12“ machete and RTAKII which one is better?

D

dingy

Joined
Feb 19, 2008
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hi , you all and OKC, recently i got a ontario 12" machete , and i think it is better than my ratak2 in outdoor activites , what is your oppion , plz put in .
 
I have neither. I'm curious why you think the machete does better?
 
I don't have the Ontario Machete, but I do have the RTAK 2. The RTAK is a fantastic chopper but if the wood is grabby, like palm, then the full grind does cause it to get stuck. My Becker BK9 is better at thicker pieces that take several cuts. That being said, the RTAK will cut through a larger piece than the Becker with a single cut. A machete is designed to cut through stuff, the knife has a greater range.
 
well, I own the rtak 2 and the 18" machete (orange safety handled version) and honestly, there isn't much of a difference, steel on rtak is better and handle has less hotspots and a choil. but the 18' has a dark place in my mind. I had to trash it after my friend almost killed himself with it, swung at a pumpkin in mid air, missed, and hit himselph in the neck. 60 stitches, 2 months out of high school, and multiple visits to his house to say sorry, and he's all better. know how to use your tools. Anyway, rtak 2 is better. I have it in my lap as we speak.
 
BladeMaster99 said:
well, I own the rtak 2 and the 18" machete (orange safety handled version) and honestly, there isn't much of a difference, steel on rtak is better and handle has less hotspots and a choil. but the 18' has a dark place in my mind. I had to trash it after my friend almost killed himself with it, swung at a pumpkin in mid air, missed, and hit himselph in the neck. 60 stitches, 2 months out of high school, and multiple visits to his house to say sorry, and he's all better. know how to use your tools. Anyway, rtak 2 is better. I have it in my lap as we speak.
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Wow, thanks for sharing that story. Glad your buddy made it through ok. 60 stitches is quite a wound.
 
The machete might be better for simple bush clearing, but the rtak will whittle, carve, chop, and baton better. And last a long, long time doing it.
Not to mention the great knife sin of prying. If your life depends on some prying, the machete isn't going to save you.
 
I have them both as well. The machete is a cheap piece of crap the rtak is genius. Everything about the rtak is better than that hunk of junk machete. My 12 in OKC came with basically no edge on it and it is faaar to thick to be a machete its actually just a long heavy knife not a machete it also weighs more than the rtak which just isnt rediculous its insulting. The Chinese made Mint brand 12 inch machete available at my local hardware store for 10 bucks is thin, light, it flexes when its supposed to and most of all it came pretty damn sharp as well. I can sharpen it in the field with a single stone np.

The rtak is a god like big knife and does everything a big knife should near perfectly. Beats the shit out of a Junglas as well. Esee knives have uncomfortable painful flat sided handles while the rtak is nice a comfy. If you want a realy good machete that is actually a machete, which is meant to be light, thin, to be able to flex a bit when swung hard and takes out brush and light vegetation like crazy go buy any machete made by Condor or better yet buy an Esee Lite Machete its a Condor blade with US made comfy rounded micarta handle. You will then see the very drastic difference between a machete and a big knife they are pretty big. Never expect to go chop firewood, vines over an inch thick etc with a machete thats what the rtak is for. I cannot believe the same company makes the two models.
 
Never owned or held and RTAK so I cant comment on it but my 18" Ontario GI machete is still my go to machete (I have several other machetes from various companies). Had a 12" model but gifted it to a friend before using it too much but as far a a large chopper goes, it worked fine for a $20 peice of steel. The RTAK will most likely be a better chopper and wood splitter simply cause of it's thicker blade stock but the machete should cut brush and grass much easier and from my experience, the 12" (and 18") machete will chop smaller peices of wood just fine once a decent edge is put on it. As posted above the machete will need to be sharpened out of the box and other than Condor, most machete manufacturers do the same to reduce prices and give the user the option to put their own edge on it (some want a thicker convex edge for wood cutting while others may prefer a more thin edge for cutting grass etc). As far as Ontario machetes go I have no complaints (other than the handles need a little improvement) and my 18 incher has taken its fare share of beatings over the years and is no worse for wear. That said an RTAK is on my want list.
 
i taded off my RTAKII for a sp10 plus RMB 400 yuan few days ago , and i have 3 SP10 now .
 
Interesting to see this discussion. I still wonder why so people need such a big knife like an RTAK... Maybe if really, really need do a lot of chopping, but then one can ask: is it the better, most efficient, or lighter tool for the job? (I still new here so, just asking...) Curious to see what people have to say...
 
I compared an RTAK 2 with my own Shirley-Owens Camp Defender and a tomahawk. The RTAK is a big knife that handles like a fighter. It does many things well, but the handle is too blocky, and the RTAK is not great on thick hardwood.

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John
 
Wow Spectre, if you use the RTAK II as a fighter, you must have arms like Hercules! I'm no wimp, I love big knives, but the RTAK is the last knife I'd choose as a fighter. It's just too heavy and bulky, not well balanced as a fighter. I would choose the Cold Steel Laredo or Natchez bowie for that.

As for the OP's question, I think the RTAK is a much better chopper for general use than a 12 inch machete. Although if I was cutting a path through light brush like a South American jungle, then I'd pick the machete because it's lighter and you wouldn't need a heavy chopper. So it depends on the job you're planning to use it on. If I could only choose only one knife between the two, I'd take the RTAK. It's more useful overall. I use it to chop down 3-4 inch thick nuisance trees on my property. It works well for that. I don't think a machete would work well on those.
 
My RTAK II was perfectly balanced (though, again, the handle is too blocky)...and I'm a little bit fat now, at about 159.
 
It's just impossible to compare a machete with a knife, cause of the largest range of use of knife. Other than this, the machete is a good user if you live in the jungle or in green and soft vegetation as banana trees and the like. But itìs unsuless with hard stuff and it's not good to be used as a knife.
 
The 12" machete fits in the rtak2 sheath! Rtak2 is more multipurpose, can bleed out a boars heart, baton larger wood, crack a coconut, chop; what we call a machete is a wrist flicker that can cut a trail through light brush all day, low lying branches under an inch with a single flick. But I use the softer tramontina, no South American local outside of las amazonas uses a really thin machete. Much of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia is mountainous and nothing at all like a "jungle." Except the valleys and river basins
 
I have 2 12" Machete's, one with Orange D-guard and one with the stock handle and saw back spine. Also got an 18" Machete. All are dang good choppers. Use the 12" D-guard a ton for trail clearing, chopping and even building fires. It doesn't hold an edge as long as a regular knife, but it works dang good.
 
I traded off my RTAK2 a long time ago. Great looking knife. It was excellent for chopping thick vines and branches but too heavy for slashing through palmetos. Machetes that are light will zip right through jungle but can't chop heavy wood that easy. They can handle soft stuff like bamboo and branches but a heavier tool is better. I still have some Condors and even a cold steel magnum kukhri. Just in case I ever get attacked by a jungle. It really depends on what will you cut. OKC has you covered.
 
Enkrig said:
Interesting to see this discussion. I still wonder why so people need such a big knife like an RTAK... Maybe if really, really need do a lot of chopping, but then one can ask: is it the better, most efficient, or lighter tool for the job? (I still new here so, just asking...) Curious to see what people have to say...
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I like big knives because they allow me to take selfies with a blade in the shot, and feign that thousand yard stare. Then I go back to my lounge chair , Doritos, Coke, and pretend that I'm an outdoors man.
 
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