Heavy duty chopper?

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OverUseOfMachetes

Joined
Mar 3, 2013
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117
Looking for a heavy duty chopper, fixed blade, full tang, 1070 or above, NO.T a kukri, 6-8mm, 8-13" blade length. Just curious if one existed.
 
Go custom :)

If custom's not in your budget, the Browning Crowell/Barker Competition Cutter is an outstanding value. 1080 steel, convex edge, full tang, well balanced, beyond sturdy, comes with a very nice leather sheath. Do a little googling and you can find one new for around $130 :thumbup:

browning-crowell-barker-competition-knife-572x492.jpg
 
Price range? Busse is always a good bet if you're willing to pay for it, or their cheaper options of Swamp Rat and Scrapyard. Check the "For Sale By Maker" section, lots of very nice custom stuff for sale at very good prices. If you see something you like you can even contact the maker direct and get something specific made.
 
Buses comes to mind. .32 blades of Info. At those price, you are also solidly in custom range as well.
 
The competition knife is a quarter inch thick. If you need something thicker, then you probably don't need a knife, or at least would be better off with something else.
 
The fact that somewhere along the lines manufacturers have convinced people that they need knives to be 6-8 mm thick is exactly why most knives don't even cut particularly well anymore.

That being said, the Cold Steel Trail Master is 5/16" thick. Other than that and Busse, I would say your options are limited.
 
I wonder if "most knives" are even 4 mm thick. A lot of MORA's and SAK's are turned out every day. I have 19 within reach without getting out of the chair. 8 are fixed-blade, and the thickest has a diamond cross-section and is 3.10 mm at the thickest part. Is that really so unusual?

Elsewhere, I have four Busse products - all 3.2 mm or less.

Now the khukuri's upstairs . . . . :eek:
 
Bill Siegle makes some pretty beefy choppers out of 5160 and usually 1/4" or thicker, He is a Bladeforums member so you can contact him through the forum or watch The Exchange for one of his choppers to be put up for sale or you could post a thread in the "Wanted to buy" forum.
Busse also makes top notch choppers but they will run a few more bucks than Siegle.
Otherwise, Just frequent Bladeforums, There are several knifemakers on here that post up choppers pretty much weekly.
 
hardheart said:
The competition knife is a quarter inch thick. If you need something thicker, then you probably don't need a knife, or at least would be better off with something else.
Click to expand...
Misanthropia said:
The fact that somewhere along the lines manufacturers have convinced people that they need knives to be 6-8 mm thick is exactly why most knives don't even cut particularly well anymore.
Click to expand...

Agreed. 1/4" is plenty thick for a chopper. The Crowell/Barker and CS Trailmaster do cut pretty darn well, because they're both wide and ground properly, with full-height bevels and nice distal taper.
 
Busse and kin. My rodent 9 measures at .27 over the coating. Or if you can find an old carbon V trailmaster. I can't speak for the sk5 one, But I've beat the snot out of the carbon V for years. That is .312 thick (close enough to 8mm) or at least the old ones are.
 
Have a look at the Himalayan Imports Farm Knife. A definite chopper with a differential grind (flat near handle and tip, slightly convex in the middle). It borders on axe territory but slices like hell. It weighs in at 2 pounds, it's a definite worker, no show off here (although it's a really elegant design). You can chop through anything and still slice up the vegetables and meat for your soup in the evening. It outdid without a shrug all my go-to choppers and machetes (like the Condor Hudson Bay Knife). Full tang and all forged, made and finished individually by hand. The price is extremely affordable.
 
That Browning Competition knife is very interesting, surprised it isn't mentioned more.

Cool vid [video=youtube;Z2XfJOFOjJY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2XfJOFOjJY&sns=em[/video]

Not being from a knife brand or the US probably keeps popularity down?
 
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