Machete Style Recommendation for Taiwan Mountains - I'm new to machetes

[outrecording]

This is my first post here. Hello to all!

I've find myself in need of a machete. I drive my enduro into the Taiwan mountains weekly for a bit of off-roading and recording (my hobby). I run into a lot of trails that are overgrown and sometimes have smaller trees and such felled from a typhoon or storm. I'd like to buy a machete to help me clear a variety of obstacles.

I'm new to machetes, and unfortunately there aren't many for me to try out where I live; though there is a decent selection I can mail order.

At this point I'm unsure which design would be best suited for my needs.

I want to strap it to the outside of my backpack for quick and easy draw. I come upon a lot of tall grass I would like to quickly cut through. (Yeah, I can drive through it easily, but Taiwan has these "giant" spiders called human face spiders that you can find in these grasses. I learned that the hard way the first time I powered my way through. Looked over at my left hand and one was sitting on top! I overreacted. Crashed.
Heres a pic of one of the little monsters:

Literally the size of your hand...

So mainly tall grass and brush, but would like to have the ability for chopping small fallen trees if necessary - and not spend all day doing it.

I like Kukri's and seems they're a good all-arounder but I read they're not necessarily the best for grass?

I've found the Kershaw Camp series here and am considering the 14 or 18. Not sure if those would be overkill.

First things first, which style machete would you recommend?

Thanks

 

[Squashfan]

Am on a mobile device right now but when I get to a keyboard I will put up a couple of suggestions.

 

[FTR-14c]

You are so lucky to have terrain like that at your disposal, the riding must be spectacular.

There will be plenty of suggestions coming your way as soon as some of the machete folks see this post.

As a trail rider, the one thing I will add is the importance of the sheath you choose. I know what it is like to go down hard and I would not want a machete tossed into the mix.

I'm sure there are ways of becoming creative and fabricating something that gives you peace of mind.
Kydex is another option. I had these machetes sent to the kydex bender for fitting and he shipped them to me when they were complete. They are very sturdy and offer many lashing points to mount them almost anywhere. There are also many ways to add backup retention to keep everything secure in the event of a crash.






One option to look into is the Ontario 18" machete with the hard sheath.
This may work well as a cutting tool for you and offer good protection for a very reasonable price.

 

[jobasha11]

A kukri and the camp series by Kershaw are overkill for brush and grass IMO. Too thick for primarily light work. A thin 18 inch Latin, panga or similar design would serve you well. Take a look at the brands tramontina and imacasa. The machetes from them are dirt cheap for the qaulity you get but they come a bit rough from factory. If you cant or don't want to work on the edge/handle out of the box then you can go here http://www.baryonyxknife.com/ to purchase it. If you select "special grade" you will be charged a bit more but the owner will finish it up for you. (He is a member here that goes by fortytwoblades... I'm sure he will pop in this thread shortly)

 

[outrecording]

Thanks for the replies so far. I'm ready to hit the sack. But wanted to mention that I'm limited to the machetes I can find in taiwan. From want I've read I need to apply for a permit to have one mailed here from overseas. My selection is limited, but not terrible.

 

[I.N.F.K]

I'm pretty sure that the local tribes used a machete or knife; depending on the size, called a truku.

 

[CubeLW]

When in doubt, go for a Tramontina. I live in Florida and my patio is in like a humongous shrub/vine/bush dome and I have to clear the foilage that blocks the tunnel-like entrance to it a couple times a month. I use a Tramontina with a 11.5" blade

 

[zhyla]

Brush/grass = machete. Small trees = axe. I would never pick up a machete for chopping wood. The khukri may do the trick but you're going to regret the khukri for whacking grass.

I would grab a shorter Latin machete (Tramontina, Imacasa, etc) and get a decent sheath for it.

Avoid the Ontario. I don't know why people are so in love with that thing.

 

[gregorio]

If they are just small fallen trees a machete 1/8" thick is probably ok. However for cutting grass you can go a lot thinner than that.

Condor is pretty decent. And watch some videos on using a machete properly.

 

[Squashfan]

Thanks for the replies so far. I'm ready to hit the sack. But wanted to mention that I'm limited to the machetes I can find in taiwan. From want I've read I need to apply for a permit to have one mailed here from overseas. My selection is limited, but not terrible.

What do you have available? I would go with what we, in the US, call a "latin pattern". Here are two examples: http://www.baryonyxknife.com/14trailmachete.html http://www.baryonyxknife.com/bumagr.html
Which size is up to you but I, personal taste, would go with the 18" (45cm) blade. I like the extra reach. And back it up with a folding saw over an hatchet. More below.

Brush/grass = machete. Small trees = axe. I would never pick up a machete for chopping wood. The khukri may do the trick but you're going to regret the khukri for whacking grass.

I would grab a shorter Latin machete (Tramontina, Imacasa, etc) and get a decent sheath for it.

Avoid the Ontario. I don't know why people are so in love with that thing.

I am with this guy. Except that I would go for hatchet (hatchets are smaller than axes) for chopping and a machete for grass/brush. Even then, a folding saw will go though a 5 inch (13cm) tree limb much faster than any hatchet.

I would also advise against Ontario for light grass. It is like swinging around a thick bar of steel. (I own both the 18 and 13 inch versions of Ontario's GI Machete. I had the 13 inch with me today and I used it for what it is meant for: thick, woody stems.

 

[Haze]

Go to Da-si near Jhong-Li and get a mountain knife from the shop there. They are the best knives I have found here in Taiwan and I have been here for nearly ten years now.

If you drop me a line I can give you more info than you can handle in one lifetime. :thumbup:

This is some of my collection of Taiwan mountain knives, they are all intergal, hollow handle style blades. The "southern style" stick tang knives tend to be little more than tourist nonsense but you can still get quality if you know where to go for it.

 

[EChoil]

You are so lucky to have terrain like that at your disposal, the riding must be spectacular.

There will be plenty of suggestions coming your way as soon as some of the machete folks see this post.

As a trail rider, the one thing I will add is the importance of the sheath you choose. I know what it is like to go down hard and I would not want a machete tossed into the mix.

I'm sure there are ways of becoming creative and fabricating something that gives you peace of mind.
Kydex is another option. I had these machetes sent to the kydex bender for fitting and he shipped them to me when they were complete. They are very sturdy and offer many lashing points to mount them almost anywhere. There are also many ways to add backup retention to keep everything secure in the event of a crash.

I sure like those knives.

 

[outrecording]

Thank you for your opinions. Several things were brought up I hadn't considered.

@FTR-14c: This alone makes me glad I signed up and posted. I'm happy you posted that. I should have considered this, but didn't. A machete with poor sheath in a motorcycle fall could be a deadly thing. I might just keep it in my backpack for safety.

I read own guy making Kydex sheathes say he must have the knife. That could prove difficult from taiwan (the import thing I mentioned earlier). But I'll still look into it. Thanks for bringing it up.

Yeah, the trails are pretty nice at times, but finding them can be a challenge.


Ok, it looks like a Latin style or similar is the consensus here. I was worried it wouldn't help much for thicker trees, but I really like the idea of the folding saw. This combo sounds great. I think the saw will work better with my setup than a hatchet.


@Squashfan: Here's a link to a local auction site. It's not definitive, but should give you an idea what's available. They're ordered according to price. It's in Chinese but click pages 11-20 at the bottom.

http://search.ruten.com.tw/search/s000.php?searchfrom=searchf&k=%A4s%A4M&t=0&o=5&p=11

I've seen a few Latin style blades that have a saw opposite side of the blade. One less tool would be great, but are these machetes with incorporated saws any good?


I've found three Tramontina models. I don't mind learning how to sharpen one, but lack of sheath is a problem for me. Is someone making ready-to-buy sheaths for these?

In addition to the Tramontina's, here are a select few Latins I can find:

Sogfari
http://goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21405251790107

Mascot (prob local brand)
http://goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21403194403584

Some local brand maybe?
http://goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21407132421603

Ontario's maybe? No English names
http://goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21406271690930
http://goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21207114819657
http://goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21307045482679

Cold steel (have 18" as well. Pretty much can get anything from CS
http://goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21405034836646

That looks to be about it. Though I can ask a couple knife shops if they can get a specific model. They carry a lot of brands. So a possibility.

Thanks

 

[outrecording]

Go to Da-si near Jhong-Li and get a mountain knife from the shop there. They are the best knives I have found here in Taiwan and I have been here for nearly ten years now.

If you drop me a line I can give you more info than you can handle in one lifetime. :thumbup:

This is some of my collection of Taiwan mountain knives, they are all intergal, hollow handle style blades. The "southern style" stick tang knives tend to be little more than tourist nonsense but you can still get quality if you know where to go for it.

Is that place in Taipei? I'm in Kaohsiung. I'd be happy to give ya a call. Can you PM your number?

Also would be interested if you know anything about carry laws here. A couple knife shops gave me the lowdown, but couldn't tell me with 100% certainty. More like, "if you have a good reason to carry it, then it doesn't matter what the law says." And so goes Taiwan...

 

[Squashfan]

Thank you for your opinions. Several things were brought up I hadn't considered.

@FTR-14c: This alone makes me glad I signed up and posted. I'm happy you posted that. I should have considered this, but didn't. A machete with poor sheath in a motorcycle fall could be a deadly thing. I might just keep it in my backpack for safety.

I read own guy making Kydex sheathes say he must have the knife. That could prove difficult from taiwan (the import thing I mentioned earlier). But I'll still look into it. Thanks for bringing it up.

Yeah, the trails are pretty nice at times, but finding them can be a challenge.


Ok, it looks like a Latin style or similar is the consensus here. I was worried it wouldn't help much for thicker trees, but I really like the idea of the folding saw. This combo sounds great. I think the saw will work better with my setup than a hatchet.


@Squashfan: Here's a link to a local auction site. It's not definitive, but should give you an idea what's available. They're ordered according to price. It's in Chinese but click pages 11-20 at the bottom.

http://search.ruten.com.tw/search/s000.php?searchfrom=searchf&k=%A4s%A4M&t=0&o=5&p=11

I've seen a few Latin style blades that have a saw opposite side of the blade. One less tool would be great, but are these machetes with incorporated saws any good?


I've found three Tramontina models. I don't mind learning how to sharpen one, but lack of sheath is a problem for me. Is someone making ready-to-buy sheaths for these?

In addition to the Tramontina's, here are a select few Latins I can find:

Sogfari
http://goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21405251790107

Mascot (prob local brand)
http://goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21403194403584

Some local brand maybe?
http://goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21407132421603

Ontario's maybe? No English names
http://goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21406271690930
http://goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21207114819657
http://goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21307045482679

Cold steel (have 18" as well. Pretty much can get anything from CS
http://goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21405034836646

That looks to be about it. Though I can ask a couple knife shops if they can get a specific model. They carry a lot of brands. So a possibility.

Thanks

Don't bother with the saw back machete. Most of them won't work right and the teeth hang up on the sheath when drawing the blade out. I have an Ontario with a sawback and the spine is too thick to work quickly. And it has rip saw teeth when it should have cross cut teeth. Basically, there are two different kinds of saw teeth. Rip for cutting with woodgrain and crosscut for cutting across the grain. Most of the sawback machetes I have seen have the rip cut teeth too. SOG looks to have rip teeth.

I don't have any of Cold Steel machetes but I think that they would work. They should come with a sheath too. You will have to sharpen it but that is typical of all machetes. Tramotinas don't come sharp at all. That allows the final user to tailor the edge to his or her own preferences. When I bought a Tramontina or Imacasa, I made a sheath for it out of standard PVC pipe. A fun weekend project.

From what you have said and listed, if I were in you place, I would go with Cold Steel. Sharpened first with 12" then a 10" mill bastard (< I am not being profane. Bastard indicates how coarse the teeth of a file are.) file and you should good to go. But if you like the look of the local made knives, they should work just fine too.

BTW, here is a listing of Cold Steel's machetes. http://www.coldsteel.com/Category/5_1/Machetes.aspx

Outrecording, I don't know how you could find out the law for Taiwan. But I have heard at lot of different things from so called "experts" in knife stores over here in the US. Even asking the police doesn't always yield the correct answer. Be careful and try to find written law.

Long post but I was happy to try to help you, outrecoding.

 

[Sharp Knives 86]

I'll just echo what's already been said but a Tram machete is a great choice. Thin enough that when sharpened it glides through weeds and grass like a lightsaber but still has enough thickness to chop smaller trees and branches like the OP described. Ontario machetes are great but are on the thicker side. They cut through vegitation well enough in my experience but becaus the extra weight, it tires you out quicker and the handles need a bit of sanding to make comfortable (but then again so do the Trams if you get the wood handle version). However Ontario's do make for decent and inexpensive choppers on harder wooden targets. Personally I consider Ontario machetes to be a Jack-of-all-trades type of machete.

 

[JayGoliath]

It looks like you came across the Golden Orb Weaver:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_silk_orb-weaver

Being at Taiwan, i would pick up a Laraw and be done for all.

 

[Haze]

It looks like you came across the Golden Orb Weaver:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_silk_orb-weaver

Being at Taiwan, i would pick up a Laraw and be done for all.

Aye, that was just a little one though....here's a proper one.

(I have actually see a large decline in the numbers of those giant golden orbwebs in the last few years. They are a splendid beast and it's sad to see them going).

I agree with the Laraw but a head hunting sword might be a little much. The smaller 10-12 inch bush knives forged a bit thinner than the choppers would be perfect. The darker knife next to the sword in my pic is my go to knife for the mountains. :thumbup:

 

[outrecording]

Aye, that was just a little one though....here's a proper one.

(I have actually see a large decline in the numbers of those giant golden orbwebs in the last few years. They are a splendid beast and it's sad to see them going).

I agree with the Laraw but a head hunting sword might be a little much. The smaller 10-12 inch bush knives forged a bit thinner than the choppers would be perfect. The darker knife next to the sword in my pic is my go to knife for the mountains. :thumbup:

What kind of weight do the 10-12" ones have?

Yeah, Golden Orb Weaver it is! I've seem some huge ones deeper in the mountains. Nice to look at, but not when they're unexpectedly crawling on you!

Will give ya a call. Thanks!

 

[outrecording]

Don't bother with the saw back machete. Most of them won't work right and the teeth hang up on the sheath when drawing the blade out. I have an Ontario with a sawback and the spine is too thick to work quickly. And it has rip saw teeth when it should have cross cut teeth. Basically, there are two different kinds of saw teeth. Rip for cutting with woodgrain and crosscut for cutting across the grain. Most of the sawback machetes I have seen have the rip cut teeth too. SOG looks to have rip teeth.

I don't have any of Cold Steel machetes but I think that they would work. They should come with a sheath too. You will have to sharpen it but that is typical of all machetes. Tramotinas don't come sharp at all. That allows the final user to tailor the edge to his or her own preferences. When I bought a Tramontina or Imacasa, I made a sheath for it out of standard PVC pipe. A fun weekend project.

From what you have said and listed, if I were in you place, I would go with Cold Steel. Sharpened first with 12" then a 10" mill bastard (< I am not being profane. Bastard indicates how coarse the teeth of a file are.) file and you should good to go. But if you like the look of the local made knives, they should work just fine too.

BTW, here is a listing of Cold Steel's machetes. http://www.coldsteel.com/Category/5_1/Machetes.aspx

Outrecording, I don't know how you could find out the law for Taiwan. But I have heard at lot of different things from so called "experts" in knife stores over here in the US. Even asking the police doesn't always yield the correct answer. Be careful and try to find written law.

Long post but I was happy to try to help you, outrecoding.

Hey, that's great stuff. Better too much info than not enough. It's appreciated.

I haven't discounted the Tram yet. I'm wondering if an Ontario sheath could fit it. If yes, then I think I can send it off for sharpening. The family of the guy I bought my motorcycle from sharpens knives for Gerber and some others made here. They should be able to handle it. Otherwise I'll see if I can try out a CS or Ontario. Might have a bit of traveling to do for that. Or heck, just get both!

Laws and Taiwan are a tricky thing. One short drive in the city will let you know just how much laws mean here. Though with the recent MRT knife wielding teenager on a killing spree, people are definitely more sensitive to knives, no less a machete.