Smallish bramble cutter / trail clearing knife wanted

Wasty

Wasty

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My hikes often lead me through trails that are quite overgrown with brambles and other thorny brushes.

I am looking for a knife that's up to the task of clearing these trails for me...

However, here's the kicker: I don't want a full blown machete, but something smaller that still is packing a bit of oomph to get those brambles in a single strike.

The blade should be no longer than 5.5" but the thickness is secondary. I think if it's thin behind the edge, the cut will be easier, so it does not need to be overbuilt, like many of my other knives..

I'm partial to a good ergonomic handle, and for this task I'd prefer something stainless or at least less prone to rust.

Any recommendations?
 
I've done small amounts of this work with only a Cold Steel serrated Talwar 5.5" folder . Worked but not fun .

IMO , much better to have a nice long grass machete or long handled brush hook .

Allows you to work without bending over and gives more velocity and power . Also keeps you out of contact with the thorns . :cool:
 
Wasty said:
My hikes often lead me through trails that are quite overgrown with brambles and other thorny brushes.

I am looking for a knife that's up to the task of clearing these trails for me...

However, here's the kicker: I don't want a full blown machete, but something smaller that still is packing a bit of oomph to get those brambles in a single strike.

The blade should be no longer than 5.5" but the thickness is secondary. I think if it's thin behind the edge, the cut will be easier, so it does not need to be overbuilt, like many of my other knives..

I'm partial to a good ergonomic handle, and for this task I'd prefer something stainless or at least less prone to rust.

Any recommendations?
Click to expand...
A five and a half inch knife for bushwhacking? Come on, man. Put a little more effort into your troll material.
 
Range Splitter said:
A five and a half inch knife for bushwhacking? Come on, man. Put a little more effort into your troll material.
Click to expand...
Not helpful. And trollish in and of itself. Do not do this.

Depends on the brambles. I've cleared some just using a single swipe from a pocket knife (Buck 301 Stockman). Others I've had to work at. I don't see why a Mora would be insufficient.
 
This is right up my alley. I live in western Pa surrounded by forest and I hike my trails almost everyday. I use my White River Ursus 45 for minor trail clearing. The Condor Primitive Bush knife is good for that too. My Winkler Survival Striker is an excellent cutter but I prefer stainless for brambles and bushes. Some of those weeds can be very corrosive to non stainless blades.
 
You did not specify folding or fixed, but that is okay. Either one can come in handy depending on where you hike, and what your needs are, what the laws you need to follow are, whatever.

I sometimes hike in places that are shockingly close to civilization. Because of this, there is the potential for local kids, or whoever, to come up and cause a bit of trouble, an illegal fire, whatever, thus leading to a police presence within a 10-mile-radius of my closest hiking space. Therefore, even up there, where I can get a good 14-mile hike in, I try to keep it legal with a folding knife instead of a large fixed blade for going off-trail. Instead of a Benchmade 200 fixed blade, I carry an M4 Shaman, for example, for carving hard woods up there. It's a weird thing to adapt to.

An Espada XL is great for the normally dead, dry branches and branbles I need to get through, the curve on it helps as opposed to the Talwar DocJD mentioned, but even that "worked", but it is smaller. The 7.5, hollow-ground blade on that knife is just wonderful for the type of light work you describe. It is a surprisingly thin knife, that is why it isn't a full-blown chopper, but it is slim for what it is, I promise that. If you really want to try smaller, a Voyager XL in your preferred blade shape would, again, "work".

I prefer a bit of length on mine, but I am sure that 5-6" would do you for light work, too, if a fixed blade is O.K for you to carry. Of course, if you're in a more isolated place, "true nature" so to speak, you will not really be beholden to this kind of silliness, in which case a long camp knife would do. Plenty of great recs here... the Becker series rules, the Ontario SP is like Becker when you can't afford it, and the coming Winkler and Catrothers rec's are also on the money. All probably slightly larger than you may prefer, though. There's a place in-between machete and small knife that'll get you there, I am sure :)
 
I grew up on some acreage in the Pacific Northwest and Blackberry bushes were always a thing I had to deal with. It was my job every year to take care of them and that meant cutting them all as close to the ground as possible. I did the main work with a weed eater but I did A LOT by hand also in between weed eating sessions while hanging out and walking through the woods. I've used everything from a SAK, to a crapload of different modern folders, to my woods fixed blades, to machetes. You can cut them with most anything but some of those "vines" get very thick and after being around a few years get a brown sort of bark around them that gets very hard. I did most of it with my normal fixed blades because I had them on me anyway. My most carried fixed blade that I'd carry around in our woods was an ESEE 4 after getting really into knives. It worked good as an all-around woods knife that could still take care of blackberry vines here and there. Having a longer blade and more momentum is going to be a lot better if you're primary use of this knife is going to be the brambles, however I have a feeling that like me, you want something that will work well for other cutting chores as well. When I was doing this often and would go out in the woods with cutting blackberry bushes by hand in mind particularly, I would usually carry my Condor Hudson Bay knife. That gave me some good blade length and good weight for cutting through those big daddies. The sheath is also pretty comfy when you sit down for such a large knife.

I also agree though that a tough stainless or semi stainless would be nice for this one though. Most all the fixed blades that I've used for this have been some sort of carbon steel and those blackberry vines patina it very quickly.
 
A Grohmann No.1, Morakniv Kansbol, Condor Terrasaur, or Joker Montañero would all be more than enough for that kind of work. By the sounds of it, you could also use a folder, like a Spyderco Police 4 or Benchmade Griptilion, both of which I've used to clear light brush.
 
First of all thanks for your  good thoughts and respones.

It is mostly the one or two year old green blackberry growth that's snagging on my trousers and you need to cut it hanging in the air as you walk by.
The trail below is fairly typical, as we prefer to use the smaller, less traveled ways

20220908160942_IMG_2250_compress52.jpg

I have a quite good Becker collection and the 14 + the 16 or 17 are in my pocket while I hike.
Amazing knives and a very comfortable handle, fit for prolonged hotspot free working. The 16/17 do an OK job, but they just lack the last inch and stain easily, even when I wipe them on my trousers before the are packed away.

I can use my BK7 and BK9 or any other largish knife to get the job done without any issues, but as it was mentioned before they do react quite quickly to the sap of these young brambles.

I always carry a 7" plus knife in my backpack, and if it's a tough trail, with thicker, already barkier stuff this comes out and gets used.

AEB-L is a great suggestion, and the LT Wright Traveler looks just quite capable.

I did not think about a folder, but, as is don't need the strength of a fixed blade for this task, I may get something in that range, especially something with a recurve to get that extra cutting power.

One quick snark: Not a troll, but a German and my English may sound a bit off, as it's still a second language to me...

edit2: The knife laws in Germany allow me to carry and use large knives on a hike, but I'd like to not scare away people that just happen to walk there as well.
 
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Your English is perfect, idk.

if you want something a little more Special, check out David Mary David Mary he uses AEB-l often..... Maybe he can ship to Europe?

I have a bunch from him, they are honest working knives. I'm Very happy with them.

A slightly smaller version of This camp knife might be exactly what you need?
bladeforums.com/threads/sylvan-camp-knife.1864192/
 
If you're looking for budget ones, condor makes some great ones

There's also the mora pathfinder, and the longer utility something...the name escapes me. They're like 30$.

Good luck!
 
Wasty said:
First of all thanks for your  good thoughts and respones.

It is mostly the one or two year old green blackberry growth that's snagging on my trousers and you need to cut it hanging in the air as you walk by.
The trail below is fairly typical, as we prefer to use the smaller, less traveled ways

View attachment 1927653

I have a quite good Becker collection and the 14 + the 16 or 17 are in my pocket while I hike.
Amazing knives and a very comfortable handle, fit for prolonged hotspot free working. The 16/17 do an OK job, but they just lack the last inch and stain easily, even when I wipe them on my trousers before the are packed away.

I can use my BK7 and BK9 or any other largish knife to get the job done without any issues, but as it was mentioned before they do react quite quickly to the sap of these young brambles.

I always carry a 7" plus knife in my backpack, and if it's a tough trail, with thicker, already barkier stuff this comes out and gets used.

AEB-L is a great suggestion, and the LT Wright Traveler looks just quite capable.

I did not think about a folder, but, as is don't need the strength of a fixed blade for this task, I may get something in that range, especially something with a recurve to get that extra cutting power.

One quick snark: Not a troll, but a German and my English may sound a bit off, as it's still a second language to me...

edit2: The knife laws in Germany allow me to carry and use large knives on a hike, but I'd like to not scare away people that just happen to walk there as well.
Click to expand...
When walking in a local state park with similar looking trails. I use my Buck 110 on the blackberry brambles. It work adequately. most of the time a single chop with a sharp blade will sever the new growth. Once in awhile, thicker stems will required a pull cut. I use the Buck 110 because I have it, as it is always on my belt.


O.B.
 
I believe Mora offers some longer than usual blades which might serve your needs. If you find you need to trim trails often enough however, I’d recommend an Imacasa 12in machete. I realize you specifically said no machetes but they are super lightweight and far more capable trail clearing tools than anything with a 5in blade. They also fit easily inside most day packs.
 
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