Esee Lite Machete vs Condor Golok?

J

jasperjb

Joined
Jul 24, 2012
Messages
217
Which one would you recommend for general use around the farm, chopping trees, clearing bush, etc?
 
For around-the-farm work I'd go with the Lite Machete hands down. It's an actual "proper machete" rather than a pseudo-machete/chopper hybrid. The longer thinner blade will be much more pleasant for farm work. Both are great tools but the Lite is much more agriculture-friendly.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
For around-the-farm work I'd go with the Lite Machete hands down. It's an actual "proper machete" rather than a pseudo-machete/chopper hybrid. The longer thinner blade will be much more pleasant for farm work. Both are great tools but the Lite is much more agriculture-friendly.
Click to expand...

I'll take your advice, I've heard you're the go-to machete guy :).
Is the lite machete on par with other ESEE products?
 
I agree that it depends more on what you're using it on, lighter grasses/vines and such the lite machete will work better on and does fine with thicker stuff, while the Golok is much thicker so it doesn't do as well with lighter stuff, but will do better with thicker more woody stuff. I really like both though. Also the lite machete is not made by Rowen like ESEE's other stuff its made by Imacasa I believe, I don't think the warranty is the same either, you may want to look into that if it's important to you.
 
I just ordered the Lite Machete... it was out of stock. Now I need to wait until he recieves the money so he can refund it. Yay for not marking products as out of stock :(.
 
Aw boo! Hopefully you manage to find someone that has 'em. As others have mentioned the blade on the ESEE is made by Imacasa and ESEE laser cuts the tang to precise dimensions and mates it with the CNC-machined micarta handle. The longer blade helps it chop hard in spite of being thinner/lighter than the Golok. The Golok is more of a camping/woods-bumming tool and less of an around-the-farm type of one in my opinion. Great at what it does, but what it does isn't as much what it sounds like you need.
 
Have you thought about trying a Tramontina first? They are in the best buy category. You can get one for less than $8-$9 pretty much anywhere. The handles, while not Micarta, are excellent and easily tweaked to fit your hand if needed since they're wood. One will need a good sharpening upon arrival, but that's easy enough with only a file. I'd give one a try. They're so good and cheap, you'll probably want one for the truck, one for the tractor, one for the barn, etc.....;)
 
jdk1 said:
Have you thought about trying a Tramontina first? They are in the best buy category. You can get one for less than $8-$9 pretty much anywhere. The handles, while not Micarta, are excellent and easily tweaked to fit your hand if needed since they're wood. One will need a good sharpening upon arrival, but that's easy enough with only a file. I'd give one a try. They're so good and cheap, you'll probably want one for the truck, one for the tractor, one for the barn, etc.....;)
Click to expand...

Interesting how some of the most inexpensive cutting tools are often the most usefull, like a machete or Mora knife.
 
I know that Imacasas are a little more than the Tramontinas but I like those better and they have a wider selection of patterns. Tramontinas are still awesome though.
 
I think the Golok very heavy and thick. But is good for hard trees. I prefer the ESEE. But it depends on the type of vegetation that you want to cut where you live...
 
I use my Condor Golok more than anything else at home. For the price, even though the two blades are very different, the Condor Golok is really worth a hard look in my opinion.
 
Saymon said:
I think the Golok very heavy and thick. But is good for hard trees. I prefer the ESEE. But it depends on the type of vegetation that you want to cut where you live...
Click to expand...

The newer ones have a stronger distal taper to them, for the record. Makes them much faster in the hand than earlier models but still with plenty of "oomph" while chopping. :)
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
The newer ones have a stronger distal taper to them, for the record. Makes them much faster in the hand than earlier models but still with plenty of "oomph" while chopping. :)
Click to expand...

Is that the same with the Parang, or is that a more dedicated chopper? I know they went from "distal taper" to "no distal taper" on that one
 
Goosey said:
I know they went from "distal taper" to "no distal taper" on that one
Click to expand...

I don't believe they really intended for that to happen so much as it experienced "grind creep" like the Goloks did for a while. The primary grinds just got more and more shallow until there wasn't much of one at all. Given that the new production runs of Goloks seem to be strongly tapered, but no longer full flat ground (perhaps they're hot rolling them now?) I imagine the Parangs are now too. I just haven't received any that were that recent of production yet as I believe demand slowed for that model over the past 6 months compared to other models.

The Kukri Machete now features a redesigned cho and has thicker base stock but with distal taper. Very impressive. So they seem to have freshened up some of their older patterns recently. :):thumbup:
 
What do you guys think of this Tramontina? I could put a patina on it since it's carbon steel. It seems every where is sold out of ESEE Lite machetes. What's a good alternative to the Lite? I want one of the same quality and bladeshape. Thanks!
 
jasperjb said:
What do you guys think of this Tramontina? I could put a patina on it since it's carbon steel. It seems every where is sold out of ESEE Lite machetes. What's a good alternative to the Lite? I want one of the same quality and bladeshape. Thanks!
Click to expand...


It's just fine.

Probably an Imacasa Pata de Cuche would be the closest to the ESEE

yhst-29358752693524_2229_4818803
 
If going with a Pata de Cuche I'd go for their injection molded one. Molded poly handles are comfortable and nigh indestructible.
 
imacasa and tramontina both make good machetes. either one will be fine for chopping brush around the farm. i prefer imacasa machetes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top