Machete for trails and shooting lanes?

[thelefthand]

I'm getting a very late start this year. I'm normally done by now. I've lost the el cheapo machete that I normally use to help cut shooting lanes and such for my deer stands, and I need to replace it. Any suggestions? I'm thinking that the Gerber machete with the built in saw blade might be a good one. I normally have a pair of long handled pruners, and a pole pruner with me. Sometimes a chainsaw or 3 but I generally don't need to use those. I use the machete for clearing out various ivy's (not the itchy stuff), saplings, and thorns that have grown up in some of my paths and shooting lanes.

Thanks,
Mark

[rossman40]

I started using one of these Fiskers brush axes and love it,



The hook point stops you chopping the ground and lets you hook overhead branches to pull down. Not too long of a blade, not too heavy. Has a teflon coating, made in China but with a lifetime warranty. Pick it up at your nearest Walmart for around $22.

One of the best tools is a Woodsman's Pal,



Great tool, well designed. A bit heavy, swinging one of these all day is a chore. These have been in the US Army since WWII and are still being issued to like survey teams. A lot of units will not hand them out as for some reason they get "lost" while out in the field. Instead the supply sargent wants to give you those cheap flimsy machetes. They now make a compact version that is 2" shorter. 100% US made with pride and runs around $80

[Rifleman]

Gerber machete gets bad reviews elsewhere. I like to use a 12 gauge for lane clearance with whatever trap loads I have laying around.

[rossman40]

If the chipmunks come down with lead poisoning it is all your fault Rifleman.

I think Gerber dropped all the machetes out of the line but the short one. I seen some of the bigger ones dirt cheap. They were offering a brush axe like the Fiskars for twice the price. I think I paid $17 for my last Fiskars cause it was marked down for seasonal clearance. Now they have Bear Grylls putting his name on a parang they are trying to sell.

[Rifleman]

A Woodsmans Pal is on my " to buy list". I started researching machetes a while back for some obscure reason I cannot recall, and pretty much came up with the same conclusions as Rossman. I do have a cheap machete that a friend brought home to me many years ago as a souvenir from a trip to South America. I use it to cut weeds in the wifes flower garden when it starts to get out of control by late summer as the neighbors get upset when they see me walking around the yard with my Benelli.

[ratsnakeboogy]

Ontario knife Co. make a very functional machete in several configurations for a reasonable price. Look them up on ebay. The edge needs work when you get it, but it sharpens well with a flat file and stone.

[thelefthand]

Dad used to have a brush hook like the fiskars, but it was on a full size axe handle. It was a great tool and I used it to clear a lot of fence rows when I was a kid. One day he tried to use it and broke the handle.... lol Better him than me. I've looked at that woodsman too. I'm not going to give $80 for one though. For that price range I can buy power tools..... I've got some O1 laying around. Maybe I can fire up my belt grinder and make one. Who am I kidding, if I had that kind of time on my hands, I'd already have my lanes cleared out. Sounds like I'm going to buy a brush hook

[rossman40]

Ontario Knife Company's first government contract during WWII was for machetes and they are still making them. Of course they made a ton of other knives and bayonets and other suppliers also made the machetes. They are best known on the civilian side for the "Old Hickory" knives.

A true GI issue machete has a 18" blade 1/8" thick with solid plastic handles and a lanyard hole. Don't be fooled be a cheap copy. I have a couple, they are good for not having to bend over because of the length but I always end up chopping the ground and sometimes scaring myself almost trimming my leg. Another thing is with the long blade a lot of flex (worse with the cheap copies) which gives a lot a wrist twist.

British forces issue a golok style machete made by Martindale. Ka-bar made a couple of kukri styles, one traditional curved and a straighter one they called a "cutlass". Kershaw makes their version called the "Outcast", just $130. For the military combat types you want something to chop brush and still stab with.

[boarhog]

I have a Gerber Gator. It isn't great, but usable. Dulls quickly, and the saw back is barely usable. I would gladly pay more for better steel and a bit heavier blade. The handle is fairly comfortable.
BH

[rossman40]

The advantage of a soft blade is that it is easily sharpened in the field with just a rock. A thin sharp blade slices pretty good but easily damaged. A thicker/heavy blade gives some force behind the swing but will wear you out swinging it all day. The Fiskars I like because the handle is long so you can choke up on it for tight places but still have some length for the long swing. You can get enough speed to wack a 1-1.5" sapling in one hit and yet take out a 3" in a couple and I have yet to sharpen it.

I carry the Fiskars on my pack now that I have on the ATV. The pack has the stuff that you might need but not want to carry all the time. The Fiskars, 200ft of rope, extra water and food plus some survival gear like extra clothes.

[whyohe]

I have a wodsmans pal and love it. yes it is a bit heavy but that helps if you need to cut threw some larger branches or some 2" plus saplings.

[dans]

How about the Cold steel choppers with the long handle? Pros and Cons.

[rossman40]

The only problem I have with Cold Steel products are that a lot are imported from China and the hardening/tempering sucks. Some of their products are US and Japanese made and are of high quality but watch when buying that they are not slipping you junk.

Some Army engineer units and US Forest Service use these which are on like axe handles,

[thelefthand]

Rossman, where do you find this stuff? That's exactly what I used when I was a kid. The only one that I've ever seen is the one that dad has sitting in the corner of the shed that now has a couple of strips of electrical tape holding the handle together. The nice thing about that axe handle was that it kept me a little farther away from the thorns of those multiflora rose.

I picked up a Fiskars Brush Axe yesterday from TSC on my way home from work. I suspect that it will work just about the same. I'll slap a 100 micron belt on my belt grinder her in a little bit and throw an edge on the Fiskars so that I can take it with me this morning. It won't be cutting any of my firewood (but my X27 will be splitting some of it ) but I should be able to find a few weeds and a sapling or two to try it out on

Thanks!
Mark

[rossman40]

The art of hand tools is dying away. When was the last time you seen somebody using a scythe? What is worse how many youngsters can tell you what it is used for besides a Halloween prop? Used to be you had a line of men clearing a ditch (I still remember the chain gangs even into the 60s) armed with hand tools. Nowadays it is a tractor with a bush-hog or some other machine.

The biggest brush clearing I was involved in was doing survey work. You had to shoot a line and then measure it with a metal tape. At least to get your base leg and if the terrain permits then you can triangulate the other points. Nowadays it is done using GPS and lasers.

Probly the biggest users of the long brush axe you find now is the forest service firefighters to clear fire breaks.