Cold steel short machete
deowll
a camping trip. I started off suggest a hawk or hatchet. People seemed to
get turned off by the very idea of an ax of any size for fear of hurting
themselves which may be valid. I think they went with a fold up saw which is
great for cutting across but kind of limited for splitting.
Has anyone played around with the short machetes from cold steel and
others? Cold steel makes an 18 inch and a 12 inch blade.
Ontario makes a nice one though the handle on it is not as comfortable as
the one on the regular machete. Why they changed the shape I don't know. I
certainly don't consider it to be an improvement.
the wharf rat
deowll <deo...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>Has anyone played around with the short machetes from cold steel and
>others? Cold steel makes an 18 inch and a 12 inch blade.
>
Use your Kabar. 1/2 :-)
A machete isn't very good for chopping firewood. If you've had
a lot of practice you can get good at it. A better choice along those
lines is the Woodsman's Pal. It's very short but because of the way
the blade and edge are shaped hits very hard once you get used to the
idea of hitting with the sweet spot in the middle of the blade.
I've been told that a heavy Kukri is very good for this but I've
never held one.
Good Soldier Schweik
It seems to me that the solution is to learn how to use an axe, or
hatchet, as it is far superior for cutting firewood. Frankly, unless
you are talking about cutting small limbs, or something similar, you
will expend substantially more energy cutting and splitting firewood
with a 12 - 18 inch machete then with an axe.
And, if you are spending more then a few hours in the woods carrying
an axe is no problem. Just lash it to your pack or stuff it in the
pack basket. On the other hand, if you are just out for a day a pocket
knife will suffice, something to whittle some shavings to start the
fire you use to boil the coffee and toast your sandwiches.
cheers,
Schweik
(goodsoldierschweikatgmaildotcom)
Michael Koblic
"deowll" <deo...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:hb8qp4$jpj$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
A year or two ago I did a comparative trial of chopping wood with a kukri,
Cold Steel Barong machete, a golok and a cheap small axe from Fiskars.
The details are somewhere if anyone is interested I shall dig them up.
The long story short: The axe was way superior to all the others. There are
modifications one can make to the axe to improve it even more or so I am
told. Furthermore, there are axes of similar sizes but more expensive which
are said to perform even better - let me know and I shall dig up the links.
--
Michael Koblic
Campbell River, BC
deowll
"the wharf rat" <wr...@panix.com> wrote in message
news:hb90os$dmi$4...@reader1.panix.com...
Chopping down trees with one of the short blades, no thank you. But I've
found that any machete can get through a few inches of wood with no problems
and the chips burn too. Shed limbs and dead saplings aren't that hard to
deal with and live saplings can make a frame for a temporary shelter.
deowll
"Good Soldier Schweik" <decypher....@sig.line> wrote in message
news:njpgd5l5q94a9p9bp...@4ax.com...
I was afraid of that very logical response.
deowll
"Michael Koblic" <mko...@uniserve.com> wrote in message
news:KE9Cm.16065$Lw1....@newsfe03.iad...
I'd like to look at it.
the wharf rat
deowll <deo...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>Chopping down trees with one of the short blades, no thank you. But I've
You oughta try one of these Woodsman Pal things. They're
pretty cool once you get the hang of it.
I've heard that the Gurkhas use kukris as axes, so I wonder
if there's some kind of technique that makes a sword like blade work
well in these situations.
deowll
The cold steel machete kukri cuts fairly well considering how light it is. I
like it. I've got one of the reproduction kukris but I've never actually
done anything with it. It's always seemed thick heavy and awkward. Maybe I
need to give it a shot.
Good Soldier Schweik
John Masters who wrote a number of books about India and the days of
the Raj originally "came out to India" as a lieutenant of one of the
Ghurka regiments. In one of his books about his service with the
Ghurkas he tells of an annual ceremony in which several bullocks are
sacrificed by chopping off their heads, with a kukri. He mentions the
lack of applause when one Ghurka fails to take the head off with one
blow and the applause when the Sgt. Major does....
cheers,
Schweik
(goodsoldierschweikatgmaildotcom)
Michael Koblic
For some reason I cannot get access to the original report I generated for
the web-site and I did not keep a copy. To summarize what I remember:
The Fiskar's axe was easily the most efficient in terms of effort, number of
strokes etc. cutting through an identical piece of wood as all the others.
The second was a short golok sold by the Valliant company - in fact
considering that the blade was only 12" it was a pretty good chopper.
I did not like the kukri - a result I repeated in my previous tests. The
angle of the blade is awkward and the blade tends to wobble at impact,
unlike all the goloks I tried. The barong was way too small and the sweet
spot was way too close to the handle rendering it quite inefficient.
IMHO the best web site dealing with various types of cuttlery is here:
http://www.cutleryscience.com/reviews/reviews.html
The comparison of axes ( see section Axes, Tomahawks etc.) is interesting
and the modifications I refered to are covered under the 14" Fiskars. The
Granfors Bruks (Wildlife hatchet) is the industry standard it seems but way
more expensive than the Fiskars.
deowll
"Good Soldier Schweik" <decypher....@sig.line> wrote in message
The blade used for that is the size of a sword.
deowll
I'll take a look.
Tetsubo
And used two-handed at that.
--
Tetsubo
Deviant Art: http://ironstaff.deviantart.com/
Daily Booth: http://dailybooth.com/Tetsubo
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/tetsubo57
Good Soldier Schweik
From: http://www.datapacrat.com/Art/Games/RPG/DND/DRAGON/232AFLUR.TXT
Kukri, regimental
Cost: 12 gp
Weight: 4
Size: M
Type: S
Speed factor: 5
Damage S-M/L: 1d10/1d10
Culture: Nepalese
The regimental kukri is an enlarged version of the famous (and deadly)
curved knife of the Gurkhas. In the real world, it is a ceremonial
weapon, used to bless the regiment by slaying a water buffalo. The
actual sacrifice consists of beheading said water buffalo with a
single stroke. Only one is issued per Gurkha regiment, for the
specific purpose of the good luck ceremony, or dushera. This weapon is
over 21/28 in length.
cheers,
Schweik
(goodsoldierschweikatgmaildotcom)
Gregg
> We had a discussion some time back about what to use to cut up dead wood on
> a camping trip. I started off suggest a hawk or hatchet. People seemed to
> get turned off by the very idea of an ax of any size for fear of hurting
> themselves which may be valid.
Great thread and it came at the perfect time for me.
Yeah, I remember that thread well, that was back
when I was getting my Ka-Bar.
Everyone had great takes back then and still do,
I had to learn that everyone is different and what
may work well for you...may not be the same for
someone else.
I own the cold steel 18" latin machete and as was noted by someone
else....it really isn't meant to chop
firewood, but yes you CAN do it - rather easily. I pretty much
mastered that piece within two months, by that I mean mastering the
correct technique "for me".....how big of a chunk can I crack with the
least
amount of effort spent. That's basically what this
thread is about when you get right down to it.
I love my machete, it definitely has its place when I
hit the woods and I'm pleased I purchased it. I'm kind
of glad though that when I took it out of the box
that it was duller than crap. You have to take off that
original paint finish, I reprofiled the blade and got it
so sharp that when I went to put it in the sheath (cheap CS survival
sheath) it actually put about a
three quarter inch tear in it. So until I get a real sheath...it's
going to stay home I guess.
I'm not familiar with the Woodsman Pal, but I'll google
it and check it out.
I have the folding saw, and at least for me, it seems
like a full body workout....I've tried different techniques to try an
minimize that but you definitely
use all muscles with a saw....at least for me.
I went and got the Kukri, out of all my tools except my WW2 folding
fighting spade/shovel, it is my most
valued and used tool (other than maybe my folder.)
I did a LOT of reading - lots of reading before pulling
the trigger and getting it. I checked one out close up
at a local Army Surplus store, I love that store.
There's just something very easy and fluid in swinging the Kukri and
with the model I got - it has
the long handle which is great for two handing it.
You definitely use more energy with the folding
saw....or any saw for that matter than you do the
Kukri. The way the Kukri is made and where the
majority of the weight lies, makes it a natural for
wood chopping and I can now believe the Gurka
Warrior stories of lopping off heads. Here is the link
for the Kukris, IMO this site is the one if you're wanting to take the
step and purchase one.
http://www.sarcoinc.com/bayo-kukris.html
I think I decided on the tomahawk over the hatchet,
I just have to decide where to get it. Do I go with
the CS Tomahawk, the machete sheath tearing really left me with a bad
taste.
Sorry for the long post.
Gregg
>
> I think I decided on the tomahawk over the hatchet,
> I just have to decide where to get it. Do I go with
> the CS Tomahawk, the machete sheath tearing really left me with a bad
> taste.
> Sorry for the long post.
FWIW the Kukri I purchased is the 13" Heavy Blade
Deluxe, with the brass trim and rosewood grip, number BAYO59 - - it
was $26.95 - there is a link
there for that particular piece.
deowll
"Gregg" <gk...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:d44b3fe4-5d10-4017...@l33g2000vbi.googlegroups.com...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I own the cold steel trail hawk and like it. The head is not heavy enough to
make it a super chopper but then it is easy to carry and it works. I did
have to work on the edge. I stained the wood but the handle shape is
comfortable and sturdy. It is a very near match for a colonel era
reproduction hawk that I bought. Again not a super chopper but very handy
with a hammer side. I had to round off the lower handle a bit to make it
comfortable to use.
I like the light and handy cold steel machete kukri. It was made to cut but
the edge is thinnned down and can be fragile so don't expect to bang it on
rocks and get away with it.
Their sax machete is a sheep's foot rather than a sax and the blade is thick
and heavy with no taper near the edge. They just put an cold chisel edge on
a thick slab of steel. If you are good with a grinder you might make it into
something useful but as it stands about all I like about it is the handle
and the sheath.
deowll
"Gregg" <gk...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:d44b3fe4-5d10-4017...@l33g2000vbi.googlegroups.com...
Are the small knives that came with yours total crap like mine?
deowll
"Gregg" <gk...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:d44b3fe4-5d10-4017...@l33g2000vbi.googlegroups.com...
_______________________________________-
The CS trail boss may well be the best tool. It looks like a late design
from the 1940 before power tools took over and while quality was still goo
but you might be able to find something at a local business that is about as
good. The problem is that most hand tools are now made by people that know
jack. The heat treatment may be awful and subtle details may be all wrong
from the point of view of a user. The people that buy them don't even know
they have been riped off because they never use them more than once or twice
and have no clue what a proper tool would be like.
One thing I have learned is the wooden handle needs to extend past the ax
head so the that the flare of the wood due to the wedge being driven in is
such the head is not going to slip off. The wood past the head will act as a
lip and keep even a loose head from coming off. Cutting the head flush means
that the head will work loose sooner or later and may go flying during a
swing. (drill hole in side of ax and insert nail)
The old style ax heads with wood extending past the head is safer because
the wood past the head is larger than the hole in the ax head and the heads
aren't coming off during use. They are put on a handle by driving them up a
handle and you remove them by driving them back down the handle.
Any wooden handle can break.
I talk to much.
Gregg
>
> I think I decided on the tomahawk over the hatchet,
> I just have to decide where to get it. Do I go with
> the CS Tomahawk, the machete sheath tearing really left me with a bad
> taste.
> Sorry for the long post.
>
> Are the small knives that came with yours total crap like mine?
Yes. :-) They're sitting in the closet where they will
stay for years I would imagine.
Gregg
> The long story short: The axe was way superior to all the others. There are
> modifications one can make to the axe to improve it even more or so I am
> told. Furthermore, there are axes of similar sizes but more expensive which
> are said to perform even better - let me know and I shall dig up the links.
>
Michael or others.
I have yet to master the axe, I am curious as to
what exactly you mean when you said " There
are mods one can make to the axe to improve
it even more."
Can you share this mod with me? :-) TIA
Michael Koblic
All's I know is what I read in the link I included in my previous post.
Gregg
>
> - Show quoted text -
I must have missed it. Thanks.
deowll
Got my hands on an even shorter machete of the sax type with a one foot
blade. I think this thing might be just the thing to pack in somewhere and
play at survival. I wouldn't want to have to use it as my one and only
knife. I see it as a handy wood working tool.
Michael Koblic
The Golok Kelapa (AJ-05) - about half way down the page here:
http://www.valiantco.com/java1.html
came second in my tests - with only 9.5" blade!
Good soldier Schweik
From the name a knife made to husk or open coconuts :-)
Cheers,
Schweik
(goodsoldierschweikatgmaildotcom)
deowll
Cool! Though I think I'd prefer the Potong!
Michael Koblic
Note the difference in weight which IMHO translates into performance.
I have the klewang bugis (Celebes, AC-01) and it is nothing like the kelapa.
Gregg
> "deowll" <deo...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:hcdq73$9l5$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> - Show quoted text -
Nice piece Michael and a great site, I saved
that one. :-)