Here's one for you gents. Which would be preferable in a survival type scenario, an ax, or a machete?
I suppose it all depends on the environment. I'd much rather have an ax to chop up firewood, but I'd much rather have a machete to clear brush from a camping spot. I remember reading a thread on here a while back quoting someone saying something along the lines of 'an ax is much more preferable over a knife', but a machete is not really a knife.
What are everybody's thoughts on that?
“When you understand the nature of a thing, you know what it is capable of.”
-Miyamoto Musashi
"Some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions."
Very good question - I'm thinking this item would be a good hybrid http://www.ltspecpro.com/two-handed-kukri-machete.html
C. Khukri I've chopped down trees with them. Even comes with a little knife for doing knife stuff. The close second on useful would be a sharpened Glock shovel. Good weapon, great for brush and limb clearing, even digs a hole to hide the bodies.But who are we kidding, we want them all.
No, holding that venegence upon their enemies was more to be desired than any personal blessings, and reckoning this to be the most glorious of hazards, they joyfully determined to accept the risk... Thus, choosing to die resisting, rather than to live submitting, they fled only from dishonor... Pericles' Funeral Oration
I'll take the ax as it will assist me in building a home for the winter. But as you mentioned the enviroment is the biggest question.
CD
De Oppresso Liber
Iraq: 91,03-06,08 & 09'
Afghanistan: 09,10' & 11'
i don't know about survival scenarios, but I prefer my machete for working in the yard, and I can take down a small tree quicker with the machete than a similarly sized hatchet.
Which would be preferable in a survival type scenario, an ax, or a machete?
I suppose it all depends on the environment.Agreed--there is after all a reason we have designed them differently.But who are we kidding, we want them all.
I wouldn't like to chop down a reasonable sized oak with a tomahawk (let alone a machete); nor would I want to trail-blaze through brambles with an axe. A hatchet or tomakawk may be the best compromise.
Perhaps but if you "choke up" on an axe handle, that's almost a hatchet. But there's not much you can do to a machete to make it act like an axe.
Guns, if they have a moral dimension, are good. Without guns, the strong can always dominate the weak; the many can always dominate the few; and men can always dominate women. A gun gives each person an agency equivalent to his (or her) moral standing. In my humble opinion, those who teach correct and proper gun use are doing G-d's work.
Woodsman pal will fit the machete ax need very well
Take your time... Don't live too fast,
Troubles will come and they will pass....
Who would be so unprepared as to not have both available?
Some people are like slinkies. Not really good for anything but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.
I'll take a Buck 110.
It's easy. Whittle a stick with a nice weak spot in it. Now whittle a trigger to jam in that spot. Prop up a large rock with the stick. Place beer under rock. Wait. Take pickup truck with chainsaw once trap is sprung. See survival is fun.
I love my axes, but you won't carry one everywhere. I still stay with a khukri, it gets things done.
No, holding that venegence upon their enemies was more to be desired than any personal blessings, and reckoning this to be the most glorious of hazards, they joyfully determined to accept the risk... Thus, choosing to die resisting, rather than to live submitting, they fled only from dishonor... Pericles' Funeral Oration
It's kinda like the "which gun" debates in the sense that, it matters way more that you have one, than which one.
I vote machete. We cut down some pretty large trees with them in the following scenario, which I described to a friend of mine:
So, a personal preference based on my childhood experiences.This seems kinda wierd nowadays, but it wasn't then:
Late forties of the last century, Pop bought some property out in Ronkonkoma on Long Island to build a summer home there. It was going to be a "shell house," where the builder put up the shell of the house and it was up to the owner to finish the inside, plumb it, wire it, etc.
But before we could have them put it up, the land had to be cleared, so Pop bought a war surplus 24 foot diameter tent (just like the ones in M*A*S*H) and we'd go out there on weekends, live in the tent, and camp out with my sister and her husband and my brother and work on the property. I still remember the canvas-ey smell of that tent.
Pop also bought us all WWII surplus machetes (except for my Mom and my sister) with their canvas scabbards and we'd whale away at the tough scrub oak and a bunch of trees, clearing the land for the house and driveway and yard and so on.
This was when I was eight or nine years old, and I used to like to prowl around the woods off the property, and range maybe a quarter to a half mile from our land, but there were a bunch of loose dogs always running around, and some of them used to chase me on my bicycle on the one road that serviced this rather primitive area of Long Island. I got real scared once, and after that, my mother would not let me go off the property without my machete!
Like I said, it seems kinda wierd nowadays, but it wasn't then. And every time I tell this story to someone, they act like my mother was some kind of bloodthirsty witch or something, making a little kid carry a machete around.
But that was then.
Terry, 230RN
When I was a child when I got in trouble my Dad would give me 'punishment detail' which was usually being sent out to cut trees out of a fencerow with an axe. Because of this I am fully convinced that axes are devilish weapons that should be completely banned!!!!!!
“Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed.”
- G. K. Chesterton
We had a weekend get together on the mountain short while back. There were some brushclearing and woodchopping chores done well with the machete, but there were a few chores that I preferred my cousin's short axe (or large hatchet). Where an ax was needed, the machete was a lot of work to get the job done. Still, one of my take-along kits is canteen, machete and sheath, and first aid kit.
Cogito me cogitare; ergo, cogito me esse.
Well, seems like the machete and/or kukri takes the cake; I was kind of thinking the same thing, but I always like to seek advice from those that know more than I do. Looks like the ax is relegated to chopping firewood. Thanks guys.
“When you understand the nature of a thing, you know what it is capable of.”
-Miyamoto Musashi
"Some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions."
Hmmm... I'm thinking about it and it seems to me the curvature of the kukri would tend to make the blade twist in your hand with the slightest off-angle blow on things like wood.
Once, OK, but if you're doing a lot of chopping, that could get pretty fatigueing.
Disclaimer: I've never used a kukri, just armchairing it.
As a weapon, it might be slightly better than a machete, since it seems that a still-deeper slice would be made on withdrawal of the blade, but...
.... Well, though I haven't used a machete in years and years, I'll vote for the machete over an ax if the wood is less than about 8" in diameter as a general survival tool. And they're easier to sharpen than an axe.
As for the kukri, I guess I'd have to try it and see how it worked out. But as far as I know, it's the only working blade with a reverse curvature... that kinda tells me something. Tools usually evolve toward the most practical for their purpose, and a kukri looks more like a matter of style than practicality.
Just noodling, sitting here on my couch with a cuppa.
Terry, 230RN
Did we forget the det cord?
I've got 4 different size/length of handle double bitted axes, 3 hatchets 1 heavy single bit axe and only one machette.
It would be a hard choice to pick just one to have but for versatilityof function I'm leaning toward one of the hatchets with a good sized blade on one side and a hammer head on the other.
Some people are like slinkies. Not really good for anything but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.
I think an important thing to remember is that a fighting axe and a wood-axe are two very different things.
In a survival scenario weight is at a premium, so do you really want to drag either item around? Branches and pine boughs are easily cut with any knife to build a shelter. Larger logs are easily burned in two.
I'd happily swap away an axe or a machete for a blanket, a tin pot to boil water, a roll of plastic, a couple pounds of food or even a lighter.
A Kodiak Bear Mauling: http://www.amazon.com/A-Kodiak-Bear-...910559&sr=1-13
Up where I live, you will want a lightweight hatchet if you're hiking, and a heavier axe if you're in a car.
Where I used to live in California, we had a lot of brush and manzanita -- a seriously hard and springy wood shrub -- and so on. In that environment, I found a machete (a bolo, actually) to be an excellent alternative.
The kukri is very like a bolo (and comes from roughly the same part of the world), except that it has more forward balance and more of the characteristics of a hatchet, making it a nicely rounded compromise.
Surprisingly, the twisting problem isn't any greater than you find with an axe.
If I didn't know which environment I was going to wind up in, I'd probably choose the kukri. It is superb in a brush/grass/bushy environment, and can certainly hold its own in a trees-and-logs environment, on top of which it makes an outstanding defensive weapon. The Gurkha soldiers demonstrated tremendous effectiveness with them.
I've carried an axe, a bolo, and a machete at different times. The kukri combines the best features of all three: forward balance for chopping, long curved edge for brush clearing, length/strength/heft/cutting power needed in defensive situations.
Now all I have to do is acquire one.
Last edited by ArfinGreebly; February 15th, 2011 at 07:00 PM. Reason: typppo
Daughter: "Dad, how do I know who's a real friend?"
Me: "A friend is someone who cares how your life turns out."
"Truth is a dangerous thing: once found, you must never turn your back on it." -- gh@c2
"Look at it this way. If America frightens you, feel free to live somewhere else. There are plenty of other countries that don't suffer from excessive liberty. America is where the Liberty is. Liberty is not certified safe." -- gh@c2
I have one of those supposedly crappy cold steel machetes: the Kopis to be precise.
It's a fantastic tool, and is very light.
I have one of the military-issue khukris that Atlanta Cutlery used to (?) sell. I bought mine for about $20 or so in the late 80's. It took some considerable amount of work to properly profile the edge and sharpen it, but I haven't touched a machete or a hatchet since. Works pretty good for many tasks where you might use something like a meat cleaver too.
Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest. — Denis Diderot
As kodiak noted, if one is going to go off and get lost the weight of a axe or a overly weighty machete is going to be a problem. At least for short term, 'how did I get turned around'. In timber country, downed wood is easy enough to get, and much can be handled with a knife or tools made as a result. In prairie, or other dried out hellholes the main use for an axe/large knife is going to be for digging for water or roots. In either country, a well thrown rock is going to be reasonably useful for braining some unfortunate bird, rabbit, snake, or other unmentionable edibles. Running through the veldt brandishing a axe or blade is not too productive as far as convincing gods creatures it is time to cooperate.
Looking to the past, axes which were meant for actually killing something were considerably lighter than a camp hatchet or axe. And were not really suited for heavy wood cutting or pounding. As far as large blades the European falchions were sometimes used for general tasks, but these were really intended for battlefield use.
I guess if ones survival concerns included Agincourt the 3 lbs or so to drag about a Falchion would not be unduly problematic...however in modern contexts once one is found again such things could provoke undue comment whilst limping back to the camp...
However for the last 100 years or so here in America many did manage to shift just fine with a belt knife (Kukris are a sort of, as are buck knives, daggers and etc) or a pocket knife. Lacking Firelighters and water have done in more people than whether or not they had a hatchet or large blade...
Although here on the lost prairies they did value having a hatchet around in storm season...largely because some unfortunate, heroic or gullible person got to run/ride out and plant it in the ground so the tornado would split and go around the Indian village or little Anglo settlement.
"What improves the circumstances of the greater part can never be regarded as an inconveniency to the whole. No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable." Adam Smith.
no comparison. a machete, and here's why....
regardless of enviroment......i pick the machete. i would just pick the right version for the environment.
a machete is a combination of a long knife and an axe of sorts depending on what version machete you have/use. it was designed by various cultures around the world for survival skill sets to be needed in one tool. sure it won't replace a good axe to cut down a very large tree easily, but it will chop down smaller trees easily. i know first hand.
an axe on the other hand serves one main purpose/use, chopping down tress or splitting logs. hard to use as a knife...sure you can, but not easily.
machete is lighter and easier to carry and ask anyone who messes around in the swamps, woods, jungles what they carry with them. it's going to be a machete...unless they are walking precut trails and paths and do not need to cut their own..... or walking/hiking in what i call "hardly woods" with no thick underbrush.... then a larger knife is all they need....they can leave the bigger tools at home......
There are machetes and machetes. A shorter, heavier machete can come close to a small axe for chopping, yet still be only somewhat oversized for "knife" chores. Long skinny machetes have speed for cutting grass and blackberry and salmonberry brush, but nothing heavier. If you have another blade, then go for a "chopper" machete. It's the next best thing to a hatchet or hand axe, but can do more things. If for some weird reason you have NO other blade, go toward the smaller end of that spectrum.
Some survival experts say a 10-12" knife that qualifies as a small machete but is still only a bit bigger than a "camp knife" is the most versatile tool.
A while back, I grabbed a sale price on a couple of Cold Steel's "Barong" machetes. A bit pointy, but they can dig if necessary, chop a bit, slice food, and still muster enough speed to cut brush if that's necessary.
A few years ago, I went after a trail I knew was there but had been ignored for 25-30 years. In Western Washington, things GROW (and windfalls can land exactly on a stretch of trail and hide a switchback, too). I had my straight handled Busse Steelheart II on my web gear. It made an effective chopper, even when literally crawling through brush. But it can still slice groceries. And it fits on my harness.
Back when my family had a Packer and Guide service, we used a nice short thick-bladed folding machete a bit from the saddle. Good tool. A competing Packer favored his USMC Hospital Corps knife. Just a bit heavier, but one heck of a chopper.
If I'm actually building anything, I'll want a hatchet or small axe. It's easier to chop and hammer. But only the smallest hatchets are easy to carry on one's belt or harness. Also, there are some very nice little packable saws to compliment a short machete.
It still comes down to what you're doing and what else you expect to have with you. But I'm leaning toward the short thick "chopper" machete. Besides, it must be able to take a zombie's head off, right?
"You don't expect governments to obey the law because of some higher moral development. You expect them to obey the law because they know that if they don't, those who aren't shot will be hanged."
--Michael Shirley
for survival id take a nice heavy duty machete. but if im going out long term into the woods and expect to be cutting down trees im taking an axe
"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds." --Sam Adams
PAUL-NUGENT 2012
USAF april 19th 2011-_____
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
