Just for SwampDonkey I'm going to start a thread just for our hooked brush machetes.

In another post I mentioned how I love it but it's not great for chopping wood.

Well today I spent the afternoon at Elk Island National Park and was pretty surprised with it's performance. Being a national park, cutting down small trees for wood is a no-no but they supply firewood in bins for park use.

Unfortunately they're not on their game this winter and the bin was empty. After plowing through knee deep know and checking every fire pit I found some logs and proceeded to try and chop them.

I had much better luck today than in the summer as frozen wood is more splittable than the wet and green summer wood that is pretty common around here. Some of it was pretty knotty and I still managed to get enough Kindling to get a small fire going in the tiny park fire pits. I didn't even have to baton it but I could have if I'd chosen to.

Another thought I had about this tool:

The handle is hollow. I wonder if that could be used for storage. There is a model of Gerber axe which has a saw in the handle. I could likely put a small saw blade inside or a wire/chain style saw. Seems like a good combo.

Hi Hacksaw,

Thanks for thinking of me by mentioning one of my favourite bush tools, the brush hook machete.

I tried to generate some discussion on the Forum in them before but had limited success.
Old post located here http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=9271&Number=101246#Post101246

The two examples I have are the:

Fiskars Brush Axe seen here http://www.fiskars.com/webapp/wcs/stores...productId=10532 (mine is a 25 year old version with a tighter hooked tip and solid handle, still in great shape after a lot of hard use)

and the Wetterlings Clearing Blade seen here http://www.fiskars.com/webapp/wcs/stores...productId=10532

I find these very useful tools and I often carry mine in my right hand when traveling the many hunting trails I frequent. Without stopping I quickly lop away the new brush that projects out from the right side of the trail, I do not cut every sapling on the first pass as I walk these trails a couple times during the pre-season each year and I cut some each time I go by. On the return trip I clear the other side of the trail.

After a while you learn the slashing stroke required to cut the brush without having to anchor it at the top, if you catch the stem in the hook it is cut through easily.

The curved belly of the blade is like the Parang shown in John "Lofty" Wisemans S.A.S. Survival Manual but the tip is hooked instead of pointed.

I often let my teenaged son use the brush hook to clear out shooting lanes as I install a treestand. Like all cutting tools it's use becomes more dangerous as the blade dulls and you become tired. Sure enough for just those reasons, a couple of years ago my son managed to hit the back of his support hand with the brush hook blade. The cut was not too large or deep and I managed to patch him up in the field with band-aids, shop towels and some duct tape (he now shows off the scar like a tough guy). We did mamage to shoot a deer each from that stand last fall, through the shooting lanes that he had created.

The brush hook machete is not as vestatile as a small axe as it works best on trees under 3 inches diameter and does not split wood apart like a wedge shaped head. But for the job of hand clearing brush, cutting small material around a camp or for shelter building it does an excellent job.

Mike

P.S. I really need to learn how to post pictures on this Forum!

Good idea Hacksaw,

But both of my brush hooks have solid handles, the new ones are hollow.

Mike

This isn't a hooked blade, but since most of the talk here seems to be about splitting wood (something I suspect that the hooked portion of the blade would be pretty useless for anyway), I'm gonna throw this in, not with the intent to hijack anything. Better than most hatchets, the US Medical Corp bolo is fantastic for splitting. I just wish I had bought them all when I used to see them in Army Surplus stores when I was a kid, for about $5 brand new...

Hi OBG,

That US Military machete looks handy also; a short, stiff, tough bush working tool that is not to awkward to carry or use.

Your reference to a military machete reminded me of one I have in the basement that is a folding model. The blade is about 12 inches long and folds back on the about 6 inch handle. I think the blade locks with a heavy liner lock.

I think it was made in England during WW II and I saw one for sale at a gun show last fall for $150.00!

Mike

Surplus stores used to have those folders for about $5 too. If only my crystal ball had been working back then! I am still hoping to get another of the USMC bolos (I don't have mine anymore), but refuse to pay $150 or so for one. A few years ago my wife got me a US 1917 bolo. It is almost as good a chopper as the USMC, and thanks to its shape can actually be used as a knife. A really big knife...

OBG, the hooked part of the blade is completely useless for chopping...but fortunately the flat section is broad enough to get into quite a bit of wood chopping wise. What makes it a poor chopper is it's lack of weight and lack of a 'wedge' shape like an axe or hatchet. It slices deep into wood but you have to go end to end...the wood won't 'split' unless you do.

As someone who is constantly up to no good in the woods I carry a good chopping tool. I had a Gerber machete like yours and promptly found it to be a little too light and flimsy for my needs. In fact, I snapped it off. Oops. I replaced it with the Cold steel Kukri machete which chops better than most hatchets of twice the weight. Unlike the hook types this one can also be used to chip through ice when ice fishing, and makes a great improvised digging tool. The back of the blade is great at smashing the hell out of stuff when you don't want to cut it. It is quite thick and you would have to try fairly hard to break it. Best of all, it only cost me 30 bucks so when and if I do break it I will simply replace it. It holds quite the dammed edge as well. Together with a good field knife and my Gerber exchange-a-blade folding saw there is nothing I can’t chop, slash, rip , cut, pry, dig and smash my way out of in the woods.

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Hi Taurus,

Yep, I have one of those also (Cold Steel Utility Kukri Machete, the smaller version). I have a knife problem and I admit that freely.

I only used it a few times last fall when I kept it in the drivers door pocket of my truck. I often get to the end of a old road and have to cut a turn-around into the roadside alders/birch/poplar. I used the Kukri a few times to do this and was impressed with it even though it was only factory sharp (not very). I brought it into the house to sharpen it, put it somewhere and have not seen it since.

These cheap Kukri type machetes get a bad review on Knife Forums compaired to real Kukri's, but for the $25.00 (at LeBarons) it cost me it does just find. I do find the plastic handle a little rough and intend to smooth it down some.

The tool I usually have in the truck to cut back brush is a Sandvik Safety Brush Axe (may now be made by Bahco or Wetterlings). This has a thin blade mounted in a D-frame on a 28" handle. Because it is longer you can get more of a swing with it and take down trees up to about 6" dia. Useless for splitting wood though as it will only cut in about 6" before you hit the back of the D-frame. These are common with youth groups who do bush/trail work.

Mike