Long blade for the Amazon

E

Econaut

Joined
Sep 1, 2006
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3
Hello!

I'm a swedish guy that in a not so distant future will spend a couple of years deep in the Amazon forest. Without a practical blade the time there will get pretty troublesome, I guess. Now I am in search for the perfect blade.

1. The blade must be easy to carry, both strapped to the backpack as on my back or by my side.
2. The blade must be light enough to cut veins without straining my shoulder after an hour or two but can't nither be so light that I must always worry that it may break.
3. It must be able to sharpen with a whetstone and preferably stainless.
4. Must have a sheath/scabbard.

I noticed during a trip to Borneo that the people there only carry light parangs into the forest. The thickness was about 2 mm. It was used for everything. Mostly cutting vains to make a free passage in the difficult terrain. After a few generations they know what to use, I guess.

I already have a HI AK18" but is too heavy and would likely be a burden. The parangs of Valiant seems either too long or unnessesary thick. Weight is very important. So Valiant is my reserve, if I can't find anything lighter. If my parang breaks I will probably never be able to leave the jungle. Can I relly on a parang from Valiant? What's the rusting potential? What's a good length of a parang for a short person, 170 cm in height?

Do you have any ideas on what I should bring? If you must choose one long blade that you will carry in the jungle for a long time, what would you choose? Remember that your life depends on it.
 
For what you describe a machete (or maybe one of the HI knives) would probably be your best bet, teamed with a small folder (like an SAK) for general camp/ every day purposes. Ontario has a good reputation. If you manage to break or loose a machete, I have a feeling that you should be able to get a locally made replacement pretty easily. Carry a bastard file to maintain the edge, oil it to prevent rust.
 
As far as a machete type knife to deal with vines, I'd probably just opt to buy something down there. Like you said, they know what to use. As to what else I'd carry, probably a SAK and a smallish fixed blade, something along the lines of the Buck 102.

I have to ask, how does a guy from Sweden end up spending two years in the Amazon!?
 
When I was in central america the guides all carried a short machete and a sak, did everything they needed i too, several other people I know from the forums that have visited there had the same experience.
 
A few years ago our oldest son, John, was living in San jose, Costa Rica on buisness for his company. When we went down to visit him, he aranged for us to take a rain forest tour for a couple of days. It was a camp and hike with local experianced guides. The most common knife was a 11 or 12 inch machete that every guide had in a leather sheath on his hip. Those small machete's were used for EVERYTHING that needed cutting to include butchering and serving up the roast pig at the last nights dinner. They make a good ham slicer. The small machete seems to be the universal knife of Latin American jungles. Alot of tramontina's, some Collins, LaCorneta. Cheap, plentiful all over, does the job.

There were a couple of machetes that were the long trail clearing kind, but they were only carried by the lead guide when moving through the jungle durring the day on nature watching hikes.

In the city of San Jose, we saw alot of black leather pouches on belts with sak's in them.
 
mp510: Ontario machetes you say. I will look into them. Which HI blades did you have in mind?

mnblade: SAK? What is that? As for a smaller blade I aim for a Fällkniven F1 or S1. I've heard they are pretty good and I must of course give a little bit of Sweden to the Amazon. =D

I'm pretty bored right now. :) Not enough of the wilderness is around me and I feel I need to get away and do something new. You never feel as alive as when you are living in the forest doing what man should do(my opinion).
 
SAK=Swiss Army Knife. I wouldn't hesitate to take any of the Fallkniven blades along -- all should do a great job - problem would be just choosing. You might think about a U2 or TK4 lockback also (along with one of their DC4 diamond/ceramic combo sharpening stones - I'd want one of these with me regardless).

Here's an idea for your main blade - the Bark River Golok - 11in blade, A2 steel, sweet piece of work for whacking thru brush, or for most anything, and I'm pretty darn sure it won't break on you: http://www.barkriverknifetool.com/bushcraft/golok/index.html -- if I were going, *this* is what I'd want with me (probably with the blaze orange G10 handle).
 
There's a reason why machetes are so universally popular for that environment. A machete and a small knife for routine everyday tasks will serve you well.

If you have questions about the Amazon, might I suggest that you visit the new RAT Cutlery forum here on bladeforums and avail yourself of the tremendous amount of knowledge possessed by my good friends Jeff Randall and Mike Perrin?
 
If I were you here's the tools I think I would take:

Small Blade: Victorinox Farmer

Medium Blade: Fallkniven F1

Large Blade: Tramontina Machete (not sure what size though)
 
I've got a Junglee Military Bolo that I was going to recommend, but I can't find anyone who currently sells one. Their a really good size for that job, great at clearing vegetation, light chopping, and slicing. Steel is AUS-8, I believe. Shy of that, I hear good things about the Tramonitas.

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Use what millions use every day in the Amazon, a machete. Locals do everything from field stripping to farming to building their homes with them.

Buy it when you get there since they are available everywhere and will probably cost 1/10th what you'd have to pay in Sweden. Get 2 they're cheap. How heavy the terrain is where you will be living/travelling will determine the length of the machete. Probably get a 24" & a 18" would be my guess. Go ahead and let them tarnish & rust, just oil and sharpen as necessary.

The parangs of Asia would probably be too thick & heavy for your purposes, as will your khukri.

Don't overdo your gear, it may be too heavy and costly -AND be prepared to have everything stolen from you. Flashy knives are very noticeable to the locals.
 
I would go with a Tramontina 18" machete, a Multitool/leatherman and a good quality medium size sheath knife (Fallkniven S1, Ontario RAT5, Bark River Bravo1, Busse Badger Attack Tac).

The Sheath knife should be strong and versitile and be able to be worn on your belt all day.

If you can take extra gear, I would recomend taking a spare 12" machete as well, if you do not use it, it can always be traded or used for a gift.
 
For light brush slashing I like the Blackjack Panga. The blade is 12" of 1095 with a convex edge. It is light, has a great handle and could be swung all day. Even comes with a cat. Sure with carbon you have to worry about rust but if you take care of it that isn't a problem. I don't know of that many stainless machetes.


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A Busse Fusion Battle Mistress, or a Fusion steel heart would probably be the best knife for you. The FBM is around 16 inches, and the FSH is 14 inches long, and come in various blade coatings, blade thicknesses, handle colors, and handle thicknesses. You could probably pick one up on the exchange, or at the Busse company store, here are the links:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=804

http://www.bussecompanystore.com/


Good luck
Bill
 
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