Machete vs. hatchet

Pick up both and use both for a day or two and try every task with both of them - then decide.
 
I was just out in the woods last friday, building a rather large lean tube frame, and I had a Ka-Bar Heavy Bowie and a Martiini Henry Fixed blade. My plan was to have it last awhile so I made it out of large segments of fallen trees and after hacking on it with my Ka-Bar I returned to my truck and grabbed my Collins Camp Axe which is pretty good. So I choose neither, but a medium between a hatchet and a full size axe.
 
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I've had great luck with a small machete for general woods bumming. Does as well as my old Boy Scout Plumb hatchet.
 
jackknife said:
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I've had great luck with a small machete for general woods bumming. Does as well as my old Boy Scout Plumb hatchet.
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Nice! I have an old (40+ years) corn knife that I might have to trim down a little to look like that. It's plenty old and ugly enough that I don't cry when I ding it, for sure!
 
Hatchet - fits in my pack, so more likely to be with me in the field.

Machete - doesn't fit in my pack, but more likely to be used in the yard to tame vines and windfall.

If I lived in a tropical/subtropical region, I'd probably be in a social context more forgiving of a machete hanging from my pack or belt, and more likely to need one due to the types of cutting needed. If I lived in the mountains I could say the same thing about a large axe or non-folding saw.

The interesting thing with "machete vs. hatchet" threads is how divisive they can get due to people arguing from their personal situation and preferences, when it is clear that different situations and preferences lead to different choices in tools.

I don't see it as "either/or" as much as "either/or in what context."
 
CapitalizedLiving said:
The interesting thing with "machete vs. hatchet" threads is how divisive they can get due to people arguing from their personal situation and preferences, when it is clear that different situations and preferences lead to different choices in tools.

I don't see it as "either/or" as much as "either/or in what context."
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Precisely. It's kind of like debating whether a screwdriver is better than a chisel.
 
Shotgun said:
Not necessarily. I find I have no use for a knife with 4-6 inch blade. A SAK and a tomahawk/hatchet is what I need.
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:thumbup: ditto, though I've never owned a hawk, its a SAK and machete for me.

Why would I need a fixed blade if I effectively already have one??
 
Has anyone discussed location and type of vegitation? I didn't see it.

terrain determines what would be better.
 
Depends on where you are. Id hate to have to cut my way through vines and low, thick vegetation with a hatchet, but on the flip side, I wouldnt want to do much chopping and splitting of hard wood with a traditional south American machete. There are some modern machetes out there than can be used on hardwood and do some batoning, so id probably go with that if I had to choose between the two.
 
In the South or Southeast, I think a machete gets the nod unless you have heavy cutting planned for the day. In which case, I'd take a chainsaw. ...okay, axe.... The woods can be very dense with vegetation and you always have to be concerned about snakes.

In the Northeast, there is much less vegetation in the woods and a hatchet or axe makes a lot of sense for cutting potentially larger stuff.

In the Northwest, you could choose either, but there is lots of pine and hatchets and axes work pretty well on them.

In the west, I think a hatchet gets the nod for camping.

Ofcourse, many would substitute a large knife. It just depends on how much cutting you're likely to be doing.
 
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