Esee Expat cleaver as a compact machet/chopper?

So I'm looking for a very specialized tool for carrying on the bicycle with me for trail maintenance or just clearing up stuff I ride up to after a wind storm. I often carry a swamp rat ratweiler in the pack if I suspect something fell or I always carry a native 5 salt to clip some vines or just to have the tool. I've tried the spyderco waterway and it wasn't much better than the native 5 for clearing because I still had to grab vines or branches with one hand and cut with the other.

The thought occurred to me after seeing a knifemaker's face razor that something square, like the expat cleaver, would fit into a rear jersey pocket pretty well and might be adequate for something inbetween the ratweiler and native 5. I would probably leave the native 5 for road riding where I don't have the dangling vines to deal with occasionally.

So, I know the Expat cleaver can chop, okay, from the reviews I've watched and read, but does it swing well enough to slice vines or flexible branches without the need to grab them? Or, am I just barking up the wrong tree for a solution? I've seen a few blades with the boxy blade shape, the Bk3 and ontario SP-8 come to mind, but I've never used or heard of people using them for what I want to do.

It looks like the Expat Cleaver is about 6" x 3" slab or 0.20" steel, so the size is about right after measuring my pockets and allowing room for a kydex taco.

 

I didn't know the TOPS Knives Tidal Force Cleaver/Karambit existed but this is closer to the design I was thinking of, probably a little closer in size too except for the shorter blade length
Image from Knifecenter


TOPS Knives Tidal Force Cleaver/Karambit Fixed Blade Knife 4.87" Tactical Gray 1095 Cleaver, Brown Burlap Micarta Handles, Kydex Sheath - KnifeCenter - TFOR-01

 

Folding saws are very slow on the vines and not a good solution all the time. A blade and saw are far better and I already have a saw I carry. I also think saws are pretty slow for anything 1" and under since you have to be slow and methodical instead of just raining destruction on the vegetation to open things up and get to the main branch or trunk.

This is a typical scenario I come across where some cleanup is helpful before I can quickly saw the tree. I hiked in the machete for this one.

This is kind of the idea, really, except shorter and stainless. The SP8 is too thick, I think, and I mentioned it mostly for the shape as all of the machetes I've used to this point have some belly to them, which I would be eliminating with the cleaver shape and also adding width to get a weight forward.

I might just get a kitchen cleaver or cheap machete, cut off a bunch, mold some kydex and see how it works. I'm sure it will rust up quick given the intended carry method but I wouldn't me in that much more than a $20-$30 dollars and a couple hours of time.

@Creaky Bones I like how you modded that OKC machete. Reminds me of the BCUSA Serechete. The biggest reason I was thinking a cleaver style blade is that the lack of a tip would allow it to carry well in a jersey pocket without too much worry of creating a wear spot. That round tip would achieve the same thing. How does that one work for you? Given, it's about twice the length I'm looking for but may be something I can work with there at least.

Let's be clear, I'm not looking for something that is going to win any awards for working well. I'm more interested in seeing if it would even work half-way decently with a premium on ease of carry/convenience. There's an obvious lack of physics as the blade length doesn't allow much leverage or tip speed.

So far, it seems like it's not a good idea and creating a carry system to put right on the bike is a better option or just stick with what I'm already using and keep the pack.

 

That's a neat idea I hadn't thought of, fashioning a handle in the field.

Nicer pruners would be a decent option, paired with a saw I imagine. Or can those handle some thicker stuff? I have some fiskars pruner and they are okay for small (1/2" dia maybe), green stuff but I have to use loppers for anything larger or dry. Vines would cut pretty easily though, at least the stuff I'm looking at handling with the easy-to-carry kit. I can always bring out the big guns for the days where cleanup is part of the intention of the ride, like I do now.

 

That's the general idea, and really how I came to the Expat cleaver as I'm familiar with the Expat libertariat and knew they made something smaller. I didn't know until shortly before starting this thread that the cleaver was US made and pretty expensive whereas the libertariat is more in line to what I'm seeing for a machete-level tool as it's made in El Savador (pretty sure Condor or their other machete company makes it).

The libertariat is a little long for a jersey pocket but it would probably carry well in a frame bag or something. Really, trying to get some other ideas and really see if the short cleaver thing is an idea worth pursuing or not, and so far, it looks like a different solution is probably better.

I'm not sure how much this would play into things, in a real work sense, but not having a tip to stab with makes it easier to justify to LEO's that it's a tool and not a weapon should that come up at some point. Most I've met on the trail are just happy someone is helping to keep things cleared up.

 

Yeah, it's pretty bad. It takes out a lot of trees. One of the worse things, IMO, is even if something falls from a tree or the tree half blows over, the vines hold it up so it's a widowmaker and can come down at any time. Last weekend it was a pine tree. That was new as usually the pine trees seem to get a pass from the vines and it stunk trying to cut the vines and needles away to get to the trunk to clear the trail. I imagine it would be like trying to cut up a Christmas tree that still has all the lights wrapped around it.