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- Sep 9, 2005
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Here in my little jungle in SE Georgia, I actually use jungle knives, especially in the river bottoms and swamps. So what is a jungle knife? It is a short machete/bowie. The Collins #18 and #254 were issued in WWII for use in jungle areas of Burma and the South Pacific islands. These were early examples of the jungle knife. The #254 is shown here next to the bottom.
The old USA-made Collins has a 12" blade of 1095 high carbon steel about 3/32" thick. It has a plastic riveted on handle. It weighs about 16 oz. This steel really takes and holds an edge. Below the Collins is the Condor Jungle Bowie. It has a cushy santophene handle and a 10.5" wickedly pointed blade of German 420HC steel about 3 mm thick. It only weighs about 11 oz, so it is fast in the hand. It is made in El Salvador. The knife second from top is the Cold Steel Bowie Machete. It has a 12" blade of 1055 steel about 3mm thick with a sharpened swedge like the Condor. The handle is a very comfortable rubbery synthetic of some kind. It is made in China. The top knife in the above picture is the Ontario RTAK II, a jungle knife designed by Jeff Randall. It has a 10 1/4" long, 3/16" thick blade of 1095 steel. Handles are micarta. This is the heaviest knife here at about 21 oz, but it is still light in the hand with its balance point right at the very front of the handle. It lacks a swedge.
I first did a little light machete work on some sweet gum "weeds". The Collins cut the thinner ones easily, but the RTAK did better chopping the thicker ones.
At this point, I set the Collins aside. It is a collectable and no longer available anyway. It is the prototype of the others, though. Next up was the Condor. Not a very effective machete for some reason. It was penty sharp. It will slash, but not as well as Condor's Inca knife, combat machete, or regular machetes. Seems to be more of a sticker than a slasher. So I set it aside and grabbed the Cold Steel Bowie machete. Now with a wicked convex edge I put on it this knife breezed through light vegetation.
It did a number on the pamettos and sticker vines, too, as did the RTAK II.
The CS did well in light chopping and splitting wood with a baton, too, but the sharpened swedge limited its use some.
the CS Bowie machete has a great feel to it and and seems plenty tough. Not a bad knife for the money.
But the best all-around jungle knife of this group to me is the RTAK II. It chops like a small axe, and is fast enough in the hand to use as a machete. It splits wood well, too and the thicker blade with no swedge gives you more steel to work the baton on.
I only have one knife I like better than the RTAK for all-around bush use. But it really isn't a jungle knife at all. It is Scrap Yard's Dog Father LE bowie knife. At only 16 oz and 1/4" thick flat ground SR77 steel, it can do it all.
But among these jungle knives, I like the RTAK and CS Bowie machete the best. The CS is a bargain. Of course, some folks won't buy Chinese-made knives, but it does a fine job.
The old USA-made Collins has a 12" blade of 1095 high carbon steel about 3/32" thick. It has a plastic riveted on handle. It weighs about 16 oz. This steel really takes and holds an edge. Below the Collins is the Condor Jungle Bowie. It has a cushy santophene handle and a 10.5" wickedly pointed blade of German 420HC steel about 3 mm thick. It only weighs about 11 oz, so it is fast in the hand. It is made in El Salvador. The knife second from top is the Cold Steel Bowie Machete. It has a 12" blade of 1055 steel about 3mm thick with a sharpened swedge like the Condor. The handle is a very comfortable rubbery synthetic of some kind. It is made in China. The top knife in the above picture is the Ontario RTAK II, a jungle knife designed by Jeff Randall. It has a 10 1/4" long, 3/16" thick blade of 1095 steel. Handles are micarta. This is the heaviest knife here at about 21 oz, but it is still light in the hand with its balance point right at the very front of the handle. It lacks a swedge.
I first did a little light machete work on some sweet gum "weeds". The Collins cut the thinner ones easily, but the RTAK did better chopping the thicker ones.
At this point, I set the Collins aside. It is a collectable and no longer available anyway. It is the prototype of the others, though. Next up was the Condor. Not a very effective machete for some reason. It was penty sharp. It will slash, but not as well as Condor's Inca knife, combat machete, or regular machetes. Seems to be more of a sticker than a slasher. So I set it aside and grabbed the Cold Steel Bowie machete. Now with a wicked convex edge I put on it this knife breezed through light vegetation.
It did a number on the pamettos and sticker vines, too, as did the RTAK II.
The CS did well in light chopping and splitting wood with a baton, too, but the sharpened swedge limited its use some.
the CS Bowie machete has a great feel to it and and seems plenty tough. Not a bad knife for the money.
But the best all-around jungle knife of this group to me is the RTAK II. It chops like a small axe, and is fast enough in the hand to use as a machete. It splits wood well, too and the thicker blade with no swedge gives you more steel to work the baton on.
I only have one knife I like better than the RTAK for all-around bush use. But it really isn't a jungle knife at all. It is Scrap Yard's Dog Father LE bowie knife. At only 16 oz and 1/4" thick flat ground SR77 steel, it can do it all.
But among these jungle knives, I like the RTAK and CS Bowie machete the best. The CS is a bargain. Of course, some folks won't buy Chinese-made knives, but it does a fine job.
