"Who's your Daddy?"

that's a great question.
for me, it's a matter of environment. The terrain is really extreme, but at the same time, the vegetation isn't really huge, (like with palm fronds, large ferns, vines etc.). The vegetation, though, is very tough and thick. I don't need reach as much as I need precision.

For me, a large knife functions better. Partially because it's better made, is easier to aim and has a harder edge.

I've used both, and while I like machetes a lot, (Indiana Jones, eat your heart out!) a large, high quality knife works better for me.
 
bowie-038.jpg


I don't know what this is, but it would be mine. It just looks so efficient.
 
RogerP said:
For what?

Roger
Click to expand...

Good question! Each would excell in different areas, i would guess, as Lorien references.

The machette I've been using for tree stuuf- vines growing everywhere including in the ground, on the metal fence, stumps, roots, saplings and cutting up branches. It works well in these tasks. Often being abused. No real damage, except dinged up edge.

My preference is Bowie for looks and machette for shovel. But, there's probably no market for custom machettes. Like buying a designer lawnmower. ..stilla bladeworthy discussion.

Make more machettes.
David
 
That Foster cutter is one of the best knives I've ever seen for the kind of work I do, (building trails).
In fact, the one I have on order is the same, but in a less expensive format.
 
I used machetes/fodder knives all the time, growing up on the farm. But now that I've got a big ol' bowie, I haven't used a machete in years. The bowie simply does everything better than the machete. From a performance standpoint, it's a no brainer. The main drawback of a "good" bowie or other blade that would take a machete's place, is the cost. Considering you can procure a cheap machete for a few bucks, does the well-made knife perform 100 times better? I kinda doubt it, but each will have to answer that for themselves.
 
the possum summed it up rather well for me (except I can't claim extensive experience using a machette).

Roger
 
Back in the days when I spent a LOT of time 4-wheelin in the woods, camping etc., I carried a Buck 119 for precision tasks and a machete for clearing brush cutting down saplings and chopping firewood. The length of the machete made it extremely useful for those tasks.

Peter
 
I keep an old philipine bolo in my truck. Holds an edge well. Chop stuff. Gut stuff. all around, all purpose tool.
 
I'm not prone to sell machetes or the folks that use them short. My first encounter with them was when I was in the military at Fort Howard (Canal Zone, Panama). The army contracted local peasants to do various maintenance chores. I did a double take watching them "mow" the grass with them. And when we visited the countryside, virtually every male encountered carried a machete, not hunters or bowies, but big 18" machetes.

I believe its fair to say the machete to jungle people around the the world is a be all, do all mainstay. I may be wrong, but my bet would be that few would trade theirs in for a ABS bowie. That larger blade is just too advantageous in work, play, and war.

ken
 
Like Ken I've seen what the locals down South can do at work with a machete. I've also had to work on the survivors of a 2 family machete fight in Honduras. Each blade excels in it's intended area, a machete for softer brush and vegetation, bowies for harder wood. Given a choice to only carry one I'd go with a large bowie.

The cost for me to produce a machete would be silly. Finishing and heat treating a blade that size would run the cost up near what I would for a nice bowie.
 
Soooo...

The question is, then, who has PICTURES of custom/handmade machetes?:D
(not that I've seen enough pictures of bowies, mind you! There will never be a time when I'll say I've seen enough, the way you makers out there keep raising the bar.)

Let us turn this into a 'Pictures of custom and Handmade Machetes' thread!
 
Ken Williams said:
I may be wrong, but my bet would be that few would trade theirs in for a ABS bowie. That larger blade is just too advantageous in work, play, and war.
Click to expand...

Not tryin' ta pick on ya here, Ken, because this is a general theme I see recurring through all kinds of threads... Why does everyone always assume the machete is much bigger than the bowie? Go to the wilderness subforum here and you'll find lots of folks that prefer a machete with a 12" blade. There's lots of bowies in that size range. The bowie I carry has an 18" blade. (maybe I should have mentioned that) Superior balance allows it to swing and maneuver faster than a machete, and still strike with much more power.
 
I was inclined to agree with the folks that a machete would outpreform a bowie in a jungle environment --- until possum mentioned an 18" Bowie (I'd love to carry an 18" Bowie with the right edge geometry -- i.e. not some huge clunker...)

My other initial assumption was that the Machete would have a significantly thinner grind and edge --- is that what you guys are thinking too? The thinner stuff will be better for very green vegetation, not so good on dry stuff...

Here's a "jungle fighter" from Jerry Hossom. He's done a few machetes, but I cannot seem to find the pics...

JungleFightersmall.jpg
 
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