What's the best chopper?

[FortyTwoBlades]

I have been looking at these, before I buy the new molded, ontario 18" machete, would you say the condor is better? I have the school rivtoted Ontario and I get it shaving sharp on a belt sander with no effort. Are the Condors as good? Better? Thanks I already have four machetes but where I live you can never have enough! The chipping can be quite bad on the ontario when it hits rocks.

Seriously, give 'em a shot and you won't be disappointed. I use machetes a LOT, both because they're useful and versatile, as well as the fact that they make the work fun. I've taken every opportunity I've had to try every machete available to me and the Condor's really take the cake in pretty much every respect.

 

[Andrew Colglazier]

Really? REALLY!? A thread about choppers running into two pages and nobody has said the word "KHUK"?

Crazy!

The khukuri (spell it how you wish) is a blade mostly dedicated to making woodchips fly, and we have a leading maker of these great blades here on BF, Himalayan Imports.

Go check them out! Great quality for reasonable money. You won't be sorry.

Andy

 

[resinguy]

It might help if poponine could better define just what he will be chopping, so we can help better fit the knife to the task. I have plenty of Busses, and they are good for chopping heavier stuff, but when a machete is called for, you don't reach for a Busse.

Certainly Busses do get used, and used hard. Start a thread in the Busse forum asking for beater/user pics, and you will get plenty.

 

[popopine]

Hello... KHUKs rock!

So i'm going to be clearing bush, hacking old dead branches into kindling, taking down some newer trees 4" thickish. Really creating a more civilized woods around my house that you can walk through or ride a dirt bike through.

With all these great suggestions already, i could clear a pine forrest. Thanks all! Popo

 

[resinguy]

Hello... KHUKs rock!

So i'm going to be clearing bush, hacking old dead branches into kindling, taking down some newer trees 4" thickish. Really creating a more civilized woods around my house that you can walk through or ride a dirt bike through.

With all these great suggestions already, i could clear a pine forrest. Thanks all! Popo

From that description, of the Busse knives, I would recommend the Combat Grade Fusion Battle Mistress. (CG FBM) With a 10" blade at 0.25" thick it is the lightest of the current generation Mistresses, but plenty strong. The FF FBM is thicker, and the NM FBM is longer by a inch, and are chopping beasts, but heavy to wield and carry. This a good time to shop for used Busse, lot's on the Exchange, low (relatively ) prices. A user CGFBM should be around $450.

The Bark River Golok is also very impressive, it has a hell of an edge from the factory.

I trust others can recommend other knives and brands.

 

[moonwilson]

For the money the KA-BAR Machete Cutlass is very good.

Excellent advice. The KaBar Cutlass is a great chopper, especially for the money. However, in my experience, the best chopper of them all:

Busse NMFBM.

 

[GregS]

Machete/chopper... khukri, Himalayan Imports sells the best. My 21" Gelbu Special clears brush very well. It's chopping abilities are so so, but it will get the job done, especially with stuff 4" and under.

For raw chopping power... Busse's Battle Mistress in any flavor reigns supreme.

 

[barrabas74]

Yup I agree pretty much with everything thats been said. For brush and small stuff I have grown to LOVE I mean LOVE my Condor Machete. Holds a great edge, doesnt roll or chip if it gets into the hardwoods and has a decent convex edge.

For bigger stuff I really like a number of knives, my fav might be my NMFBM (Nuclear Meltdown Fusion Battle Mistress) which is just a beast of a knife in a fantastic Steel. I have a FFBM and a CGFBM among other variants. All of them will chop like no ones business. I also very much like the Dogfather LE because its much lighter than the above but still chops very well. I really like the Resperine C handles as they absorb shock better and are more comfortable to me in prolonged use.

The three I mentioned (NMFBM(pic before i used it), FFBM, CGFBM)

Dogfather LE I used here:

I also really like my Khukri's as well. Love those HI's. Personal Fav is the AK.

If you want a MONSTER chopper, you could go with a Dui Churra from HI, mine is in the 22" range and is a real beast.

Size comparison shot.Dui Churra, CGFBM, Dogfather, RD9, Becker9. I have many comparison shots with this beast Khuk and it dwarfs my RTAK and NMFBM which are not small knives at all.

There are litterally tons of options out there both production and custom. If you like choppers like many of us here do. One wont be enough anyway. I suggest getting a mid priced chopper and machete. Like a Kabar BK9 and a Condor. Wont set you back too badly. If you want to go for the Big Boys look at HI and Busse family. Never had a prob with mine.

I have many custom choppers but thats a whole new ball game and price point for the most part.

Most of my choppers and Busse's are far from prestine. One of my fav is made by Mattew Roberts and is my avatar or whatever. I have used the heck out of that knife and many other customs. I figure if your gonna spend that much money you might as well enjoy using it right? Matt Lamey makes a heck of a big knife along with many other makers you'll find in the Makers section, some with very reasonable prices I might add!

 

[Mentor]

I certainly can't speak to what the best chopper is, but I can tell you what has proven to be an excellent and reliable chopper for me.

This is my much-used, often-abused Camillus Becker 9. It has served as my only chopper on a number of extended wilderness trips, and it sees regular four-season action for trailblazing and maintenance. I thinned out the edge profile towards the tip, but it is otherwise unmodified. It holds an excellent edge. It is ideal for brush clearing and light chopping, and is easy to baton through larger stuff. When I plan to use it for extended periods, I wrap the handle in bicycle inner tube. For me, handle comfort is a huge factor when selecting a chopper - even wide and rounded handles can create hot spots over time, and more angular handles (or sub-hilts!) can really tear your hand up during extended chopping.

All the best,

- Mike

 

[GregS]

I like the inner tube idea, I'm going to try that.:thumbup:

 

[din]

smatchet.

 

[popopine]

Picked up a 3.5 lb axe today and started eating up the smaller trees around the property. Looking at a condor next for the brush. Oh, and because of you all i had to bid on a FBM!!! (Couldn't decide on the heft of that blade vs the thinner longer nmfbm blade. From what i've read they both rock.

Hope the wife doesn't chop me up! Thanks All! PS the inner tube idea is brilliant. I smell a new product idea.

 

[bammann45]

My Bark River Clax has gotten a lot of chopping use since I bought it -- I've been happy with the results - you just have to be aware of the double edge and use accordingly.

 

[C.S. Graves]

This has probably been touched on already, but the best chopping blades will most likely be too fatiguing for lighter, machete-type work. If you want it all in a single blade, you'll compromise one task or the other somewhat.

But if it was just chopping, I'd say BONE-CUTTERRRR!!!!