Machete VS. Kukri

troutfisher13111

troutfisher13111

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Which one is a better all around tool? What are each ones advantages? Also, anyone have a opinion on the Ka-Bar Kukri?
 
My vote is for the Machete.

If you carry the knife just for chopping, a khukri would be better, but, then, why not just go with a tomahawk or hatchet.

A machete, in my opinion, is the best clearing-chopping-digging-cutting tool there is.

Now the only question is which machete...

I've always liked the Ontario 18" for work (surveying). I've used it to cut line through brush and small trees, as well as to dig. For recreation, I'm thinking about going to a 12" machete.

I've tried some of the Cold Steel machetes, but their blades have just been too flimsy (2mm thickness). I'm excited about their new 3mm thick machetes. All politics aside, Cold Steel makes some excellent low-priced user knives and tools.
 
I love a 12 inch machete. I tried a kukri but found it was too heavy duty and limited in that direction. The machete makes a more versitile tool, to include making a great ham slicer on campouts.
 
I prefer the kukri for both jungle and woodland, it is much more versatile than a machete, I like mine to have 13-14" blades and be around 23-25oz. It can cut a trail easily, and do the job of an axe at the same time perfect!
 
I must have had a crappy CS Machete because the one I have gets dents in the edge like crazy, wont hold an edge for anything. I have been anything BUT impressed with the steel they use in there machete's or low grade Kukri Machetes.
 
The khukri gets my vote. This blade was designed for maximum cutting with minimum effort. I wrap my khukri's grip with paracord and I taped a small PSK to the sheath with duct tape. Not neccessary to buy the expensive ones either. I picked up one in the Philipines made from a leaf spring and man, does it cut!
 
Well its like comparing apples and cows. These knives are as drastically different as two knives can be. A khuk is a heavy chopper. A machete for light clearing of veg. A khuk is a very versatile tool with a nice hardened edge. Most machete edges are soft. A khuk is thicker spined and a LOT heavier.

As to the CS khuk. It isn't a khuk at all. Its a bent knife. They really aren't the same beast at all.
 
Depends of the khukuri.

Some khukuris have slimmer blades and are not made to chop at all. I would get one of those before I get a machete, but I have HIVK (khukuri addiction).
 
Yoshi said:
I prefer the kukri for both jungle and woodland, it is much more versatile than a machete, I like mine to have 13-14" blades and be around 23-25oz. It can cut a trail easily, and do the job of an axe at the same time perfect!
Click to expand...

I would choose the Khukuri over a machete as well. A good khuk will outchop most other big knife choppers and is as versatile as it gets for a big blade. Especially if the traditional sheath is used, so that the smaller knife and burnishing tool can be carried. I forget the names, sorry bout that. The only drawbacks to the khuk, are that it takes more practice to master the techniques, so injury doesn't occur and they are heavier than the machete. Not enough to sway me away from the khuk though.
 
longbow50 said:
I would choose the Khukuri over a machete as well. A good khuk will outchop most other big knife choppers and is as versatile as it gets for a big blade. Especially if the traditional sheath is used, so that the smaller knife and burnishing tool can be carried. I forget the names, sorry bout that. The only drawbacks to the khuk, are that it takes more practice to master the techniques, so injury doesn't occur and they are heavier than the machete. Not enough to sway me away from the khuk though.
Click to expand...

Is there a good, well built Khukuri that wouldn't run me over a $100? Where can I find one? Thanks
 
Which one is a better all around tool?
The Machete if it's one of these...
http://www.imagometrics.com/GoBags/Machetes.htm

RKMA_Bat.jpg


Lapin2.jpg


What are each ones advantages?
As someone else remarked in this or another forum, Khukris are highly effective 'limbers' they are excellent at severing limbs and at chopping the cylindrical shape of trees,necks and appendages for example.
This is by virtue of the dynamic shearing cuts but also the sheer concentration of weight at the fore of the blade.The combined energy from the weilder's motion with the weight of the 'boomerang' shape, continue the 'arc' of the stroke inwards in the direction of the hand in what I call a harvesting stroke. Machetes tend to push the target away from you as you cut.
Machetes in contrast, do not shear towards the user the way that Khuris do. The energy is more evenly sent to all parts of the edge and generally perpendicular to it. This makes them better ar clearing and general chopping and less powerful for close range limbing than a Khuri.
Machete's are also MUCH more effective at general Jungle/Woods tasks such as butchering, Food prep and 'carpentry' as well as digging.

Also, anyone have a opinion on the Ka-Bar Kukri?
Never seen it in person.Go for the Ka-Bar Cutlass Machete- The balance is ideal for you and the blade geometry far more versatile and as with all Ka-Bars in this group- the grip is AMAZING.

Another point.

Khuris are less forgiving to poor strokes and poor aim. A glancing blow of a Khuri off of a tree trunk is likely to be an event you'll not want to repeat
 
Gotta throw another one in here for HI Imports khurks. I have a British Service model and use it exclusively for HARD outdoor WORK. Mostly trail clearing. I also carry a Machate for light vegitation, but if I had to only choose one my Khurk would be my choice. Notice that I reground the edge a little thinner and I feel it helps it be more versitile. I paid 65$ for it on the forum page and am VERY happy with it.
 
Which one is the best all around tool? Well, where are you going to use it and for what purposes? If I had to choose between these two blades, I'd choose the machete every time. Maybe that's because I've spent a lot more time using a machete, though. I found that for a lot of serious outdoor work (clearing bushes, weeds, and vines from land) a machete with a 22 or 24 inch blade would save my back a lot of bending, though one with an 18 inch blade is better for most people and most uses. But for a bugout bag or a survival kit I'd pick one with a 12 inch blade, unless I lived in a Central or South American jungle, and even then the 12 incher wouldn't be a bad choice. What about clearing trails, you might ask? Well, someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but I'm under the impression that indigenous people who actually live in jungly places (as opposed to civilized folks who like to hike recreationally) don't waste a lot of energy trying to clear trails that will probably grow over in a week's time anyway. They cut only what they need to to get where they're going or do whatever they need to do. You can do a lot of things with a kukri, just like you can with a big Bowie. But one of my favorite things to do is eat. I think I can eat a lot better using a short machete than I can with any other blade if I'm limited to only one. My opinion has been reinforced by Ron Hood's video about a trip he, his wife, and an English speaking companion or two took deep into a South American jungle to visit a small, remote village that it took them about three days of serious all day power boat travel to reach. Watching those people, even the kids, using their machetes to get and prepare food was an education. For example, to cut up critters to eat they would choke up on the blade ahead of the handle. Since I don't have much real need for a machete nowdays, I really like a 12 inch shorty. I've even got an older 12 inch Collins right next to the driver's seat in my van. I call it my "repel boarders" device. I sure wish I had known that Collins was going to close up some years back. I would have bought a dozen of them in various lengths. Oh, well. "Live and learn, die and forget it all," as Mr. Moxley used to tell me. :D
 
I have the cold steel kukri machete, I'm going to have to disagree with the user who complained about it, personally I think it's great. I chopped alot of wild grape brush with it, hacked through tree braches 2inch diameter to about 6.5 inch. It did everything really well except split wood, it did kind of suck at that. It was still "paper" cutting sharp after about 1 and a half hours of sporadic hack and slash, it didn't hold it's edge as well as the kabar USMC, the Gerber LMF or the Kershaw Outcast (D2), but hacked about the best for $20 bucks, it's pretty awesome. I plan on getting a few more CS machetes.
 
Kukri house is another source for a well built Khuk and I believe that they are less money.

For jungle type of areas, where a lot of undergrown is present, I think that it would make sense to carry a good machete over a khuk. But living where I live, a machete's duties can be done with the Khuk, if needed, but most of the time, it isn't needed.
 
psinide said:
I have the cold steel kukri machete, I'm going to have to disagree with the user who complained about it, personally I think it's great. I chopped alot of wild grape brush with it, hacked through tree braches 2inch diameter to about 6.5 inch. It did everything really well except split wood, it did kind of suck at that. It was still "paper" cutting sharp after about 1 and a half hours of sporadic hack and slash, it didn't hold it's edge as well as the kabar USMC, the Gerber LMF or the Kershaw Outcast (D2), but hacked about the best for $20 bucks, it's pretty awesome. I plan on getting a few more CS machetes.
Click to expand...

What I said is that its a bent knife, and not a khukuri at all. Regardless of how that knife performed for you, it is certainly not a khukuri.
 
I think that the important thing to remember is that neither one is really an "all-arounder." They can both accomplish a variety of tasks, but I wouldn't WANT to have either as my only blade. That said, I would feel comfortable with either provided each was a quality piece. Until I recieved my HI 16.5" WWII, I didn't appreciate how incredibly "OverBuilt" these blades are. The spine on my blade is ~5/8" and keeps that thickness for most of it's length. For my needs as a general large chopper and hatchet replacement, it is perfect. I don't do much jungle adventuring, so my needs for the light fast swing a machete offers aren't really needed.

I tried an interesting experiment with both my machete and my Khukri. Took a couple of bottles of bottled water and suspended them from cord. I took a swing at one with the machete, which wacked a gash in the bottle, but mostly knocked the bottle around. I swung at the other with the Khukri, the result was I ended up with two sections of bottle and water everywhere. The machete is nothing to write home about, but I have sharpened and thinned the edge, the Khukri is just shy of shaving sharp.

Here a pic of the Khuk in question from a thead I recently posted:

070405_7326.jpg


Sean
 
Like was said, they are different tools. To my small mind, the machete is a more universal tool. Something that also needs to be said, though, is that everything changes if you put a value on how much weight you carry. At that point, you could carry a saw and a machete, or a Khuk by itself. I am somewhat biased, as I like machetes, and have only used 1 Khuk in my life. Due to my lack of skill, I assume, with the Khuk, it performed comparably to the short machete I was using at the time. The machete weighed like 10 oz less though. It seems like the machete chops softwoods just fine, but the Khukri seems like it would come out far ahead in hardwood.
 
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