Best all around machete?

Blais said:
What is that one right on top, to the left, with the poly handle that looks like Pitdog might have designed? That thing is cool.

OP: I've got a Condor Parang and an Ontario Jungle Machete coming in the mail soon that I'd be happy to give you my opinion on, FWIW. There are obviously members on this forum who are much more qualified to give you advice on machete purchases but I'd be happy to take pics or compare the two for ya.
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Sorry I missed that. It was an experimental chef thingee Imacasa was playing with. None went to production.
 
LostSoul said:
I see a lot of people on various forums posting pictures of their safe queens, or 14" machetes stuck in a 4" log, and shake my head. What these guys need is a axe or atleast a hatchet. While I can chop a 6" tree down with my machete, I prefer to go around it if possible. I use a 22-24" blade in my line of work because anything shorter, and your hands would suffer drastically.
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Not at all, it's completely about placement and chopping technique. I don't hold my short trams rigidly at all when chopping-I just let gravity and the sweet spot do all the work. Nice deep bites with almost no effort. Just gotta control the orientation of the blade. And if I'm chopping down a tree, it's because it's dead and there's no available wood lying around. In the high desert, firewood is not taken for granted, and if you have to chop down a scraggly old dead one because the next tree is a quarter mile away, so be it. I find anything larger than 16 inches unpractically unwieldly and difficult to pack, when smaller ones can accomplish the same task with negligible difference in effort.
 
Joezilla said:
Sorry I missed that. It was an experimental chef thingee Imacasa was playing with. None went to production.
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Joe, you're our voice with our favorite survival schwag manufacturer. Get on the horn with those South American powers that be and tell them we want the chef's knife deal, Carbon El Salvadors down to 12 inches, and with wood handles!!!!! I'd like to see some of the stainless models in high carbon as well...
 
Joezilla said:
Sorry I missed that. It was an experimental chef thingee Imacasa was playing with. None went to production.
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PayetteRucker said:
Joe, you're our voice with our favorite survival schwag manufacturer. Get on the horn with those South American powers that be and tell them we want the chef's knife deal, Carbon El Salvadors down to 12 inches, and with wood handles!!!!! I'd like to see some of the stainless models in high carbon as well...
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Yes! We want them! The chef's knife profile was done as an all 'rounder...I'd love to see what a big one could do in the woods! Make it in a flat grind like the barong but with more meat at the point and a broader base to the blade. Mmmmmmm....
 
get what you're use to...that's what I'd do, if you had it for years you won't be happy with anything else as it won't feel the same..

Myself I also feel a 12-16" machete fills all my needs, even my 18" tram feels uncomfortable to me.. I'm considering the ontario 12" traditional trail machete, I think this would fill all my needs in the bush.. ymmv

good luck on your hunt, let us know what you decide..
 
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Joezilla said:
Nope, that particular one was done for Lettuce.
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If I was referring to THAT one you'd be right. The classic French/German chef's knife, however, is a different story. :p

I'd like to see something vaguely like this (pardon the roughness--I did it quickly):

CondorChef.jpg


Maybe in a 14" blade. Ones that big and heavy are traditionally called "lobster splitters" I believe. :)

One with a more broad blade like that lovely little lettuce chopper would absolutely rock as well. Gimme! :D :D :D
 
I think that's a little much... but that smaller one would make for a good camp knife. I'd buy one, especially at Imacasa's pricepoint. I wouldn't mind putting a scandi grind on it with the good ol' Nicholson.
 
mistwalker said:
Reuben found a maker who makes an entire line of machetes with rolled handles from spring steel while he was in the Philippines. So...not sure the rolled handle in and of itself is patentable anyway....


.
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Hi Mistwalker, you able to give any more detail on the maker of the above? Would be very keen to buy & try at least one. I'm going to look around for something similar but the maker's details would narrow my search alot.
 
PayetteRucker said:
Not at all, it's completely about placement and chopping technique. I don't hold my short trams rigidly at all when chopping-I just let gravity and the sweet spot do all the work. Nice deep bites with almost no effort. Just gotta control the orientation of the blade. And if I'm chopping down a tree, it's because it's dead and there's no available wood lying around. In the high desert, firewood is not taken for granted, and if you have to chop down a scraggly old dead one because the next tree is a quarter mile away, so be it. I find anything larger than 16 inches unpractically unwieldly and difficult to pack, when smaller ones can accomplish the same task with negligible difference in effort.
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Duly noted. If I was to have to pick either a machete, axe, or hatchet to carry into the woods with me, I would carry the machete as I feel like it is the most versatile of the 3. If I was chopping trees down all day though, I would carry an axe. I've always used a 22"-24" machete at work for obvious reasons, (kudzu, briars, privot), but am considering getting a shorter one for my pack or camp.
 
LostSoul said:
Duly noted. If I was to have to pick either a machete, axe, or hatchet to carry into the woods with me, I would carry the machete as I feel like it is the most versatile of the 3. If I was chopping trees down all day though, I would carry an axe. I've always used a 22"-24" machete at work for obvious reasons, (kudzu, briars, privot), but am considering getting a shorter one for my pack or camp.
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I'm thinking I might get a 25-28 inch imacasa which I hear is good and a 18-22 inch marbles or condor that would come razor sharp.. which brand usually comes the sharpest?
 
SBaker34 said:
I'm thinking I might get a 25-28 inch imacasa which I hear is good and a 18-22 inch marbles or condor that would come razor sharp.. which brand usually comes the sharpest?
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25"-28" :eek:. Is that the blade length or overall length? I have only used the 22-24" (blade length) Martindales, and have tried the Collins (which felt to wavy to me), and I wouldn't want anything longer as I have hit the tips of my boots quiet a few times.

As far as comparing the two brands, I wouldn't know as I have never used either. I do see Condor's name popping up on a regular basis though.
 
Marbles and Condor are both fine brands. Their edges come sharp out of the box, but not always razor sharp, in my experience. I also have a 28" Imacasa Guarizama, which is a beast! Near 3 feet overall. Not sure what it's good for other than zombies, but it's cool. Here's a pic.
 
Carolina River Rat said:
Marbles and Condor are both fine brands. Their edges come sharp out of the box, but not always razor sharp, in my experience. I also have a 28" Imacasa Guarizama, which is a beast! Near 3 feet overall. Not sure what it's good for other than zombies, but it's cool. Here's a pic.
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Thats what I was probably going to get. Honestly it would be for the "I have a 28 inch machete under my bed" feeling because for whatever reason the shotgun in the closet is not enough, Though Have you ever went tree chopping with it? I bet it would take off a pretty good sized limb.. either kind.
 
SBaker34 said:
Thats what I was probably going to get. Honestly it would be for the "I have a 28 inch machete under my bed" feeling because for whatever reason the shotgun in the closet is not enough, Though Have you ever went tree chopping with it? I bet it would take off a pretty good sized limb.. either kind.
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I've hacked bamboo bigger than my arm (which is admittedly not that big) in one stroke with it. I imagine that in a real jungle, a blade that long would be both blessing and curse, as the length would allow for clearing massive amounts of growth in one fell swoop when it wasn't getting in the way. Having said that, I bought it for the same reasons you stated. And because it looks cool. Sort of a poor man's Chinese Dao.
 
Carolina River Rat said:
I've hacked bamboo bigger than my arm (which is admittedly not that big) in one stroke with it. I imagine that in a real jungle, a blade that long would be both blessing and curse, as the length would allow for clearing massive amounts of growth in one fell swoop when it wasn't getting in the way. Having said that, I bought it for the same reasons you stated. And because it looks cool. Sort of a poor man's Chinese Dao.
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It looks thick enough to withstand impact but it ill probably come dull so Ill get something sharper for lighter stuff.
 
SBaker34 said:
It looks thick enough to withstand impact but it ill probably come dull so Ill get something sharper for lighter stuff.
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Mine, like all Imacasas, and most machetes in general, came dull, but it's freakish sharp now. It's worth putting an edge on.
 
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