What's a good, cheap chopper?

I have an Ontario 12" long 1/8" thick machete, it will chop! I can imagine the 18" or 22" would be quite powerfull. Too bad the handles are not very ergonomic.
I have the Ontario Kukri, it's good steel, but not such a great chopper. The Ka-Bar Cutlass or Kukri have more weight and cut much better.
Don't own the BK9, but yeah, that's a good deal on a chopper.
 
foxx said:
I have an Ontario 12" long 1/8" thick machete, it will chop! I can imagine the 18" or 22" would be quite powerfull. Too bad the handles are not very ergonomic.
I have the Ontario Kukri, it's good steel, but not such a great chopper. The Ka-Bar Cutlass or Kukri have more weight and cut much better.
Don't own the BK9, but yeah, that's a good deal on a chopper.
Click to expand...

The ergoes on this aren't bad at all. In any case, a few minutes with my Dremel will smooth any hot spots out.

Here's what it looks like:

Ontario-1.jpg
 
The condor parang is great for a small expenditure, and you won't cry if you bust it, mod it, lose it, etc.
 
Folderguy said:
The ergoes on this aren't bad at all. In any case, a few minutes with my Dremel will smooth any hot spots out.

Here's what it looks like:

Ontario-1.jpg
Click to expand...


Well, I gave it a 10 minute workout.

First thing though, I put a decent, coarse, convex edge on the blade, using the Worksharp with a Norton Blaze 80 grit for the rough shaping, followed by the 240 grit belt. When finished, it would slice through heavy paper.

Then used it on some downed branches. High winds (probably 50 mph) these past few days have provided good green branches, ready to be cleaned up.

This blade is bad news for branches, and it hacked through 1 to 1 1/2" branches without much trouble at all.

Getting ready for the watermelon season!

P.S. BTW, this blade set me back the hefty sum of $30.
 
foxx said:
I have an Ontario 12" long 1/8" thick machete, it will chop! I can imagine the 18" or 22" would be quite powerfull. Too bad the handles are not very ergonomic.
I have the Ontario Kukri, it's good steel, but not such a great chopper. The Ka-Bar Cutlass or Kukri have more weight and cut much better.
Don't own the BK9, but yeah, that's a good deal on a chopper.
Click to expand...

I have a 22" version and it has A LOT of forward weight, there's a bunch of power behind it.

And agreed, the handles aren't great, I've sanded mine and made them a little better
 
M67 said:
I have a 22" version and it has A LOT of forward weight, there's a bunch of power behind it.

And agreed, the handles aren't great, I've sanded mine and made them a little better
Click to expand...

Do you have the D handled one, or the regular? Did you reshape and resharpen the edge?
 
the 22" 1/8" thick Ontario machetes are my favorites. 1/8" is very thick for a machete which makes it a poor choice for grasses and small vines, but they are beasts when it comes to heavier vegetation like branches, bushes, saplings, etc. I rarely need more than 2-3 swings to chop through green wood up to 5" thick. My yard is constantly being overgrown by Chinese Tallowtrees which can grow as much as 15 feet tall and 6 inches thick in a single year, and every spring my Ontario makes quick work of them. It's very satisfying to down a 4" sapling in a single swing :D
 
Sooooo many good choices here. Becker BK-9, OTC "Spec-Plus" series-Kukri, SP-8 Machete, 18" Military Machete. You cant go wrong with any of these. ALL are Made in America. Kukri & Sp-8 Machete are 1/4" thick of hacking bliss. 18" military machete is 1/8" thick. I can shave hair & paper with all of them. If you want smaller, get a Becker BK-2. It is also 1/4" thick blade. IMO, 1/4" thick blades are almost destruction-proof. NOTE: swinging a 1/4" hunk of steel all day will damn near make you crippled for 2 days afterwards, unless you do it all the time. LOL :D The Becker knives are ones that put a smile on your face when you pick them up, because they just feel right. :D
 
Folderguy said:
Do you have the D handled one, or the regular? Did you reshape and resharpen the edge?
Click to expand...

D-guard

And I took it to a place to have the edge worked on.

VERY sharp after I did my one magic touch.

But.... I sliced my lower leg open with it :foot: (awkward angle, slipped, it cut through a 1.5" thick limb, maybe more, and kept coming)
 
TwinStick said:
Sooooo many good choices here. Becker BK-9, OTC "Spec-Plus" series-Kukri, SP-8 Machete, 18" Military Machete. You cant go wrong with any of these. ALL are Made in America. Kukri & Sp-8 Machete are 1/4" thick of hacking bliss. 18" military machete is 1/8" thick. I can shave hair & paper with all of them. If you want smaller, get a Becker BK-2. It is also 1/4" thick blade. IMO, 1/4" thick blades are almost destruction-proof. NOTE: swinging a 1/4" hunk of steel all day will damn near make you crippled for 2 days afterwards, unless you do it all the time. LOL :D The Becker knives are ones that put a smile on your face when you pick them up, because they just feel right. :D
Click to expand...

2 days?? OMG..... :eek:
 
M67 said:
D-guard

And I took it to a place to have the edge worked on.

VERY sharp after I did my one magic touch.

But.... I sliced my lower leg open with it :foot: (awkward angle, slipped, it cut through a 1.5" thick limb, maybe more, and kept coming)
Click to expand...


Aiiiii yiiiii yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii OUCH!!

Thanks for the warning!! I've heard that the big Kukri's are dangerous in a similar way.
 
I use my old Camillus BK9 for all my de-limbing activities in the yard,it's my favorite.
 
It would be interesting if someone has, for instance, the Becker BK9, the Kabar large heavy bowie, the CS Magnum Kukru, and the Ontario 22" Military, and they could shoot a video comparing them chopping.

A reasonable chopping test might be a 2X6 or a 2X8, with the knives' edges rebeveled and sharpened with a convex, razor sharp grind. The comparison would be to see how many chops with each blade it would take to hack all the way through the board, without turning the board over to make it quicker.

I've watched not a few videos of several of these or other blades and it's pretty difficult to get a really decent assessment of how one compares to another. Although, it's pretty likely, from what I can tell, that a comparison of the "Kabar large heavy bowie" versus the Ontario 22" Military would have the Kabar coming out on the losing end.
 
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