ZK VS BK Chop off!

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iwouldhurtafly

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Dec 3, 2010
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Well... Sort of a chop off... more of short little chopping comparison between some blades. The ZK Pestilence is SK5, The BK9, and a Short light Pack Machete of my creation just for the heck of it.

Here are the competitors....


This was also an experiment with a new edge I just put on the ZK. It came with a very obtuse V grind that was not conducive to chopping and slicing. It was more blunt force trauma than anything. So I spent a little time last night on the stones and put a thin convex on the whole shabang. Leaving a little more meat around the sweet spot for stability.



Here is the chopping material... an old fence picket that needs to go away... Figured it would be hard/concise enough to serve as a good comparison.
Chops will be done while on the knees in a short hammer grip. Pretty much testing the blades, not testing how hard I can swing it. Also a limit of 20 swings per blade.


First up the light machete as a control if you will.


Twenty wacks... not very good. The edge is what I would call green wood sharp, or machete sharp.



Ok ZK's Turn... Heres to hoping the edge mod works well...


Ok 2 hacks in and the board broke... maybe this medium was not a good choice... o well NO TURNING BACK...


Second trys a charm... 20 wacks precisely... all the way through... The edge worked perfectly cannot be happier with how it turned out...


Next up Mr. BK9...
2 wacks and a broken board.... still... no regrets...


BK9 in 16 wacks... Awesome... here is the overall...


Next up a little knife clubbing... Only had one large piece of wood to use... but it was tough and really dry... First up the machete... WOULD NOT GO THROUGH... The thing is just too thin.. it just twisted and got solidly stuck about 2 inches in... not really surprised honestly...


The ZK came up next and did just fine. The SK5 steel is pretty darn springy... You can deflect it by hand, it always snaps right back though.


BK9 like a champ as always...


Decided to bring in the BK2 as a comparison... out of all the blades it did the best... literally popped it open in about 2 solid hits.



Overall The BK9 still reigns supreme. I brought out the ZK because originally I was unimpressed with the edge, but after a little work it is a much better knife... Like I said this was not really a competition, but more of just a fun time out... Enjoy.
 
yeah, as usual, Ka-Bar did a good job on those zks. My sword also came with a non-impressive edge but some tinkering gave me good results. The bend is noticeable while battonning but it stayed true after it was done

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I was a little worried the first time I noticed how easy it is to bend the ZK's but after doing a little research on SK5 I found it is close, if not a spring steel. So its supposed to be pretty tough stuff when HT'd properly... So for the chopper like what I have its perfect... Edge retention isnt all that special... but for a hacker and slasher, its perfect.
 
I havent gotten to play with a bk9 yet, so I cant say much for it:/ But im not go.na lie to you, I LOVED my pestilence chopper. I should have never gotten rid of it. I mean, the handles werent amazing, but that blade, and that steel, its just great. I really Love the springyness of Sk5.
 
You've pretty much discovered the same thing about the Pestilence Chopper I did, Iwouldhurtafly. The first thing I did to mine was convex it, and I discovered that it works great on green woods and brush, but not very well on the hardwoods or seasoned dead woods. I use mine all the time, though, to prune and clean the twenty-six damned trees in my yard and cut the brush that grows everywhere.

In my current neck of the woods, the PC doesn't do me much good when camping, but if I were back in the deserts of AZ, among the cacti and other desert plants, or maybe in a jungle somewhere, the PC would be a great belt knife. IIRC, the PC is a modern re-imagining of the old pilot's Case XX Survival Machete, which I can only think was intended for pilots who were shot down over jungle areas in the Pacific during WWII. Based on my own experience with this blade style, I bet it worked just fine for that purpose. And that's how I use mine, as a kind of small, easily carried machete.



It does do shavings pretty well.

 
Yah the entire reason I got the blade was because I love those old pilot survival machetes, and this is a modern fixed blade version. It is a great short machete. As you saw I threw in another short machete for comparison just because of that. I have used mine for bushwacking and what not, to clear branches and things, but without the convex the performance is hit and miss. I have been contemplating taking the short "point" out of the edge and rounding it forward, but I would probably gain a little and loose a little... so its a moot point.

All in all, its a great short type machete. Glad I am not the only one who enjoys it.... But still if I need a big knife... I'm probably going to grab the BK9... :D
 
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