I've had maybe four machetes, two of which were home-made. I've also got a golok and a long khukuri. The golok is a wonderful all-round chopper, digger, lever and club..... but it doesn't do 'knife' jobs as well as a smaller machete. The khukuri is a wonderful chopper and beautiful to look at, but it is heavy and difficult to make a simple sheath for because of the angle in the blade. For a lot of my light chopping work I find that even my machetes are 'overkill' ..... it is a big long blade to carry around for just the odd job. I've found that my Bark River Gameskeeper is an adequate chopper for many small jobs.
But the quest for the best tool continues. Fuelled by what I've read on this thread, and particularly on the "Machetes for Hunting and Butchering" thread, I took the plunge and have ordered some small Tramontinas. I think Pict, Jackknife and Joezilla should shoulder most of the blame for this reckless decision. Now I have to obtain or make some sheaths.
But the quest for the best tool continues. Fuelled by what I've read on this thread, and particularly on the "Machetes for Hunting and Butchering" thread, I took the plunge and have ordered some small Tramontinas. I think Pict, Jackknife and Joezilla should shoulder most of the blame for this reckless decision. Now I have to obtain or make some sheaths.