Machete vs Large Knife

[BMCGear]

Hey guys,

I'm new to this sub forum. I'd like your advice and opinions. Growing up I always had a machete strapped to my side during the summers. Me and my friend that lived next door were constantly trying to improve our fort or make new ones. I also used a hatchet a good bit as well. Both the machetes and hatchets that we used were cheap Wal-Mart/hardware store stuff though. Now that I am an adult I'm through with college and grad school and I've landed a solid job. I'm wanting to get back out in the woods again. Joining BladeForums has opened up a wealth of knowledge for me in the knife world and also bushcrafting and survival. I've been reading that many people do not feel the machete is appropriate for North America but is more appropriate for vegetation and tropical regions. I'm curious of the two; a machete or a large knife (atleast 9-10 inch blade length) which do you prefer? What are the strengths and weaknesses that you've found with either? Which do you take into the woods?

 

[adams-usmc]

For me personally, most machetes are just too thin. That is of course, the way they are meant to be so they can slice through vegetation quite well. I live In Indiana, and most of what I find myself doing with blades in the woods includes chopping down sapplings, and small trees (maybe 8" in diameter), de-limbing trees, clearing a little light brush, batoning wood, and things of that nature. I don't often find myself bushwhacking through dense undergrowth.

In my experience, a machete has a tendency to bend and warp under the stresses of my abuse. With a thicker, heavier blade, this is a non issue. I sacrifice weight saving with the bigger blade, but it suits my needs much better. My personal big knife of choice is my Busse ASHBM, and I've yet to find something that accomplishes my tasks easier.

So, my personal choice is a big burly knife. If I lived in a different environment, I might choose otherwise, but it's what works for me here.

 

[smith357]

A Machete is a fine tool and here in the thick hardwood forests of Ohio the machete definitely has a place in the kit. A large knife is also a fine tool and they have their place as well. It all depends on the job, I'm a right tool for the job kind of guy. I like and use all edged tools so I have a plenty of axes, hatchets, tomahawks, machetes, fixed blades, folders. I can't say what's best for you, it really depends on what you like and your skill set with the given tool. My personal preferences on a tool light outing lean towards a good tomahawk and a medium to small knife.

 

[sams]

We live in wonderful times. There are so many good choices these days. I say experiment for yourself. That is the fun part. Buy a machete use it. But try a large knife and post your experience with them.

I use a large Condor parang. It is tough like a large knife but cuts like a machete too. I am an old guy and large knives are harder for me to use effeciently. I prefer knifes in the 3 to 4 inch range. So a parang, a HI khukuri, or a machete works for me.

 

[hobbiest]

Im new to knives also so don't have a lot of input but I will say I would guess "machetes" come in more sizes,shapes,spine thickness then they did when you were a kid(depending on age,no internet when I was a kid) or at least all that is more readily available. You would be here a long time just talking about all the strengths and weakness of just the different designs. I would list more of what your doing with it. Cutting grass,1" branches.4" branches,starting fires,zombies,childhood forts,ect. GL

 

[BMCGear]

We live in wonderful times. There are so many good choices these days. I say experiment for yourself. That is the fun part. Buy a machete use it. But try a large knife and post your experience with them.

I use a large Condor parang. It is tough like a large knife but cuts like a machete too. I am an old guy and large knives are harder for me to use effeciently. I prefer knifes in the 3 to 4 inch range. So a parang, a HI khukuri, or a machete works for me.

Options; they are a double edged sword, lol. I'm trying to save myself some cash but ultimately I'll probably end up with both or trying both.

Im new to knives also so don't have a lot of input but I will say I would guess "machetes" come in more sizes,shapes,spine thickness then they did when you were a kid(depending on age,no internet when I was a kid) or at least all that is more readily available. You would be here a long time just talking about all the strengths and weakness of just the different designs. I would list more of what your doing with it. Cutting grass,1" branches.4" branches,starting fires,zombies,childhood forts,ect. GL

The machetes I used as a kid also were never more than 7 bucks. As far as what I'd be doing: chopping wood and making fire/shelter mainly. Zombies too, of course.

 

[baldtaco-II]

nothing to see here:

 

[baldtaco-II]

I wouldn't buy any knife to do the job of a machete.

I'll say that I do broaden the machete category out here for simplicity, thus including goloks, parangs and other agricultural type whatnots.

The why is easy. Most of them have evolved to be the shape they are through forces of necessity coupled with folks without a great deal in the way of disposable income buying or trading for them. Naff ideas and hopeful monsters tend not to do very well under those conditions. Sure patterns get tweaked, revised, and improved, but the incremental shifts tends to ensure a fairly solid foundation at any given point. Someone lured into spending his dinner money on a rubbish one, or worse, probably won't be back for a second. And if his mates are smart they'll learn from it too.

In contrast, look at the way most big knives [outside of the food sector] come to be. Someone just wants to sell something to someone. Even if the guy doing the designing is an engineer there is no certainty the design is any good for actual use without feedback from people that are very familiar with the doing with those types of tools.

In my opinion, more often than not that isn't the case at all. The one doing the selling doesn't need to work some marvelous new tweak to a modern version of a billhook that fence makers will love. Nah, he sells what people want. On that, we end up with massively over-thick knives that are the toughest on the planet, honest. We have knives with harpoon tips because they are so damn useful. These guys are going after folks with disposable income that don't have to have any sense 'cos they know some muppet will be round soon enough to buy their 2nd hand Junglas off the exchange, and if they top it up with a few quid they can have something else tomorrow to take out in the car. In short, the seller feeds off the fact that the consequences to the buyer are minimal to zero impact compared to a guy down village 200yrs ago has to cater for the fact that it is a working tool first, and there is little room for play or indulging idiocy.

I was going to chuck this in to one of Mick's threads recently, but they were getting ugly enough without me putting another bat up someone's nightdress: I have seen a guy on a forum doing nothing much more than take tourist photos and making pathetic looking fig 4 traps over and over. Sure I've seen him in possession of a bunch of different knives, but I have never seen him do anything more impressive than put a point on a twig or slice Spam. I have seen him on here farming his knives out for sharpening though, 'cos he couldn't do it himself. Damn if the boy isn't a great self publicist though. He reliably copied and pasted his every post, verbatim clones minutes apart, on any forum that would stand for it, and lo, he works for an American knife magazine now. Funnier still, people have money taken from them for him to teach them survival. Unless he's undergone a brain transplant in the last couple of years what he knows about knives and survival isn't worth the cheese of the dog's dick. For sprinkles on it, he is now a knife designer. Fantastic! Moral of the story is it takes very little to sell when people really disposed to want to buy. A lot of big knife designs are ganzatastic just like that.

 

[Grease]

Pick up one of Condor's thicker machetes. They work plenty well on thin vegetation, and have the mass needed to take out thicker, harder objects when needed.


Pros and cons of knives & machetes have been said all over, but basically...

A long thin machete will bite deep in wood, sometimes binding and flexing and getting stuck and generally making you frustrated. They're amazing for small targets though - keep them sharp and its almost effortless.

A big knife is still short by machete standards and will wear you out trying to chop through vegetation. They pack a decent amount of chopping power into a small package, and are often more convenient than a regular chopping tool such as an axe due to the fact that they can also function as a knife & machete.


I would also advice picking up a Cold Steel Frontier Hawk. It's super cheap, but it's actually a fantastic one handed axe. Great for light wood cutting and shelter making. Mine came with a really thin edge that just slices through wood.

 

[Ferahgo]

For me, a machete is just to thin and generally made with a mild steel. They are too easy to damage. My BK9 on the other hand, is far stronger. It can handle many more tasks, thus I prefer it.

 

[hhmoore]

I have a Condor parang - I don't find it comfortable/efficient; so it no longer gets used.
Machete vs knife - as has been said, it depends on the task at hand. (Before going further, I'll dispute the comment in post 10 about machetes being too thin & made with a mild steel - that might be true of the most bargain basement varieties; but there are a lot of good brands that use good carbon steels.)
A big knife isn't going to do well against thin stalked vegetation - that's machete territory.
Both will do well against thicker stalked stuff and saplings up to 2 inches in diameter. After that, it depends on your tools. Lesser machetes are no match for 3+ inch saplings, but some handle them in stride. Want a "machete" that excels at chopping small trees - Ontario HD or Cold Steel Magnum kukri machete (literally the only CS bladed product that I like). General purpose machete - Tramontina (I have the 20", and it is my favorite machete).
Big knives - wrong tool for hacking away at vegetation, clearing paths, etc...just not enough reach, IMO. Want to cut things, take down some small trees, process/baton some wood, etc - use your knife

 

[jdk1]

The machete is perfectly adequate for North America (unless you need heavy chopping done, like keeping a cabin heated, then chainsaw, axe, and maul may be in order). Of course, there are so many types and sizes that some are better suited than others. Really long, thin machetes are obviously better vine slashes and 14" bolos are better choppers. There are plenty of HD machetes which fill the gap between machete and knife as well, like the Ontarios. These can be great large woods knives, come with good high carbon steel, and they're cheap. As much as I love the 3/16" ESEE Junglas, there's not much it can do which an Ontario can't. When you get into the 1/4"+ blades, you really start to lose versatility and end up with mainly a chopper, but that can also depend on grinds. My CS Gurkha is 5/16", but the FFG makes it a pretty good brush cutter as well as chopper. The bottom line is that you'll probably never need more than what a $10 14" Tramontina Bush machete can offer, but this is a knife forum, so "need" is a small part of the discussion

 

[baldtaco-II]

This is probably a good illustration of where I'm at:

Below is the very highly regarded Browning Crowell Barker Competition Knife. I'm sure it is a splendid knife for the size. For certain the chaps behind it have a pedigree second to none when it comes to knives that work well. [Clue up on them in relation to the American Bladesmith Society World Cutting Championship, and so on, if you don't know]. And whilst this is a very plain production version I recall seeing a lot of them being tarted up very nicely with all sorts of mods soon after release a few years back. For a knife of this ilk I have only ever read reports of what a superb bargain they are.

In stark contrast is the below. It's a Mora in 5160 rather than 10** series. Unlike the above this one looks as rough as a badger's arse, and that is probably reflected in the price 'cos it costs about half as much. About the only common thing about these two is they share a blade length, [near as damn it, there's 4mm in it].

As much as I believe the top one to be an outstanding bit of kit as far as big knives go, if I had to pick which to use, it would be the bottom one every time.

 

[22-rimfire]

I actually prefer a larger blade for chopping and have been choosing the Condor Pack Golok or Village Parang for my general chopping needs in the woods. I don't carry it on hikes and so forth unless I suspect I will need it however.

The thin machetes do flex when chopping trees and so forth. Wish we had a tree like bamboo that floats well that you could easily wack down with a machete.

 

[me2]

There is some cross over in what is considered a machete and a big knife, so to discuss this, the definition of knife and machete needs to be clear. My definition is simple: if it has a primary grind, it's a knife of some kind. All the machetes I've seen are just stamped flat stock between 1/16" and 3/32" thick with an edge ground on them. Machetes have one advantage over knives of similar size. They are cheap. They may cut fine, and are very durable, but above all they are simple and affordable. I would love to try a bush knife of about 1/4" thick spine, 14" blade, full flat grind or very shallow convex, and as thin an edge bevel as possible. Remember, a 1/4" blade with a full flat grind has the same amount of steel as a 1/8" blade with just an edge on it.

 

[CellerDrummer]

Several years ago I went on a kayaking/camping trip with some friends. While paddling down the river we passed several nice camping spots that these guys usually stayed. BUT , there were other campers that beat us to it. Everything along the river is. "first come first serve". Well,, further down they said there is one last spot that they liked. Hopefully its empty. Well it was, and it was TOTALLY overgrown with high weeds. The mood shifted a little with all this work ahead of us until I said WAIT. I have something!! While packing, the last minute I through a cheap ass Harbor Freight machete in my pack. It totally saved the trip. I put on my leather work gloves, had three guys clean up behind me and I was like the Tazmanian devil. I cleared everything out in 1/2 hour. (beer breaks included). Moral of my story..

I will never go camping with out a machete..EVER. I just bought the Condor EL Salvador and used it last weekend at the same camp spot. Well worth the $40ish I paid. Gave my HarborFreight machete to one of the new guys. CD

 

[RWT]

I have been in the same dilemma. Big knife. BK9 or machete Ontario 12" hd from baroynx here in the forum. I prefer the Ontario overall. It chops better., has greater reach, can baton almost as well and can be made just as sharp to be used as a knife as the BK9. If you sharpen the top portion of the Ontario about 2" at the tip it can easily clean small game. I rarely need to cut anything larger than 4" in diameter but do find myself having to cut more weedy vegetation so the machete wins. Consider the small Tops machete as well. Better handle and very useful.

 

[Simple Man]

I love big knifes as much as anyone, but bang for the buck, machetes are hard to beat (but easy to beat on). I've got a couple old heavy ones, one large Martindale and another smaller unmarked that work well.