Survival Gardening with David The Good
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No good machetes anymore
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No good machetes anymore
I have been looking for a good quality machete with very little luck.
I have seen machetespecialist.com does anyone have any experience with them?
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11 Replies
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They are out there to be found but first you need to know what YOU want in the way of a good Machete. Thick blade, thin blade, stiff, flexible, long or short. I must have a half dozen but out of those I have two favorites. One cost like a buck at HF 20ish years ago it’s fairly light weight long and flexible and the other is actually a bush axe by name but in reality it’s a short stiff HEAVY machete and it was rather expensive IIRC
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I have bought a few machetes from HF and some have been a bit flimsy but usable. I bought 3 earlier in the year when they had a big sale to try them as they were just $5.99 each. Avg length, stiff blade & had a serrated edge for cutting on the top side of the blade. It even came with a cheap nylon sheath which shredded to bits trying to get the blade in it. That serrated edge is sharp as all get out and actually works great, to my surprise! Those cheap $5.99 machetes have turned out to be a very good STIFF bladed, balanced blade that is superb for heavy brush cutting. The ones similar I bought a couple of years ago are flimsy, too lightweight and not balanced enough for me to swing to whack my target without kickback.
When I am out clearing brush, I have a tall 6 gallon bucket I found on the side of the road that I keep all my bushwhacking tools in (cane blades, machetes, saws, loppers of different lengths, etc). I have one of those HF 5-gallon bucket tool bags wrapped around it to hold my different pruners. One of my FAV loppers I got at HF that is ratcheting for those thicker branches or brush. Just wished the metal they used for the handles was heavier as I bent one side on a limb that was a bit too hard, and yes, I did force the final cut. It has an extension feature to shorten/lengthen the handles (it doesn’t stay locked with the locking PLASTIC nut (not sure what you call it…having a senior moment here) but with the now bent handle, you can’t adjust the length of the handle anymore so that flaw isn’t a problem. My best ratcheting loppers are Fiskars.
Another machete I bought at TSC was a SCHRADE. It was on one of their clearance tables and it has turned out to be a VERY GOOD blade but a bit short in length but good for a lot of other applications when bushwhacking.
Yes, you get what you pay for at HF but when you’re on a tight budget, you sometimes have to get what you can afford and deal with the consequences.
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My best machete was brought back to me from Haiti by a nurse that I sponsored on a mission trip. It even came with a custom made leather sheath. For hacking big stuff, I have a SOG which is pretty hefty. Neither gets much of a workout these days. 🙂
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I have a good one from LT Wright knives. Thing is a beast.
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These are cheap, and hard limbs will chip the blade but damn I love a sugar cane blade.
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I LOVE my sugar cane blades!!! I have 3 I got over 25 yrs ago when I visited some friends in southern Louisiana. I DARE anyone to even TOUCH my cane blades. I bought a similar one at TSC several years ago but it is by far not as well made as the older ones I got in LA and are a bit longer & heavier (which throws my whacking off being used to the weight of the older ones). Have seen them on Amazon but haven’t ordered one since I know things aren’t made as good these days as they were in the past.
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Ive been beating the crap out of one of these for 2 years now and not a single issue. https://barebonesliving.com/products/japanese-nata-tool
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https://www.thesurvivalgardener.com/recommended-books-tools/best-garde
I purchased the Golok by Condor Tool and Knife, as recommended by David the Good. I love it, and so has everyone else who has used it. It needed a touch up with a file, but after a little sharpening it has been fantastic. Best one I have ever owned.
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I have one made by Ontario Knife Company that my dad bought in ’73 or ’74. Used it a lot as a kid. Worked out great for me. Between that, a hatchet, axe and weed whip I cleared about 3 acres of brush, etc. Still use it today although the sheath is taped together.
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look for second-hand military WWI or WWII machetes they will handle anything you chuck at them
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