View Full Version : Machete
Andrew Middleton
09-02-2004, 12:54
This may have been covered before I discovered this site, but can anyone point me in the direction of a cheap (or at least value for money) good machete/golok?
Many thanks in advance.
The valiant survival golok has had a lot of good reviews and is reasonably cheap (about £35).
http://www.valiantco.com/indexA.html
Reviews:
http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=2
http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/knives/valiant_golok.html
http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/valiant1.html
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?t=985
http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000998.html
MartiniDave
09-02-2004, 13:57
I use a Tramontina brand, made in Brazil. Bought new for £5.99. Not a bad bit of kit with the exception of the sheath, which is a flimsly vynil affair I'm planning to replace with a DIY plywwod one in due course.
The blade takes a good edge that lasts fairly well. Its a good cutter.
Be aware that you can pay as much as £18.00 for the same thing.
http://www.baconsdozen.co.uk/knives.htm sells them mail order.
Dave
I've ordered a couple of these:
http://www.gerberblades.com/products/view.php?model=2773
From Joe at:
http://outdoorsuppliesuk.com/content.html
Cost at under 30 quid each including postage. Made by Fiskars and now sold in the US under the Gerber name. Limited lifetime warranty as well.
Its been tested in rainforest in South America and been very highly rated. I havent seen anything else rated so highly at such a good price.
Some more info which is where I found out about it can be found here:
http://www.knifeforums.com//ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=327418&page=1&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1
hiya bex, how're you doing?
cheers, and.
Hello Sargey,
Not too bad thank you for asking. How's it going with you?
I see a lot of the people who used to post on the Knifeforums OSF are over here. Nice to see.
How are you finding your Bark River knives? I havent had a chance to use my Highland Special yet, aside from shredding some junk mail.
I've ordered a couple of these:
http://www.gerberblades.com/products/view.php?model=2773
It's a billhook!! (Duck and cover)
How are you finding your Bark River knives?
outrageously sharp!!! i had to forsake the leather sheath after a mishap, and convert a spare kydex job. :shock:
but back to the machete question:
andrew, do you have a specific application for your machete?
cheers, and.
Sharp is good. As long as you still have all your fingers and toes, thats the main thing :wink:
Re: Machete's, the Ontario ones tend to be heavier than other models, so bear that in mind. I had an 18 inch bladed version that I did not like at all. Unless you are 6 foot four and used to manual labour I would not recommend this one, (I say this having had experience with martial arts sword work as well).
The handles are rivetted on and not very comfortable. The molded handguard versions-a great improvement I read-I dont think you can get in the UK due to the 1988 weapons act.
The Ontario will more than likely chop through branches and similar better than most other machete because it is thicker. Other machetes are not so suited to such work, because they have thin blades, so bear that in mind. You run a higher risk of the blade fracturing.
I've decided to go with the Gerber because I think that it is a design that will work in the UK. Good for clearing brambles, nettles and such like, but also capable of removing branches and similar where needed. Yes, it looks like a billhook, but then the billhook is a time proven design for these parts. Most machete are suited to different vegitation in different climates.
Andrew Middleton
11-02-2004, 16:13
My main application would be clearing an area of overgrown vegetation including bracken and an enormous plant that looks like giant water lillies, but not in water. I don't know the name.
I guess you're going to suggest a scythe (?spelling) may be better, but I fancied learning a new technique with a blade I've never had need to work with before.
I guess you're going to suggest a scythe (?spelling) may be better, but I fancied learning a new technique with a blade I've never had need to work with before
a specific application and a just 'coz! sounds like an industrial strimmer would be the best bet :lol:
cheers, and.
a specific application and a just 'coz! sounds like an industrial strimmer would be the best bet :lol:
cheers, and.
Yup. Dont forget the goggles.
Sythes are hard work but very relaxing to use. Keep it sharp and it make a lovely noise.
I got one to use around the hives as the petrol strimmer made them a bit tetchy. Since to strimmer gave up I've not bothered replacing it.
At long last (thanks to larry the spark) I have managed to get some pics on this forum :-D
The machete is a MOD Golock that you can get from USMC for £14.99 inc sheath and the saw is the ever famous Laplander from local DIY store for £17.99.
I slight alteration on the sheath, saves on pocket space.
http://www.yoxio.com/images.php?id=15625
http://www.yoxio.com/images.php?id=15626
Great combo!
Did you add the paracord for grip or to improve the handling or just as a place to keep a length?
The cord grip is to cover the usual MOD spec rivits, it makes it a little chunky but does the job.
That combination looks capable of some serious work!!
These have appeared in the U.S.
I bought one for $20 at an "Outdoor Show." Blade marked "17-9944 1993." OD sheath marked "SL32A/4728 FROG BAYONET." Blade seems very hard. Convex grind.
Does anyone out there know what sort of steel they used?
I covered the beastly rivets with athletic "grip" tape and insterted several strips of plastic in the sehath fro a tighter fit and greater stiffness.
Sorry guys, I'm going to disagree on this one. I used one of these for quite a while, in fact I've still got it in the shed. But I never found it satisfactory at all. It took an awful lot of work to get a decent bevel on it and out in the forest it would chip and ding worse than anything else I used. As soon as I could I retired it. It would do ok for soft green stuff like liana and rotan but the minute you tried to get through anything hard it would just bounce off! IMHO it's too light, steel is too brittle, quality (certainly of the one I have) is poor, and the balance for any heavy chopping was just wrong - it was a very tiring thing to use.
It was cheap though!
I replaced it with various local versions which tended to be a lot heavier and with more comfortable handles until I eventually bought myself a Reinhardt combat kukri from Blackjack - what a revelation! A proper convex bevel that cut like nothing I'd ever used before, weight distribution that meant I could cut for a long time before I got too tired, and great quality steel that held an edge for a long time.
I'm a kukri convert and you'd never get me back to a martindale "tree beater" if you paid me! :-D
George
MartiniDave
26-02-2004, 13:18
I've just spent a lunch break putting a razor sharp edge on mine - using a Hoodoo hone. I'll try it out over the coming weekend. If its no good I'll go back to my old Tramontina and consign the golok to the toolbox under the landy seat, just in case.
Dave
If the golok isn't up to much, is the jungle knife (http://www.sass-kit.fsbusiness.co.uk/catalogue16/Knives_Sheathes/index.htm) any better? There seems to be more weight distributed towards the business end, as it were. Anyone used one?
Boaty
It looks quite interesting, like you say possibly a better shape - though the steel quality may not be good.
Have a look at the review here
http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/knives/jungle_knife.html
Plus another interesting review here http://oldjimbo.com/survival/v-shrake/goloks.html from old jimbo.
George
The golock and the jungle knife are made by the same people (martindale) the steel is identical
The golock and the jungle knife are made by the same people (martindale) the steel is identical
That's exactly what I mean Stuart - the Golok steel (certainly on mine) is not terribly good! Even though the design of the Jungle Knife looks better - if it's the same steel you might not want to go near it!
George
This may have been covered before I discovered this site, but can anyone point me in the direction of a cheap (or at least value for money) good machete/golok?
Many thanks in advance.
A Working Kukri is about as good as it gets
They cut effecently well above their weight and also are quite usfull on smaller stuff plus the Small side knife is idea for detail work
you do need to be careful as there are a lot of crap imitations about.
and a lot of more decortive versions.
Dunno about cheap But they are Value for money
I have picked up a few in second hand shops for £10
But did get a new one a couple of years ago for £60 from an importer
They have a similer Vidio to Stuart (Kellam Knives) showing the knives being forged :lol:
ATB
Duncan
I think that George may have have sharprnrd the wrong angle on his, I have used this Golok many many time since I have had it, made many shelters with my scouts and cut , i dont know how much fire wood with it and never done so much as chip it.
I think that George may have have sharprnrd the wrong angle on his, I have used this Golok many many time since I have had it, made many shelters with my scouts and cut , i dont know how much fire wood with it and never done so much as chip it.
Yes, Cliff "Break-em" Stamp's review of the jungle knife seems to agree with your view - seemed to do OK once he'd convexed the edge
But then again, £50 could buy you a very nice tool from Valiant (http://www.valiantco.com/)...
I think that George may have have sharprnrd the wrong angle on his, I have used this Golok many many time since I have had it, made many shelters with my scouts and cut , i dont know how much fire wood with it and never done so much as chip it.
Yup - you could be right, or I could have just got a duff one, but I did a lot of work on the edge and I would have expected it to perform a lot better than it does.
Reprofiling the edge still doesnt improve the balance or the way it handles though :wink:
I reckon that for a bit more cash you could come away with a decent kukri or one of the Valient goloks - to my mind a much better option.
Anyway, each to his own, Chopper - if it works for you...
George
C_Claycomb
27-02-2004, 17:19
I have VERY mixed feelings about the Martindale Jungle Knife. I read a review in Tactical Knives some time ago that made it sound really good. I then saw that it was made here. :biggthump So I called the company. I was initially told that it would cost £12 :-D Then told that they were sorry, but company policy was that they could not sell them in this country!! :banghead:
Something to do with being worried some nutter would use one to run amok. They only sell one or two models to the public, I was told, and the Jungle knife isn't one. So you could only get it if you were in the army. If you are in the USA they only cost $45. So buying from SASS really does not seem to be a good deal. :-x
For the money you spend on a Jungle knife here, you could get a Becker patrol machete in the US. Knowing that I just can't bring myself to pay the UK price, even if it is good.
Sorry, but I just had to have a look to see what a Becker Patrol machete was, and after seeing this I am not so sure that I would want one!!!!
http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/knives/patrol_machete.html
I think that I will stick with my Golok :-D
it might just be worth pointing out that this
http://www.yoxio.com/images.php?id=15626
is not a martindale golok. i don't know who they're made by, or why they're sold in bayonet sheathes. but it might explain why people who have these think they're too hard and martindale users find them soft.
generally machetes are much sfter than knives in order to deal with the amount of shock they're likely to be subjected to.
cheers, and.
I just received a catalogue showing this knife and sheath. The text says the knife was made in "Indian for the British Government and is marked with the Boiad Arrow."
Actually, mine has the arrow with fletching, as it were. Reject? Sent out of service?
The blade is hard by any standard. A new file will not cut it.
that is interesting, i wonder if it's the same indian outfit whomake the cheap khukris. these "goloks" are substantially shorter than the martindale No2.
cheers, and.
Don't know. That is why I posted markings on my example. I thought it was pretty hard for a chopping tool and the convex edge was unusual for a true military issue item. I hoped someone out there would have the inside information.
The reason that it is in a bayonet sheath is quite simple, I put it in it so that it would match the one that I put MOD knife in and that is in a bayonet sheath because the original leather one was knackered.
i've seen them for sale in bayonet sheathes, and seen other folks who have bought them in bayonet sheathes.
if you go to vshrake's article on jimbo's site http://oldjimbo.com/survival/v-shrake/goloks.html
he shows a close up of the martinale golok markings, complete with crocodile and No2. i won't reproduce it here 'cause it's a pretty wide pic.
cheers, and.
As noted above, these do not have the Martindale markings -- just markings that "appear" military. Otherwise, it looks in general like the No. 2's baby brother.
C_Claycomb
28-02-2004, 19:33
Thanks for that link Chopper! On second thoughts, stuff the PM!! :yikes:
TheViking
09-01-2005, 19:57
At long last (thanks to larry the spark) I have managed to get some pics on this forum :-D
The machete is a MOD Golock that you can get from USMC for £14.99 inc sheath and the saw is the ever famous Laplander from local DIY store for £17.99.
I slight alteration on the sheath, saves on pocket space.
http://www.yoxio.com/images.php?id=15625
http://www.yoxio.com/images.php?id=15626
I can't see the pics Chopper. :cry: Could you host them again? :angel: