs. Hatchet and SOG vs. Gerber. I would like to see a few more knifes that are more closely matched in terms of weight and length. Or in terms of shape, Kukris of different weight and length for example.

But still, nice work :thumbup: .
 
I always wondered if that Gerber hatchet I saw in a blister pack was any good. Guess it's not bad after all.

Great work.
 
its kinda obvious a ax and a machete wins over a normal knife.
i don't think its a fair compition,but nicely done
 
How is fatigue factored in here? I assume you ran the chopping tests consecutively?
 
Great job!
BTW did you receive the battle mistress? I bought the Fusion mistress yesterday and depending on you test I will either keep it or sell it.
 
next time get an HI Khukuri, I think you will find it will outperform that hatchet.
 
Noss, a chopping test - now you're talking! I agree with HoB's suggestion to do another round.
 
One experienced tester, one common material, one common material dimension, one common time limit and four chopping tools.

Very nicely done.

I agree with Cliff that the one-photo is a terrific summary!

Good work!
 
Hob: thanks.I don't have a lot of the same knifes choppers at least. I was going to do another hatchet I have a sears craftsman against the Gerber hatchet before I got hurt. I will ave to wait a few weeks now.

Ludwig: The Gerber hatchet is more than worth it low price tag in my opinion.


woutvl: I wanted to compare a few different chopping tools first. I'll size it up better the next round. I don't think My Sears craftman hatchet will beat the SOG TigerShark. The craftsman hatchet is heavy much heavier then my Gerber it's had to swing it fast and hard enough plus the Gerber has a very good sharp grind on it. I could be wrong though. I won't know until I test them against each other.

IUKE12: Fatigue was not a factor. I waited about 10 minute's between each test for rest. They were not back to back.

vvk: No I still don't have the Mistress yet.

Cobalt: your probably correct about the HI. I have never owned one or tested one but they look like awesome choppers from a lot of the photos posted on this forum.

Broos: I agree with Hob. I hope to do some better match ups soon.

Cliff Stamp: yes, you can clearly see the how each performed better then the others. Thanks


gud4u: Thanks. One photo can say a lot. 4x4's are uniform square cut so it's the same every time.

slipfirep40: Thanks. The cold Steel kukri is a good chopper for the money. It is my main one in the field it is also very light weight and easy to sharpen. I use it for digging my fire pits also. It's only 15 bucks so I don't worry about doing
damage to it in the field. So far it's been used a lot without any blade failure
the edge will roll a little when you chopping into heavy logs but I can remove this with my DMT folding field stone in a short time.
 
noss4 said:
vvk: No I still don't have the Mistress yet.
Click to expand...


What an irony I know that you have ordered the mistress a couple of months ago. I grabbed one from the Busse’s store a few days ago and it arrived yesterday. However, I will probably sell it and buy some of the smaller Busse's models as it is clearly an overkill for my needs.
 
vvk; The reason I have not go mine yet is because it is being donated by Busse knives for testing.
 
noss4 said:
Hob: thanks.I don't have a lot of the same knifes choppers at least. I was going to do another hatchet I have a sears craftsman against the Gerber hatchet before I got hurt. I will ave to wait a few weeks now.

Ludwig: The Gerber hatchet is more than worth it low price tag in my opinion.


woutvl: I wanted to compare a few different chopping tools first. I'll size it up better the next round. I don't think My Sears craftman hatchet will beat the SOG TigerShark. The craftsman hatchet is heavy much heavier then my Gerber it's had to swing it fast and hard enough plus the Gerber has a very good sharp grind on it. I could be wrong though. I won't know until I test them against each other.

IUKE12: Fatigue was not a factor. I waited about 10 minute's between each test for rest. They were not back to back.

vvk: No I still don't have the Mistress yet.

Cobalt: your probably correct about the HI. I have never owned one or tested one but they look like awesome choppers from a lot of the photos posted on this forum.

Broos: I agree with Hob. I hope to do some better match ups soon.

Cliff Stamp: yes, you can clearly see the how each performed better then the others. Thanks


gud4u: Thanks. One photo can say a lot. 4x4's are uniform square cut so it's the same every time.

slipfirep40: Thanks. The cold Steel kukri is a good chopper for the money. It is my main one in the field it is also very light weight and easy to sharpen. I use it for digging my fire pits also. It's only 15 bucks so I don't worry about doing
damage to it in the field. So far it's been used a lot without any blade failure
the edge will roll a little when you chopping into heavy logs but I can remove this with my DMT folding field stone in a short time.
Click to expand...

you have my vote for another round with tools that match.its a very nice idea after all
 
woutvl: as soon as I'm able to I'll do some more chopping tests on closely matched competitors. On the big choppers I will probably perform this test against an equal design before I perform the other tests and see how they match up.
 
Noss4, that is great to hear that Busse Knives is donating a BM to the cause. Lets you know that they really stand behind their product and know it would do great. You should pit the BM against other big choppers (like you said) and include a CS Gurhka Kukri, and a closely matched in weight HI kukri.

What ever you do, keep up the good work. Sorry to hear about your injury.

I think as members of BF we should all email or otherwise encourage the manufacturers to supply you with products so we can all benefit from the knowledge.
 
Bigfattyt: I'll put the Battle mistress in a chopping competition between my other knives. I need to buy a HI and see what all the praise is for myself and perform field chopping and destruction tests on one.
 
Correction about my statement during the video about the older TigerShark being made of AUS6 I found out on the SOG forum it is made out of SK-5 carbon. :thumbup:
 
Noss4, that's a great test. I hope you'll add a similar chopping test for all your knife testing. This would make some simple comparisons between different knives you've tested possible.

Thanks!
 
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