Weigh in on your cutlery preference for choppin'.

tknife

tknife

Joined
Mar 18, 1999
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There seems to be two types of woodsman:
One is in the "Big choppin' knife" toting category. The other is in the "small hatchet and small sheath knife" toting category. The funny thing is, I fall into both. I love large knives with 9-10" blades, but sometimes I bring along my GB Mini Hatchet and a smaller sheath knife instead. What do you prefer?
 
I go with both. Sometimes I feel like hauling along a big knife, or an axe/small knife combo. Someitmes I even bring both, Stash the big knife in my pack and wear the axe/small knife on a belt. The big knife for me could either be a bowie or khukri, and my axe used to be a regular estwing hatchet you can buy at Home Depot.
 
my father-in-law just gave me his old rusty USMC bolo/golok 1/4" thick, 12" carbon blade. needs a ton of work!

what a chopper!!!!


I am ordering a tramontina machete to check it out and see how that weighs in.
 
I've carried both,but after working framing crews for a few years my GB small forest feels like a part of me.Exactly the same weight, length and balance as my favorite dead-on framer.with it,a leatherman and my sebenza I'm happy.
 
I have that exact hatchet by my woodstove as we speak. Mine has a polished cherry-bark/wood sheath. It's a beautiful looking hatchet and it functions amazingly. I recommend them highly.
 
That looks like a cross between machete and hatchet. The price isn't bad, I just might have to check one out.
 
but as a survival knife I don't think it will have the life time strength you can get with some knives.

number three is it full tang?

how thick is the blade?


I am into the golok and bolo style, I have finally found my dream chopper!:D



does anyone know where to get sheath leather? I have to make some sheaths

thanks

chris
 
I can't see someone being able to break the japanese hatchet. It's got a japanese style convex edge, no grind to speak of, so there is little chance of dinging or rolling the edge. It is a hatchet in the sense that it wouldn't be very useable for whittling or other small knife tasks, even less so than a machete would be. The blade is roughly 3/16" thick (eyeballing it next to my CS recon tanto). The tang on mine is about 1/2 the length of the handle, but believe me that there's no way you're breaking this handle, and if you somehow do it's simple work to make a new one. Judging from my own experiences out in the woods, brute knife strength is pretty overrated anyway. Also, no one expects a normal hatchet to have a huge chunk of steel running through the handle, but there are no suspicions of their ability to serve well out in the woods. If you're looking for a small hatchet, this one will do the job very nicely. Just keep in mind it's not a knife even though it looks more like one than an axe.
 
thanks number 3 for answering my questions.

it sounds pretty tough. I was looking for a way to avoid wanting one but you seemed to answer my questions. which means another one on the wish list.

thanks

chris
 
Chrisaloia, if that is the USMC machete, my dad had one too when I was a kid. One hell ofa chopper. (mom sold it in the trunk of my 66 Tempest dammit..)

As far as my preferred chopper, my straight-handled Steel Heart. Versatile, easy carry, and tough.

Mike
 
I will go with my trailmaster,The knife is new to me but im gettin the hang of it,Ive made a great shelter that I slept in for 2 days and it held up great,also cleaned rabbit and trout with it with ease.
 
Gentlemen, you are all poisoned with confusion....Kukuri,kukri, Khukuri, Kookerie,no matter how you spell it a good Khukuri is all you ned for chopping things from fire wood to Al Qaeda and Taliban heads......Cheers!
 
yes Mguy, it is a USMC machete. they are awesome the handle is not so good my father in lw left it in the rain for a while so it is swelled up pretty good.

but it is an awesome chopper

I wish they were still made they are so cheap
 
Originally posted by PipeyCain
Gentlemen, you are all poisoned with confusion....Kukuri,kukri, Khukuri, Kookerie,no matter how you spell it a good Khukuri is all you ned for chopping things from fire wood to Al Qaeda and Taliban heads......Cheers!
Click to expand...
I'll second that!:) If you get a good one they will normally come with a nice Karda (utility knife) and Chakma (sharpener).

Depending on the trip, some times I carry a 15" Ang Khola (HI Khukuri), HI Bancharo ('Hawk), SOG Governement and a Gerber EZ-Out.:D
 
I have an HI WWII that I dont have the heart to use because it is so beautiful. Uncle Bill took care of me in that deal. I have two Khukuris from my Gurkha friends that I use for actual work. BAS (British Army Service) or what the gurkhas called "service#1" One khukuri was given to me with a DPM camo sheath cover. I like that idea a lot and may cover other khukuri sheaths.
Again get yourself a good khukuri. History has proven the reliability over and over again.Cheers everyone!
 
I have to address this in the context of minimal impact back packing. I take neither large knife nor hatchet because both are too heavy. My preference is for a 5" (blade) knife that is stout enough to be pounded when splitting wood, and a folding saw! I've taken my Livesay AA on such trips, but at 3/16" thick, even this knife is a little heavier than necessary IMO. 1/8" is thick enough to handle a little rough work.

The saw has been a SAK saw which worked fine, but something a little longer is better, and can still be very lite!
 
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