MrC: The idea of "the big chopper" being the primary blade is as old as woodsmen. As much ballyhoo as the "Nessmuk" knife gets, George Sears (Nessmuk) flat out said his most valuable tool was his axe, and most of his knife duties were done with a pen knife, the "Nessmuk" was mostly for skinning and eating.
In Northern countries, the axe was the primary tool, while the small knife did the small chores (look at the scandinavian axe and puukko combination.
In Nepal, it's a kukri and Karda (small knife).
In tropical countries it's a machete and a small, thin knife.
Guess I need to get my mind around the idea of using machete as a survival knife. I have seen people using big choppers like the KaBar Cutlass and the Ontario SP8 up in my neck of the woods, but they arent as thin as most machete's. . . .But for me, a machete is too "thin" (?), light, for serious woods living.... at least up here. . .
I see you're in New Hampshire. Up there the axe (either a 3/4 "Hudson Bay" type or large hatchet) would be a better choice. Jeff came out and said he'd prefer an axe in a northern climate when I asked him before what his favorite "survival blade" would be.
In the tropics, a machete makes a lot of sense. Lots of soft vegetation that a hatchet would really just suck to use dealing with that stuff.
I kind of live live in the middle. Lots of soft vegetation, lots of soft and hardwoods. I used to carry a machete and a hatchet before finding out about kukri, which can do the job of either.
Pick your tools to suit your environment.
