Russian survival machete

P

Pax-V

Joined
Apr 14, 2002
Messages
78
I've beeen eyeing one of these and was wondering if it is a POS or what. I'm also concerned about the strength of the handle, since it's hollow. Also what purpose would the holes in the blade serve?
 
In my opinion, you're much better off getting something else. My personal preference is a Khukri, like HI's 15 or 18 inch Ang Khola. The russian survival machete's I've seen have all had poor heat treats(if any), and the only knife I'd trust with a hollow handle would be the integrals, where the knife is machined from a single piece of stock.


TC
 
Get yourself a WWII Collins machete from Ebay,the best $20.00 you'll ever spend.
 
All the concerned about blade separation and hollow handles is largely unfounded. When the "Rambo" style knives became popular in the 1980s there were any number of low end makers. Those cheaper survival knives did have handle problems. Not that anyone would really have to worry about that, since the blade was usually useless, the sheath was unsafe, and just about every other part of the knife would fall off at the same time.

But, knives of reasonable quality, tend to hold up fairly well. On several occasions we have asked the members here about blade and handle separation, and no one was able to report an actual failure on anything but the cheapest survival knives. They can fail, but, the level of abuse required would have other components failing at the same time. The Swedish even used the hollow handle format in their bayonet of 1896. It is hard to imagine that any knife would be subject to the kind of abuse a bayonets recieves during training.

The Russian survival machete is a well made tool. The plastic handle is fitted over a thick metal tube about 3 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. A finely threaded steel pommel caps fits over one end and has a water tight "O" ring. The blade tang ends in a 1/4 bolt and is held in place by a washer and nut located inside the hollow handle. The handle also extends another 1.5 inches beyond the hollow tube to accomodate an additional length of tang. Everything about the piece speaks to over engineering.

As for the holes in the blade; they appear to be there for navigational purposes. There is an inclinometer (protrator) marked on the blade around the same point. The blade itself has a variety of cutting edges. All of the edges are double edged (vrs chisel grind). The front and bottom curved portions have a more acute cutting angle then the forward bottom edge which is clearly intended as a more of a hatchet, and the spine has a long and aggressive functional sawback. In addition there is a sharp 2 inch icepick (awl?) which is held in place by the pommel cap and can be inverted to extend from the bottom of the handle.

The tool is similar to the old US LC-14B signal corps machetes used during the Second World War, and the shorter versions issued as helicopter survival tools during the Vietnam period. But unlike those tools, which were intended for warmer climates, this one is more specialized for cold weather survival.

It is not a bad tool, but it is designed for a specific set of conditions. There are any number of good tools out there and you should simply pick the one best fitted to your needs.

The biggest negative on this one is the sheath. It doesn't come with one. There is an after market sheath which is often sold with the machete. It is made from fairly sturdy nylon and works OK, however, it unfortunately is not lined. Which means that the sawback and the serated portions of the blade tend bind, creating alot of wear and making extraction difficult. If I were serious about using this knife I would invest in a good kydex sheath to go along with it.

n2s
 
i have talked to a few people that have had this machete, and they felt the construction was poor and that the money could be better spent on other machetes. i do not own one.

alex
 
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