fun alternatives to the common machete

BryFry

BryFry

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When I go out hiking/camping I find that one of my favorite and most used blades is one of these inexpensive waki styled "slim" machetes:

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Bought the black one about 11 years ago at a gun show. They cost me around $30 each, origianally they were all black with cord wrapped handles, but they've been modified a bit over the years. I like that it weighs very little, yet cuts amazingly well, and it is just plain fun to use.

I have used and abused the old one like crazy, and it is quite tough, though its edge retension isn't the greatest. Even so it functions very well as an all purpose machete. I found that it cuts vines and small trees as good most large machetes, and better than my CS katana! (I know, the katana wasn't designed for cutting down trees, I was just messing around trying it out)

Anyway, I enjoy using this style blade when out in the woods and I'm wondering if there are any nicer, higher quality cutting tools of this sort that anyone could recomend. Both customs or productions welcome! Pics would be great!
 
I have a cheapie like that and an Ontario Black Wind and they are an awesome deal. The only thing that ever scared me was that sometimes stainless steel can break versus bend....otherwise they are fun to use.
T
 
Well the most promising thing I have found so far is the Swamp Rat Rodent wakizashi, (sorry I do not know how to get a pic of it onto here) This looks pretty bad a$$ I wish it came with a sheath though.

Also saw a one of a kind "custom ranger sword" on youtube that is very nice. sorry again for no pics.

Anyone else know of anything?
 
I would LOVE to have a RAT Waki but the funding eludes me , I've been eyeing an Ontario of the same style on thatbay that is muych more pocket friendly.

How about a Spetsnaz 'survival machete' ? hard to find but very different :)


Tostig
 
Interesting to hear such inexpensive blades of that length getting used and holding up!

Hmm, here's some one might consider:

Baiwan Sword

Baiwan.JPG


Parang Sikim Panjang

SikimPanjang.JPG
 
Personally I don't trust those suckers, but if they work for you then more power to ya'. For reference, hitting trees with you CS katana isn't just abuse to the sword, but could make a very nasty accident for you. Swords are meant for striking soft mobile targets. A blow against a hard immobile object will cause structural damage to the sword and possibly result in catastrophic failure, as the blade will want to "wrap" itself around the tree. Even if you hit a guy in full plate he'd at least move from the impact. Not lecturing you or anything, just looking out for your safety. :)
 
This is my holy-grail as far as bushwacking swords goes:

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Fikes calls this basic design the "Jungle Honey".
 
I have one of those United Waki's in the OP. It saw quite a bit of use a few years ago, before the knife bug bit really hard. It did a decent job, but the handle was very uncomfortable for hard chopping, and the steel was the suck. With some handle mods (like in the OP) it's a fairly useful design. Whatever works, right?
 
Well due to circumstance there is no camera in my house currently. so forgive the crappy pic please.

but I may have to post pic's of my Dah-chete. its a large two handed machete ground down from a production machete, with g10 slab handles. its pretty nice, but it is a tad blade heavy so it takes some time to get your arms built up to swing it.

It is not nearly as refined or intuitive as an AK or a waki. but for $60 bucks total its a great dah-chete.

dahchete.png
 
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ron_m80 said:
Well due to circumstance there is no camera in my house currently. so forgive the crappy pic please.

but I may have to post pic's of my Dah-chete. its a large two handed machete ground down from a production machete, with g10 slab handles. its pretty nice, but it is a tad blade heavy so it takes some time to get your arms built up to swing it.

It is not nearly as refined or intuitive as an AK or a waki. but for $60 bucks total its a great dah-chete.

dahchete.png
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Thats awsome. I would love to try it out. Where do i aquire the Dah-chete?
 
neki2 said:
Thats awsome. I would love to try it out. Where do i aquire the Dah-chete?
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as far as i know this ones exclusive to me. I made it from a production Ontario 22" macehete, a bench grinder, and files. with materials provided by USA knifemakers supply.
 
A good and safe alternative to a traditional machete are the cold steel machetes. They come in a variety of shapes even similar to swords but are designed for cutting trees unlike swords.
 
clearytja said:
I have a cheapie like that and an Ontario Black Wind and they are an awesome deal. The only thing that ever scared me was that sometimes stainless steel can break versus bend....otherwise they are fun to use.
T
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The Ontario Black Wind is made of 1095. :cool:
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Personally I don't trust those suckers, but if they work for you then more power to ya'. For reference, hitting trees with you CS katana isn't just abuse to the sword, but could make a very nasty accident for you. Swords are meant for striking soft mobile targets. A blow against a hard immobile object will cause structural damage to the sword and possibly result in catastrophic failure, as the blade will want to "wrap" itself around the tree. Even if you hit a guy in full plate he'd at least move from the impact. Not lecturing you or anything, just looking out for your safety. :)
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Don't worry, I'm not going to try and chop down a 4ft thick oak tree with my katana. I did use it on some hanging vines and a couple of small saplings, which I don't think should be too strenuous for a tough blade like that.

I was a bit surprised that my cheep 17" bladed thing cut just as good if not better that the katana. I think it has alot to do with how extremely thick the Cold Steel kat is vs the 1/8" waki machete. Also I did reprofile the waki's edge.

I'll say it again though, that slim machete can take some abuse... after years of use the only real wear it's shown was after I used it to chop up a 1 and 1/2' thick dead log into three smaller logs, (I didn't have an axe with me at the time) Afterwards I noticed that the blade had an ever so slight curve to it, but I was able to straiten it out with no problem.

I would still like to have something of better quallity though, so keep the suggestions comming! :)
 
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