Marble's Jungle Cleaver Beatdown

[mneedham]

Yep, my Marble's cleaver came today, so I took it out for its first beating...

First impressions:

The blade is sharp right from the factory. The sheath appears to be better quality than you would expect for $15, but the retention snap broke off the first time I touched it (I'll replace it with velcro). The knife is comfortable to wear on the belt, the grip rides just above the belt, I like that!

The handle really blows... It feels like a poorly made machete grip, tough on the hand. This requires modification.

There has been a number of comments about the bright orange color, I think it is a great idea. Just spend a couple of days in the woods with some tree-felling equipment and you'll understand (probably be helpful in the dark too..)

So lets go give a little beating:

Did fine with the pine:
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj259/mneedham_photos
/mike422.jpg

Lets test her on some oak!

I whacked the edge on this chunk for a minute or two at about 1/2 of full-force:

More to come:

 

[mneedham]

Than I gave some baton treatment with real force:

No damage to the edge, I'm fairly impressed.

I did bend the blade when I was hitting at different angles with the baton:

Broken snap:

Bottom line:

It needs work, but for $15 I am impressed with edge and like the weight. I am a cleaver nut anyway, so I am little biased. The edge held up very well. It's a keeper for me..

 

[kdstrick]

Looks like you had your $15 worth of fun with it already! Too bad it isn't a bit thicker stock so it wouldn't bend.

 

[theedge13]

Awesome! Thanks for the review.

 

[mneedham]

Looks like you had your $15 worth of fun with it already! Too bad it isn't a bit thicker stock so it wouldn't bend.

I actually would have been surprised if it hadn't bent, the blade is thin and wide.. I wasn't really batoning as much as beating the back of the blade (at different angles) with real force using a long piece of hardwood... What it showed me is that you can beat this thing pretty good and you still have a pristine cutting edge. Sorry I didn't give any action shots, but I was alone at the moment...

 

[WILLIAM.M]

For $15----i'm impressed

how did the handle hold up???

 

[mneedham]

For $15----i'm impressed

how did the handle hold up???

The handle is still secure, I was surprised by that too ... I haven't figured out what to do about the handle. I would like to sand the grip even with the tang (as Pict does with his machetes), but it would make the grip too small. I might fill the gaps with epoxy and than wrap the whole thing with that tennis racket tape, but I'm not sure...

 

[WILLIAM.M]

I might fill the gaps with epoxy and than wrap the whole thing with that tennis racket tape, but I'm not sure...
-----
THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT IDEA

 

[kgd]

Wow Mneedham - you gave that knife one heck of a workout. It certainly surprised me that it would last through wood chopping like that. Good job!

 

[MBTull]

How did the "flexible temper grooves" perform?

I understand from other posts that the sharpening stone pocket is not big enough for an Altoids tin, that is unfortunate. Any plans/inspiration as far as the 2 pouches?

Will it carve a fuzz stick? Slice a tomato? Spread peanut butter? Can you do detail work like a fig 4 trap?

Thanks for the info! Good review. :thumbup:

 

[Joezilla]

The handle on the first mark Golok was like that but they fixed it. Were there any flat spots on the edge?

Go imacasa!

 

[mneedham]

How did the "flexible temper grooves" perform?

I understand from other posts that the sharpening stone pocket is not big enough for an Altoids tin, that is unfortunate. Any plans/inspiration as far as the 2 pouches?

Will it carve a fuzz stick? Slice a tomato? Spread peanut butter? Can you do detail work like a fig 4 trap?

Thanks for the info! Good review. :thumbup:

MBT,

No thoughts on the pouches yet, I was kinda focused on the blade. This edge is special, very special. I didn't touch the blade blade when I received it, I just unwrapped it, walked outside and beat on it. I wanted to give you a kitchen pic, so I did 20 (10 per side) strokes on a Spyderco sharpener (fine stones only)..

Joezilla,

No flat spots.... If you don't have one of these, you need one... I'll be interested to see what other members think about this blade....

 

[omniviking]

I just saw them the other day and they look interesting. I like orange. but I also thought if I sandblasted it. it wouild be a huge nessmuck for $15

 

[Scottman]

Cool looks like a big cold steel beaver tail tac knife.

 

[mneedham]

 

[fishface5]

great performance for the price! Although with blade stock that thin, there's a reason it's called a jungle cleaver & not a forest cleaver - not really intended to take on thick blocks of hardwood, more like a machete.