Fixed Blade Recommendations

[Hamradioop]

L M F Mora are a nice blade, I have used mine fore food prep and woodsman stuff and I am very pleased with it. It also throws a good spark. It is as good as a Victorinox Boning Knife I used in my youth. Highly recommended.

[munchh]

Cheers Ham.

[Deeps]

I'm another one who'd like a bit of advice, I had what I thought was a cracking kukri (a Smith and Wesson job) which got moderate use as an alternative to a hatchet basically. I was helping a neighbour split bamboo stalks with it the other week and it snapped, I wasn't even misusing it. A quick visit to the internet and it seems I've not been the only one, sooooo, I'm looking for advice on a replacement, either something similar or a machete type thing, I don't want to spend stupid money for something that I don't use all the time, I think I spend about 35 quid on the kukri but I'd probably go as high as the fifty mark give or take now that I miss it.

I ended up splitting the bamboo stalks with an axe to take my frustrations out although I'm sure a hatchet would have sufficed. All advice gratefully appreciated.

[poppypiesdad]

British army issue machete, one piece steel ,sharpen with a file , and(when) the wooden handle falls apart , bind it with paracord and keep going
I've got the rare gollock version still issue , but with a lot more steel in a hump to slash through the jungle .


http://s273.photobucket.com/user/snocks ... e.jpg.html

Not mine BTW

Or
How about the Gerber BG parang ?


J

[Deeps]

British army issue machete, one piece steel ,sharpen with a file , and(when) the wooden handle falls apart , bind it with paracord and keep going
I've got the rare gollock version still issue , but with a lot more steel in a hump to slash through the jungle .


http://s273.photobucket.com/user/snocks ... e.jpg.html

Not mine BTW

Or
How about the Gerber BG parang ?


J

The 'lad' in the picture looks like a decent replacement, I've looked at the BG one, its a bit smaller than the one I had and its a bit 'tangerine' for a Dundee supporter but I'll try and be big about it. Thanks for the pointers J appreciate it.

[Catweazle]

I also have the UK issue Golok machete, it's a very strong blade, but I found it impossible to get a good edge, and the wooden handle split between the two rivets. Mine is an unknown grade of stainless steel, it's ridiculously tough, I found out when I made a small gut hook on the end, it was a bitch to shape. You can hammer this thing into logs to split them, but don't expect to ever get it really sharp.

I also have Cold Steel long and short budget Kukri Machetes, the long one is unbalanced and unwieldy, but the short one is a gem - handles beautifully. Both needed a lot of work to improve the crude sharpening, but they take and hold a good edge.

[featherstick]

+ 1 for the short-blade Cold Steel machete. Mine gets (or got- not so much now) a lot of abuse clearing the allotment. Nicely balanced and easy to sharpen, and so cheap that you don't care if you ding the blade.

[Mortblanc]

Several years ago I bought this 5 pack on offer.

http://www.machetespecialists.com/trma5pa.html

I have been using the items long enough to have a great deal of confidence in the brand. Each of them has a function and gets its share of time in use.

They are made in Brazil by people who know what a machete is suppose to be and do.

The 12" bush knife makes a great large camp knife and is usable as a good solid butcher knife in needed.

I use both the bolo and the cane knife around the homestead and they get constant work. Both of the larger examples have been modified for my needs and have done very well.

The blades are high carbon steel and they take and hold a good edge if you keep the angles right for the use. I have never "dinged" one of the blades but I try not to chop rocks with them.

You do not have to spend a fortune to get good usable gear. also a bit of advice on the BG parang, it was subject to a huge recall within months of being placed on the market. The blade and handle were snapping in half. They were issuing "do not use" statements for months. the problem has not gone away and the device is seldom seen on the shelves over here any longer.

In fact, the Gerber/Friskers machetes have all gained a bad reputation for snapping at the handle.

The Cold Steel stuff is spotty in quality. I have never felt I got the quality for the money spent on any of the Cold Steel I have purchased.

[Catweazle]

Here is a link:

https://www.coldsteel-uk.com/store/Kukri-Machete.html

I have the Kukri Machete and the Magnum Kukri Machete. I don't like the Magnum - the balance is wrong and it transfers too much shock to the hand when chopping. The standard Kukri Machete is much better, good balance means you can put a lot more force into each blow. The standard grind is crude to say the least, but the steel is good. I used an angle grinder with flap disk to re-shape the edge, being careful not to overheat it. Now it's much better.

For comparison, I have a couple of standard machetes by Spear and Jackson etc., and whilst they are great for slashing down brambles and nettles ( I even butchered a few of sheep with one ), they lack that "sweet spot" of weight you get from a Kukri type, it makes a big difference when you are cutting thicker vegetation.

[Deeps]

Here is a link:

https://www.coldsteel-uk.com/store/Kukri-Machete.html

I have the Kukri Machete and the Magnum Kukri Machete. I don't like the Magnum - the balance is wrong and it transfers too much shock to the hand when chopping. The standard Kukri Machete is much better, good balance means you can put a lot more force into each blow. The standard grind is crude to say the least, but the steel is good. I used an angle grinder with flap disk to re-shape the edge, being careful not to overheat it. Now it's much better.

For comparison, I have a couple of standard machetes by Spear and Jackson etc., and whilst they are great for slashing down brambles and nettles ( I even butchered a few of sheep with one ), they lack that "sweet spot" of weight you get from a Kukri type, it makes a big difference when you are cutting thicker vegetation.

That looks like the kind of thing I'm after, cheers Catweazle and drop a hint of tangerine either. I suspect one of the kukris will be next months 'zombie purchase'.