Machetes, Kukris & Hybrids

yep....was the Ghurka, not the Japanese Imperial Army

 

Why 42... Dear freind...shield brother....I dare say you doubt me.

 

i could be wrong on the soldiers heads the ghurkas lopped off....they might have been japanese. Digging thru my history books as wee speak....

 

I want

1) file
2) stone(s)
3) strop​

Got tied up at work -- editing my newest video on the iMac (like a makuk computer).
Didn't shoot photos of my current mystery steel makuk as I'd planned.

I'll do it tomorrow ...

 

Down in Texas, they don't have rocks (glacial erratics, we call them here) in the soil. It's all alluvial fans down there ... the fine stuff that washed off the big ice sheets and traveled hundreds of miles south rather than dropping straight down like a stone .. If he lived up here, and cut near the ground, he'd know what you mean.

 

I give you grief brother, nothing more. . I use a diamond rod to push the edge dings back in line, and carbide to to re-cut the edge when needed, ceramic to bring the edge to the pictured paper cutting sharp. I would have freind Stone get a tuned up edge from you, and hopefully NOT lay an arm or shin open with it.

 

1:10 am. It's now tmw.

 

Is that a Schrade? If so then it actually does have some good reviews. I have not handled one myself. Can you post some specs on it? Lenght, thickness? Steel?

 

Yes, a Schrade Kukri Machete. As has been pointed out, it's not really a kukri, but a machete with a vaguely kukri-esque shape. But so far, I like it. The first Schrade tool that I'd bought in years -- actually decades -- was their folding shovel. I'm still quite impressed with it. Then I tried their small hatchet (11") -- but only until I can afford one of the new ESEE hatchets by Mr. Gibson. (That will have to wait a while.) I was less impressed with the hatchet, but still not bad for the money.

So I thought I'd try this one, and so far, so good. Steel is 3CR13. It's pretty soft; hit a rock, it's going to ding. But then the ding comes out easily. I don't plan to dig with it at all, especially up here in this glacial til that's full of rocks.

OAL = 19.7", blade is 13". Handle is therefore big enough for two handed use (especially for me since I have small hands). Weight is about 1 lb, 5 or 6 ounces. It's a chunky piece of steel, but balances well -- balance point is about 3" in front of the handle. Thickness max around 3/16".

It got some pretty good reviews on various sites, but it also got panned by at least a few. There are several who claim it snapped close to the handle. When I look at it, I really have trouble believing that unless they were trying to leverage a bulldozer with it. But we'll see.

Again, what appeals to me about it and other hybrids is that slight downward angle toward the tip. I can't really explain it, but it positively affects my chopping. I had access to a Kabar Kukri several years ago for about 2 weeks. I just couldn't get the hang of it. Plus the sheath was a PITA. Just seems like too much blade, and was unwieldly. This one is not; swinging it feels more natural, and the forward weight helps -- but it's less forward weight than a hatchet.

Sheath is nothing to write home about, but does the trick. Came with a strap for carrying on your back (which I don't) and two leg straps that barely wrap around my skinny legs. Also has a little removable pouch with a 400 grit diamond stone and a fairly decent ferro rod. I strapped the pouch with the stone on some molle on my pack, and moved the ferro into a fire kit (I have several). With all the straps removed, the sheathed makuk slips right into a side channel on my Halftrack.

I need to get serious with it and see how easily it processes wood. But the main reason I wanted this hybrid is for brush and weeds along my trails, and it's making those super easy to get rid of. My hypothesis is that it'll make a decent three season tool for camp/trail; I'd still prefer an axe for anything winter (when I'm not going to be chopping weeds anyway).

I'll keep you posted.

As I wrote above, now what I'm doing is reading and watching as many tutorials about safe use as I can. One could lose a limb without some care.

Oh, and I think I'm still going to try out one of the CS makuks, the one we were discussing last evening. It's a hair lighter and thinner, and a slightly more pronounced downward bend, but still not full bend kukri -- which again, didn't work for me.

 

If I wanted to start anew, chopper, sheaths, the whole kit and kaboodle. I would go with this one. 14" blade about 1/8" thick. I would trim and round that strange looking quillion to just a bump though. . These SA made chete' are a good deal for the $$ IMHO.

 

Part of my motivation for getting a couple of straighter (less curved) hybrids is to see if I can work up to a comfort level with one ^that^ curved forward. I'm not sure what the problem was for me with the one (closer to) real kukri (shape) -- that Kabar -- but something just didn't click for me. I guess if I grew up in Nepal, I'd have gained a better sense of use. But for me, it was too much curved all at once. Hence, hybrid. We'll see if this older dog can learn some new tricks.

 

a very interesting thread

 

09.22.18. Another dull Saturday night w/o a social life.
(But then, I live in northern Maine where there are no cities, so I'm good with it. )

So, I resorted to Youtube to see what I could learn about machetes, kukris and hybrids.

After ten or so, I found this gem. New respect for the Kabar.

And, I reluctantly confess, I fondled my Schrade much of the time,
and have -- as a result -- learned tons (well, pounds or ounces)
about its dynamics. Pinch grip. 45 deg cuts away from body.

 

^ Whip it! ^

 

What just happened ^right upstream^ is a fine example of why this forum for me, since 2011, has been the best site on the Internet. It got me through several years of sheer hell. (You can't even imagine.) There are appropriate constraints here -- no politics, no religion (thank you) -- but sometimes, out of the blue, out of the box,
cool chit just happens from mods and admins.
{Just ask how Expat crashed the corporate jet. Pics!)

Love it.

OK, kukris, machetes & hybrids. What else we got?

 

Now you're getting it. You unlock that elbow and bullwhip it. There's a pic somewhere of Jeff Randall down in S America whaling on a log that shows it perfectly. Give me a few minutes and I'll find it.

 

< ... laughing uncontrollably, waiting patiently ... >