Author Topic: Help me find the right machete (Read 2164 times)

Bugflipper · « **on:** October 16, 2011, 09:09:04 PM »

I clear the small trees that grow up on the fence line ever 2 or 3 years. Well it's time again and I'm not liking the way my machete is doing the job. It's a cold steel large kukri. Was supposed to be for heavy chopping, but it feels a little flimsy to me. I would like something a little heavier so the tool is doing more work than me. The smaller kukri machete I have does a whole lot better than the big one, but it is also a whole lot lighter so it has to be swung as hard as I can to be effective. Both of them have a good edge on them. I also use them to chop limbs on the trail. So what would you look into for cutting down green trees smaller than 4"? I ended up getting mad today and getting the axe out. It's a little dangerous hitting springy trees with an axe though. I don't have much use for one in clearing underbrush around here. Just one for heavy chopping please.
Many thanks.

Joel · « **Reply #1 on:** October 17, 2011, 04:16:12 AM »

I've cut down a lot of trees from 1" to 5" this past summer clearing out my woodlot of junk so I can plant different native trees. Also cleared 400' of overgrown pasture fence that was covered with Bush Honeysuckle(Russian Olive), sumac, poplar, multiflora etc. Cut all that right down to the ground level. Tool was a chain saw. Does a great job. I've cut trees up to 3" using my Incolma machete, and it did it with no problem, but I only cut the one to see if it would do it. Took a couple of minutes. I also routinely clear junk stuff up to 1" around the property with my Incolma's(I've three of them) with no problem, and I have a great 3/4 poll cruiser that I use for big stuff( I really don't like to use the chain saw unless I have to), but when there's a lot of it and you want to get it right to the ground without spending a lot of time, my old Stihl does it best. Like my Dad used to say, "If the tool you're using is more work than the work, find something that does the work without being a lot of work". He could be confusing at times, but of course he was right:)

Graybeard · « **Reply #2 on:** October 17, 2011, 07:21:48 AM »

I gave up machetees years ago.

I use long handle brush loppers or pruners. I have three types of them available to me. One that likely would be best for your needs has compound leverage and can cleanly cut a sapling or limb to about 3" diameter. Larger than that is chainsaw work in my opinion.

You can usually find them at Sears, Lowe's and other such places in the garden tools area. They sure are a lot easier on the body than a machete is.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #3 on:** October 17, 2011, 08:48:01 AM »

I like a bush axe .

rdlange · « **Reply #4 on:** October 20, 2011, 02:59:06 PM »

Find a REAL khukuri. The CS is too thin, has a bad handle and generally too flimsy as you found out. Otherwise, I've always used the 18" milspec machete. I think mine's an old Ontario, but generally I use trimmers or a heavy Nepal khukuri for any smaller than axe chopping.

Be well...

mjh · « **Reply #5 on:** October 23, 2011, 05:41:10 AM »

I tend to go the pruner lopper route on small stuff, sometimes pruning saw. Did trade in to a Brazilian matchetee recently Tramontina or some such spelling. I think its going to be a keeper with some filing and sanding to the handle to make it more comfortable. Bigger stuff gets the chain saw.

chefjeff · « **Reply #6 on:** October 23, 2011, 06:04:58 AM »

Good advise on the loppers. You sure can tell the diff. between a good machete and a lesser one. 1095 steel on the ontarios and some others are good. Used to be able to get milsurp ones that had 1943 on the blade, heavy and tough,thick blade.A small bow saw is in my lane clearing kit,for the weight,it does well. Happy cutting!

cwlongshot · « **Reply #7 on:** November 05, 2011, 12:12:23 PM »

Last year I bought three or four different models and in my opinion, by far the best was the military Collins design.

I also tried the cheapo Cold Steel kukri. Mostly because I like the "real" CS kukri knives. NOT EVEN CLOSE to the same thing!! BUT if I keep them real sharp they work OK.

The Collins works well even as it dulls. It has a bit more weight and length.

The Kershaw may be nicely made, and OK as a camp knife it is a lousy machete.

CW

Bugflipper · « **Reply #8 on:** November 08, 2011, 01:31:46 AM »

I got a fiskars axe for Christmas a couple years ago and lost it. My plan was to put a patina on it before putting it out in the shed. I found it hidden in a closet, soaked overnight in vinegar, put it on a ceramic dowel, got it shaving sharp and went out a choppin'. It worked pretty good, my double bitted axe is round on the ends. That fiskars was more like a european felling axe. Bit into saplings pretty good instead of bouncing them out of the way.

I ended up ordering a real kurkri and an ontario machete. I used to use a GI machete that had the 1945 on it, discussed by another posted, when I was a child. It seemed to cut better than the hand scythe at the time. I figured that ontario one would have to be pretty close. If it can't cut the big stuff I'll just clear blackberry briars with it.
Well I got everything done that needed to be done before the winter. Now it's time to hunt and be lazy. Thanks for the help on figuring out what to get. Will come in handy. I'm going to string up another 20 acres or so next Spring. Those branches are always in the way.

Dand · « **Reply #9 on:** November 08, 2011, 05:12:20 PM »

Bug, tell us more about the size Ontario you got and all about the Kukri.

I have a CS cheapo Kukri, an Ontario Kukri, and lately trying out a Kershaw Outcast. Sometimes I get the Cold Steel sharpened right and it can work well for a while, and its thickness works well for chopping as I can get the right convex edge. But it dulls quickly. About a month ago I used it to do some clearing and limbing some medium spruce trees. Didn't take time to sharpen often enough, and ended up swinging hard with the flared butt in the palm of my hand. My hand still hurts from that work out. I like the hardness of the Ontario and I finally got it sharpened right so it was really going through some 1/8 to 3/4 in willows, as long as I took them at an angle. But I think I wish it had more spine farther out to the tip to keep up momentum. The long flat taper to the blade can make it stick badly if I don't cut all the way thru. It doesn't dull as quick as the Cold Steel cheapo but it won't allow me to get much of a convex edge either - seems best for grass and thinner stuff that I can cut thru in one stroke. It would be a heck of a defensive weapon tho.

The outcast is so new that I can't say much, but I'm starting to regret thinking it would work as a machete - too light and short and the handle is too slim even for my smallish hands. Haven't worked the edge much but as its D2, should hold a good edge. Should work ok for very limited machete work. It might be better as a machete if the spine stayed thicker all the way to the point, or closer to it. But I haven't really found a need for this "camp knife" concept and I'm kind of regretting getting caught up buying it - but it felt nice and seemed kind of cool in the shop. I might rivet the sheath to my snowmobile just to have something along, or it might work for clearing the area around an electric bear fence I use when I hang meat - that was my original use for the CS kukri.

For heavy clearing I'd consider one of those heavy duty weed whackers that takes a steel blade - or a chainsaw.

But back to your final choices: Where did you get your real kukri? How big is it? Handle type? Did you have to do a lot of work on the edge?

I'm still intrigued about the real thing but don't want to buy a junk tourist blade or drop big bucks without knowing if I'm buying a good one.

thanks

Bugflipper · « **Reply #10 on:** November 08, 2011, 07:03:30 PM »

With the Ontario I just got the GI issue style 18". http://www.ontarioknife.com/catalog/item/54 All I tried with it was a wild japanese privet hedge. It was about little finger size with the limbs I was cutting. They are a nuisance hedge that grows in the South. Really springy and pretty tough to cut without loppers. It did a lot better than the 2 cold steel kukri machetes. Well, I really chopped on the crape myrtle that grows up to block the satellite so quick to. But it's just really whippy new growth that is very thin. The little kukri machete always did better for it than the magnum one. The Ontario did a lot better and went through with one pass on several at a time. For what ever reason it swings pretty fast and clean, though it's heavier. It also has a better balance when swinging. I liked it pretty well seems like it will be good on thin underbrush and soft hardwood saplings.

On the kukri I got this one. http://www.thekhukurihouse.com/catalog/product.php?id=323035fa874 It came shaving sharp. It cuts better than a short handled camp axe. I chopped down about a 3" wild cherry in about 10 seconds. Most of the 1 and 2" stuff I tried was just one 45 degree hit. It was sassafras and sweet gum. About the hardest stuff I have around here is little sumac trees. It would take about 4 or 5 good whacks for a 2.5" . On that cold steel one if you wrap the handle in paracord it will take a little shock out of it.

Dand · « **Reply #11 on:** November 09, 2011, 07:20:19 PM »

Thanks for the info Bug. I'll look into that real Kukri - maybe try the basic Ontario machete too. Will try the paracord wrap too. When I first got the CS Kukri, I wore a sore on my palm where the butt flare of the handle touched. I smoothed off that part of the handle (keeping the flare, just made it smooth) and that helped quite a bit.

That brush you deal with is probably tougher than our willow, alder, birch, and spruce. The alder can be nasty as it is so inner-twined it can be hard to swing a blade or chain saw. For that a little Sierra saw or similar can be pretty quick for making a trail. But springy stuff can be fristrating - need something real sharp I guess. I'm just learning about machetes.

later: Just looked at that kukri you got. Its a BIG one!! Sounds pretty heavy - how do you like swinging it? How long did you put it to work?

thanks

Bugflipper · « **Reply #12 on:** November 09, 2011, 10:04:59 PM »

I don't imagine most folks would want to swing a 15" one all day. I just got it for a chopper. The reasoning was to have the most efficient tool to get it done quicker. So fuzzy logic I guess, a chainsaw would be quicker and easier. I work a job where I sit on my butt most of the time. I work a farm, but these days I guess it is more honest to say machinery works the farm for you and you just oversee it. I don't imagine most folks would want to get a big sized one, nor carry one for any length of time. I have a job that requires a yearly pt. The fatty foods I like tend to tell on you at the end of the year when it's time for that. So I go to the gym 3 days a week. Run 2 days a week and do stuff around the house like felling trees with an axe for fences and barns. Clearing brush and moving rocks by hand, that sort of thing. It keeps me in better shape so I don't have to diet and worry about my job every year.

gcrank1 · « **Reply #13 on:** November 16, 2011, 10:07:55 AM »

Im glad for the heads up to not go with the CS kukri, Ive looked at a couple on gun show tables and was tempted.........
I have to be careful of 'hacking' tools, the shock through my elbows and an old sprained wrist cause problems, just not when Im looking at stuff on show tables.
+1 on the loppers, they have saved me.

windywales · « **Reply #14 on:** January 03, 2012, 06:53:23 AM »

If you want the advice of somebody who made his living with a machete for years (western Washington bush surveyor for about 40 of the last 66 years), there's nothing that compares, day in and day out, with the Collins Legitimus machete--no copies, please! We use the 22" blade model, though a few sports swear by the 18" for light work; both have to be found at gun shows, because Collins stopped making them in Hartford in the '60's. The balance, the steel, whatever it is, it's the difference between a tool and a toy, EVERY TIME! You'll pay a premium price, but...the best is always a bargain!
mind yer topknots!
windy

sonny, whar i growed up, "magnum" was jist another word fer "lousy hunter"!

grdad45 · « **Reply #15 on:** January 08, 2012, 03:58:14 AM »

I have a Martindale (England) Crocodile that takes and holds and edge better than any others I have tried. It is about 24" overall, and swings true, is weight loaded on the end, and has three grooves near the spine for strength. The handle is wood. I bought 6 of them several years ago, and my hunting buddies snapped all of them up except the one I kept.

Bugflipper · « **Reply #16 on:** January 08, 2012, 05:34:47 AM »

I've been playing around with one called a tramontina. It was $6 at home depot. It has been good for light work. It is a little thin so I figured it would swing pretty fast and cut up smaller things. I cleared out a few small saplings(under an inch) and a lot of green briars and weeds. It may work for some of you fellows that don't have hardwood forests.

I also picked up a set of fiskars loppers. They have some kind of ratchet on them that lets you put more torque on what you are cutting. They will cut 2-2.5" hickory and oak trees pretty easy.

We've had an unseasonably warm winter so I've been putting up a fence for the last several weeks in my spare time. I figured it would be better to do it now as apposed to fighting the mosquitos, hornets and yellow jackets. That Kukri worked pretty good. I could stay on the atv most of the time and just lop off a lot of the saplings. I ended up clearing a path around for about a 34 acre section. All the wire is strung up besides one more run of about 300 ft. The rain set in on me so I'll have to wait until next week to turn the animals loose in there.

Victor3 · « **Reply #17 on:** January 09, 2012, 02:13:24 AM »

Quote from: grdad45 on January 08, 2012, 03:58:14 AM

I have a Martindale (England) Crocodile that takes and holds and edge better than any others I have tried. It is about 24" overall, and swings true, is weight loaded on the end, and has three grooves near the spine for strength. The handle is wood. I bought 6 of them several years ago, and my hunting buddies snapped all of them up except the one I kept.

Grooves remove material and thus never strengthen a blade.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #18 on:** January 09, 2012, 10:55:20 AM »

grooves - weight reduction or to let liquid or such have a place to go as you cut .

Joel · « **Reply #19 on:** January 11, 2012, 03:06:39 AM »

Grooves are typically used to improve the balance on a knife by decreasing the blade weight. Done right, they don't affect blade strength. You see them often in fighting knives for that reason. The term "blood groove" is a misnomer. When a blade is stuck into soft tissue, the tissue still expands to fill any slight gaps; increasing the total area of the knife blade and usually making it a bit more difficult to extract.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #20 on:** January 11, 2012, 08:04:15 AM »

sorry thought we were talking machetes that cut thick soft vegitation . On a knife in adition the blood grove as many know it makes it easier to remove after stabing .

Joel · « **Reply #21 on:** January 11, 2012, 05:22:34 PM »

It doesn't matter what you're cutting; grooves are grooves and serve the same purpose, whether on a machete, golok, sword or knife...balance. If done properly, they also stiffen the blade. A good article on fullers(grooves) and blood grooves is here...
[size=78%]http://www.agrussell.com/Articles/a/106/[/size] that's one source. There are others.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #22 on:** January 13, 2012, 09:41:19 AM »

There are other articles on the net that add other benifits about grooves , google blood groves . No need in us picking on each other ..... your post are supported there along with others .