Posted: 12/23/2009 1:26:21 PM EDT
| I noticed a couple Gerber machetes at the local sporting goods store and was curious if anyone had any eperience with them? How is the quality and/or is there a better alternative out there? |
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I noticed a couple Gerber machetes at the local sporting goods store and was curious if anyone had any eperience with them? How is the quality and/or is there a better alternative out there? Look nice have never used one I have found Gerber to be a hit or miss company they have some nice knives and gear and others are junk. I have a Ontario machetes same as that was issued to me in the Marines and have used that in the jungles of Okinawa Japan and it was a great tool since then I have used it to cut brush and mesquite trees and its done a great job for me. |
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Can anyone point me to a better machete option? Looking to get one soon. GI one isnt bad, but I do not do a lot of machete-ing http://store.oldgrouch.biz/usgimachete.html made by ontario |
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Can anyone point me to a better machete option? Looking to get one soon. If you search machete threads here, this one was mentioned. I IM'd the OP in another thread, but he never responded. I bought one. All I can say is 
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Quoted: Quoted: Can anyone point me to a better machete option? Looking to get one soon. If you search machete threads here, this one was mentioned. I IM'd the OP in another thread, but he never responded. I bought one. All I can say is http://davesknifeworld.com/productimages/b/BA2GMBCS.jpg Link There is no way I could spend that much on a blade and use it to chop up stuff. That cane blade I posted has done me well and it was free. |
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Can anyone point me to a better machete option? Looking to get one soon. I think it was RAT that was showing off one at SHOT. They said $40. Had a nice Micarta handle. I gotta double check and make sure it was them. Yup, RAT, now ESEE knives... http://www.eseeknives.com/junglas_machete.htm This is the little machete, there is a lite version as well...I saw it at SHOT and it was about 18-20" IIRC. They were not available yet. |
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The Gerber brush hook is awesome. I use it to clear nasty brush in E TN and it just plain works. i love those.... planning to buy some. http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp58/buck19delta/brushthinner_TM.jpg i love their axes and hatchets too... very sharp.. You love them because they are not made by Gerber. The Gerber Brush Hook and their axes are made by Fiskars out of Sweden (or Finland, or one of those Scandinavian countries). And yeah, they are sweet! 
stasiman |
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if you're talking about the gerber gator with the saw on the back side, i have one. it's my first and only machette. my opinion is that if a branch/small tree is too thick to hack through with the blade, it'd be easier using an axe or a different saw. so what you are saying is the machete part of the machete saw is inadequate, and the saw part of the machete saw is not functional? Does the handle work? Great! I kind of figured this whole thing was all show and no work. |
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The Gerber brush hook is awesome. I use it to clear nasty brush in E TN and it just plain works. i love those.... planning to buy some. http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp58/buck19delta/brushthinner_TM.jpg i love their axes and hatchets too... very sharp.. You love them because they are not made by Gerber. The Gerber Brush Hook and their axes are made by Fiskars out of Sweden (or Finland, or one of those Scandinavian countries). And yeah, they are sweet!
stasiman Ouch. What's wrong w/ Gerber. I've got 3 of their multi tools and love em. |
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The Gerber brush hook is awesome. I use it to clear nasty brush in E TN and it just plain works. i love those.... planning to buy some. http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp58/buck19delta/brushthinner_TM.jpg i love their axes and hatchets too... very sharp.. You love them because they are not made by Gerber. The Gerber Brush Hook and their axes are made by Fiskars out of Sweden (or Finland, or one of those Scandinavian countries). And yeah, they are sweet!
stasiman Ouch. What's wrong w/ Gerber. I've got 3 of their multi tools and love em. I used to love Gerber for their quality, had a small lock-back that I carried for over 20years. More recently they have been out sourcing and their quality has suffered. 
stasiman |
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That Gerber Gator scares the crap out of me. I'd sure like to see a cross-guard of some kind to keep my tendons intact when I run that saw into a pinch and my sweaty palm slides through ten inches of serrated steel. And that Bush Blade looks cool, but an 11" blade on a machete? |
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I just picked up a few Cold Steel Kukri Magnum Machetes from fleabay ($16 with sheath). See http://www.coldsteel.com/kukrimachetes.html for a description.
Having used a Kukri a bit, I'm pretty pleased with them. If the Cold Steel models are anything like their reputation, I figure it's money very well spent. |
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I got the Cold Steel " 24" Latin Machette" on ebay for $8.95, and $5 or 6 for the sheath.....(sheath sucks, it's flimsy) but the machette is excellent.
24 inch Latin Machette |
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Ka-Bar Cutlass Machete Knife http://www.knifesupply.com/eshop/10Expand.asp?ProductCode=KA1248 |
I like the Gerber Machete. I've had mine for several years now and use it all the time. I really like the rubber handle compared to all the others that I've seen. It provides a firm grip even when wet. I fashioned a lanyard loop out of paracord through the hole in the handle and put my hand through it before grasping the handle. That way it stays in my hand while I'm using it. A few minutes with a file and the thing sharpened up to razor-like sharpness. The s.s. blade seems to hold an edge fairly well. I also think the scabbard is sturdy. The saw-back works pretty good on small branches and such, but isn't intended to cut lumber for your campfire. For the $20-$30 they want for the thing, you can't hardly lose on the deal. 
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Quoted: I picked up one on sale somewhere, it is OK, a bit too long for my taste. gets wobbly..it works but I would choose a decent cane knife over it dollar for dollar CHEF I worked for several years as a land surveyor in Louisiana. Down there, vegetation gets REALLY thick in the sub-tropical climate. When surveying, you need line of sight for the total station to get angle and distance measurements. In the course of my years working there, I have literally hacked my way through miles of growth in some of the hottest, most humid conditions on this continent. We used two tools to do this, ditch bank blades, and cane knives. I've tried using a regular machete, but they don't balance as well in the hand as a plain old $12 cane knife. The hook on the back of the blade is great for pulling vines and brambles to the side after you have slashed them. If you know how to sharpen them with a file, you can get them sharp enough to chop through a 2" sapling in one swipe. Eventually, the wooden handles can loosen up on them after a lot of chopping, then it's time to buy a new one. For $12 they're cheap enough. If you really want to go the machete route, you want one that's lightweight overall, is on the shorter side of the spectrum, and has most of it's weight out front. The big trouble with machetes is that they are so long they need to be made thicker than a cane knife, so they don't cut as efficiently, and it throws the balance off. |