- Joined
- Aug 16, 2013
- Messages
- 114
I had to coppice willow and hazel and had some fresh wood to chop.
All the knives where sharpened the night before and were taken out.
From left to right: Bowie Machete, Carbon V LTC Kukri, SK5 Natchez Bowie, SK5 Laredo Bowie, SK5 Recon Scout, Bowie Machete.
All knives got 10 chops, I marked 7cm between the chops for every knife.
As expected the bigger knives did better than the smaller knives.
The Laredo did less well than I expected, it seems that the blade is too thin to chop well?
The Natchez did about as well as the LTC Kukri (this one came out as the best kukri chopper in my kukri comparison).
The Bowie machete didn't have the weight to deliver powerfull cuts.
Just to make the comparison I took out my Trail Boss, Rifleman's and Trail Hawk.
All axes were sharpened shaving sharp. Same distance between cuts. Also 10 cuts each.
All axes did extremely well with less chopping effort.
The Trail Hawk did well for it's size. I was surprised that the Rifleman's chopped about as well as the Trail Boss.
I chopped another ten times with all knives, hawks and axes and this is the result:
After the coppicing I took of the small branches to get the firewood. I started with the Rifleman's hawk but my hand and arm tired and I switched to my Recon Scout. Which did the rest of the job very well .
A Recon Scout and a small hawk will take care of most duties.
Next I took out my hawks and special forces shovel. All hawks and the shovel were sharpened before the test. I could make feathersticks with all edges. All got 20 chops.
From left to right, Norse Hawk, Trail Hawk, Frontier Hawk, Spike Hawk, Trench Hawk, Rifleman's Hawk and Special Forces Shovel.
The less curve the axe blade has, the better it chops. The Rifleman's did best due to the blade and weight, the Trail Hawk did very well for it's size and weight.
The Frontier and Spike Hawk have about the same curve and chopped alike. Not bad for the weight they have but not as good as the Rifleman's.
The Trench Hawk and Norse Hawk both have very curved blades. They both didn't chop well compared to the other hawks. The notch between the Rifleman's and Trench Hawk was the first one of the Norse Hawk. I expected good deep chops due to the weight of the head. I figured it might not chop well because of a knot in the wood, so I chopped a new notch. It was as deep as the first one. The Norse and Trench Hawk are amazing weapons both not so good choppers.
For it's weight and thin edges, the Shovel did very well, but it was outclassed by the hawks.
Next are my Machetes. All sharpened before use, all could carve feathersticks and all got 20 chops.
From left to right: 2Handed Panga Machete, Cutlass Machete, 18 inch Latin Machete, Magnum Kukri Machete, Jungle Machete, Kukri Machete and Bowie Machete.
Those who say machetes are great at chopping green wood, are wrong in my opinion. the blade is too thin, there is not enough weight and they are uncomfortable to use for prolonged heavy chopping. Light chopping and clearing brush is more in their league.
The 2Handed Panga Machete did as good as expected. The long handle makes that you can chop with power.
The Kukri and Jungle Machete did quite well, the weight forward balance of both blades made chopping easier.
The Magnum Kukri Machete did well but not as good as the Kukri Machete.
Both the Cutlass and Latin Machete are not made for this kind of work. Except when chopping with the Center of Percussion the chops didn't do much and hurt the hand.
The Bowie Machete did well for it's size and weight.
I chopped with the Trail Master, Laredo and Natchez Bowie.
The Trail Master's slender handle and full tang tire the hand faster compared to the cable tang of the other bowies. the kraton grip is perfect. Due to the cable tang of the Laredo and Natchez there is less shock transmitted in the hand, without the cord wrap the grip would have slipped. The grip of the Natchez Bowie is perfect, it is polished but the handle shape locks it firm in my hand. What a fantastic chopper!
The Kukris look alike:
But there is a difference in steel, grind, handle and thickness.
LTC Kukri (2nd gen): Carbon V, flat grind, kraton handle, 2 mm.
Kukri Machete: 1055 carbon steel, saber grind, polypropylene handle, 3/18" or 4,2 mm.
The LTC Kukri chops deeper but the blade gets stuck more often in the wood (poplar). The handle is quite comfortable. Edge holding of Carbon V should be better than 1055.
The Kukri machete does not chop as deep but it doesn't get stuck. The handle is not as comfortable as the Kraton one and created hot spots fast.
In the end, the log was quartered. I prefered the LTC Kukri.
All the knives where sharpened the night before and were taken out.
From left to right: Bowie Machete, Carbon V LTC Kukri, SK5 Natchez Bowie, SK5 Laredo Bowie, SK5 Recon Scout, Bowie Machete.
All knives got 10 chops, I marked 7cm between the chops for every knife.
As expected the bigger knives did better than the smaller knives.
The Laredo did less well than I expected, it seems that the blade is too thin to chop well?
The Natchez did about as well as the LTC Kukri (this one came out as the best kukri chopper in my kukri comparison).
The Bowie machete didn't have the weight to deliver powerfull cuts.
Just to make the comparison I took out my Trail Boss, Rifleman's and Trail Hawk.
All axes were sharpened shaving sharp. Same distance between cuts. Also 10 cuts each.
All axes did extremely well with less chopping effort.
The Trail Hawk did well for it's size. I was surprised that the Rifleman's chopped about as well as the Trail Boss.
I chopped another ten times with all knives, hawks and axes and this is the result:
After the coppicing I took of the small branches to get the firewood. I started with the Rifleman's hawk but my hand and arm tired and I switched to my Recon Scout. Which did the rest of the job very well .
A Recon Scout and a small hawk will take care of most duties.
Next I took out my hawks and special forces shovel. All hawks and the shovel were sharpened before the test. I could make feathersticks with all edges. All got 20 chops.
From left to right, Norse Hawk, Trail Hawk, Frontier Hawk, Spike Hawk, Trench Hawk, Rifleman's Hawk and Special Forces Shovel.
The less curve the axe blade has, the better it chops. The Rifleman's did best due to the blade and weight, the Trail Hawk did very well for it's size and weight.
The Frontier and Spike Hawk have about the same curve and chopped alike. Not bad for the weight they have but not as good as the Rifleman's.
The Trench Hawk and Norse Hawk both have very curved blades. They both didn't chop well compared to the other hawks. The notch between the Rifleman's and Trench Hawk was the first one of the Norse Hawk. I expected good deep chops due to the weight of the head. I figured it might not chop well because of a knot in the wood, so I chopped a new notch. It was as deep as the first one. The Norse and Trench Hawk are amazing weapons both not so good choppers.
For it's weight and thin edges, the Shovel did very well, but it was outclassed by the hawks.
Next are my Machetes. All sharpened before use, all could carve feathersticks and all got 20 chops.
From left to right: 2Handed Panga Machete, Cutlass Machete, 18 inch Latin Machete, Magnum Kukri Machete, Jungle Machete, Kukri Machete and Bowie Machete.
Those who say machetes are great at chopping green wood, are wrong in my opinion. the blade is too thin, there is not enough weight and they are uncomfortable to use for prolonged heavy chopping. Light chopping and clearing brush is more in their league.
The 2Handed Panga Machete did as good as expected. The long handle makes that you can chop with power.
The Kukri and Jungle Machete did quite well, the weight forward balance of both blades made chopping easier.
The Magnum Kukri Machete did well but not as good as the Kukri Machete.
Both the Cutlass and Latin Machete are not made for this kind of work. Except when chopping with the Center of Percussion the chops didn't do much and hurt the hand.
The Bowie Machete did well for it's size and weight.
I chopped with the Trail Master, Laredo and Natchez Bowie.
The Trail Master's slender handle and full tang tire the hand faster compared to the cable tang of the other bowies. the kraton grip is perfect. Due to the cable tang of the Laredo and Natchez there is less shock transmitted in the hand, without the cord wrap the grip would have slipped. The grip of the Natchez Bowie is perfect, it is polished but the handle shape locks it firm in my hand. What a fantastic chopper!
The Kukris look alike:
But there is a difference in steel, grind, handle and thickness.
LTC Kukri (2nd gen): Carbon V, flat grind, kraton handle, 2 mm.
Kukri Machete: 1055 carbon steel, saber grind, polypropylene handle, 3/18" or 4,2 mm.
The LTC Kukri chops deeper but the blade gets stuck more often in the wood (poplar). The handle is quite comfortable. Edge holding of Carbon V should be better than 1055.
The Kukri machete does not chop as deep but it doesn't get stuck. The handle is not as comfortable as the Kraton one and created hot spots fast.
In the end, the log was quartered. I prefered the LTC Kukri.
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