For all you Axe vs. Khukri vs. Chopper guys, I did my own testing

Noshtero

Noshtero

Joined
Oct 10, 2002
Messages
1,551
Ok so for Thanksgiving I was asked to build a big bonfire for the family to sit around. My brother-in-law and I went out in the woods and starting collecting up firewood. This involved everything from chopping up 10" diameter fallen trees, to limbing branches, to splitting the rounds for the fire, to shaving up tinder.

We did a shootout between my RD9, my Ang Khola Khukri at 16.5", and my Fiskars Hatchet.

Here's our results:

Activity 1: Chopping a 10" diameter tree into sections.
The RD9 just didn't have enough power behind it to be overly effective.
The Khuk sent some nice size chips flying, but due to the geometry of how the blade cuts, it would have a tendency to glance off the tree. Also, since I have a Chiruwa style handle, which is exposed full tang, the chops sent some pretty nice shockwaves into my hand.
The hatchet was the winner here. I was sending chips flying 20 feet no problem with the Fiskars.

Activity 2: Limbing up to inch diameter branches off trees.
The RD9 was very easy to control, but again just didn't have the kind of "umph" that I was looking for
The Khuk did a great job of snipping the branches off.
The Hatchet was right in-line with the khuk, and easily snipped branches off.

Activity 3: Splitting rounds
The RD9 did a good job of batoning through most anything
The Khuk was a monster on weaker/smaller rounds, but on bigger stuff I couldn't get behind a baton on it like I could on the RD9.
The Hatchet did a great job splitting, but would twist out of the round half way down every once in a while.

Activity 4: Shaving up tinder
The RD9 did a great job.
The Khuk was a little difficult to control due to being so tip heavy.
The Hatchet did a very good job, maybe slighty ahead of the RD9

Final thoughts:
The RD9 is very easy to control, and does a great job splitting. It just didn't have the kind of power behind it to make it efficient on heavy chopping.

The Khuk stood up to some heavy, heavy chopping, and just asked for more. The design, however, is so weight forward tip heavy that it is rather fatiguing(sp?) over extended use. This was especially apparent when I wanted to do a bunch of small, fast cuts, like when I was shaving tinder. I couldn't move the khuk as fast as I wanted to. This could probably be solved with a lighter khuk. The Ang Khola is the heaviest khuk HI makes, but the lighter you go, the less chopping power you have.

The Hatchet was my favorite. I could throw chips like no one's business, but I could still choke up on the head and do some pretty good fine cutting.

So for me, and this is only for me, I'll be choosing the hatchet as my preferred carry. Now I just need to decide if I want to stick with my Fiskars, or if I want to try a GB, Wetterlings, Reeves Double Bit, etc...

Thanks for reading.
Nosh
 
Very good review! I wouldn't mind if you did more. :D

I have also found a hatchet to be my preffered tool for said uses.
 
Cool! I already carry a fiskars hatchet and a knife capible of batoning wood. Thanks for the review.
 
Good report!!! I have noticed that a using a Khukri tired me out. It tightened up my forearms. I thought that maybe I wasn't using it right. I still am partial to an axe or hatchet.
 
Get a Granfors Bruk hatchet! The fiskars don't compare!!

I prefer a small belt axe, a Gerber folding saw and a 3-4 inch belt knife for my kit.

Tom
 
thanks a lot for this report.i was undecieded on getting a khukri now i'll just keep my hatchet .
 
A large chopping blade is made much better by reprofilling the blade. I increased the copping power by at least 40% in this manner. That said a large knife is a compromize to carrying many or heavy tools. I dont plan on needing to chop a 10 inch diameter tree in a survival situation, but it could if you had to.

One thing is for sure a 9 inch blade does more and is more utilitarian than a saw, hatchet or axe so if you have to carry a large impliment for heavy work far from your vehicle it should be a chopper of modest length and heft to get the job done.

Jack of all trades master of none so to speak.

My 2 cents.

Skam
 
Nice review and from my own experience, I tend to agree with your eval of the Fiskars. Nice little axe.
 
skammer said:
One thing is for sure a 9 inch blade does more and is more utilitarian than a saw, hatchet or axe so if you have to carry a large impliment for heavy work far from your vehicle it should be a chopper of modest length and heft to get the job done.
Click to expand...

I've found that a hatchet can do pretty much anything the large knife can do fairly well, but can do some things the large knife sucks at.

If I could only have one, I'd pick the hatchet over the large knife.

To each his own.
 
Nice review. The experiences are similiar to mine. Now you have to spend a dozen dollars or so and get a 14-18" machete to try. Put an edge on it, then compare it to the Fiskars.
 
Nice review! For the one tool for all tasks guys (like I am every once in a while), you might sometimes try carrying an entry axe of some sort, like the Ranger Knives Entry Tool. It'll chop wood, although not as good as a proper hatchet designed for use on wood, and it will outpry and beat and twist even the best heavy use knives. It will suck big time on small knife tasks, but then again, so will all large knives, as well, although not quite as badly. For the little stuff, a small fixed blade or SAK shouldn't be too heavy to carry. ;) But just something to try when you've got time.
 
Elen said:
Nice review! For the one tool for all tasks guys (like I am every once in a while), you might sometimes try carrying an entry axe of some sort, like the Ranger Knives Entry Tool. It'll chop wood, although not as good as a proper hatchet designed for use on wood, and it will outpry and beat and twist even the best heavy use knives. It will suck big time on small knife tasks, but then again, so will all large knives, as well, although not quite as badly. For the little stuff, a small fixed blade or SAK shouldn't be too heavy to carry. ;) But just something to try when you've got time.
Click to expand...

Hmm... that's an interesting idea indeed. As soon as Mr. Koster finshes my Nessmuk, my carry will be that Nessmuk, a SAK Outrider, and Hatchet of some sort.

Oh, and I do agree with Skam in that you probably wouldn't be chopping 10" trees in a survival situation. But for camping/backpacking, when conserving energy is not a factor, you just might build a nicer shelter or a bigger bonfire :)

Oh, and Tom Krein.... Don't you be tempting me with buying more hatchets!!!
Heh... ya I would love to use the Fiskars, a Wetterlings, a GB, and the Reeves double bit side by side and keep the winner. Unfortunately, that's a whole lot of money that would go to waste since I'll only end up carrying one (I usually don't like to piss around with trying to sell used tools on the web :) ).

If anyone has first hand compared some of the various hatchets, let me know.
 
Great review!

This year I played around a bit and used my knife (119 not a large chopper) for all my car camping/wood & camp chores. The hatchet was brought for the trip but stayed in the truck. Until I was on the forums, I never batoned before. The summer-long experiment was quite an interesting one, as I never really needed to get out the hatchet until this fall. I was making a small pit fire in the back yard and had some stubborn wood that was just a tad too big and knotty for the knife to do well. I resigned myself to get out the hatchet (no-name carbon one) and in two chops had it nice and split.

So in large part, from my experience this summer - the hatchet is definately far more efficient especially on the larger wood. However, the excercise I went through was to see if I could make due with just a medium sized knife and performing that gave me a lot more confidence in knife use for these types of chores. Also the fact that it was a cheap (but in my opinion still quality) knife provided a good reference point. I guess I'd like to repeat this with a larger chopper to see over the long run what kind of improvement it makes over my smaller knife.

I'm not hanging my chopper up for good that is for sure. But just like some folks like to practice making fire with a bow/drill, it is also probably once and awhile useful to make due with just a survival knife.

Thanks for sharing your test results!
 
are you sore?:D

Great review. I would love to see a comparison of the most popular hatchets. The Bruk versus, wetterlings, fiskars, along with some more general easy to get Home Depot Hatchets.
 
Glad to hear it. I have a GB hatchet and it is the bomb (hair poppin out of the box). Those big knives certainly have their place but I prefer a good sharp hatchet for fire/shelter work.
 
Noshtero said:
Cobalt said:
are you sore?:D

QUOTE]

You have no idea! I actually managed to chop enough wood to bruise the inside of my palm. I think the Ang Khola is to blame though lol :)
Click to expand...

Oh, I do. I use to chop tons of wood every season with Khukuris, hatchets and knives. After a while my hands would go numb. Blisters in the palm swell were not uncommon as were pinky blisters. I ended up using my padded cycling gloves. They worked well.

I was tempted to use metal shin guards after having a couple of close calls with my khukuris. Good work. Go buy some more hatchets and compare them for us:D
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top