Does anyone use a machete to clear walking trails?

[Dargo]

Of all the tools, firearms, pocket knives etc. that I own, I've never owned a machete. I just purchased another 5 and a half acres of property a mile or so from my home and it's 100% woods with plenty of undergrowth that has thorns. Yeah, I'm sure you know how I know that now. Anyway, I now feel that I have an actual need for a machete. Since this is a tool (or I suppose it could be a weapon, but that is by no means something I intend to use it for) that I've never used nor researched I thought I'd be lazy and use the brain trust here on TBN to tell me what to look for and what to avoid.

I just want to be able to cut thorny growth and the occasional kudzu vine that is going up a tree. I'm quite aware that the kudzu will just grow back, but I want to at least set it back a few months anyway. I've seen what appears to be a decent machete here Gerber® Gator® Machete – #41576 - Sportco for a relatively cheap price. Again, this isn't something I want as a collector item and intend to use it for what I described. Thoughts?

 

[tommu56]

A friend of mine has a woodsmans pal and swears by it I havent tried one though but it keps luriking in the back of my barin to get one.

The Original WOODMAN'S PAL Machete


tom

 

[Bird]

As with many, if not most, tools, there is a learning process to use a machete efficiently. When I first bought one, I tried striking straight blows as you would with an axe or a hatchet. That does not work very well, but then I observed some fellows who knew how to use theirs clearing mesquite brush and they were even chopping down 2" or larger saplings. So when I learned to swing it, but strke with just a bit of a slicing motion at the moment of impact . . . WOW, that was a very handy tool. The one I used was another brand (don't remember the name), but similar to the Gerber in the link provided. That "Original Woodman's Pal" looks good, but I've never seen one in use or known anyone who had one.

 

[LMTC]

It has been decades, but for a time I cut my way through a veritable jungle of multiflora and wild grape. I say get one like the woodsman thing listed, that has a back hook on it. Way too many times I'd make a cut and find it difficult to pull it back...the back hook/edge helped. BTW, be very, very careful. It's all too easy to over-estimate the force needed and find a powerful swing downward now on it's way back toward your lower leg. Or maybe I'm just clumsy.

Eventually I did more and more of this kind of clearing with a really small lightweight chain saw, 10 or 12" bar. Still have to watch out for kickback.

 

[studor]

I have a couple that sit in the tractor carryall that I use all the time. One is a cheapy chinese job that is good but a little light, the other is an old mower blade that someone lovingly sharpened and put handles on (I bought it for a $ at a farm auction). As Bird pointed out it does take some practice to use effectively but once you get the hang of it they are the best thing going for removing small limbs and tough weeds. Even though the machete doesn't need gas, I find that I tend to run out of it after a couple of hours of use

 

[MossRoad]

When I was about 10-12 years old, my dad stuck a machete in my hands and told me to trim the small stuff from the branches that had fallen in a severe storm while he cut the big stuff with a bow saw. He told me to cut the branches on the other side of the log, so that the log was always between the machete and my leg on the down stroke. So, I would walk down the right side of a log while whacking the branches off the left side of the log. He stressed to me that if I missed, I would cut my leg clean off.

I did my best. So well, that I got used to it. I got used to it to the point that dad let me take the machete out any time I wanted to go bushwhacking through the woods and fields in our neighborhood.

Looking back on it, my dad was a loon! Giving a machete to a 12 year old.

Them things are dangerous, but very handy once you know how to use it. Just be sure that if you miss your target or the blade is somehow deflected that it isn't going to come down on your foot, shin or thigh.

I took possession of dad's machete after he passed away. I have never used it since. I opt for a light chainsaw or the brush hog on my Power Trac. Maybe I should get it out and sharpen it up just for old time's sake.

 

[HCJtractor]

I have cleared miles of trails and roads as you described. In my opinion, machetes are worthless. (I started with one, hated it). First of all, they are ineffective at cutting anything bigger than a small vine. Even then, your hand is too close to the action, and any briars or thorns will cut you. Also if you hit anything hard, it will send a tingle up you arm and hurt your hand. After several swings, this adds up and your hand will ache. It also is easy to glance off and injure yourself. Don't waste your money. What you need in a hand implement is a brush axe or what some people call a ditch bank blade. They are sold at True Value hardwares and even Home Depot has a version. Don't get the kind with a cast metal head, for they have terrible balance. The kind you want is one with a metal blade that is held to the handle with 3 or 4 bolts. They come in many sizes, and the larger ones are capable of cutting fairly thick trees (up to 3") with one swing. But for general use, get a lighter midsize one. I always hike with mine and use it as a walking stick, a spider web buster in the summer, and to clear vines, kudzu, small trees, limbs, etc. Use it a lot for shooting lanes, if you hunt. With one downward strike, you can strip limbs from one side of a tree along a road or shooting lane. You will be tempted to use it as an axe and tackle bigger hardwoods, but I've split many handles this way. I keep several handles on hand and when used hard, will use one or two a year. But it's way better than a machete. New ones always need to be sharpened first before use. They have two cutting edges. The inside edge along the "hook" will be your primary cutting edge. Once you become proficient, and learn to strike at a diagonal, you can slice through a 3" pine with one blow. If you did that with a machete, your hand would be hurting. By the way, the Home Depot version is not my favorite, is a little too big, and not as well made, but I have several and it is adequate. I find the best ones at feed and seed type stores.

For serious trailblazing or road work, my favorite is the Stihl Kombi system with the chain saw attachment. Kind of expensive, but nothing will clear paths like it does. If you are doing clearing through briars or kudzu or vines, the adjustable hedge trimmers that fits on the Kombi motor also works great. I use all 3 of these regularly, depending on what kind of vegatation I am going through. But for general hiking around, the brush axe can't be beat. Hope this helps.

 

[Flatheadyoungin]

when i was about 12 and we had just moved to the country, i got myself a machete......i loved that thing........seemed to cut real good...

FFwd to when we closed on the property last october.....i pulled out a machete that i bought off of my neighbor that had passed away. i put a nice sharp edge on it and threw it in the truck along with all my other brush murdering devices........man, i couldn't get it to cut anything! it wasn't nearly as efficient as i had remembered.......i'd say i just don't know the technique, like was stated earlier.....i never took it back out there with me...

a few months later, i was helping a buddy of mine cut some trees down.....after we felled a few trees, he pulled a sheath out of his atv and said, 'here, you'll like this..." i was thinking, oh man, i don't want to trash his wimpy little machete.......however, when he pulled it out it had a curved bird beak styled tip to it and it was on the sharp edge....i was still very skeptical.....SHOOT, that thing was awesome! i couldn't put it down....it lopped of large, green branches in a single fairly easy swing....it was made by gerber and he said it was about $25 at the smokey mountain knife works a few years ago....i couldn't find it on gerber's site but fiskars makes one that looks identical....i think their's is about $50.........

i want one....

edit: hey, here it is.......he told me wrong on the price.....

Gerberｮ Brush Thinner Machete with Sheath


edit II: here it is a bit cheaper....no sheath, though...i'd want the sheath to protect it and yourself....that sharp point, pointing at you, would wreak havoc on your shin bone!

Gerber 22-41061 Brush Thinner Machete with Sheath

 

[HCJtractor]

That Gerber does look useful. The blade is exactly like the brush axe blade. For light duty use, I am sure it would be handy. For heavier use or when briars or thorns could tear up you hand, I like the bigger, long handle version better. You can swing it with two hands and reach down to the ground to cut off small trees at ground level. Either is better than a machete.

 

[Dargo]

Thanks guys. I have the Stihl Kombi system which works great for keeping the limbs from my pin oaks from getting me but is too cumbersome to carry around when walking. I found a good deal on a small hatchet and the Gerber brush thinner at a local lawn care store. He isn't going to carry that sort of stuff anymore and said he'd sell me the Gerber hatchet and the Gerber brush thinner both for $40, brand new with a sheath for both.

It sounds like I need to learn the technique for best cutting now.