- Joined
- Jul 22, 2005
- Messages
- 4,360
Here is a Joe evaluation of the Woodsman's Pal
The Pal's sheath is very pretty, and very well made, but I wouldn't wear it on my side. There are no holes to strap it to my thigh, making it dangle. It is a very well made sheath however; I don't know how many other designs you could come up with for such a unique blade. The blade came to me very dull, and touched it up a little bit on a lansky pocket crock stick. I got a good keen edge after a while, but I couldn't get it shaving (My fault i'm sure)
I really was excited to use the hook on the end. It tore up roots around the yard, and when the shovel would stop, this hook would come in handy like a mini bush-axe. Smaller flimsy vines like blackberry vines seemed hard to cut though. The other side didn't help much either. It could have been me, but the Mineral Mountain White river Bowie cut straight through them. That is probably where I would put this away and break out the machete.
I used the Pal to make a fire in the Sandhills of NC. It worked really well taking down smaller branches. I tried to fell a turkey oak that was about five inches in diameter. The odd curve in the blade made this difficult for my hands. I had to finish the job with my Mineral Mountain White river bowie. I did use it to split the tree with a wooden mallet. The pal performed very well also cutting down smaller bamboo trees, about three inches in diameter down.
I would rate this as a very good brush-clearing tool. The handle is designed to be used either way, and it was comfortable and sturdy. It would work very well to help keep deer stands and the like clear, but I would bring a larger machete or an axe for the larger stuff.
The Pal's sheath is very pretty, and very well made, but I wouldn't wear it on my side. There are no holes to strap it to my thigh, making it dangle. It is a very well made sheath however; I don't know how many other designs you could come up with for such a unique blade. The blade came to me very dull, and touched it up a little bit on a lansky pocket crock stick. I got a good keen edge after a while, but I couldn't get it shaving (My fault i'm sure)
I really was excited to use the hook on the end. It tore up roots around the yard, and when the shovel would stop, this hook would come in handy like a mini bush-axe. Smaller flimsy vines like blackberry vines seemed hard to cut though. The other side didn't help much either. It could have been me, but the Mineral Mountain White river Bowie cut straight through them. That is probably where I would put this away and break out the machete.
I used the Pal to make a fire in the Sandhills of NC. It worked really well taking down smaller branches. I tried to fell a turkey oak that was about five inches in diameter. The odd curve in the blade made this difficult for my hands. I had to finish the job with my Mineral Mountain White river bowie. I did use it to split the tree with a wooden mallet. The pal performed very well also cutting down smaller bamboo trees, about three inches in diameter down.
I would rate this as a very good brush-clearing tool. The handle is designed to be used either way, and it was comfortable and sturdy. It would work very well to help keep deer stands and the like clear, but I would bring a larger machete or an axe for the larger stuff.