Large knife for brush clearing

G

ghost squire

Joined
Feb 1, 2004
Messages
360
I have a rather unique requirement for a blade; here in Southern California we have very hard, dried out 1/4-2 inch branches, surrounded by very wet bushy type plants that look like marijuana plants (actually toothwort or mudwort or something). Then theres the horrible stuff like bushes of scrub oak so dense you could crawl on top of them. I find a machete slices through the marijuana just fine, but is sub optimal concerning scrub oak, and downright crappy when cutting into branches. Another thing; imagine a hallway in a submarine. Now imagine its full of vines and hard branches. That is what alot of land is like here in backpacking areas in SoCal, so swinging an 18" machete can get dangerous.

I'm basically searching for a tool with a 8"-13" blade, easy and light enough to swing at fennel/marijuana plants, and heavy enough to cut through hard, dense branches with one or two strokes, and with enough reach to swing at dense, prickly brush without my hand scraping on those hated oak leaf type things. The blade needs to roll or dent instead of chip and shatter when it impacts knots and rock.

Also it would be nice if it could chop quartered pine logs (firewood) into kindling.

I was thinking the Swamp Rat Battle Rat, possibly the Ontario Marine Bowie, or the Becker BK9. Suggestions?
 
a khukuri? Check out the Himalayan Imports forum. Good group of guys over there with a lot of knowledge about more than just khuks.

Frank
 
A scythe wouldn't cut through this stuff. I like the billhook, it doesn't look like it would be able to do kindling well at all, but it would definately handle the brush. The Outcast looks good, the price is right for sure.
 
C. Peláez said:
Have you considered any of the goloks or other knives fromo Valiant Company ( www.valiantco.com )? ... you'll have a great blade for the price http://www.outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=2 .
Click to expand...

After ages of thinking that these things must be crap because of the price and how good they look, I have just purchased a Survival Golok L.

It is a truly amazing bit of gear. It is staggeringly good looking for the money, and cuts like a champion. The blade is considerably lighter than a Martindale golok so it is an easy if somewhat longer piece to carry. It outcuts the martindale by a big margin through both light brush and heavy chopping of green wood.

The supplied wooden sheath is too good looking (and a little insecure in that the golok will fall out if the sheath is tipped past the horizontal) to carry, but you could easily make a sheath. Highly recommended.

Cheers, bangtail
 
Get a kukri but one that has some weight , about 24 ozs, to cut the heavy stuff.
 
A Golok Potong from Valiant would be right about the size you need, feels good in the hand and performs really well. Once you try it, you love it, no way back :D
 
My post isn't exactly knife related but more concerned with the task you propose to do. Brush by nature is springy and hard to cut down.

If I were you and had a sizeable area to clear I would hire a guy with John Deere Tractor with a dozer blade in the front to knock the stuff down and pile it and a bush hog in the back for cutting up the not too-tough stuff. I would let it set for a few weeks to dry out, get a couple gallons of fuel oil and burn it (if the fire marshall will allow you to burn in S. CA).

If not able to burn I would excavate a hole a bury it. You should be able to clear 5-10 acres in a day's time.

An alternative would be to rent a good chainsaw. There are some gas powered saws with limb trimming blades on long shafts that might work. Check the local rental store.

The knife/hand tool way is the hard/slow way (unless we are talking about a very small area) which may get you hurt trying to do too much with the wrong tools.

My last thought is to get a good small bow saw for the small but harder stuff like the oak. It is very useful and quick too.

Have fun!
 
A good Barteaux heavy machete would be my first choice for this type of work. If you can find the old Aluminum handle ones, they are great.
Steel is tough, they have enough mass for forceful swings, but not so much as to really tire you out and enough reach which is important if you are tall, less so if you are shorter.

Here is a review for example:
Stamp Barteaux Review

As well, Martindale makes machetes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. The Martindale Jungle Knife would be a good choice, as would the #2 golok.

Another one would be the Becker Patrol Machete. Here is Cliff's review , but note that Jeff Randall gave this machete very high marks, so YMMV.

As well, for under $10 and a bit of time on a belt sander an Ontario or Tramontina machete (12" or bolo given your size constriants) should work fine.

Finally, the Kershaw Outcast or Livesay RCM, or a Valiant Golok would be great too. Lots of choices in this market, it is just a matter of finding which one fits your hand and swing style best.
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I would stay away from a Kershaw outcast simply becuz it is made out of D2 steel so it will prolly chip, or worse than that crack when it comes in contact with rocks in when you are chopping. I think a SR battle Rat, a ranger RD9, or a Becker BK9 would do the trick, I would chose the BR or the RD9 before the BK9 simply becuz of lest brittle steel. Just my .02

TBG
 
I have a tool perfect for your purpose. A brush hook. It's a curved blade about a foot long on a 3 foot handle. Perfect for brush hogging. I got mine at the feed and seed.
 
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