Curious on ESEE and Tom Brown Jr. Tracking

All this machete talk makes me want to put a new handle on my collins, the one it came with is loose plastic. I haven't even tried it out yet.
 
Dizwolf said:
..... Condor Viking.... If only it had a fatter, micarta handle...
Click to expand...

I've got a new one on the way (sold mine to a dude who saw it and couldn't live without it) and I've been seriously considering slapping some micarta on it. :D:thumbup:

jsdvnc said:
All this machete talk makes me want to put a new handle on my collins, the one it came with is loose plastic. I haven't even tried it out yet.
Click to expand...

DO IT. Blades that nice deserve better handles. :p
 
Wow, thanks for the input guys. Just from this thread I have certainly got a good idea on how I would like to go about this in the future. To the point on the machete though, would a junglas be considered a suitable machete in the 48?
 
Nathan Ihrke said:
Wow, thanks for the input guys. Just from this thread I have certainly got a good idea on how I would like to go about this in the future. To the point on the machete though, would a junglas be considered a suitable machete in the 48?
Click to expand...

Yes and no. It's a big knife/small machete, so it's sort of halfway between. Will it do the job it's intended for? Hell yes! A true machete? Not really. Go for the Lite Machete for a true machete. :)
 
Nathan - what part of Ks are you in? If you're close to the Topeka side of the state, or down by Wichita, we might be able to meet up so you could try mine out.
My junglas will chop and hack locust, walnut, honeysuckle, etc... just as well as a buddy of mine's CS khukri machete or my CS Ghurka Lite, and better than my 12" machete, but I expect it wouldn't clear light brush as well as an 18" latin machete.
OTOH, it can get into places the longer blade couldn't
As in many things, technique is the key and YMMV.
 
The Junglas is heavy compared to a standard machete so prolonged Junglas swinging might be tiring.

I've got about 5-6 machetes with three more on the way ( One being my first Condor!), and they are great for just about everything. There are doesns of different patterns and sizes, handle materials, thicknesses...and they are all relatively cheap.
 
I wasn't sure if you were comparing hardware or curriculum!

I was looking HARD at the Tom Brown Tracker knife, but went with an ESEE5 instead - no regrets at all - love this knife.

I did want to enroll in the 5 day RAT intensive class, but need a 2-day prereq class - the logistics just didn't work out to go that route, so I'm planning on going to attend Tracker School Standard this August. The philosophical part is OK with me - I agree that we need to learn to be mentally and emotionally comfortable in a true survival situation, (not just man vs nature) - but really gravitated towards the content and approach of the RAT courses.
 
The Junglas has a lot of cool factor to it and will perform similar to a machete, but again, if you are looking for a good survival knife with a lot of potential in the woods, buy a cheap machete.
 
1066vik said:
Nathan - what part of Ks are you in? If you're close to the Topeka side of the state, or down by Wichita, we might be able to meet up so you could try mine out.
My junglas will chop and hack locust, walnut, honeysuckle, etc... just as well as a buddy of mine's CS khukri machete or my CS Ghurka Lite, and better than my 12" machete, but I expect it wouldn't clear light brush as well as an 18" latin machete.
OTOH, it can get into places the longer blade couldn't
As in many things, technique is the key and YMMV.
Click to expand...

Usually I'm down in Pittsburg going to school, but next year I am going to be a senior and will have no idea where I am going after until about October. The summers I spend up in Leavenworth/Lansing area with my folks. I will only be here until the 22nd of July and then I will be heading to Ft. Lewis for 29 days. After that, back in the LV area until school starts again.
I was mainly comparing doctrine, but input on hardware is both appreciated and educational so I'm not going to throw the info by the wayside!
 
jsdvnc said:
I definitely want to, I'm just terrified of screwing it up since I've heard these are quite sought after.
Click to expand...

Just use a small pry bar to crack the scales off then take a hacksaw to the rivets. :)
 
Just took the handles off- now I'm wondering how I'm going to put new ones on. I was planning on using brass pins, but it looks like the holes aren't a regular size. Maybe I should just drill them out slightly larger?
 
The largest brass rod size you can find in most hardware stores is 1/8". If the holes are smaller than that then try drilling them out to 1/8" and use that sized rod. If the holes are larger then you'll have to order some rod. Just make sure that you find a match between hole size and rod diameter--you'll want as tight of a fit as you can accomplish. :)
 
They're quite a bit bigger than 1/8". I have some 7/32" lying around, I might try to drill it out to that.
Oh and thanks for the advice, and sorry for hijacking the thread.
 
No problem--anything to help a fellow machete-head spruce up an old Collins! :D

On topic again, I never understood why the Tracker was so darn thick. If they thinned out the blade and the edge angle it wouldn't be half bad. As it is, I'm not a big fan. :o
 
Nathan Ihrke said:
To the point on the machete though, would a junglas be considered a suitable machete in the 48?
Click to expand...


I like the Junglas, it's a beast at batoning wood. It's also very easy to pack that size while hiking. But this weekend, while attempting to make a bowdrill setup, I found myself putting down the Junglas and picking up the lite machete. It just cut the ends of the spindle so much faster.
 
jsdvnc said:
Just took the handles off- now I'm wondering how I'm going to put new ones on. I was planning on using brass pins, but it looks like the holes aren't a regular size. Maybe I should just drill them out slightly larger?
Click to expand...

I would use screws if I were you. Never had machete handles stay on well with pins.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top