Woodsman's Pal vs Bushman vs Machete vs Hatchet

I started chopping and splitting wood with a hatchet and Ax back in about 1950 so I am very much at home with them and for me, nothing else even comes close. Second would be a Tram, 12-14 inch, Woodmans pal is not bad, Never tried the Bushman.

Man that a lot to think about at one time.
 
I have no uses for machetes around here... they are no good with hardwoods.
definately a GB hatchet!
 
Wow, my first time seeing the bushman. I was thinking Cold Steel Bushman when I first read the title. Has anybody here ever used one?
 
jlouis976 said:
Thats a good looking axe.

Why is a hatchet better than a heavy machete? Won't the hatchet be a lot more weight to haul? Are the other two choices just novelty items or do they have their place?
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I carry a hatchet when I am in areas with hard wood as its heavy weight helps me chop more efficiently. Yes it is heavier then a machete -- cost vs benefit -- you'll have to make the call.

I carry a Newt Livesay RTAK when I am in the jungle -- which hasn't happened for a LONG time... :D It's light weight doesn't wear out my arm and it cuts plants / bamboo etc well.

I don't have enough experience with the other tools to comment.
 
An axe is a pretty versatile tool. They, particularly the hatchets, can be dangerous though without practice and some caution.
 
My first choice would be a hatchet then a small 12 to 14 inch machete. Throw in a small folding saw and you could build a nice shelter. The Woodsman's Pal is alot heavier and I have found them awkward to use. The Bushman is small, overpriced and I am suspect on their quality and design. I would like to see a review on the Bushman
 
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If I can get away with using a Golok I will. It is the most versatile tool for what I do and where I'm at in most instances. My camps are usually small and minimal impact, even when they go on for a few days. The woodland here could be hard or soft but either way if I'm not cutting through stuff bigger than my wrist the Golok can handle that easily. That's often the case. I'm not sitting yards away from the fire in some camping chair needing enough heat and light to warm a village.

However, when it comes to winter, or to hardwoods exclusively, the ax is my default setting. Despite some of the nonsense spoken about other sorts of choppers an ax is fundamentally different. It is a simple machine, it is a wedge. Yes you get little axes that try to be knives too, but there's no escaping the raison d'etre of the axe is it is a wedge. And if you had a knife that made for a good wedge it would be pretty darn compromised as a useful knife / machete. Which is why so many have to augment them with an extra step, beating on them, or introducing yet another component, a wedge made from something else. The choice is clear. You either burn up a few more calories carrying an ax, or you conserve them by not taking one and use them up + some later augmenting your alternative and less suitable tool. Further, let's consider the way and ax transmits energy compared to a big knife or machete that has its weight distributed far more evenly along its length. Clearly the ax wins for the same reason nobody of any worth makes hammers that are shaped like oblong rods.
 
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A small saw works well for firewood and building shelters. They're cheap and they work. Then a good pocket knife or medium sized fixed blade (or both SAK + fixed blade). I had not seen the Bushman before. It looks interesting and you're able to do some pounding stakes and so forth with it which looks like a good idea.
 
The estwing hatchets are excellent as well, and wont break the bank. The Fiskars are ok and are lighter weight than the Estwings, I have one of the 14 inchers that I picked up for 12.00 on closeout. Couple the hatchet with a good sheath knife with a 4-5 inch blade.
 
Second the Silky Saw! As for the Fiskars/gerber hatchets and Axes. I have a cheap carbon steel Brazil made hatchet and I would take that over the Fiskars. I have had zero luck with them . Many other folks on other forums I have been on had the same results.
Since the buyout/merger between Gerber and Fiskars the quality has really gone downhill. Stainless for an axe or hatchet??? I have seen many chips, large chips from splitting small pine logs. Not even around knots. Not to mention the heads cant really be convexed like a good one should because of how they are mounted. I should mention this comes from my experience with the hatchets, not the axes.

Last camping trip we went on with some friends over the July 4 week a friend brought out his new Gerber hatchet , the one with the knife in the handle. He wanted to split kindling for me to try it out. I kid you not, first swing, crack the hnadle broke at the very top of the hollow part. He was left with a couple of inches of handle and head.
He was not abusing it, or even swinging it hard. I don't want to come off like a jerk or a know it all, but I wouldn't want anyone to rely on anything from them. Just look at their machete quality in the thread about em. Hope this helps a bit.
 
My choppers are a heavy 12" Ontario machete,an old Norlund hatchet and modified CS Trailhawk. In the SE US, I find the machete the best chopper followed by the hawk then the hatchet. For hardwoods, which the hatchet might perform better, I use a Silky folding saw.

Like longbow50 mentions, Fiskars can meet all your needs. Add in their bushblade/machete along with the afor mentioned axe and saw and you are set.
 
Fiskars are stainless? Not good, any impact cutter should be carbon steel.
My cousin bought a stainless machete and I just said "looks nice, uh, wear safety glasses."
 
Yep, the ones I have seen are. I know some people seem to like em. I have never had any luck with them at all.
 
Im another one who has trouble cutting North american hardwoods with a machete. I use an axe for wodd and a machete for Horseweeds.
 
Ya know what..I used to own a woodsman pal, and it was used heavily by me and my freinds on our camping trips..it doubles as a small shovel for the fire pit as well.
 
Woodsman Pal is a great tool and very rugged.I use mine alot but for any serious amount of chopping I use an ax.
 
my chopper that i take with me is the 14" fiskars with a thinned out edge.

the chopper i use at home is the 19" wetterlings, or if i need it the big cheap collins 3# head (i dream of the day i can buy a racing axe for the big jobs)

the machete comes out when its time to slash or when i just feel like it

for a first tool, i would say go with a fiskars 14" hatchet. they come decently sharp and they are a great versatile tool that is cheap and easily replaced. it is a good point to learn what you need and go from.

i would avoid the bushman knife. it is made from "440 stainless"-not a great knife steel, and generally a stainless that is hard enough to keep an edge is also hard enough to suffer damage chopping. i also don't like sawbacks and i don't think that "hammer" portion of the blade is a good idea at all. it will interfere with the use of the knife the way i use a knife.

a machete is a fun tool, and very versatile, but i personally feel better with a hatchet. it seems to give me more bang for the weight.

i also strongly recommend a folding saw like a silky or a fiskar's slide saw. i would feel fine carrying my strong fixed blade and a folding saw. i could build shelter, cut and split fire wood, and take care of just about anything else. all for probably less weight than the fiskar's hatchet in most cases.
 
I have a Bark River Golok and a Silky PocketBoy both are amazing tools for what they are designed for. I have used the 14" Fiskers hatchet. When you account for the cost and weight it is also a great tool.
 
longbow50 said:
For around $30.00 total, you can have the Fiskars garden axe, which is a good tool and the Fiskars sliding saw, another tool that works hard for you.
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Another vote for fiskars, good axes at decent prices.

I would also sugest a wetterligns. Hatchet or fullsized.
 
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