bikerector
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2016
- Messages
- 6,580
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.
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.