Testing knives,machetes,saw. Review/Pics..

Battle Creek Knives

Battle Creek Knives

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Feb 23, 2010
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Today I had a rude awakening.. This morning while replying to a thread on this very topic I decided to go out in my back yard and have a go with a few of my blades.. I just bought a bunch of surplus gear on a trade and one of which was a folding Ameristep blade.. I've never taken a saw back with me on my excursions, EVER!!!

So before I go on my future planned 4 mile weekender I like to try my equipment close to home, I suggest everyone do this !!! Especially if its new to you, and or hyped on the internet, you NEED to try it for yourself..

Today I wanted to try a few I considered to bring on my trip, first and foremost I thought the heavier the better, then I could bring just one big blade and whittler, I was thinking my HI was the king at 26oz.. WRONG !!!!

here's what I tried today:
14" bolo machete
16 1/2" HI Khukuri
BK7
Esee 4
Ameristep folding Saw

Which do you think excelled? My scenario was to find dry wood.. This was a dead but not rotted 4" plus diameter oak...
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Here's a size comparison with the folding saw and ESEE 4

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I used to carry 3 blades and I still intend to but I'm now including a saw which after today test is absolutely necessary.. It takes less effort/calories/time to cut through the chase.. The BK7 is the largest I own in its class at the moment, I wish I had a Junglas or BK9 to give a better comparison to the bolo machete.. Which excelled beyond the HI Khukuri.. at a fraction of cost.. the weight on the Khukuri is NOT worth it period.. I will NEVER take this on a long trip.. (and I thought it would excel)..


the bolo took three whacks to cut down this brush, the HI took as much if not more on same size (pics not shown)

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the saw works so good my 6yr old son had a go at it..

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In conclusion.. I found the saw to excel over all the rest, it was much faster/easier to remove a vertical dried tree in which to use for fire..

The BK7 did ok at chopping but excelled in batoning.. and would handle the job if in a pinch and would trust it alone with the ESEE 4 in the bush..

The 14" bolo was a show stopper in chopping both saplings and the tree with less effort then the Khukuri..

The ESEE 4 excelled in chopping while batoning and I only use these smaller blades for food prep and whittling but love to bring for its versatility..

The saw just simply blew my mind, its a draw cut design and works with little effort.. this has become mandatory in my system now..

Trial and error at home is the way to go, comparing the $11 machete to my Khukuri was a BIG disappointment to say the least, but I still love all my HI products (as knives) just will never justify bringing ANY of them into the bush..
 
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Well now I need to go get a saw and a machete! Quick googling puts the saw around $10 and the machete around $15. Pretty awesome deal. Those will be among my next blade purchases. Nice review-- thanks!
 
I won't go anywhere without some sort of saw. When I camp or take longer hikes I carry a folding saw similar to yours, I edc a leatherman with a good, albeit small, saw blade and it goes with me on shorter hikes. Like you pointed out, it just takes less effort to cut wood to size.

Thanks for the pics and the review!
 
Good pic&review. I would not take a kukri ether they are too heavy for my taste. I just got a junglas and it is amazing on green wood, it work's on dry wood but like you said nothing like a good folding saw . I have been thinking about getting a hawk but I don't know if that would be better then a saw ether ill just have to try and find out.
 
thanks for the comments, I'm really surprised the pics came out good, normally with this camera its shoddy pics to say the least.

again, I've been at steel for a while now like you guys.. and for whatever reason never thought to use a saw....... don't know why.. but I'm telling you for my set up now...

Saw:
Machete:
Knife:

no need to spend all this big money, I even have a CS roach belly that adds zero to nothing in weight and I take with me for food prep, great knife for $10..

btw, I bought my Marbles at machetespecialists dot com
basis covered without a doubt
 
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for less then half the weight I can carry my bolo, sheath,stone, medium and light blade all together, opposed to a high end khukuri.........


then add my odds and ends, which for me normally entails the finest of life... A TENT>>>>
 
TheLastDaze said:
thanks for the comments, I'm really surprised the pics came out good, normally with this camera its shoddy pics to say the least.

again, I've been at steel for a while now like you guys.. and for whatever reason never thought to use a saw....... don't know why.. but I'm telling you for my set up now...

Saw:
Machete:
Knife:

no need to spend all this big money, I even have a CS roach belly that adds zero to nothing in weight and I take with me for food prep, great knife for $10..

btw, I bought my Marbles at machetespecialists dot com
basis covered without a doubt
Click to expand...

Pretty much my thoughts! Glad to see someone else who thinks the way I do! :D
 
If the pictures of the HI kukris are not decieving, they have a terrible edge geometry for the type of work you are talking about here. It looks like they have a fairly wide blade, quite thick in most cases, with a very narrow bevel relative to their width. In essense, they depend almost totally on mass to get through any chopping task. Were I to get a full thickness kukri, it would almost certainly be one of Cold Steels full flat ground models. I have a kukri machete and it works quite well, and in the scope of this evaluation, gives the benfit of the kukri shape with the cutting efficiency and relative lightness of the machete.

The efficiency of the saw will be reversed if you try smaller branches and sapplings. When the machete and maybe Becker can go through with one or two swings, the advantage goes to the choppers, though it's not like it's difficult to use the saw for these sizes.

On another note, I just tried some chopping with my Cold Steel Panga. It went through a well dried 4x4 without binding, the usual disadvantage of machetes chopping heavy wood. It was also still shaving sharp afterward, quite a surprise. I don't go along that convex edges are the best thing to slice bread, but if you want to minimize binding, a convex edge on a machete does work well. I'm actually thinking of lowering the angle a little to 10 degrees or maybe even 5 (per side). Nothing I use this machete on is thick enough to cause damage, and the 4x4 showed the edge is plenty strong enough at the current 15 degrees.
 
you're right, I should of through my CS cheapo kukri style machete in the mix.. I've had this thing for about a year and it has been my favorite for camping.. I guess I just expected my HI to rise above..

Everyone's tests will vary a bit, but I tried extra hard to make my HI work, again I didn't want this blade to fail.. But it did, I've over hyped this like everyone else has.. YMMV..

I'll have to try my CS against the bolo as it is just a tad thicker.
 
Well, don't throw out the HI on my account. As I said, the pictures could be decieving. It could be that there is some subtle beveling/tapering from the spine to the edge that is not noticable in a profile picture. As it looks however, they appear to be fairly thick, 5/16" to 3/8" or so, with what amounts to a 3/4" to 1" wide saber flat grind, with a secondary edge bevel right at the cutting part.

If my CS kukri machete will pass the 4x4 test w/o dulling, I want to reduce it form it's current 15 degree bevel to 10, maybe even 5 w/ a secondary bevel.
 
There is often a big difference between what you've heard and reality. I guess you just saw that.

I can only think of once I didn't take a machete on a trip, and it was because I knew I wouldn't be needing it and took a hatchet. As it turned out, I did need it and the hatchet didn't work that well for me.

As far as the BK-7, the BK-9 will outchop it 2 or 3-1, it is amazing how much difference 2" of blade makes.

I carried a Bahco saw similiar to the one you have, and it worked well, with the only caveat being that they can break if you get them in a bind and bend them. When I carried the saw, I liked to take the machete as well for a backup. It will cut like the saw will, it is just more effort, though it has added versatility as well.

You may be able to get considerably better performance out of the khukri by modifying the grind some.
 
well actually after some considerable thought, I believe I'm leaning toward selling off all my HI products, they're cool and all but just not something I cant see me ever using, add the leather sheath to any of them and the weight is insane.
I always take a machete packing, I intend to get a larger knife like the BK9 and in some cases can see it replacing the machete pending uses of course..

In this test I kept reaching for the big blades as a small blade is just so much work..

I'm now sold out on the saw, I'm glad I picked this up, makes a big difference and broadens your versatility in the bush..
 
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