Need some help deciding

M

maethor

Joined
Mar 9, 2011
Messages
1,648
Hey folks,

I went to my family's vacation home (little house with ~1 acre of forest) for the weekend and found that I will have to cut down about 100 locust tree saplings (robinia pseudoacacia) and about 200 sq ft of bushes (dunno what kind). I looked at the whole mess with my girlfriend and said "Well, this has to go", so she asked me what tool I would use for the job. I looked at my BK14... looked at her... back to my BK14 and then said "We're gonna need a bigger knife."

So now I'm wondering. Cold Steel makes cheap machetes from carbon steel (1055), Ka-Bar makes the (pretty nice-looking) Cutlass, and then there's the BK-9 which I've been drooling over ever since I've first seen it.

And now I can't decide.

I think I know your answers, but I need you to push me to buying it. That way I can blame it on you later :D

Expect the prices to be about twice as high as yours, but the money would just be enough for a BK9 which costs 100€ - about 140$. Yeah, that sucks, but after shipping and tax ordering one in the US would be pretty much equally expensive.

The CS machetes are 25€ plus shipping, the Cutlass is 60€ plus shipping.

Decide for me!

The sooner I order a knife, the sooner my video of the weekend will be edited and up :D

Oh- btw is there a way to notify me by email when someone posts a new thread here in the Becker forum? Just thinking, there's the contest week coming up and we all know you can't have too many knives...
 
Wow, that was quick. Stihl is making chainsaws that can write emails now?

j/k :D

I've considered a chainsaw, but the removal of all these saplings will involve cutting them slightly below ground level, and I don't like loud machines, so a chainsaw is pretty much inappropriate. Plus when I say "sapling" we're talking not more than 1" thick and green.
 
I would also look at Condor for a golok, parang, or Eco-Survivor El Salvador machete.
 
Of course, your really might be looking on justification to buy the BK9. Get both to try.
 
I say a nice Imasca or Martendale machete. The Martendale's are made in England so would most likely easier for you to get. I'm not sure if this place ships over seas, but you might email them and ask:

http://www.machetespecialists.com/

Vin
 
Thank you all for your help so far. I've looked at a lot of machetes and thought that I really like the versatility and compactness of a large knife. A BK-9 on your belt might not intimidate people as much as a machete across your back. Plus most people in Germany don't know machetes, will think it's a sword and get me in trouble. We just don't have the thick bushes that really require a machete here in middle Europe. So I'm pretty much down to the BK-9 or the Large Heavy Bowie (by Ka-Bar) which is a little bit cheaper, about 65€. Will these blades do the trick? Which one would you take?

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maethor
 
maethor said:
Wow, that was quick. Stihl is making chainsaws that can write emails now?

j/k :D

I've considered a chainsaw, but the removal of all these saplings will involve cutting them slightly below ground level, and I don't like loud machines, so a chainsaw is pretty much inappropriate. Plus when I say "sapling" we're talking not more than 1" thick and green.
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Stihl hedge trimmer
 
Well there's an idea that involves a slight touch of insanity AND gasoline. Nice one Bladite.
 
"...I will have to cut down about 100 locust tree saplings (robinia pseudoacacia) and about 200 sq ft of bushes (dunno what kind)."

Maethor, I just finished clearing 2 dozen locust saplings a couple of weeks ago as well as thorny brush. The locust was the "with thorns" and were anywhere from 3-5.5 inches in diameter. I used my BK9 and was shocked at the way it handled the work. No issues whatsoever. I had honed the factory edge and it was still sharp when done. It will eat the locust alive. One other thing, use Loctite or a similar product to avoid timeout for nut/bolt search. That sucks in forested leaf matter! Chop safe.
 
Teppo, thank you so much. I have ordered the BK9 20 minutes ago and was actually starting to wonder if this was the right decision... 100€ is a lot of money. That post did a good job in convincing me that I did the right thing. So two days from now, i will have my second Becker knife, the awesome BK-9. If DHL doesn't fuck up again, damaging the package and sending it back to the knife shop. F*ckers.

QuarterTank, you gettin' paid by Stihl? :D

take care y'all, and have a good start into the contest week tomorrow.

--

maethor
 
wow. 100 euro? dude, you got ripped off. Beckers are great and all, but not worth THAT much imho ;) (sorry Ethan, but 100 euro? eez)

better yet, but 10,000 and overthrow the EU :)
 
bobcat skidsteer ...............................

other then that I second the Martindale, you'd be better off with a 14-16" machete..

be safe though...........................
 
TheLastDaze said:
bobcat skidsteer ...............................

other then that I second the Martindale, you'd be better off with a 14-16" machete..

be safe though...........................
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with a Brush Cat attachment.

maethor- No I'm not paid by Stihl but own a couple thousand worth of stihl equipment and know it will do the job.
 
Bladite said:
wow. 100 euro? dude, you got ripped off. Beckers are great and all, but not worth THAT much imho ;) (sorry Ethan, but 100 euro? eez)
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That's just the way it is. Shipping something from Germany to the US will cost about 20$, but from the US here it's more like 50$. Then there's tax... those greedy bastards take 25% of all the money you paid - including shipping. So if I pay 75$ for the knife, 50$ for shipping and handling and then another 25% on top, I'm at ~150$ which is actually pretty much the same that I paid here.

Ordering from a shop in Germany will be much faster and I don't have to go to customs and get my knife. The problem isn't Ethan, the problem is the greediness of shop owners around the world and the German tax laws.

I paid about 75$ for my EsKabar, and that's OK for me, because it's a great knife and every product thats made or distributed by an American company will be ~50% more expensive. That's just the way the system works. Making people pay for stuff they already bought. Great.

take care

maethor
 
I've had two CS machetes, and they would do the job, but the edges aren't even, they don't take or hold a good edge, and the handles suck, imo.
Both the BK-9 and the Ka-Bar Cutlass will take care of those saplings. The Ka-Bar's hollow grind will bite deep, and mine holds an edge way longer than you would expect from a Tiawan made blade. The weight of the Ka-Bar is nice, fat belly, and a good chopper. The handle is a bit fat, hope you have longer fingers. It's too short to work like a jungle machete, but that's good for Germany.
The BK-9, which I don't own, is also a great pick, better in several ways, I'm sure. You can replace, upgrade those handle scales, the tang is full, not hidden, and a sheath upgrade will be eaiser.
Have fun clearing those saplings, and use a lanyard!
 
You'll love your BK9. Saplings beware!

20110205_dc_04.jpg


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Beckerhead #42
 
maethor said:
Teppo, thank you so much. I have ordered the BK9 20 minutes ago and was actually starting to wonder if this was the right decision... 100€ is a lot of money. That post did a good job in convincing me that I did the right thing. So two days from now, i will have my second Becker knife, the awesome BK-9. If DHL doesn't fuck up again, damaging the package and sending it back to the knife shop. F*ckers.

QuarterTank, you gettin' paid by Stihl? :D

take care y'all, and have a good start into the contest week tomorrow.

--

maethor
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You're welcome. The BK9 is a tremendous working tool. Let me know how you find it when you have a chance to use it. Take care & chop safe!
 
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