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. Someone suggested a khuk, so I came here, but I am somewhat skeptical of a khukuris ability to chop firewood...
 
18" WWII. all around, jack of all trade khuks. Determine whether you like light, middle, or heavy and see what H.I can do for you.
 
Welcome to the Cantina, GS.
Like most of us, you have come looking for "the one". Unfortunately, like every other style of knife, "the one" doesn't exist. What I can say is that you can find a middle of the road khuk that will do everything OK by giving up some of the specialization that each style of blade brings to the table. Kobras are great for bushwacking, Ang Kholas are wonderful at limbing and splitting, and Ganga Rams are the best for felling wood. However, since you are looking for a do-all khuk I would suggest the WWII model. 16.5" version if you are looking to pack smaller and/or are 5'8 or shorter. The 18" version will give you more styles of grip and a slightly longer blade. Either of these should have a blade length of about 11-12.5". The WWII was our late friend Uncle Bill's favorite all around khuk. It was my third khuk and is style my go to blade when I go camping even after 30+ khuks. The 18" Ganga Ram is also a favorite. Yvsa, one of our mods and a long time member of the cantina swears by his.
I like Swamp Rat. I like Ontario. I like Becker, but I have NO doubt that just about any khuk with any kind of belly on it will out chop those blades in the firewood department. Heck, most people that get the hang of a khuk like them better than hand axes for logs and firewood.
Once again, welcome:)

Jake
edit: How come Dave can just spit out the exact right answer and I have to be so long-winded;)
 
I'm by no means a khukuri expert. But I have put them to work in the yard. The big WWII is a serious chopper. I've chopped up some big 4x8 inch fence posts and used it to trim limbs from both avacado and maple trees. But at 28oz I don't know if I'd want to pack it on a long hike. I'm only 5'8" and, now in my mid 30s, I'm afraid my belly is bigger than my arms. I find the 15" AK handier, all around. I have yet to try one of the lighter 18", though, like a siru, Gelbu special or chitlangi/ chainpuri. I had a 25" siru but it was just too much blade for me. Some of the guys here have tried just about every kind there is and should be able to point you in the right direction.

Frank
 
If you think I'm someone else why don't you have the moderator check my IP against this burafans?

Yes, sorry about that nastiness, but thats in the past now. Please forgive?
:(
 
If there's any question,
I usually just review a user's post history.
GS has over 70 posts to his name
& that's a pretty good sample to review.
A couple of quick reads looked reasonable,
but I didn't look at much.
Anybody can have a bad day.



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<> Tips <> Baha'i Prayers Links --A--T--H--D
 
Ahhh, ghost squirrel, it has been a long time.
I had completely forgotten about "punchmyvagina.com"
That one made me laugh till my belly shook like Santas'.
Oh my.
Still, I thought they banned you.
I'd say that countdown has probably already begun.
Some of the oldest sharks are now moderators, which makes them killer whales, I guess. They just love to chomp the heads off of trollfish.
Best watch your swishy little tail when you're in the shark tank....
 
If Ghost Squire is not BF or any other banned personality I see no reason not to try again. I'm a believer in change. That was an infamous bad start last time around.

GS- you're not really going to be cutting down much scrub oak, right? Any of the lighter, faster blades would work well except for the Kobra.



munk
 
Thank you munk, and no, I have never been banned from this forum.

Scrub oak will be a rarity, only when it completely blocks a path, but I don't know which blades are lighter and faster that HI sells, would you mind telling me?

BTW to avoid confusion, scrub oak is a tough bushy plant we have here which has tiny pointy little leaves, its not a tree.
 
Ghost squirrel isn't going to change because he can't. He was an insulting idiot the last time he was here and then came back like no one would remember him. Perhaps if he had of came back with an apology over his past actions and owned up to his mistakes things might be different.
Back on my ignore list he goes.:rolleyes: :barf:
The Burafans are always the same.
 
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