Machetes & Bush Knives

Horn Dog said:
The Bark River KSF machete is the Cadillac of machetes, but maybe machetes were never meant to be "high end" knives. Part of their value has always been their utility for the buck. The surface grinding and convexing cost a lot of money. The leather sheath added more to the price. It would not surprise me at all if the RAT machete ends up costing $60 to $80 sheath included. Maybe more.
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I looked at the Barkie KSF machete, and I'm really tempted. It's the right length too, but I'm trying to hold out for the RAT. If it's the right overall length that I look for in a machete, and the same quality as the other RAT blades, I'd pay the 80 bucks :)
 
Horn Dog said:
It would not surprise me at all if the RAT machete ends up costing $60 to $80 sheath included. Maybe more.
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I'd be interested to see RAT's take on a handle. I don't have much machete time, but the ones I have used the comfort level just didn't impress me.
 
Most people try to hammer grip a machete. That's ok for a small amount of work but it will finally wear your hand out. I like to switch from hammer grip to pinch grip (gripping with thumb and index finger and allowing the machete to rotate in your hand slightly before impact). As far as overall comfort, a standard machete handle like on a Condor is about as comfortable as it gets to me.
 
R.A.T. said:
Most people try to hammer grip a machete. That's ok for a small amount of work but it will finally wear your hand out. I like to switch from hammer grip to pinch grip (gripping with thumb and index finger and allowing the machete to rotate in your hand slightly before impact).
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Figured it was something along those lines. Got a condor rolling it's way to me now, see how that goes. Thanks.

EDIT: went out for a beachwalk with the RC5 (photos to come), came home, and theres a long skinny box on my doorstep! I've got to say, I'm impressed. Well made, sharpened, and the care done in packing it was obvious. Edge is slightly folded, but that'll clean up easy enough.
 
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R.A.T. said:
Most people try to hammer grip a machete. That's ok for a small amount of work but it will finally wear your hand out. I like to switch from hammer grip to pinch grip (gripping with thumb and index finger and allowing the machete to rotate in your hand slightly before impact). As far as overall comfort, a standard machete handle like on a Condor is about as comfortable as it gets to me.
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That's the method I use as well, and it allows the machete to do all of the work for you. Hammer-fisting will get you through eventually...but you'll be fighting the tool the whole time and you'll get really tired in the process. It's a lot like you're "throwing" the point with a slight snap of the wrist. :thumbup:
 
Got the condor in, and it seems to be a very nice peice of gear.

I've got a a question onthe edge. Do you guys keep the convex edge on it, and if so, how? I'm probably just going to push the fold on it over with a stone for now. Just wondering longer term how you guys handle that. Not that I expect to keep this thing a razor.
 
I sharpen mine on a flat rock (in the field) or a belt sander in the shop. Doesn't matter to me whether the nice convex stays as long as it's sharp.
 
I touch my machetes up with a belt sander. The belt is loose enough that it has a little give to it and keeps the convex nice. I don't worry about making them hair-popping sharp. Bastards gunna be dull in a minute anyway so I just leave a working machete edge on it. Plus it just makes me feel better about beating the crap out of them. I don't feel bad when I didn't work for 20 minutes to put a perfect edge on them. The belt sander on it's own gets them sharp enough to bite deep. That's more than I need. For me, that slightly toothy edge works better on vines and limbs anyway.
 
I use a belt sander to repair any bad dings (mainly on used machetes I've gotten), but normally I use the Lansky Puck.
 
I personally love my Kukri machete from cold steel.
It bites nice and deep, and holds its edge very well.
I have both the 18" and 22", and have found that the 18" bites a lot harder.
For some reason, everyone at the campsite loves it!
 
I love my Tramontina machetes ! :D
I have two of them - a 16'' Latin machete which I use around the yard - it's a beater - I'm not affraid if I would hit a rock,steel wire or something like that when I'm using it.

My other is a 14'' Bolo.It has a beautiful convex edge and it's shaving sharp.That thing can whittle,chop and split wood like a monster !I've used it also for food preparation witohut problems :thumbup: One time camping we forgot to take a shovel and used the bolo to move coals from the fire :D :D :D It hasn't lost its temper from the heat :thumbup: I've made asimple sheath for it - from plywood and tape and it works ok - I like to strap it to a pack when when camping/hiking.
 
One of my first jobs out of high school was on a land surveyor team. Standard gear for that job was a machete and a buck 110. We never went anywhere without those 2 blades.

Ever since I have always owned a couple of machetes at least. Now 35 years later I am a knife collector thanks to you bastids and I own all of it. Yet all I ever use is a pocket knife and a machete.

The machete for me is the king of blades. It is easily the most useful sharp tool in the world.
 
Tballetta said:
The machete for me is the king of blades. It is easily the most useful sharp tool in the world.
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For me too! How about that? :D Seriously, though, if you look at folks in the tropical regions that use one everyday...you'd be hard pressed to find a task they DON'T use a machete for, whether that be chopping, slicing, food prep, digging, using it as a draw knife...you name it! :thumbup:
 
Horn Dog: You sir, are not only on the same page with me, we are sitting down and enjoying some of the identical ideas on cutlery choices over a delicious latte or other libation. Would relish the chance to compare notes on wilderness experiences....but this forum will have to do for now.

Great photographs, well thought out comments. As I have always said in my posts, the machete is really the survival/bush king for those who have been there and bought the proverbial T shirt.
 
Horn Dog said:
I think you should blame Joezilla. As he told El Guapo, he has a plethora of machetes. Me, I only have many machetes.
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Great ZPAW preps...lol

/jedi mind trick on/ send me that becker....it is of no use to you /jedi mind trick off/ :D

Nice collection!
 
You guys are killing me. All I want to do is head out to the woods and hack stuff up! I love machetes- slashin' and choppin' are great fun for me.

When I was a kid, I used to use an Ontario GI machete around the farm, but that sucker tore my hands up something fierce. I had a love/ hate relationship with it that eventually became just plain hate. I started carrying my granddad's old Army saber around, and used it as a machete- it worked great. It was big, heavy and bulky to haul around, but what kid doesn't want to carry a sword around all day?

One of these was my go-to hacker for several years:
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I wish I knew what happened to the thing. I picked up a KaBar "cutlass" machete a few years ago, and have run it through the ringer several times over. I love that thing, but it didn't have the "bling" factor that I like in a big knife. So, for the past few years, I've been using a Busse Battle Mistress- which is a great knife/ chopper, but doesn't have the reach and flexibility of a true machete. Recently, I'm on a machete kick, and I've been loving it. Those Condors really are something else.
 
Horn Dog, thats a beautiful group of tools you have there, thanks for posting but I have to say that i hate looking because Im jealous (wish I had a few of those) :D Real nice collection:thumbup:
 
Got one of these yet? It's a Columbian Gavilan in a Kuna Indian sheath. Heap big medicine. This one has a 16" blade.
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