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Machete for South Eastern USA Bushcraft?

i keep a fiddleback 12" machete on my pack when hiking camping in ga/n.c.
cleared many an overgrown trail old road with it.
 
I used to be all about the lanyards on my machetes. I would tie them with just enough length to put through my thumb and tightly wrap behind my hand. I like the feeling of the tension on the lanyard locking my hand into place.

But that being said, After a lot fatigued, potentially dangerous machete mishaps I too have come to the conclusion that it's probably better to skip the lanyard. I would rather have it fly away from me, as opposed to a pendulum swinging right back at me when i lose control.
 
If I were buying a machete right now for your purpose, I would get the Condor Swampmaster (16") or Viking machete (20"). I like the wood handle on the Viking a lot as it fits with my parang and goloks. You'll probably have to sand the swampmaster handle, but it's wood and not hard with a sander. Just takes a bit of time. I have the Puerto Rican which is similar to the Swampmaster and it is my go to machete if I am not using the Pack Golok or Village Parang. The regular Condor Golok is an excellent machete too at 16".

The choice might also be impacted with how you intend to carry the blade.
 
I have a 22" Ontario which I keep on hand if needed--but it seldom sees usage since I got a Tramontina bolo. Here is the Bolo I have.

http://www.machetespecialists.com/tr14bomawiha.html

I also bought the 14" Condor Bolo leather sheath which fits it very nicely and makes it nice to carry on your side. The sheath costs more than the machete but I much prefer leather over canvas.

http://www.knifecenter.com/item/CNS...fe-Leather-Sheath-for-15-12-inch-Bolo-Machete

I really like the thinness and toughness of the Tramontina and the carbon spring steel for field sharpening. The spring steel is made to take abuse and based on what you pay for a Tram you don't mind using it hard. I blued my blade for rust prevention. I also mildly sharpened the top side like a Bowie from the end of the Bolo to the point for better sticking penetration. This also creates an upswept point on the bottom side for a skinning point similar to some of the old Green River Butcher knives.

http://www.crazycrow.com/mm5/mercha...t_Code=4925-060-002&Category_Code=841-400-100

The Tram should work pretty good for carving up a wild Georgia pig roast. I also square edge the spine above the handle for use with a fire striker.

For me the length is just right for carrying--I don't like anything longer than 14" for a regular carry on the belt.

I like the traditional wooden handle so it can be sanded to fit the hand correctly so it does not chafe--then I oil finish and wax it. The Tramontina blade is thin and well suited for briars, brush, and grass and yet heavy enough at the Bolo for hardwood limbs. I usually wear leather gloves when using it on brush or briars since it is shorter than a typical length and you can occasionally have a branch/briar whip your hand, but its shorter length also provides more precision in tighter quarters. The Bolo portion allows for pretty decent chopping on larger hardwood limbs once you learn to use the weighted sweet spot. Its thin enough and weighted enough on the Bolo to give surprising penetration on heavier wood. Its about the right length batonning/splitting wood and kindling. The thin 14" Bolo is my favorite all-round carry machete.

If I want something with more heft it would be my customized Condor Boomslang.

http://www.amazon.com/Condor-Boomslang-11-Inch-Micarta-Leather/dp/B004WMFJD0

I removed the epoxy paint and blued it for less penetration resistance, and thinned/lengthened the bevel of the cutting edge and Bowie styled the end of the blade. This thing will out perform a machete hands-down as a heavy duty chopper and can still serve as a big Bowie sticker or large skinner and can also be easily carried on the belt. The handle has great geometry for heavy controlled chopping.

IMO the Condor Boomslang excels for chopping and the Tramontina Bolo excels for the lighter brush.

The 22" Ontario just stays sharp on the shelf because its too thick for efficiency on light brush, grass, and weeds compared to a Tramontina (or typical South American) style and less effective than the Boomslang as a heavy chopper.

You asked about a bushcraft machete, not home brush clearing tool, not a sugar cane harvester, and not a heavy chopper, so my recommendation is the Tramontina Bolo for all-round Bushcraft usage on the trail.
 
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Ontario military 18in is the best cheapo in my experience. Though cold steel makes some decent ones


Though the best "machete" that I have ever used and I still use for even northern woods is the ESEE Junglas
 
I have never used the ESEE. It looks like a good design, but that's a lot more money than what the guys who use them every day will typically pay. I imagine it could be worth it though. How thick is the blade? It appears more like a heavy chopping knife than a machete.

I like the Bolo design as it allows for a traditional thin machete blade for grass and yet is still weighted enough by the Bolo for heavier work without needing a lot of length. However the one down side is that you cannot use the standard pull out sheath which you could with a Junglas or Latin style.

This is why I also mentioned the Boomslang which can be drawn out of the sheath and is very reasonably priced for what you get and also comes with a heavy leather sheath. Its also designed for heavy chopping. In most North American forests you may be served as well by a large chopping knife as a traditional thin-bladed machete.
 
One of the reasons I like the Ontario machetes so much is they're a little bit thicker and stiffer than a lot of others on the market. I don't like my blades to be too thin and "whippy".
 
The ontario 22" HD is the best. Ive been chopping down trees and clearing high grass etc. with it. It does all the tasks well.
It is stiff enough to chop through hardwood but at the same time flexible just enough not to break or bend.
 
In my experience if your cutting light vegetation similar to what machetes were designed for, the traditional i.e. thinner blades are more weight balanced and cut more efficiently with less effort and fatigue on the hand and wrist. If you are chopping limbs which are heavier than the traditional machete design usage, a heavier, thicker, and shorter than a machete blade is merited. If you put the South American plant type model into a similar North American plant type model I would say that one of our traditional equivalents would be the farmers corn-cutting/shocking knife which is long, thin, and light.
 
Long (18"+) blades with distal taper are usually the best choice for most tasks. For wood chopping a long blade is still preferred, just with a flared tip. Shorter blades are mostly used where ease of carry is a priority and/or when working in very cramped spaces. Thin long blades can be rendered stiff through the use of distal taper. :)
 
I'm sure a 22+" thin well-balanced blade is preferred for land clearing or extensive trail clearing. My 22" Ontario I have is the definition of clumsy and unbalanced so I would get a new one if I had a lot of clearing to do. However I have a hard time seeing where 22" is the preferred length as a trail carry "Bushcraft" blade which will probably be only used for an hour at the most to "possibly" clear a campsite. A shorter machete has a variety of Bushcraft uses on the trail and can still quickly clear a campsite. I can't imagine hiking with a 22+" machete bouncing along from my belt whereas a 14" Bolo can be right there with minimal inconvenience.
 
[video=youtube;xwVaXHMBCG8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwVaXHMBCG8[/video]
This video is mine and an ontario 22" hd machete is featured in it. I stripped the coating off so that it bites deeper into wood.
Now im finishing a to handed handle for it:
DSC_0213.jpg

In my opinion it is the best machete. End of story :>
 
So what do you mean? If you have a becker BK9 do you use the tip for chopping? no, you use the portion well before the tip. It is the same with a machete, the physics are the same. From my experience with the 22" machete i can get the most power, the best balance and the deepest peentration at about 18" from the handle. If the machete was 18" blade, i'd probably use 14-15" portion from the handle.
 
I just recently picked up a Tramontina 18" latin style machete with the wooden handle. The steel seems very good for a machete, and they are cheap. They need a little refining (sanding and BLO for the handle, properly sharpening it, etc), but it seems like a very good cutter. My guess is it's not as good as the Ontarios for heavier duty stuff, but it should make an all-around good machete for the woods.
 
Pindvin said:
So what do you mean? If you have a becker BK9 do you use the tip for chopping? no, you use the portion well before the tip. It is the same with a machete, the physics are the same. From my experience with the 22" machete i can get the most power, the best balance and the deepest peentration at about 18" from the handle. If the machete was 18" blade, i'd probably use 14-15" portion from the handle.
Click to expand...

With a machete you use the widened striking area as the center of the hit. The widened area was well beyond your common striking point showing you would be better served by a shorter Bolo style. Many people who think they need a long machete do not use the full length when striking and simply are carrying steel they do not use. If you have a Bolo near the end, that is where you center the strike. If you had a Bolo on that Machete around 14-16" the rest of the blade would not be needed and you could keep your typical striking range.
 
Well it looks like I will be buying a few different types of machetes now. lol The 22" latin style will probably be my first buy then a smaller type machete. The Baryonyx machete that 42 makes looks very interesting. I have a woodsman pal with knuckle guard which is Kinda similar to the Baryonyx machete but the baryonyx looks alot lighter.


I don't get to go camping as much as I would like to but most of my camping is on family property, National forest and leased hunting property. All of which I can drive my truck with a few hundred yards max of the camping area. So weight and size is not that huge of a factor because I will not be carrying it long.
 
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