Machete help.

M

mr mangeepants

Joined
Apr 20, 2004
Messages
12
I want a machete. Or maybe just a slab of steel with a handle. I don't care. I want it to work when I want it to, and not have to worry about it breaking even if I have to cut a person in half. I want fairly good steel. Something that WON'T break or chip unless I try to dig a hole in the sidewalk. I won't be chopping big trees down. Just the occasional clearing of small brush, but I want to be ready unless I need to use it. Preferably a fairly plain blade, not something that has a BIG curve in it. And what kind of handle would you reccomend? Just looking for a high quality plane machete...

Thanks in advance,
Mangeepants.
 
I own 2 machetes myself.One bolo and an Ontario sp-8.They boht have their place in the bush.The bolo is light but not very stiff.the sp-8 on the other hand is thick and I mean THICK!!! It's a hand axe more than a machete but you can cut through almost anything with it.(even a person if you really needed to.)
 
I have three Martindale machetes and they do the job for a really reasonable price. I find the wooden handles to be very comfortable, though I did get a blister when I used one for a couple of hours of heavy brush clearing.
 
ERdept said:
I have one of their's with a parkerized blade and sawtooth back for several years. Use it to hack bushes, shrubs, tree limbs for a long time now. Never hacked folks with it, never will. Ask about that with Rwandan members of the forum. Works well and is cheap too.
Click to expand...

I have this same machete. The only thing about it is that the sawback was disappointing.

It's a basic rip tooth saw - that is, there isn't any fleam. The teeth are all lined up in a row, so the sawdust doesn't seem to get ejected as efficiently. I have only found it useful for very light sawing.

Edited to add: Otherwise it works well as a machete and it was cheap.
 
Gotta agree with you on the disappointment with the sawback. I tried early on to saw a limb and got nowhere once the teeth filled in with wood pulp. I just got out my garden saw after that. Another excuse to buy the right tool for the purpose.

Recently, I just bought a Snow and Neally Ax. This company's 100+ years old and make cool axe blades with their own forge and grind them on stone wheels. Sorry for going off topic.

Whenever and if ever my Ontario Machette breaks down, I'll just buy another one. I tried the Cold Steel Special forces shovel on the roots, and was successful with the small ones, but it wasn't as good as the ax still. Guess I'll have to use the shovel for the next time I get into a trench war. ha ha ha ha :D

Cliff
 
The XXL survival golok from Valiantco is the best machete I have ever used. We are plagued by lantana in many parts of Australia. The XXL survival golok slashes lantana like a knife through butter.
 
Take a look at the Kershaw outcast . Its kind of a compromise between a big camp knife and a machete . Its a Ken Onion design , in D2 ( put out a 55 RC ) , plenty tuff and good edge holding . It also has a kydex sheath thats lends itself to good pack attachment . They can be had in the States for aprox. $60.00 . Take a look at some of the becker models , they are pretty brutal .
 
I agree that the Survival Golok's from Valiant are amazing, but I wouldn't necessarily suggest the XXL. It depends a lot on what you're cutting and using it for, and how much. If they're available yet (they tend to be sold out often) the XL or even the L would likely work very well for you.

I also have a Parang Lading which I like (generally) better than my Survival Golok, but they're more expensive and may not be quite as well suited, depending on your specific goals.
 
I have a WW11 era Collins machete that has given me very satisfactory performance for several years. No chipping or edge rolling yet easy to sharpen. Don't know if they're all this good or I just got lucky.
 
My brother got me a BK&T machete for Xmas- and my wife did a number on our yard with it- which one of our friends had previously referred to as "Danang- the yard"- and it was still razor sharp afterwards...
 
Id go for the 1-18 Ontario. Ive got an old one it is as tough as hell. And im not exactly gentle with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top