In need of a Chopper.

OK..first...sorry if I ruffled any feathers. I happen to like all the same tools as most of you guys...and end up with ALOT of them. Trust me, I dont post a pic of every new knife I get...if I did..even you guys would think I was nuts.

I dont hate condor..I happen to like them. I LOVE my GOLok, but my Tram has taken MUCH more abuse and not failed. Is this the end all be all...nope.
I have had the Kumunga..I just sold it..it wasnt right for me.
I still want the Saber, the Parang, and the Hudson Bay.
I would never buy one of the knives...they look cool, but I can get a MORA for half (the you go..I am a cheap woodsman also;)) the price.
I know I said I didnt think I would get any more...but come on...really...can I stop buying everything that looks cool and is sharp...nope.

My point is, Trams, Cold Steel, Ontario...all make SUPER machete's and they are CHEAP money..well, not the Ontario..but I love mine.
 
gunknifenut said:
I am sorry..why the love for Condor..I mean, they break alot. Am I crazy here..do we just WANT them to work...so we look the other way. Or is it that when they break..we can get another.
I dont want a knife that is gonna break...I mean, any knife CAN break..but one DESIGNED to CHOP..shouldnt break easily.
Sorry to hijack, but people constantly defending a product that fails...it just irks me.
Why the tunnel vision.
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I've used and even abused the hell out of my Condor Hudson Bay. This "knife abuse" video I made shows a Condor blade can take some punishment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYAKjZFBKeI
 
OK...next. SAw versus Machete , heck..even an Axe.
Now 42blades..I bet you figure yourself to be a chopper expert..(my tone is nice here...like an old cowboy:p) but my young man..this old fart likes chopping to. And I have been chopping since before you were a twinkle in your daddies eye...:D
Just kidding.

Really...look, I have machete's, Axes (race axes with 6 pound head) and big knives...and I have some saws.
I have work saws...that I use at work, and I have woods saws...the most recent..one of those survival chain saws...IT is AWESOME.
Watch some timber sports....a 6lb head takes around 2 minutes and 40 seconds to go through a large log...I cant remember the size of the log..and the saw takes about 14 to 30 seconds....(I am flubbing the numbers here:o) I believe the official world record in standing chop is about 1 minute 44 seconds..I will check on that one.
but the fact remains...a saw is faster..it science.
If they were slower..I would chop 2x6's at work all day...but I dont.:D

Now..I do agree with you on your point about the small saws..like the fiskers, lapland, gerber..around 8-9 inchers...they are NOT as good as a machete or axe..and if that is all you wanted to point out...I agree with you 100%.
But I hear the Silky saws are pretty fast...I dont know yet..YET, I will have one this coming year.
Anyways..42blades..and friends..I still love yah..sorry for being a bore.
take it easy...and knives and machetes are still cooler than saws..its science.
 
There's more to chopping than wildly beating on a limb. If you apply control and technique correctly based on the balance/sweet spot of the blade, the grind of the edge etc. it can easily become faster and more energy efficient than a saw.
 
PayetteRucker said:
There's more to chopping than wildly beating on a limb. If you apply control and technique correctly based on the balance/sweet spot of the blade, the grind of the edge etc. it can easily become faster and more energy efficient than a saw.
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I would agree that it may be more energy efficient but I don't think it's faster on larger pieces of wood and at odd angles where a chopper becomes awkward.

As far as what to recomend it really is up to the person and what he/she likes. All of the tools mentioned are just fine and will do extremely well with some time behind them. Pick the one you like the most and have fun.

My preference is for hatchets and hawks and I would recomend the Trail Hawk(or any of the other CS) or Fiskars hachet in a heart beat. I have a 24" Imacasa that is one mean chopper but I find it awkward for some tasks and I wouldn't want to pack it.
 
PayetteRucker said:
I love the fiddleback design-the drop point allowing for a functional point, the big belly for slicing through green stuff and forward weight for chopping performance... though I just picked up an HI Jungle Knife that combines all of those elements and it is made from 5160. At that point I really can't justify one of these Fiddlebacks, as nice of a tool as they are...
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The Fiddleback is a really sweet design, I love Andy's interpretation of the Barong. I never really like the looks of the ones with short handles.

Even though the one I've read about here chipped pretty bad, Horn Dog's I believe, I like the looks of the HI Jungle knife for a big heavy chopper but never could find it on their website. I would have to modify the point to suit me...and probably re-handle it now that I'm spoiled :o , but that wouldn't really be a problem now.
 
The best chopper I have is my Ka-Bar Kukri Machete and depending on where you buy it, it's just inside your price limit. For me, it chops much better than my tomahawks and hand axes (though I'm certainly prepared to admit that I may lack technique and style to be effective with the 'hawks).

I wouldn't hesitate a moment to buy that one again...

20100531_big_blades.jpg
 
gunknifenut,
what happened to your golok? I know of two cases reported on BF of broken goloks. I have one that I've only used once. I'm bringing it tomorrow on my hike and I'm going to use it for some heavy chopping. I'll bring safety glasses:).
 
gunknifenut said:
Now..I do agree with you on your point about the small saws..like the fiskers, lapland, gerber..around 8-9 inchers...they are NOT as good as a machete or axe..and if that is all you wanted to point out...I agree with you 100%.
But I hear the Silky saws are pretty fast...I dont know yet..YET, I will have one this coming year.
Anyways..42blades..and friends..I still love yah..sorry for being a bore.
take it easy...and knives and machetes are still cooler than saws..its science.
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Oh you're not being a bore--I find this discussion quite stimulating and I thank you for it! :D:thumbup:

That's basically what I was saying. For the common person, length for length a saw with be faster at going through THICK wood, but a machete will be more versatile, plenty fast, and much faster on the thinner stuff (up to 2").

Now if you planned on carrying around a 20" bladed saw then I don't think I'd be able to out-cut that with a 20" machete if going up against a 5" thick log. But what else are you going to do with a saw that big other than saw big logs? If you plan on doing a lot of dedicated wood processing, then saws and axes are DEFINITELY where it's at--they were the lumberjack's bread and butter for a reason. But for general usage as a woods tool I find the all-'round utility of a machete (from ANY quality manufacturer) to be hard to beat. You just have to pick the right pattern for your region and needs. And they'll cut faster than the standard small folding saws most folks carry around in many circumstances.

:p
 
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