I have been chatting with a good friend and fellow ETSer on this subject. He stopped carrying a hatchet for light outings and has opted for the kukri machete instead. not to discourage axes, as they have their place. but as a suitable balance between weight and function he switched. I really liked his use of the term suitable balance so we talked more.

I asked what his reasons were and I got these reasons and comparisons:

.hatchet has less chance of breaking
.kukri can dig. not like a E -tool, but it can dig.
.hatchet is heavier, but kukri chops almost as good for half the cost in weight.
.easier to replace hatchet handle if broken
.easier to resharpen the kukri
.easier to carry the kukri
.safer to use the kukri
.kukri can be lashed to a stick to have a longer reach for cutting through thorn bushes, over head stuff etc
.kukri can be used to stir up coals in a fire etc due to its length
.by using a wood club a kukri can be used to make splits safer than with a hatchet, an just as easy
.kukri can cut weeds, grass, brush etc where a hatchet is totally unsuitable. it can still be used to cut respectible sized wood.
. kukri can stab and chop and smash where an axe can only chop and smash
. hatchet makes a better hammer, bar none
. kukri usually costs more, sometimes considerably more.
.as he tells me, the kukri can hold two edges. super sharp at the bottom, straight part and a working,chopping edge on the round curved part. this aparently gives you a lot of flexibility with more detailed tasks. like strippin bark or making wood shavings for tinder. a kukri is also much easier to use for cutting ropes or cloth in this way


I think this it it. there may be a few that it missed putting here. I cant argue with the guy I guess because he spends enough time out in the woods to know what he is talking about but I am still a bit undecided. part of me likes to argue with the guy though. we keep each other on the ball that way. I guess to each his own but we are all here because no one has all the answers.

for the purpose of this I am refering to camping, hiking, hunting, in a BOB etc but NOT for military use.

I have a gerber back pax http://www.cabelas.com/ but have been giving some thought to his way of thinking. the pax is a bit too short to get a good swing. I was therefor contemplating buying this as he uses one similar with great results http://www.coldsteel.com/

what do you guys think about this debate?
anyone have one of these san mai kukris? are they as good as the hype?

I don't have a san mai kukri, mine is one I picked up in the philippines. I have never owned one of the gerber axes and won't buy one. A freind of mine bought one and got rid of it after one trip. We both tried it and it felt so unbalanced compared to a regular axe I almost cut my foot off with it. If your bound and determined to get one of these two get the kukri.

I have also considered the Cold Steel Kukri but they are expensive and most of the time I would not want to carry one as they are quite large, so grab peoples attention. I have a hatchet but never really carry it because of the weight. Unless I know that I will need to do some heavy chopping I just carry a good pocket saw and sheath knife as I have found that that combination works better for me. With my pocket saw I can cut through any small trees or branches much quicker than with a chopping implement. This may be just because I have limited experience with an ax though.

The main problem I foresee with the pocket saw is that the blade is thin and therefore prone to getting bent. I bent the blade on a Buckmaster(the Buckmaster's blade is thinner than the Buck's), but after straitening it it works fine again. I just do not know how long it will last. Also the file for sharpening them is expensive and delicate.

My personal leaning is toward the Kukri or one of the other similar knives, so some day I will probably either buy or make one.

I also plan to get a copy of Bushcraft by Mors L. Kochanski as Mr. Ritter says he has good information on using an ax.

I hope this helps a little bit.

Zechariah

I think it really depends on what you want to use it for. I have a Gerber axe like the one you listed and have used it many times with no problem at all. It is small and easy to stash away but can also perform the tasks I need it for.

This is a topic I've been mulling over a lot lately and I've come to a firm conclusion...it depends!

Now I've never tried the Kukri but my normal light weight hacking implement of choice is the Gerber Brush Machete...IMO similar to the Kukri. It's a bit different than the Kukri shapewise and not as beefy but it's served me well. One frustration I've had is when i go camping or hiking in areas like national parks where wood is available for fires pre-cut and ready to go...if you can split it. This wood can be wet, knotty, or otherwise horrible. It can be super hard to split this wood with a machete...the blade is so thin that you have to slice through and don't actually split anything. I also carry a Gerber Gator folding saw but I don't like the fact that I can't sharpen it in the field and I've bent 2 blades already this winter. The blades are only 5 bucks but I barely get 2 trips out of them before something happens.

Despite my thoughts about the dangers of axes and hatchets, I've ordered the Snow & Nealley gift set from Cabela's (and it shipped the day before yesterday...yay!). An 18 inch 'kindling' axe (basically their standard Hudson by axe head in an 18" handle suitably shaped for one hand use) and a one hand splitting maul (same 18" handle but with a beefcake 3lb. splitting maul head). I'm hoping that with this trifecta I can cover all the angles. The maul will cover the big splitting jobs (also great for car camping with the wife) but still be short enough to pack in and the axe will be middle ground when I need something lighter than the maul, still a decent splitter, AND a proper chopper that will out chop the machete. Plus I'll still have the light weight standby, the machete, for back country stuff where the most cutting I'll need to do is to break up some already dead , scrounged wood for a fire.

Ultimately I've decided that there is no perfect tool for these tasks. Each has it's strong points...and weaknesses. Time will tell if I've made the right choice because the only way to be completely sure is to use them all and make your own comparison. The trick is selecting the right tool when you leave the house because you can rarely take all of them (Lord knows I've tried)...though you can put all of them in the trunk and decide later

Before you spend a lot of money on Khukri,take a look at M40's Survival (www.m4040.com)site. He links to a source of cheap authentic Ghurka Khukri's and gives directions on how to modify it a bit to make it handle better.

M40 has made me wish for at least a look at the apparently no-longer-available Becker Brute for all the reasons discussed so far.

Alas, yet another compromising decision...

Not only do I need to choose between a hatchet or a knife, but even between different types of hatchets. Is a lighter, one piece hatchet going to do the job, or do I need the heavy hunter's style with the short handle and the 1 lb head? Is a Khukri blade going to do the job, or will my big brute Busse Battle Mistress be a better choice? Sigh, it's almost as bad as picking one of my pistols out for my daily carry (arrghh, don't get me started on that one!).

Hacksaw's response is most appropriate. There is not going to be one implement that gets it all done better than the rest. If you can't or don't want to carry more than one, then you are going to have to settle for some sort of compromise based on what you think is going to serve you best for the situation you are liable to face.

Sometimes having to pick one from my collection is worse than only having just one, you know what I mean?

Way back in the 70s I bought an authentic British Army issue kukri from the Ghurka regiment at reasonable cost. Just write to 'the Ghurka Regiment, british Army, England' and it will get there eventually. Gave it my brother eventually as it's a useless item for British camping.
People here in the UK keep purely decorative soft steel unsharpened kukris on their walls. An intruder might be in for an unpleasant surprise when he meets the one on my brothers wall :-),
The Sock

Oops. I dont know if I mentioned it but for this whole debate I meant it as a tool strictly to be carried on your back for an extended hike/hunt. If you have access to your car trunk then of course you need an axe. I always have a full size axe in my truck, as well as a collapsable bow saw. I am only considering the kukri as a replacement to my pack axe when I am miles away from my truck and have to rely on what I can carry only.

otherwise there is no debate on the usefullness of a good axe. it is the best tool in the world to have in the woods if you dont have to hump it far.