Esee 5/junglas military use

[stabman]

Interesting (lots of ironwood around here) would you say the junglas is a useful knife for clearing/chopping/fire duty? Or would you take a hatchet instead for instance, the reviews online are petty conflicting.

I far prefer the Junglas over a hatchet.
If you're going for tons of dedicated chopping, then a full-sized axe will do better.

As a woods and camp knife though, I really like the Junglas.
Less weight than an axe, and better for getting thorns and such out of my way.

I think it's one of the best all-round performers in the big knife category.

But it won't out-chop an axe...which makes sense, as that's what axes are designed entirely for.
(a hatchet is different though, and I say a Junglas does better)

 

[MatthewSB]

What did you replace the junglas with?
I read the junglas keeps a pretty good edge I was thinking about getting one, but I live in canada (hardwood everywhere)

For light undergrowth I use a TOPS 0.170, but for real chopping a Bark River Grasso Bolo III. If I had to choose one, the BRKT would be it because it can do everything that a small axe or a big knife could do.

The Grasso Bolo III has a convexed edge, like an axe, which allows much more material directly behind the cutting edge. It chops like an axe, and cuts like a knife, and has perfect handles that do not wear out my hands prematurely. It buries itself deeply with a light chop, and doesn't 'stick' in the wood. Most smallish trees go down with a half dozen chops or so. With two chops, a deep pizza shaped notch is removed:

 

[bobby lupo]

For light undergrowth I use a TOPS 0.170, but for real chopping a Bark River Grasso Bolo III. If I had to choose one, the BRKT would be it because it can do everything that a small axe or a big knife could do.

The Grasso Bolo III has a convexed edge, like an axe, which allows much more material directly behind the cutting edge. It chops like an axe, and cuts like a knife, and has perfect handles that do not wear out my hands prematurely. It buries itself deeply with a light chop, and doesn't 'stick' in the wood. Most smallish trees go down with a half dozen chops or so. With two chops, a deep pizza shaped notch is removed:

Bark river makes some nice knives!

Mike Perrin from ESEE got back to me (returned my email in a day which is great)

He said that both the esse 5 and the junglas are currently in use by the referenced military groups on the website, but not under any official government contract.

Pretty cool!

 

[Big Mike]

For light undergrowth I use a TOPS 0.170, but for real chopping a Bark River Grasso Bolo III. If I had to choose one, the BRKT would be it because it can do everything that a small axe or a big knife could do.

The Grasso Bolo III has a convexed edge, like an axe, which allows much more material directly behind the cutting edge. It chops like an axe, and cuts like a knife, and has perfect handles that do not wear out my hands prematurely. It buries itself deeply with a light chop, and doesn't 'stick' in the wood. Most smallish trees go down with a half dozen chops or so. With two chops, a deep pizza shaped notch is removed:

I agree.

As much I love my machetes, when it come to chopping wood a heavy hitter like the GB III rules.

Big Mike

 

[jdk1]

I'm with Stabman on the Junglas. It's a great big knife. That category in general is sort of a jack of all trades/master of none, but the Junglas is a fine example of the breed. It's light enough to slice green weeds and tough enough to stand up to aged mesquite, which is very hard. I never had a problem with edge rolling. I believe Jeff and Mike used to conduct their jungle training with the Jungla members when they started, so there was a lot of interaction with the outfit. As has been said, it was meant to be a short, stout machete type blade to handle myriad chores. That it does well.

The 5 is a brute of a sharpened prybar, but that's what the SERE folks wanted (partly for cutting through aircraft skin and such). Jeff will say to buy an Imacasa machete over the Junglas and a 3 over the 5, as he isn't fond of either. The consensus from gulf war/Afganistan vets on BF seems to be that a multi-tool is best. The US GIs fighting in WWII Burma used large blades (machetes/khukuri/Burmese Dha) and their belt knives often, and cherished them. I think location plays a part, as well as modern warfare being different from that of 70 years earlier (they also used mules). I can't imagine piling an ESEE 5 on top of a loaded pack in 110 degree heat either, but it would be comforting if surviving in hostile lands.

 

[Silvanus]

The entire world is not a desert, or a mountain.

Soldier or not, if I found myself in South America, or even the Southeastern US, I would probably want a machete of some type if I had to spend any amount of time in a forest with thick undergrowth.

I didn't like the JUNGLAS for the Northwoods, the edge was too thin for chopping anything harder than a vine and rolled too easily. It could have been ground thicker, but I didn't want to mess with it and the blade got sold.

I was trying to illustrate the fact that my basic combat load was heavy, about 90 pounds. Carrying a huge, heavy knife with all that gear wouldn't make sense since it isn't designed to be a combat blade. In the jungle, sure, I'll fully agree on the machete. The cheap Ontario machetes are standard issue in that environment and would work well. I believe in the right tool for the job, and in non-jungle combat, I believe there are better options than the Junglas.