the machete

[Demitrios]

I go mountain climbing quite a bit and to cut through brush my favorite is still my Cold Steel Kukri Machete.



My friend owns their Panga machete and this thing CUTS. I've seen him go through some pretty thick brush in one swipe with this sucker.

And the best thing about these are that they're cheap, so you can bend or chip them (if you're capable of that) or even lose them and it's no sweat what-so-ever.

 

[Mrdavidross321]

if you want a good browse of machete shapes and styles machetespecialists.com has alot of stuff to look at altho i dunno if id buy from them they are a bit pricy most people said they got their Cold Steel kukri for $20 these guys want alittle more and then plus shipping i assume it will top 30$ but still a great place to look at blade types

i really like machetes, they are cheap and effective and easy to sharpen with a cheap 5 handheld sharpener like this

 

[Idaho Dana]

I have an old WWII vintage medic's machette. It has a short blade but is a full 1/4 inch thick or more. It has a rounded bolo type blade tip which is sharp about
4 inches back from the tip.
I have found it to be very useful for almost every kind of camp chore and ocassionally pruning back vines around my house. I was given the machette by
my ex-father in law who was issued it while serving in the Marines in Korea. He didn't have the original heavy leather sheath but I was able to find a suitable one on ebay.

 

[pappy19]

After being a professional forester for over 30 years, I can safely say that a Woodmans Pal (WP) is the finest cutting instrument I have ever used in the woods. It does everything a machette will do only better. In addition, the WP's weight is such that you can also use it as a hammer, and, it also has a brush hook, handle guard, and further, it is much easier to sharpen than a regular machette. If you have never used a WP, then you don't know what you're missing and you'll throw rocks at a regualr machette, IMHO.



Pap

http://www.woodmanspaltool.com/

 

[ColdDeadHand]

+1 For the Ghurka machete by Cold Steel.

I love mine and swear by it.

 

[gatopardo]

For the Mayan culture in Central America, the machete is the main tool for everything, like a second hand.
For defensive purposes, a blow with the flat side id usually a dissuasive mean to discourage further annoyance or attack from animal or kin, if things get serious the sharp edge comes into play.

The effect is devastating, and by the way yes the machete used by the marines is over there the most popular choice.