Help on a Survival Kit Knife / Machete?

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

Cluster Bomb

Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2011
Messages
298
Location
Maine
I am looking for a Survival Kit Knife / Machete. Something that is big but not to big, and not unweildy by a small framed person. Should hold up to a lot of abuse.

Clear brush and such
Cleaver like things (Fish, game, tools)
Have a sheath
Durable
Comfortable grip
slightly heavy but not overly heavy

Locally stores sell cheap china made p.o.s. that have plastic handles and don't look like they would hold up to any abuse. Online... I don't know any quality websites selling legit usable ones. Most are decor items.

Any help on this would be...uh...helpful
 
Gerber sells a pretty decent machete in two different legnths both have a quite servicable saw on the back side. Mine is the 19'' model and seems to hold an edge better than my other cheapos. It comes in a nylon reinforced sheath with a velcro strap closure.
I've had mine a couple years and so far so good. This model was about 20 bucks or so at the Sportsmans Guide not really breaking the bank for a decent machete.
LUCK
T
 
Last edited:
You can't have one knife that does all things. Take a look at the bushcraft threads here and you'll see recommendations for Moras and other 4" fixed blade knives that aren't insanely expensive coupled with a big knife/small axe and a nice folder. That trio will serve you in good stead.
 
I have a Collins Inc. A South American brand. Mine sports a 14" blade which serves my backpacking needs but the company supplies all of the countries south of Texas with blades up to 36" or more for serious agricultural work. They are working blades and can/will be sharpened with a file as required. Mine serves as an entrenching tool and kindling gatherer but the few inches in front of the grip stay sharp enough to feather pine sticks. Otherwise it's a chopper, in spite of it's cheap looking but well fitting plastic grip scales.
It once had a canvas sheath, long since shredded and replaced by a homemade folded kydex one. I carried it in a cardboard and duct taped cover in my pack for some years with no problem. HTH
 
There are so many choices you can go nuts. I've been using machetes for over 40 yrs on four different continants. To paraphrase the song Long ones, short ones, fat ones and skinny ones. I have found that a good 14-16 inch length is good overall. Given my climate and flora I just got a Condor Golok. It is a little thicker therefore heavier than a tropical machete. Better for hard woods and bracken. I've always preferred a 5" knife for general chores and always have a SAK in my pocket. If you expect to do a lot of digging invest in a good entrenching tool. Much more efficient than a blade.

Like always... you can expect many opinions...you get what you pay for.

Cheers,

ts
 
I'll, also, recommend the Woodsman's Pal. It was pretty much designed for exactly the purposes you mentioned. And, as WWII GI's found out, it makes one heck of a face to face combat weapon.
 
Ontario makes a pretty good machete by all accounts. Also, there's not much a good ol' fashioned KABAR USN MKII can't handle short of cutting down trees. IMHO a knife and machete serve different roles. Lastly, a nice hatchet (or tomahawk) CAN do most of the work of the other two options AND the non-sharpened blunt side can be used as a hammer. Just my two cents.
 
I guess in reality,
there's (at least) four niches for blades:

1. Folder EDC (~3" in pocket); maybe used for cooking, also

2. Fixed blade (~ 4 - 6"): general camp use, including skinning larger game

3. Machete, for cutting small to medium wood for camp; esp useful for packing

4. Hatchet/ax for the big wood duties, from winter wood to building cabins

Just thinking out loud ...
 
I would go with two knives. #1 being an ontario pilot survival. #2 being a gerber machete. Also gerber does the bear grylls. It seems to be a decent knife. I have the ontario and have used it to clean everything from fish to deer and even cut through a cable snare or two. I also have used the gerber machete for clearing hard mesquite for deer blinds. I would highly recommend those two but I have no experience personally with the bear grylls.
 
Depending on what kind of brush you are clearing, I would take a serious look at a folding saw. I used one the other day to trim back some brush and it is a serious cutting machine. I keep one in my truck and you can make short work of anything 6" and under. For building a blind or shelter, I would much rather have a saw than a knife or machete. Of course, for the thin stuff, a saw will just get hung up and a good swing with a sharp blade is the way to go.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001RD7LRO...e=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B001RD7LRO
 
#1 being an ontario pilot survival. #2 being a gerber machete.
Click to expand...
Or a 7" GI type KaBar or Camillus Navy mkII, which will do a pretty good job of replacing both of them.

rc
 
My dad has the ka-bar. Wicked cool knife. Although coming from someone with damaged wrists the machete adds a great deal of weight to aid in cutting through brush and tree limbs. I'm not familiar with the Camillus. I do have a Camillus army knife similar to a swiss army knife.
 
For brush and light wood, I really like my Bear Grylls' Parang.
I have a lot of edged tools and do a lot of clearing/trail maintenance, and I find this one fairly consistently being the tool I use when the spring hits and the vines and limbs explode into the empty spaces.
I had a review thread of it but haven't maintained it. The blade did bend in one spot, but I was going after some pine heart pretty hard and can't imagine anything short of a hatchet or axe not bending under that particular impulse.
It comes with a sheath that is actually not bad. You can't do quick draws with it, but for a tool sheath it holds the thing steadfastly and you won't get miles down a trail only to discover your tool has, at some point, disappeared. (I did have to replace some rivets in mine, but you get what you pay for with a 30 dollar machete. A couple of brass pop rivets later and no worries.)
I also like the Gator machete, but I really find the curve of the Parang to be beneficial in vine and small limbing chores. I have yet to hack a deer pelvis up with it. So, I couldn't say how it does butchery of any sort.
 
Condor makes excellent machetes. They're also dirt cheap. Another great machete is the Ontario military-issue one. Those are a little harder to find.

Bark River Knife and Tool is the be-all, end-all of bushcraft knives, IMHO.
 
I have a couple machetes, but my go to is my Cold Steel light machete.

97LM.jpg


about 20" OAL, 15" blade, 5" handle. Very easy to wield. I use it to clear brush in areas where I don't have a lot of room to swing. Makes quick work of trees/ saplings or anything in the 1" diameter neighborhood.
 
I have had and used many machetes over the years and feel everyone should have a good machete hanging in the shed right next to your shovels and hedge trimmers. Not one of those $5 wally world or flea market cheapos, but a good $20-50 machete.

The two styles of machetes I that I use regularly are large Latin machetes for the garden and for clearing brush down at the cabin. I use a couple of Ontario Blackie Collins 22" Latin machetes and they are great tools for that job. They are far too big and unwieldy for a straight survival tool so they stay in the garage and in the cabin with the axes, mauls, and other implements of destruction.

The other style I really like are the Kukri machetes, and I keep a Cold steel Kukri in my hunting pack/bug out bag, its smaller and lighter than the big Latins, but the weight forward blade shape gives it almost as much cutting power. I also keep a Tomahawk, USMC KaBar, and a SAK in the pack.

31NSysRNWpL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
 
Last edited:
What your budget? You can get an Ontario for around $20, and put an edge on it. It'll work.

Or, you could buy the Spyderco Schemp Rock for about $140, shipped, from Cutlery Shoppe. It's surprising light, but will do...well, almost anything you need a bush knife to do. (I'd pair any large knife with a small one.)

John
 
The Becker BK7 or BK9 would do all the things you listed. I've got the 9 and it's great, kinda like a small machete.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top