Tiny 'Machetes' as Camp Knives?

[OrangeJoe]

It seems the Mini Machetes (sub 18") are becoming more and more popular. I've seen a couple of threads leaning toward the 'more-is-more' regarding edge tools in the wild.

I'm sure their low cost combined with the wide variety of patterns available help to contribute to this trend.

Have you tried them? How did it Work/Not Work for you?

What about cooking and food prep with the coated blades?

Is there any evidence to the 'the closer to nature, the bigger the blade' tales I've read about to justify bigger knives for bushcraft?

For those with bigger traditional knives...What can your Valkyrie Battle Vulture do that a machete won't?

I would like to hear the Pros and Cons in your experience.


Marble's, about $15 for blade, sheath AND stone.

Cold Steel, I believe th 12" is discontinued. 18" Pictured.

Marble's, about $15 for blade, sheath AND stone.

BTW, I am in the Caribbean. This is all the snow I get to see.

Piragua, about $2.

PS, I've always known 18" machetes as small/kids/starter machetes. If you want to tackle serious yard or farm work you should really look at 22"+ machetes AND learn to use them so you don't loop off a family member's arm (or your own).

 

[Esav Benyamin]

BTW, I am in the Caribbean. This is all the snow I get to see.

Piragua

I thought that was just found in New York City!

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'the closer to nature, the bigger the blade'

The closer to dense, overgrown nature, yes. Along the edges and for camp purposes, those smaller machetes are an obvious variant. Just like any big and small fixed blades.

 

[OrangeJoe]

I thought that was just found in New York City!

Well, even 'native' New yorkers come from somewhere!!!

I was surprised on my first trip to NY when I found out that the local Puertorican specialty was suddenly supposed to be Italian.

 

[kgd]

My experience is that the mini-machete is more often a type of hybrid between the machete and thicker long knives. Often thicker than a machete, but thinner than the 9-10" x 1/4" thick chopper knives.

I like this one, a custom leuku-chete from Christof Harper. Its a 10" x 2" wide x 1/8" thick leuku of L7 steel. Does a good job at camp chores and okay at chopping wood. Just slightly less efficient at chopping hardwoods than an RD-9 and scrapyard SOD but is way lighter to carry then either of those. The knife excels at baton splitting wood. Its not nearly as good as an 18" machete for chopping green wood/vines, but really you would use a full size machete for that. Its decent at using it machete like to gather grasses for bedding and such.

As for large (22" and above) versus small, I think it really has to do with intended function. I agree yard work and open areas the longer blade length serves better. However, in closer quarter jungle woods, you don't get the clearance necessary to swing your tools. An 18" gives you a bit more maneuverability without much sacrifice on the momentum. Thinner is of course better than thick. Personally, I think the 1/8" thick machete's are trying too hard to be everything and too heavy as a result.

 

[BryFry]

I've tried a few traditional machetes and found that for my uses I preffer a more wakizashi shaped blade.
For me they work great for brush and branch clearing, as well as small amounts of firewood processing. Pluss they have usable tips that penetrate well. Mostly I love the feel and balance of these things. They are light in the hand but can be gripped with both hands if need be. Most of all they are just fun to use!

Been using these cheepies for the last ten tears or so. I'd say they are my MOST used outdoor blades... after an edge reprofile, and a little handle modding, they chop amazingly well, and are pretty comfy in hand.

Recently I upgraded to this... Swamp Rat Rodent Waki. It's about 15x more expensive than what I've been using, but then it is a pretty bad a$$ blade!

...I like to carry mine over the shoulder "balderic" style. :thumbup:

Oh, and no I don't think I've ever used them for much food prep. I always have a smaller knife or three on me for that kind of stuff.

I also like a good large Bowie or Kukri, and those short machetes from Cold Steel look like some good users for the money to me.