please recommend a short blade for brush and sappling clearing

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panamared89

Joined
Dec 10, 2011
Messages
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Hi. I am trying to decide which blade to get to use around the woods to clear small brush ect
Mainly for shooting lanes and getting rid of small invasive trees, I have a 18" machete and a few axes but want something a little smaller. I am considering a woodsmans pal, a junglas, and the 14" Ontario machete, any other ideas? Thanks
 
if you scan over the last page or two, and in the outdoor gear forum, there have been 3-4 very well developed threads over this issue. Google council tool's brush clearer/bill hook and Sandvik's brush axe.
 
On a budget, I would look at the ontario 12in machete, condor golok (14in 1/4in thick), Kabar Cutlass Machete (11in IIRC), Kabar Grass Machete (14in 1/8in thick or so), and the Becker BK9 (9in 3/16in thick).
 
Condor Golok

I have a 12" Cold Steel Barong that works pretty good for that kind of work also.
 
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I do tons of whitetail hunting (longbow) and frequently need to clear lanes, build blinds, snap-cut this or chop that. Becker BK9 is a fantastic choice for this.

20111216_ac_0005.jpg


Can't go wrong with this knife.


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Beckerhead #42
 
You're considering the 14" Ontario machete as a SHORT blade knife ? :eek: So in your book how many feet would a blade have to be to be a "long" blade ?


HOLD MY BEER AND WATCH THIS !
 
Yeah, if you can create an edge and either deal with or modify the handles, the Ontario machetes are pretty damn good. I've put a convex edge on a 12" and some stabilized hickory scales. It took some time, file and sandpaper, but it really holds an edge and it's 1/8" thickness gives it the weight to bite deep into wood. Saplings will tremble as you approach.
Plenty of other knives would also work, just depends on your budget and desires. How thick, heavy, rigid, do you want it to be? How important is the sheath, or the handle ergos to you? Price goes up with better handles and sheaths.
Bark River modified an 18" Ontario machete, cut it down, convexed the whole thing, really changed the handle, and they came with leather sheaths. Those are sold out, but have been popping up on the Exchange here and there. At the same time, you should look at the Blind Horse Knives machete, the Fiddlebacks 12",14",16", and 18" options.

KA-Bar's Cutlass machete does a pretty good job for the price, and the Becker BK 9 would be a less expensive Junglas option. Junglas is made well, but IMHO, over hyped for chopping wood. It's too light, and the distal taper doesn't put any tip weight out there to help. It might be right up your alley though, for saplings.
 
RTAK II
as far as I know it is basically a Junglas but cheaper, I think the RTAK II would be better than the BK 9 because Mr Becker himself said that the Junglas was better at cutting than the BK9. The BK9 is $10 less than the RTAK.

Momo
 
Mike-The-Knife said:
You're considering the 14" Ontario machete as a SHORT blade knife ? :eek: So in your book how many feet would a blade have to be to be a "long" blade ?

HOLD MY BEER AND WATCH THIS !
Click to expand...

LOL -Short as opposed to a 18" machete.
I would like something in the 10-12" range, I think I mispoke, the Ontario machete I was looking at is 12"

Thanks for all the suggestions.
 
I find 12"-13" bladed machetes to be handy and effective. I have tried full flat grinds but prefer a simple typical machete grind. The blade should be thin for best cutting ability on non-woody targets.


____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Custom machetes
http://www.akiblades.com
 
momouppa said:
RTAK II
as far as I know it is basically a Junglas but cheaper, I think the RTAK II would be better than the BK 9 because Mr Becker himself said that the Junglas was better at cutting than the BK9. The BK9 is $10 less than the RTAK.

Momo
Click to expand...

That might be true, but I've heard surprisingly many stories from users here about the RTAK II HT's being off. For some reason the quality on the RTAK II's has never been viewed to be the same as the Junglas or the BK9. Its not a bad option, just saying that personally I wouldn't go with one.

Also, just some food for thought. My BK9 outchops my hatchet (albeit, its not a nice hatchet), and is easier to carry around. I did a comparison review to the KaBar ZK War Sword that you can check out here.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-vs-KaBar-ZK-War-Sword-(PHOTO-HEAVY-and-EPIC)

The Cutlass Machete really does seem like the ideal fit for what you are looking for though. Here is a quick review on that one as well.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/886403-Ka-Bar-Cutlass-Machete-Impressions

And finally, the grass machete might be a bit long at 14in, but it seems to be a good hybrid blade.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/889576-Ka-Bar-Grass-Machete-Impressions

Hopefully this helps you choose something :).

And let us know what you get, and how you like it. You know we all love hearing about it :).
 
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