In the Borderlands we look for rotten pieces of wood, mostly mesquite, and just whack them hard on the ground, gather up the flakes, larger pieces, add some dried grass and make a fire. When I lived in Michigan during college days I saw a need for a light axe, hatchet. In Mexico a man owns a machete and uses it for everything from making corrals to buiding jacals to clearing brechas to skinning and gutting cabrito (he might own a cheap folder or kitchen knife for butchering), and he'll use his machete for settling social issues at the cantina come Saturday night. But when he needs to make a fire he'll just whack dried branches on the ground and never think to use his machete.
