- Joined
- Mar 25, 2015
- Messages
- 386
So I just wanted to post up a quick first impression of my new Light Chopper. This is as much for my education as anyone else's and I just wanted to get out and play. 
After sitting in the hallway this morning listening to the tornado watch sirens go off I was glad it was not all for naught (luckily nothing touched down within 50 miles of our place). This afternoon I discovered that one of the dead pines adjacent to the yard had fallen due to the high winds. Finally, something to try the new LC on! When I got it a couple of weeks ago I immediately took it out and whacked some hedges and such (at which it did very well) but haven't had a chance to spend much time with it. The fallen tree was about 30 ft long, with about a 12" diameter base, dead for some time, and wet so this is soft wood, even softer. I pushed the LC a little out of the realm I would expect it to do its best work but I needed to chop something.
I will admit that I bought the chopper with no idea of what I was going to use it for. I don't do big knives but I had already acquired and tried the Field Knife and the EDC and was very impressed with both and so at this point if Nathan makes it (thanks to Lorien as well), I will probably buy it to at least try. I know I will inevitably learn something. I thought maybe the LC could replace my hatchet since it is a bit lighter. Interestingly enough though, if you include sheaths then the Light Chopper and my hatchet weigh within .1 oz of each other (24.9 vs 25.0 oz respectively)
I was raised in Florida and we used knives as choppers. They were called machetes and every kid had one because they cost about $5 at any army surplus store. The thin blades worked perfectly against the vines and palmettos that filled the woods. As a kid I also had a WW II German bayonet as my "sword" and own a khukurii but I still think of a machete when I think of a knife for chopping. This hatchet is what I typically use while camping, canoeing, etc. if a larger axe is not needed. For my style of outdoor recreation that is basically 100% of the time. I don't have much experience with using a larger, thicker (than a machete) knife so keep that in mind.
Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet (23.2 oz)
It seemed a perfect time to compare the old to the new. I needed to cut the tree in about 4-5 foot sections so I decided to just alternate cutting the sections between the LC and the hatchet.
Carothers Light Chopper (17.3 oz)
Initial sharpness of the two was similar with the LC being the sharper. Both would shave hair but the LC actually popped hairs with little effort. Even with the sharp edges this wood was too soft for big chips and it more crumbled at times rather than cut. This was especially true near the top of the tree since this was the section that was more rotten. The bottom of the tree was both dryer and less rotten so it cut more like you would expect pine to cut. With the smaller diameter and the softer wood both the LC and the hatchet did equally well. The hatchet bit deeper due to the head weight but the frequency of chopping was slower. Also, since the hatchet has about a 3 1/4" cutting edge it needed to be moved around more to get a complete cut over the diameter of the tree. The LC is lighter, vibrates a little on impact but has a much longer cutting surface so it would cut shallower but with more length cut with each stroke.
As I moved down the tree and the diameter increased, along with the hardness of the wood, the hatchet started coming into its own. The shorter cutting length became an advantage since it could hit no more than 3 1/4" of wood at a time, always biting deep. The LC, with its longer cutting edge and lighter weight, starting having trouble cutting more than an inch or so deep with each stroke. This was compounded by the fact the tree was lying on the ground and couldn't be rolled. The chips would clog the cut and I couldn't provide much angle to the chops without risking contact with the ground. If the tree were standing or I could have rolled it to get to a new cutting angle things would have worked better. Still, the LC did OK, just required more work. As I moved further down the tree length I used the hatchet more and the LC less as it started requiring more and more work.
Since I wanted a second opinion it was time to enlist the help of the true expert (even though only 6) in the house.
First the LC. He liked it a lot even though it made his arm "tired".
Next was the hatchet. He decided rather quickly that it was too heavy for one hand use and went to his two handed "hatchet" grip.
So now I no longer have a fallen tree in the yard and learned a little in the process. The LC works well for wood 2-3" in diameter and smaller. Bigger than that and the light weight works against it. No epiphany here and just what you would expect. It is, after all, called the "Light" Chopper. The hatchet on the other hand works better on the bigger stuff but would be a poor choice to cut vines or anything small and free hanging.
The edges after cutting through the tree 4 or 5 times each were both still sharp but had lost a bit of "bite". The wood itself was soft but not entirely clean and was splashed with mud and grit. Afterwards neither edge would shave but 10 minutes or so on a leather strop (black then green compound) and both edges were about back to where they started. No complaints on edge holding and no damage, as expected.
Handles were both comfortable and no hot spots developed with either. I purposely did not wear gloves because unless it is hunting season (winter) I don't typically have them with me when out in the woods. This is my first experience with TeroTuf and I like it. I like it a lot.
An admittedly very short test in a very limited use case but the plan is to soon be testing on hardwoods, some basic camp chores and fire prep.
After sitting in the hallway this morning listening to the tornado watch sirens go off I was glad it was not all for naught (luckily nothing touched down within 50 miles of our place). This afternoon I discovered that one of the dead pines adjacent to the yard had fallen due to the high winds. Finally, something to try the new LC on! When I got it a couple of weeks ago I immediately took it out and whacked some hedges and such (at which it did very well) but haven't had a chance to spend much time with it. The fallen tree was about 30 ft long, with about a 12" diameter base, dead for some time, and wet so this is soft wood, even softer. I pushed the LC a little out of the realm I would expect it to do its best work but I needed to chop something.
I will admit that I bought the chopper with no idea of what I was going to use it for. I don't do big knives but I had already acquired and tried the Field Knife and the EDC and was very impressed with both and so at this point if Nathan makes it (thanks to Lorien as well), I will probably buy it to at least try. I know I will inevitably learn something. I thought maybe the LC could replace my hatchet since it is a bit lighter. Interestingly enough though, if you include sheaths then the Light Chopper and my hatchet weigh within .1 oz of each other (24.9 vs 25.0 oz respectively)
I was raised in Florida and we used knives as choppers. They were called machetes and every kid had one because they cost about $5 at any army surplus store. The thin blades worked perfectly against the vines and palmettos that filled the woods. As a kid I also had a WW II German bayonet as my "sword" and own a khukurii but I still think of a machete when I think of a knife for chopping. This hatchet is what I typically use while camping, canoeing, etc. if a larger axe is not needed. For my style of outdoor recreation that is basically 100% of the time. I don't have much experience with using a larger, thicker (than a machete) knife so keep that in mind.
Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet (23.2 oz)
It seemed a perfect time to compare the old to the new. I needed to cut the tree in about 4-5 foot sections so I decided to just alternate cutting the sections between the LC and the hatchet.
Carothers Light Chopper (17.3 oz)
Initial sharpness of the two was similar with the LC being the sharper. Both would shave hair but the LC actually popped hairs with little effort. Even with the sharp edges this wood was too soft for big chips and it more crumbled at times rather than cut. This was especially true near the top of the tree since this was the section that was more rotten. The bottom of the tree was both dryer and less rotten so it cut more like you would expect pine to cut. With the smaller diameter and the softer wood both the LC and the hatchet did equally well. The hatchet bit deeper due to the head weight but the frequency of chopping was slower. Also, since the hatchet has about a 3 1/4" cutting edge it needed to be moved around more to get a complete cut over the diameter of the tree. The LC is lighter, vibrates a little on impact but has a much longer cutting surface so it would cut shallower but with more length cut with each stroke.
As I moved down the tree and the diameter increased, along with the hardness of the wood, the hatchet started coming into its own. The shorter cutting length became an advantage since it could hit no more than 3 1/4" of wood at a time, always biting deep. The LC, with its longer cutting edge and lighter weight, starting having trouble cutting more than an inch or so deep with each stroke. This was compounded by the fact the tree was lying on the ground and couldn't be rolled. The chips would clog the cut and I couldn't provide much angle to the chops without risking contact with the ground. If the tree were standing or I could have rolled it to get to a new cutting angle things would have worked better. Still, the LC did OK, just required more work. As I moved further down the tree length I used the hatchet more and the LC less as it started requiring more and more work.
Since I wanted a second opinion it was time to enlist the help of the true expert (even though only 6) in the house.
First the LC. He liked it a lot even though it made his arm "tired".
Next was the hatchet. He decided rather quickly that it was too heavy for one hand use and went to his two handed "hatchet" grip.
So now I no longer have a fallen tree in the yard and learned a little in the process. The LC works well for wood 2-3" in diameter and smaller. Bigger than that and the light weight works against it. No epiphany here and just what you would expect. It is, after all, called the "Light" Chopper. The hatchet on the other hand works better on the bigger stuff but would be a poor choice to cut vines or anything small and free hanging.
The edges after cutting through the tree 4 or 5 times each were both still sharp but had lost a bit of "bite". The wood itself was soft but not entirely clean and was splashed with mud and grit. Afterwards neither edge would shave but 10 minutes or so on a leather strop (black then green compound) and both edges were about back to where they started. No complaints on edge holding and no damage, as expected.
Handles were both comfortable and no hot spots developed with either. I purposely did not wear gloves because unless it is hunting season (winter) I don't typically have them with me when out in the woods. This is my first experience with TeroTuf and I like it. I like it a lot.
An admittedly very short test in a very limited use case but the plan is to soon be testing on hardwoods, some basic camp chores and fire prep.
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