My experience: Hatchet vs Machete.

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flip888

Joined
Jun 8, 2006
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I went hiking with my dad and brother a few days ago and took a 12" Ontario machete and a Wetterlings hatchet with me, and about 5 other smaller blades. I found that the hatchet was pretty useful. From chopping up fallen trees for firewood to pounding in tent stakes. I even sharpened a few sticks for marsh mellows with it :rolleyes:. It was definitely the most used blade I brought with me.
The machete would have been good for making trails but I usually go around or through thick brush instead of cutting it. Other than that it seemed extremely useless. I couldnt think of anything I could do with it, especially something that a hatchet and mora couldnt. I actually regretted bringing it. On our way back to the car (05 16g wrx) I actually gave the machete away to someone we met heading in who didnt think to bring a knife with him :jerkit:.

Anyway Ive decided to leave the machete out of my arsenal from now on, as long as Im not making a trail.
 
I think your environment has a lot to do with it. I live in the desert and a machete is super usefull for me. When I climb into pine I reach more and more for a hatchet and Axe.
 
Thats true environment has a lot to do with it. Im from Wa, but even in desert and jungle environments I honestly cant think of how a machete would be much better than a knife and hatchet. Other than for trail making.
 
^ agreed, i live in DENSE wet lush thick rainforest , and i find a large chopper or machete VERY USEFULL. However when i go to some other areas of BC, the ax or hatchet reighns supreme.
 
The main thing I had to do was gather firewood. And on things under 2" the machete did ok but I could gather 10x wood with the hatchet vs the machete given the same amount of time.
Even if I had no knives with me I still think the hatchet would be more useful overall.
 
I totally agree flip. Obviously environment dictates which you need, and to each his own(YOU are the one carrying weight, not me) - but I've camped with people who just bring a machete to bring it. Half of the time they find any excuse to use it and it makes me kind of cringe. The only thing I've ever used a machete for camping was flipping food over on the fire or grille - honestly.

Honestly if I had to choose between one or the other, I'd take a sharp, quality hatchet/axe over a knife - and certainly over a machete. My favorite trio is Hatchet/folding saw/Mora(any quality 4''ish FB will do for me). With those three I can do whatever I need. And most(sometimes all) gets done with my hatchet.

Never been a fan of big ass knives for practical uses - However like I said, to each his own, and environment plays a big role.
 
Yeah in my opinion big knives and machetes are made for chopping. They can do a lot of the things a small 4"~ FB can do but not as easily/safely/accurately. And imo a hatchet will almost always out chop a machete or large knife.
Different strokes for different folks, but a hatchet and knife combo is hard to beat.
 
My experience is rather much the same. Over here, machetes are rather useless, and an axe/hatchet and a smaller knife is a much better combo. In fact, a large chopper type knife also beats a machete here. Even here, you could clear small bushes and very small trees with a machete, but if you're out to do that, there are much better tools. For gathering and processing firewood thicker blades are much better. Machetes can be rather 'fun' in cold temps, though - always fun to dodge flying pieces of metal after one of those things breaks in the cold.
 
Machetes are not really made for chopping hardwoods. But then, everyone already knew that.

Elen said:
Machetes can be rather 'fun' in cold temps, though - always fun to dodge flying pieces of metal after one of those things breaks in the cold.
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No quality machete will break in the cold.
 
Also, a 12" machete is just a knife, not really a chopper. unworthy of being called a machete. Especially if it has not been properly convexed and sharpened. I have a Collins machete that can easily outchop any hatchet. . . but it has a 27" Blade, with a convex edge. Even my Bark River machete would fare pretty well.
machete2.jpg

They might not be my first choice, but they do not suck.
 
Rat Finkenstein said:
No quality machete will break in the cold.
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But what then is considered a quality machete? :confused: I honestly don't know, having only used machetes very little. But I'll say that Cold Steels, Ontarios, Condors and Tramontinas at the least happily fall apart when it goes below -20 degrees Celcius, if they're used with any force to chop anything harder than a little brush. Of course, could be that all my machetes have been lemons. But somehow I doubt that.
 
My 12 inch tram chops very well for it's size, it's thin profile makes up for its lack of weight. Anything green really will not last long. I have cut pines about 5'' or more with it.
For the dead stuff and hard wood I would want an axe, but there is a lot of pine around me.
I have had larger machetes and they are too cumbersome to use for anything but brush,
the short tram gets in where other can't, and it's sweet spot is a lot closer to your hand.
I have a very expensive gransfors mini that chops very well, but I won't hesitate to say the tram is very close in performance, and a lot cheaper. I feel bad using the mini sometimes, and don't abuse it at all.
 
I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. A machete in my opinion is a do it all blade..keep in mind this is my opinion. I'm not trying to be ants at the picnic or change anyones mind..so there's no need to get hot and bothered. I have a 12 inch convexd tram that I've used exclusively on my last 3 camping trips.. and I had to find reasons to use my other blades.. a properly tuned machete is a versatile tool.. I agree hands down an axe is a better chopper. but a tuned machete will do it. a machete will also baton for splitting, clear light vegetation, Whittle with more control than an axe, and can be used as a draw knife.. On my last few trips out I used it for everything from foos prep to whittling trap triggers...I like axes and for the winter they rule the roost but at least for the time being I'm a machete man..but I donot think one tool is better than the other.. it's apples for oranges and again it's just the opinion of a hobbyist woodsman. (kind of insignificant really) Whatever you use it's great that we all can get outside and love it.
 
I agree with RescueRiley. I find a machete is capable of a lot more than many think, but a lot of it has to do with proper design and, of course, proper technique. To my mind a machete should be thin and broad, increasing sectional density while minimizing drag due to material removal. Rather than a chopping motion, I recommend more of a snap, as if you're "throwing" the point. You get very deep penetration this way, and once the initial cut is made all it takes is another from beneath and you've removed a much larger chunk than you would have with a hatchet.

Obviously a felling axe would do a better job on large targets, but in my experience a machete dusts a hatchet when it comes to this point. Just my own observations, but as mentioned previously it really does depend on your needs. I could go on forever about machete techniques but I'd rather not start anything, as I think it might. It might be an incorrect assumption, but it seems to me that few seem to have extensive experience with a properly built machete using proper technique.
 
Fortytwo blades, I for one would like to hear more about proper machete techniques... it might be fodder for anew thread.. I know some cate like Pict and BTD might also have some advice to offer.
 
I recently had my 12" Ontario modded by Siguy of this forum in a manner suggested by Pict and Bringandrews of this forum. He convexed all but about the 4"-5" closest to the handle. That part he put a razor sharp Scandi grind on. The back of the blade closest to tip was rounded and the rest of the back was squared off to use as a scraping tool for making fine tinder. ---It made it a much more all-around tool--KV
 
Let me preface by saying that I don't mean to piss in anyone's Cheerios -- if something works for you, than stick with it.

OK, with that out of the way. . .

IMO a 12" machete is a long knife. And I think it can excel as a knife and chop better than a "normal" profile knife of the same length (say, a chef's knife). But a longer 18-22"+ machete will chops far and again better.

Also, IMO, I wouldn't pick a machete as a top pic for wood more than 3" in diameter -- and I mean a full sized machete.

I also think, for finer tasks, a properly choked up on hatchet is easier to use than a machete.

But really, what it comes down to (as always) is what is your environment? And What are you used to. Someone who is used to working a machete will run rings around someone who isn't, and vice-versa with the hatchet.

And we all know kukris trump both <ducks>.
:D
 
RescueRiley said:
Fortytwo blades, I for one would like to hear more about proper machete techniques... it might be fodder for anew thread.. I know some cate like Pict and BTD might also have some advice to offer.
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It's as the old saying goes...it's all in the wrist! :D Begin with your arm held held close with your hand near your shoulder. You should be gripping the machete with only the first two fingers and thumb, firmly but gently. As you snap the arm forward towards the target, let up with the first two fingers while squeezing instead with the bottom two. Think of the machete as "rolling" along the palm through the squeeze of your grip. The angle of attack should always be diagonal, even if shallowly, but a 45-60 degrees seems to work best for me. The more against the grain you go, the harder it is for the blade to penetrate deeply. Then make a similar cut from below. Begin from the high position as before, but combine with a wrenching motion during the through such as to come from a low angle. You should have now removed a very large chunk of material.

Limbing trees is fastest with a machete, as far as I've seen. When there are several branches in line with each other you may take them all out in one swing. Using the same throw, but horizontally, cut in the direction of the first branch as if you were aiming to hit the last one with a powerful blow. You ought to plow straight through all of them (we're talking 1/2"-1" limbs in this instance) Don't be afraid to put some muscle into it!

If the limbs are thicker than 1", or you have difficulty cutting them in one strike, cut at the underside of the limb as close to the base as you can manage. Use the vertical throw on this one. Few branches, even 3" ones, can stand up to more than two or three of these cuts, and most branches will give in after only one.

When clearing saplings take them out with a single vertical throw. Once they've fallen over you may hook the crotch of one of the branches with the back of your blade and haul upwards and back to throw the sapling behind you. With minimal practice you can easily control the force and direction of your pull so that all of the saplings you clear land in a single brush pile away from the work area! It's important that you NOT cut too close to the base for this technique or else the sapling will not fall in a convenient manner. After removing the bulk of the tree, follow up with a downward cut to the base to neatly trim the remainder away.

For clearing lighter targets like brambles, weeds and grasses your blade must be extra sharp or the targets will merely bend out of the way. If you have a machete with an upswept blade it may help to sharpen the last five inches of the spine at the tip to create a hooked cutting surface. If not then it's not a big deal, but it will be a little more difficult. Use powerful plowing strokes to sweep back and forth close to the ground where stalks are the strongest and least likely to bend. Keep the blade angled slightly upward to provide tension. For brambles keep your distance and work at the stalks from the top of the growth down using strikes from below. You'll work your way down to the base level relatively quickly.

Because of the rolling snap that should be used with a machete I do not often recommend using a lanyard. Rather I would simply cease your work if your hands and forearms get tired. A smooth but unpolished handle will usually work best as it will not abrade the hand but not be so smooth as to cause rubbing and blisters.

There are a few other things I haven't covered but those tackle the bulk of what you're likely to be doing with a machete as far as clearing is concerned. There's a lot of handy things they can do around the camp as well, and a few other clearing techniques, but I'll save those for another post.
 
Cpl Punishment said:
Also, IMO, I wouldn't pick a machete as a top pic for wood more than 3" in diameter -- and I mean a full sized machete.
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Bear in mind that it depends on the machete. If you need it to tackle something heavy there are a number of fantastic designs for larger work. Unfortunately most people have only familiarity with and access to the Latin-styled varieties, which are of course unsuitable for that kind of work.
 
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