bush wacker

So your not talking about unshaved, dirty gentlemen who walk funny and beat the snot out of each other on national TV for people's entertainment...often times with a folding chair to the head. I'm disappointed.

There's my laugh for the morning....

Out of the blades I own I'd use my 18" tramontina Latin machete. It has a good mix of length, thickness, and balance. You can sharpen different areas of the blade or spine for different purposes. Just research machete mods.

No, I just have no experience with them at all so can't comment.

My preference for less then a 18" machete is a WWII LC-14-B Woodsman Pal.
Brush hook, chopping, cutting, digging, pounding?

They do it all good!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/WWII-WW2-U-...209?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58b81acd01

rc

If you were referring to my post, I just thought this was hilarious:

Quote:
So your not talking about unshaved, dirty gentlemen who walk funny and beat the snot out of each other on national TV for people's entertainment...often times with a folding chair to the head. I'm disappointed.

At this point I would like to keep all options on the table.

Click to expand...

The Woods Roamer blog, which details the existence of a man living on the Texas/Mexico borderlands, features quite a lot of commentary about parang-style knives for cutting brush, cactus, etc. Although he's no longer posting it only went defunct recently, so most of the information isn't that old:

http://woodsroamer.blogspot.com/

Edit: here's a couple of Woods Roamer Blog posts on altering/improving Malaysian parangs:

http://woodsroamer.blogspot.com/2014/04/part-one-replacing-plastic-handle-on.html

http://woodsroamer.blogspot.com/2014/04/part-two-replacing-plastic-handle-on.html

My apologies...I couldn't resist going back to the golden days of "rasslin".

OP, do you anticipate chopping more leafy or more woody vegetation? Latin American type machetes with thinner blades tend to handle leafy stuff better, while the parangs and goloks do better on woody plants.

The parangs you linked look interesting, though.

You might want to also check out the Ka-Bar parang and the Bark River parangs. Depending on how thick you are looking to swing through also check out the Bark River Bush Wacker, or the Ka-Bar Becker Reinhardt Kuhkri (however the hell that's spelled), or an Esee Jungalas.

The one I have is actually from the Phillipines and was a gift from just an average Iowa guy.

The Parang that belongs to a Philopino friend of mine out performed my machete and khukri when we cleared a stand of brush in his back yard.

Great tool.

Khukuris are better for chopping wood.
Parangs are better for brush/bamboo clearing, and light chopping.

I love my khukuris, but would love to get a good parang and golok to add to the stable.
I also want a Himalayan Imports bamboo cutter, if they still make them.

The parang is a very useful blade.

Latin machetes don't seem to like me.

I say again.
WWII LC-14-B Woodsman Pal.

http://olive-drab.com/od_edged_weapons_tools_lc14b.php

They still make them today.
But the new ones have a steeper edge grind, and aren't half the tool the WWII ones were.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/World-War-1...821?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f40c560b5

http://www.ebay.com/itm/WWII-WW2-U-...209?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58b81acd01

rc

Also check out the Ka-Bar Becker 4 (The Machax) it's definitely able to hang with some of the heavier, larger blades for processing firewood and shelter building.

Odd duck, but it sure knows how to quack when it comes to doing what you are talking about.

Here's more:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=685014

rc

I know what you mean by a bush whacker. I've looked at the same type item. For me it's something between a Mora and a machete. Only in my part of the world I don't need a machete.
I eventually went with a Kukri, made to my specs. Sort of a large knife/hatchet stand in.



As much as I like tools made by the people that make them and use them. The tang on the Bidor doesn't inspire confidence. I do recognize that people say they hold up though.

I've looked long and hard at the Condor Bushcraft Parang. There is a company making a kydex sheath, too. However it costs more than the Parang. Knife Country USA lists the Bushcraft Parang for about $39.99 with free shipping.
My son is buying one, soon. I'll have to try it out.

I'd like to see Condor come out with a Bushcraft version of the Pack Golok.

Condor - Eco Parang Machete

Joneb, I really like Scandinavian knives, and scandi grinds in particular. However for a "Bush Whacker"? Not so much. I prefer a more robust edge, such as a convex.

This thread has got looking at Parangs again. May just have to order a couple Bidor Parangs, for my son and myself. Put them through their paces, see for myself how the stick tang (handle connection) holds up. Might even get motivated and make our own handles?

You can't go wrong with Condor machetes. I love my pack Golok. Take a look at their Warlock.