Recommendations on machetes?

[neetones]

Hi everyone. i'm looking around for a fairly large machete to do some brush clearing/light chopping and splitting for kindling/firewood. Any recommendations? I've heard a great deal about the Ontario line, and i'm looking for something under around $20. any help?

Thanks.

Nitin

 

[Hoodoo]

The Ontario line is probably as good as any for that kind of money, although I prefer the Barteaux. But if you want to do some heavier chopping, and spend a little more moola, the Becker Combat Patrol machete is a thing of beauty.

------------------
Hoodoo

I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM

 

[chad234]

What Hoodoo said

While I like the micarta handle and extra heft of my custom Livesay RTAK for the money the Ontario line works very well. I'd suggest the 18" model (with out the saw back). I use one (OK several) for yard work and they hold up very well. I have a couple with thinned out (reprofiled) edges that cut through grass like it isn't there (lightsaber) but it would be easily damaged on hard woods or an accidental strike on an inclusion (i.e rock, nail). The factory grind is quite strong, a nice compromise between cutting effieciency and impact resistance.
Take care,
Chad


------------------
Wicked Knife Co.
Hoods Woods
chad234@email.com

 

[neetones]

sounds like a winner....if i'm going to do some splitting/chopping, would i be better off with the 12"?

Nitin

 

[sgtmike88]

If you can't afford the Becker Patrol Machete, my best advise is to follow HooDoo's recommendations. The 12" Ontario won't chop as well as the 18" because of lack of heft. They are both the same blade thickness and grind.

------------------
It's not the pace of life that concerns me, It's the sudden stop at the end.

 

[neetones]

yeah...i don't think the extra cost would be justified because i don't have much time to even be out in "the bush" Thanks for your help everyone.

 

[rdangerer]

Agree with the Becker Patrol Machete recommendation... they are about $65 if I recall. Think it may still be called "Bush Hog" at some retailers, but has changed names. Good overall design, from blade to handle.

I also have these:
12" Ontario plain handle
18" Ontario D-Guard
22" Ontario plain handle

All are good utility pieces for the money.

12" is too short to really be called a machete, it's a big knife made from thin stock. I find it useful around the yard, but it isn't what I'd take along to clear a trail.

The 18" is about right. I liked the D-guard at first, but under heavy use it started to really beat the starch out of my little finger...bad bruise, much pain but had to keep working on building that trail. And one of the three "rivets" or whatever they use to attach the handle has loosened up. It is a $24 item though.

The 22" Ontario is noticeably heavier than the 18", and that can be good or bad. Good in that it'll whack deeper into hard/tough stuff. But heavy is heavy.

I think I'd get the 18" without the D-Guard as a 1st purchase. Price is right.

 

[tknife]

Check out the new machetes that Cold Steel offers. You can get all three sizes for $20! (well, almost) the heavy duty model is $8. I've handled the smaller one, and really liked it. I wish I would have bought it too, just because, even though I don't have much use for a machete!

 

[Marion David Poff]

Let me put another word in for the Barteaux's.

The handles are much better than the Ontario handles, and I think the steel is better suited. Ontario is using 1095, compared to Barteaux, which I believe to be using L6. L6 is known for toughness.

If I remember correctly, in Cliff's tests, the Barteaux faired much better.

I have two of them.

------------------
Thank you,
Marion David Poff aka Eye mdpoff@hotmail.com

My website, guided links, talonite/cobalt alloy info, etc....
http://www.geocities.com/mdpoff

>>--->Bill Siegle Custom Knives<---<<
-http://www.geocities.com/siegleknives-

"To wait for luck is the same as waiting for death." -Japanese Proverb

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Lao Tzu

"We will either find a way, or make one." Hannibal, 210 B.C.

 

[Big-Target]

I kind of partial to newt Livesay's RCM(recon Combat Machette). best machette there is!!!

------------------
Big-Target>>>>>"I may look like a crook and a ruffian. But witness,O Moon, the splender of my heart."-----(Kantaro of Ina)

 

Marion, I disagree on the handles being better. I like Ontario's far better that Barteaux. Personal preference I guess. The L6 is also less stiffer than the 1095.

Jeff

------------------
Randall's Adventure & Training
jeff@jungletraining.com

 

[matthew rapaport]

Machete comfort is a very personal thing. I seem to be able to handle up to about a 14" blade in various weights without much problem, but move to 18" or longer and my arm tires much more easily. If my arm tires, I am prone to make more mistakes and that can be very bad with a machete.

The original post said light chopping, some brush clearing, etc. For these tasks I would go with a shorter and not a longer machete. I do happen to have a Livesay RCM (14" blade) which does happen to be ideal for the tasks described, but is rather expensive as machetes go at $150 or so... Nice piece of steel though.



[This message has been edited by matthew rapaport (edited 05-18-2001).]