Gettin' a golok

Have had 3 Valiant Goloks.
Price seemed pretty reasonable to me, far less expensive than some knives I own.
Shipping was never a problem from Australia to Canada.
Always arrived in good condition, and really sharp.
Right now, I have a small Survival Golok and Golok Petok (kind of like a kitchen cleaver).
Only problems that I've found with them is the sheaths. The finish on them doesn't hold up very well.
If you get a Valiant Golok, you should redo the finish on the scabbard / sheath.
 
I have a BRKT in A2 and it's an outrageously good knife, and for what I use it for, I'm fine with the smaller size. I use it more than my Valiant, but that's less because of the blade than because I like the BRKT's handle better, and I like the smaller size of the BRKT better. That said, it's expensive. My next bigger tool is going to be a Condor, just not certain which one I want to try out first (kid in a candy store syndrome)
 
Carolina River Rat said:
I think you should take another look at the Valiant goloks. It's the only Golok I own and I'm quite pleased with it. You should also check out the Himalayan Imports Bamboo Cutter.
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I've been looking at their Survival Goloks for YEARS. I finally ordered one. :D Can't wait for it to arrive...
 
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I own all of them. The Martindale is a little rough around the edges and probably the cheapest. Both the Valiant and BRKT are quite well done; my Valiant does have the horn handle, but I've had no cracking issues. The Condor is probably the best deal and mine has very good fit and finish.

I can't speak for Farmer or Gossman, but both look like exceptional pieces and both have great reputations.

ROCK6
 
I have a Valiant Survival Golok w/15.5" blade and it's an amazing tool. Thick enough to handle limbing with ease, but still great on grasses & lighter vegetation. Great ergonomics. A SERIOUS weapon too, if you need one on the trail. Shipping to the US takes a while, and while the sheaths look nice they aren't as utilitarian as simple kydex or leather.
 
Joe Talmadge said:
I have a BRKT in A2 and it's an outrageously good knife, and for what I use it for, I'm fine with the smaller size.
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I had one of the originals in 0170-6(which yours probably is-a lot of people thought they were getting A2), and had a bad experience quality-wise, which put me 0 for 2 with Bark River, and I swore off of them. That was probably my all-time favorite design, though, and I've finally talked myself into getting one of the new ones. Absolutely fantastic in the hand, and I've never forgotten it.
About to go out of town for a few days, but will probably pull the trigger on the golok when I get back, and pray for an even grind. For what I'll use it for(mostly as a light compact machete, with some occasional splitting, chopping and brush clearing), I really haven't seen anything I like better.

I have a Valiant Survival golok that is much heavier and has a 16" blade. Quite the chopper, but it has the horn handles Joezilla warned about, which come to almost a point underneath the pinky finger, and make it hard to use for very long. If it had a handle like the BRK, or even my Becker Patrol Machete, it would be an awesome(fearsome!) tool.
 
PR - try the Condor it's only 1/4" under the scales and about 1" in front of them. Past that it's a nice distal taper. VERY fast in the hand, balance is good, swings and chops better than some 18" latin machetes I've used.
handle shape was great for me - swung it with 3 fingers wrapped around the skinny part and 2 curled around the ball at the end for a little bit of extra snap at the end of my swing.
A buddy brought his up a couple weeks ago and it was tough for me to give it back.
the finish on the walnut handle is just rough enough to be grippy but did not cause any hot spots.
for under $40 delivered, it'd be hard to beat the value.
 
1066vik said:
PR - try the Condor it's only 1/4" under the scales and about 1" in front of them. Past that it's a nice distal taper. VERY fast in the hand, balance is good, swings and chops better than some 18" latin machetes I've used.
handle shape was great for me - swung it with 3 fingers wrapped around the skinny part and 2 curled around the ball at the end for a little bit of extra snap at the end of my swing.
A buddy brought his up a couple weeks ago and it was tough for me to give it back.
the finish on the walnut handle is just rough enough to be grippy but did not cause any hot spots.
for under $40 delivered, it'd be hard to beat the value.
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Thanks for that info, if it's significantly tapered, that makes a big difference. I love the condor wood finish, I have the kukri and it's spectacular. Grippy, durable, well finished, looks great, comfy. I wish they had an El Salvador with similar scales. Then I can do a Condor Bolo Kukri Golok chop off and compare them all :D
 
OK, i'm kinda new to these fancy blade designs, but can someone help me understand why a Golock is superior to a short machete?
 
Overall balance and weight distribution specifically for chopping. The blade is drastically swept forward from the axis of the handle for more ergonomic chopping. A small latin/el salvador machete is great for multipurpose use but these are geared more towards long swings and big bites specifically.
 
I have the Condor Golok (won at Going Gear's grand opening!!) and really like mine. Chops great and manageable size for strapping to the pack. Glanced it off a rock (cleverly hidden near some low growth) and smoothed it back up with a file and stone.
My machetes are in semi-retirement now.
 
fmajor007 said:
OK, i'm kinda new to these fancy blade designs, but can someone help me understand why a Golock is superior to a short machete?
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They are for slightly different applications.
Machetes are thinner and "whippier" and are for thinner & softer materials.

Goloks are thicker and meant for harder and thicker woods processing. Being thicker, these do not get stuck as easily in wood as a thinner blade might.
 
I have one of the Valiant Large Goloks. It came sharp and retained its edge after using it to hack down an arbor vitae in my yard.

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Unfortunately, the horn handle has developed a crack, so I need to repair it before using it again.
 
I have been looking at a potong for quite some time but the cracking issue concerns me. How long did you have it, use it before them cracking developed. Do you think it would have cracked under the same circumstances if it would have had a one of there redwood handles? I ask because there is also another model I like too with redwood handles the jagal.
 
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I had a chance to review a couple of David's Golok's. They are light and super sharp! If you can try to see if anyone will lend them to you, there are some real cool people around here!

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