What's a good, cheap chopper?

F

Folderguy

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Jun 26, 2010
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Some time ago I bought a SOG Jungle Primitive Bowie Machete. Well, night before last I used it to chop up a tree branch that came down during some high winds. Here's a pic of it after the cleanup:

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As you can see, the green wood was probably in the 2" - 2 1/2" thick range at the thickest part, and this tool took quite a bit of whacking to get through the wood. By the way, the edge on this blade was convexed and shaving sharp.

Now I'm interested in finding a chopper that will make work like that easier. I'm not looking for a hatchet, but for another heavier knife that will work well for this kind of stuff.

What do you recommend? I'd like to stay in the under $75 range if possible.

Thanks for your suggestions.
 
Either a Becker BK9...
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... or a BK2 if you hold it correctly (that's seasoned oak, by the way)...
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... makes a dandy chopper. Gotta love 'em!

---

Beckerhead #42
 
Condor golok at 14" or parang at 17"
I cut down a 6" diameter honey locust with a parang I was testing out on a passaround.
 
Just head on down to the local Army surplus store and pick yourself up a good old fashioned machete. Nothing beats them for chopping except of course an axe. These big chopper knifes tend to be very expensive, well made beyond the need to be, and at the end of the day, they won't chop as well as your basic, sharpen it with a file, Central American style machete.
 
Tramontinas are pretty impressive machetes for around $6 each. The quality is very good and at that price they are a steel "steal"!!!
 
HoosierQ said:
Just head on down to the local Army surplus store and pick yourself up a good old fashioned machete. Nothing beats them for chopping except of course an axe. These big chopper knifes tend to be very expensive, well made beyond the need to be, and at the end of the day, they won't chop as well as your basic, sharpen it with a file, Central American style machete.
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Sounds like a good idea...
 
I found a video on that compares 5 different blades, including a small forest axe. Very enlightening to see what all the different tools accomplished.

Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLqiAefRw30&feature=fvwrel

The long machete at 14 ounces and the Becker BK9 at 16 ounces produced very similar results after about 45-50 whacks.

After all this, I've still not made up my mind.

On the other hand, comparing what these blades did to what my SOG did has me thinking the SOG isn't all that bad.

Guess I'm just used to seeing the damage an axe will do...
 
Folderguy said:
Are you familiar with the machetespecialists.com website? They have a ton of different machetes. I'm not so sure what would be best. Any suggestions?
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I'm so familiar with it that I have a Machete Specialist t-shirt. :D The best option would be the Condor Golok, Bolo, or Tapanga models (though the Tapanga won't hit the market for another 3-5 weeks.) If you're not averse to a longer piece of work, I HIGHLY recommend the Viking model. I've had one for about three years and it's never let me down facing everything from grass to frozen knotty hardwood. :)
 
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