My first machete?

[bushcraftboy]

Will the Gerber Gator Junior be a good machete?

http://www.greenmanbushcraft.co.uk/cutting-tools/machetes/gerber-gator-machete-jr.htm

Is it stainless?, rust resistant, because I don;t want to have to look after it, like I look after my Clipper 840MG.

[Adam Savage]

If you intend on using it a lot, the rubber grip on the handle will probably give you blisters. It also depends what you want to chop with it. If you want to hack away at thick branches and the like (possibly split a few logs) then you're better off with a nice heavy, thick, deepish blade, like a golok. If you want to cut willow wands and hazel shoots, etc (up to around an inch-inch and a half), then a thinner blade will require less effort.

Most machetes will last for ages, with minimal care (especially the british army golok). The easiest way is to keep an oily rag in the shed/garage/knife room :), to wipe them with, each time you take them out.

Oh and the Gerber is carbon steel :)

[Adam Savage]

Just had a look see, and here's a nice, cheap, stainless machete...

http://www.lmpenterprises.co.uk/20-inch-outdoor-camping-machete-844-p.asp

http://www.lmpenterprises.co.uk/ekmps/shops/pearl/images/machete-598488-enwwmpro1[ekm]500x500[ekm].jpg

[bushcraftboy]

Well I maily will be doing light work, you know, preparing kindling, chopping small branches...

[Adam Savage]

For that sort of work, I use a cheapo Tramontina. One like they sell at Greenmans (here) (http://www.greenmanbushcraft.co.uk/cutting-tools/machetes/brazilian-machete-carbon-steel.htm). It is carbon steel, but it's not hugely expensive to replace, should it ever fail on you. The only useless part of them is the PVC sheath, so you might want to reinforce it, or make a decent one. The blades themselves go on for years though.

[bushcraftboy]

Well I wanted to get the Gerber Gator Jr, because it's smaller, essentially I wanted a bigger knife, with capabilities of a small machete, which is what it does.

[Silverback]

If you want one bigger than a knife and smaller than a full on parang/machete like a tramontina then you would be hard pressed to find anything better than a British Army issue Golok except probably a martindale Golok but they are bigger.

I have an issue machete, and it has served me well and continues to do so and it is available cheaper than the gerber

[bushcraftboy]

If you want one bigger than a knife and smaller than a full on parang/machete like a tramontina then you would be hard pressed to find anything better than a British Army issue Golok except probably a martindale Golok but they are bigger.

I have an issue machete, and it has served me well and continues to do so and it is available cheaper than the gerber

Greenman sell the Web-Tex British army machete. The curved blade puts me off.

[Adam Savage]

I have to agree with Mr Sapper on that one. The BA golok will last forever, has a heafty blade width, a good quality sheath, small enough to handle in tight spaces (it was designed for dense jungle remember :)) and it can be ground to a fine edge, or left as a chunky convex.

[Adam Savage]

The curved blade delivers more of your chopping force to the work piece, and also reduces the chance of hitting your knuckles slightly.

[Silverback]

Greenman sell the Web-Tex British army machete. The curved blade puts me off.

Its curved for a reason, like the parang or the khukri. The curved edge right in the middle is for heavy chopping work. The point can be honed to razor sharpness for fine work, even skinning and the heel of the blade for slicing and draw cutting, ie plant matter and vegetables for instance. The web tex is a variation of the Martindale Golok which is legendary in its performance

[bushcraftboy]

Ok, I'll buy the BA machete, thanks once again guys!

[Adam Savage]

No problems buddy. Just hate to see you buy the Gerber and end up hating the decision. The others may not look as modern, but they do their job very, very well. :)

[Silverback]

Ok, I'll buy the BA machete, thanks once again guys!

you're welcome.

[Silverback]

No problems buddy. Just hate to see you buy the Gerber and end up hating the decision. The others may not look as modern, but they do their job very, very well. :)

If it looks stupid but works, then it aint stupid. Murphys Law of combat ops number 19 i think

[Adam Savage]

If it looks stupid but works, then it aint stupid. Murphys Law of combat ops number 19 i think

Exactly T^

[Adam Savage]

It's number 6 on this list


6. If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.

http://www.military-quotes.com/murphy.htm

[happybonzo]

For that sort of work, I use a cheapo Tramontina. One like they sell at Greenmans (here) (http://www.greenmanbushcraft.co.uk/cutting-tools/machetes/brazilian-machete-carbon-steel.htm). It is carbon steel, but it's not hugely expensive to replace, should it ever fail on you. The only useless part of them is the PVC sheath, so you might want to reinforce it, or make a decent one. The blades themselves go on for years though.

I use a Tramontina for brash clearing and coppicing. It was stinking cheap; just wish that I had the time and skill to make a new sheath for it.

[LandRoverMatt]

have a £6
marksman machete its excellent for me

[Adam Savage]

I use a Tramontina for brash clearing and coppicing. It was stinking cheap; just wish that I had the time and skill to make a new sheath for it.

I'll have a look and see what the easiest/cheapest/most effective way of making a sheath for them is. A lot of folk tend to just wrap a load of duct tape around the standard sheath, maybe with a folded piece of plastic over the....well...were the welt should be, but I'll try and find something nice looking and get back to you on that. :)


have a £6
marksman machete its excellent for me

Bargain mate. I have seen some of them at the local market. They seem to be made pretty tough actually for the price.

[happybonzo]

@crazysaint222 - Many thanks for that

[Adam Savage]

No worries mate. You might not hear from me until after Wednesday, as I'm off to Dartmoor again tomorrow for a few days.

[Metal mug]

Kindling knifes are quite good as a small machete thing.

[Adam Savage]

@crazysaint222 - Many thanks for that

I've been looking around at sheath materials/possibles, and the most cost effective, strong, fairly decent looking, is a black PVC tube, heated with a hot air gun and moulded in the same way as kydex. You can trim off the excess to make it sheath shaped, and rivet (with either rivets or eyelets) to hold it together. A wide leather strap (from an old pair of boots, or something similar) to use as the closure.
Which Tramontina model do you use? If it's the £7-£10 model, they sell at Greenman's (http://www.greenmanbushcraft.co.uk/cutting-tools/machetes/brazilian-machete-carbon-steel.htm), then I can make you a sheath up and pop it in the post.

[CanadianMike]

I actually had my Webtex BA golok break on me last camping trip, as some know I put a great edge on it and fell in love with the way it slices and chops, and we were using it to baton firewood, and next day I found the blade was wobbly in the handle, yet the heavy duty rivets were intact. Moved the blade more and a chunk of metal fell out of the handle............. and turned it almost into a folding knife!!! Can you believe that in between the rivet holes, they milled out a rectangle leaving about 6mm of steel left top and bottom?!?!? WHY!?!?!?!?! The blade side broke off from both, and the top part was the one that fell out, the bottom still attached to the rear. I used Gorilla glue to fix it, blade still moves a bit but it's semi usable. So, I'm going to buy some 5mm O-1 steel and make my own that won't fail, and will heat treat it softer than I do my knives. Love the design (except the handle), works very well for me, and already have a sheath........ so why not?

[Adam Savage]

Wow. That tang design does sound dumb. Like you say.."WHY?"..it's not like they are saving much steel from all those little pieces. I'm pretty sure the genuine British army model is solid tang. If I rehandle mine at any point, I will investigate this matter.
Making your own sounds like a great idea Mike. I'm thinking of making a Lofty Wiseman survival tool clone. Just need to get a bit more practice in before I embark on that route lol.

[CanadianMike]

Who knows why they did it, it's dumb, even if to cut back on weight a little bit (heck, holes in the blade would have done more), but at one point I was trying to take a rivet out with zero success in order to put a different handle on, but knew it'd be too difficult due to the handle not being full tang to the butt, so I'd have to figure out a way to cut 3/4 of the way down a piece of wood. Lame!

[Adam Savage]

The way we used to cut "slots" (for want of a better word) in pieces of timber, when I worked as a carpenter/joiner, was to set the blade of a circular saw to the right depth, take the guard off, then pass the wood over the top. Giving a constant depth of groove, all the way down the piece. Another method is to use a handheld biscuit jointer, rather than a bench mounted blade.

[CanadianMike]

What I meant was, how would I do it without having to acquire more power tools............ ;)

[Adam Savage]

What I meant was, how would I do it without having to acquire more power tools............ ;)

Oh...well in that case, I can't help you :D

But it would give you an excuse to buy more toys...:p

[CanadianMike]

Lol, damn it Jim, I'm a knife maker, not a carpenter!!!!!

[Adam Savage]

Lol, damn it Jim, I'm a knife maker, not a carpenter!!!!!

We just dinny have the poower...tools!!!!!

[CanadianMike]

Lol, and I don't have the room in the garage, my girlfriend would boot my ass out if I added more things with cords to my little space. Is seriously a tangle of cords in there now on and beside my workbench, too many powered things from sander to belt grinder to shop vacuum to toaster oven....... Dremel........... lighting, bench drill, hand drill........... ugh!!

[Adam Savage]

I know what you mean buddy. I have a similar problem. Everything has to be moved around, from storage space to working space, then back again lol.

[CanadianMike]

Is a big reason I (and likely you) went for the small scale, fully moveable, yet highly effective route. I can pack everything I need including camping gear into the back of my Toyota 4Runner and head off to airsoft games and show friends and colleages how to make knives throughout the day while they (and occasionally I may get back into it for hunting sake) play. Add in the cheap........ my first year of knife making was spent using a small folding workbench in the garage and the dining room table for leatherwork. She wasn't impressed at the size of the workbench I bought a few months ago, until I rearranged the garage giving me a corner to do most, instead of spread out over the floor. And, I said, It'd help me keep the dining room table free of sheath making clutter (we eat in the kitchen 95% of the time). She hasn't bugged me since....... but currently I have two CF-29 Toughbooks on the dining room table and various computer adaptors, mouse, headphones, etc. So at least I kept to my promise. Lol

[Adam Savage]

Lol

[Opal]

I bought one of these a few years back to do some work in the garden

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd90/opaldan/brushcutter2.jpg

decided to cut it down a bit so I could use it when I go fishing traveling through some dense growth, I filled the holes where the bolts were with sawdust but will put my own handle on when I get round to it, I love the length now and well used on clearing thick ivy which was covering the walls.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd90/opaldan/brushcutter.jpg

[Metal mug]

I bought one of these a few years back to do some work in the garden

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd90/opaldan/brushcutter2.jpg

decided to cut it down a bit so I could use it when I go fishing traveling through some dense growth, I filled the holes where the bolts were with sawdust but will put my own handle on when I get round to it, I love the length now and well used on clearing thick ivy which was covering the walls.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd90/opaldan/brushcutter.jpgIt reminds me of a kindling knife.

[Opal]

What's a kindling knife? excuse my ignorance. :)

[Metal mug]

Here's a couple of pictures. I've got one it's quite old. I think Morris of Devon does a model but they seem to be quite rare now which is a shame. Sometimes they're called a kindling axe, which is confusing.