Hatchet verses R-6

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flor1

Joined
Oct 13, 2008
Messages
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Been looking at both for hunting and back country carry. Thought I was all set to order then got to looking at the Wetterling hatchet less then a pound of difference between the 2. I've got a Izula that goes every place I do looking at something for bigger work. Thanks for any input.
 
If you're in a cold part of the world get a hatchet. It's much nicer for cutting down lots of firewood and as much as I like machetes they sometimes fail in extreme cold. If you're just looking for something that can cut wood in a pinch get the RC-6
 
Most firewood can be broken up with hands. The RC6 will easily baton to get some split wood to make a good fast fire.

A hatchet does this just about as well, but will be much better at chopping limbs.

The important questions are: How likely are you to need to start a fire, How much wood to you intend to collect, and how much of it do you intend to split.

The Junglas isnt out yet, but from my experience with other ten inch knives, it'd be something to look into, as well as some short 12-16 inch machetes.
 
Dizwolf said:
Most firewood can be broken up with hands
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Dude, remind me not to get on your bad side :eek:
I like to find the larger stuff, around 6 to 10 inches, to get a fire that will burn all night without me having to get up and feed it 100 times in the night. You could do this with a knife but a hatchet is a lot faster. But maybe this isn't a concern for him. We still don't know where he lives.
 
jonnyghost said:
I like to find the larger stuff, around 6 to 10 inches, to get a fire that will burn all night without me having to get up and feed it 100 times in the night. You could do this with a knife but a hatchet is a lot faster. But maybe this isn't a concern for him. We still don't know where he lives.
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I tend to start out with smaller wood, and then burn the long, larger logs in half progressively. Saves a ton of cutting.
 
Dizwolf said:
I tend to start out with smaller wood, and then burn the long, larger logs in half progressively. Saves a ton of cutting.
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That's how I do it too but you still have to cut them down. Where I live there could be 2 feet of snow on the ground so gathering fallen stuff is out of the question.
 
flor1 said:
Been looking at both for hunting and back country carry. Thought I was all set to order then got to looking at the Wetterling hatchet less then a pound of difference between the 2. I've got a Izula that goes every place I do looking at something for bigger work. Thanks for any input.
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Sorry didn't get location in there I live in N Georgia and am going to be hunting in U.P of Michigan and then going to Wyoming for Elk.
 
I prefer a hatchet. The only thing I've found knives in the 5-6 inch category to be good at is batoning. A small knife with a hatchet is the way I roll in bad weather/winter.
 
Mb a RTAK II, its 10 inches and is cheaper then the RC-6. I used my friends and preferred it over my CS Recon Scout it very good at chopping and battoning. Also mb you could pick up a collapsible saw. Check out Nutnfancys reviews on youtube, I think he has one with and RTAKII and a sawvivor.
 
Howdy,

Out here in the Pacific Northwest, high country and evergreen forests, the axe is king. Hatchet will be a good "get by" alternative. I don't see any/many big knives used out here for wood gathering.

I've never been to Wyoming, Michigan or Georgia, so your milage may vary.
 
flor1 said:
Thought I was all set to order then got to looking at the Wetterling hatchet
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Get one. Great little tool.:thumbup:

10" Wetterlings

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Col. Cornelius said:
Howdy,

Out here in the Pacific Northwest, high country and evergreen forests, the axe is king. Hatchet will be a good "get by" alternative. I don't see any/many big knives used out here for wood gathering.

I've never been to Wyoming, Michigan or Georgia, so your milage may vary.
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A lot of SAR guys in the area use big knives. Axes are a pain to pack. GB mini gets me by just fine.
 
The RC-6 is not a chopper. It is no substitude for a small axe or machete. While wood can be cut with one using a baton, a larger blade is much more efficient for that chore. The new Junglas should do nicely. Or any chopper or machete, for that matter.
 
They call em Michigan axes for a reason. :)

ifyou gotta go light, look into folding saws like the pocket chainsaw, unbelieaveable saw, Sven , or sawvivor. Any of those and a big knife will get you wood.

Personally... A 30 inch bowsaw is light and ties to a pack well. That covers alot of bases
 
I've found hatchets/small axes to be a bit more useful for my purposes than the bigger knives, but those big knives are plenty of fun to use. Depending on the conditions, I find that and axe or saw combined with a small to medium knife (anywhere from 3" to 5" blade) serves my purposes nicely
 
For where I live and hike, a 14 inch bolo machete, Silky saw and a 5 1/2 inch blade work really well. But if I were going to the UP (or any other place like it) I would carry a good axe. Not a hatchet, but an axe.
 
A hatchet is going to hold up better to chopping cold hardwoods. I carry a tomahawk, a 12 inch machete, an RC5, a mora-style 5 inch leuku and a HEST as far as cutlery goes (overboard I know) but I'd carry at least a companion knife, a 5-6 inch beater and a machete or hatchet.
 
I went through the hatchet selection process and bought 3 different sizes, 10", 14" and a 19".

If you go the hatchet route, the 19" is the way to go - still more than managable with one hand, but you get a great amount of leverage and room should you want two hand swings.

The weight difference is negligible between the three and if you have a pack, 19" is more than manageable.
 
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