[GTGallop]

So there are various threads on here about your favorite edged tool ranging from Swiss Army Knives to Leatherman to Bowie Knives to a Two Handed Celtic Claymore.
This isn't one of those threads.

Specifically - This is the Machete Thread.

I have often been fascinated with the different shapes and styles of this un-glorified and utilitarian go-to tool.
Styles and Uses of Machetes
Machete - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There seems to be a variation on the light weight medium sized utility blade from every corner of the world. What is your favorite size, shape, material, etc. What makes a good machete? As a young man (many moons ago) in Mineola, Texas, I worked a summer chopping weeds with one and have enough machete blisters to know what I DON'T want in a machete, but I wondered what works best for you where you live and in your environment.

Post up pics!
Include links!
Cite Facts and Give Opinions!

I want to build the ultimate end user contributed encyclopedia of all things Machete out of this thread.

 

[Leon]

I have an aguila chrome machete in the BOV, another in my BOB, a cane knife as seen in my '5 items for zombie apocalypse' video, and now I just got a camillus carnivore I have yet to play with. Machete is the mordern short sword, in fact in ancient China a sword was reffered to as a 'machete' I say machete all the way. I like mid-length machetes.

 

[Montana Rancher]

There may be areas that they are useful, I've lived my whole life without one and NEVER though "gee a machete would make this easier".

 

[GTGallop]

There may be areas that they are useful, I've lived my whole life without one and NEVER though "gee a machete would make this easier".

That is a fantastically interesting response - and I'm not making light either. I genuinely never expected that. What type of terrain are you in? Are you urban or rural? I mean now that I think about it - they make no sense to someone in an apartment, right?

For me, I've been swinging a machete, ax or swing blade ever since I was twelve. I grew up in East Texas and rode around in my dads truck in the oil field. When I got out of high school I did a stint for 6 years in Huntsville, Texas (at Sam Houston State University - Not the prison), and then went on to live in the Spring / Conroe area of Houston. There has always been dense out of control vegetation at my feet. I've avoided chopping it as much as possible (more out of laziness than any environmental concern) but sometimes - and by sometimes I mean more often than not - it need chopping, whacking, felling or splitting. I couldn't imagine life with out a machete and I've been through my fair share of them.

 

[Montana Rancher]

That is a fantastically interesting response - and I'm not making light either. I genuinely never expected that. What type of terrain are you in? Are you urban or rural? I mean now that I think about it - they make no sense to someone in an apartment, right?

For me, I've been swinging a machete, ax or swing blade ever since I was twelve. I grew up in East Texas and rode around in my dads truck in the oil field. When I got out of high school I did a stint for 6 years in Huntsville, Texas (at Sam Houston State University - Not the prison), and then went on to live in the Spring / Conroe area of Houston. There has always been dense out of control vegetation at my feet. I've avoided chopping it as much as possible (more out of laziness than any environmental concern) but sometimes - and by sometimes I mean more often than not - it need chopping, whacking, felling or splitting. I couldn't imagine life with out a machete and I've been through my fair share of them.

Haha
I'm in western Montana and do a lot of a outdoor activities. For back packing it isn't worth the weight, for horse packing we bring a buck saw for deadfall, for hunting I don't see a use at all that a small folding saw cant do.

I love and own several types of axes, now that's a tool for many adventures.

 

[Blademaker]

If I were to carry a machete, I'd go with a Kukri style like this:



Weight forward design for chopping brush, kindling, campfire wood.

 

[Blinddog]

I own two machetes, one Tramotina full sized and one Gerber Gator Jr. mid sized. Plus a Gerber camp axe II.

 

[JPARIZ]

There may be areas that they are useful, I've lived my whole life without one and NEVER though "gee a machete would make this easier".

I get that but really... how many times in a single lifetime does a person wade thru a pack of Zombies?

 

[Fuzzee]

Machete's are more useful depending on your environment. Down south in the swamps or a heavy jungle environment, a machete is very useful for clearing through heavy bush, chopping vines and branches, where an axe isn't as much. Up north in the colder thicker tree'd, less brush environments an axe is. I'm not there though, so all hail the machete!! I've had a fair amount of them from Home Depot's to Ontario's and now carrying a cold Steel Latin Machete with my BOB. It handles and feels good in my hand and the quality is quite good. I haven't put it to heavy use yet, but should this summer. I don't doubt it holding up or I wouldn't carry it.