Machetes, Kukris & Hybrids

Discussion in 'Knives, Gear, Guns And Other Tools' started by Stone, Sep 20, 2018.

  1. anrkst6973

    anrkst6973 Member

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    Good catch. ( I'ma dope, typing ahead of my brain's comprehension speed. ;) )Indeed 15 ft, I've got place in mind to give a good look at the eye level view vs the kneeling view. Just didn't make it over there today. You should try your hand at snow blocks/bricks. Make a rudimentary frame from cardboard with a wax paper overlay, use the wide tip as a scoop and the flat to really pack it. Make something, even just a simple low wall, a windbreak for your stove at ground level. What say you? El Bolo as a snow shovel?
     
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  2. Stone

    Stone Member

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    Naw, just a tyop. Anyone can do those. It was just too ripe to ignore. ;)
    Now that's a good idea. Winter is coming. Might have to build an igloo to block out the walkers.

    [​IMG]
     
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  3. Stone

    Stone Member

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    OK, I know this image -- or its description -- will meet with incredulity.

    (Incredulity? WTF does that mean? :confused: )
    _______

    in·cre·du·li·ty
    [ˌinkrəˈd(y)o͞olədē]
    NOUN
    1. the state of being unwilling or unable to believe something.
    _______

    This is Bolo 1 slicing down through inches of snow into solid granite. :eek:

    That's a glacial erratic the size of a small car (most of it extends N and under ground).

    I mean, it's like Arthur's sword in the stone. All I had to do was pull it out, and I'd rule the world.

    Story to come ...

    Bolo Tan Stone.JPG

    IMG_9621.JPG
     
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  4. FortyTwoBlades

    FortyTwoBlades Moderator Staff Member

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  5. STPNWLF

    STPNWLF Member

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  6. anrkst6973

    anrkst6973 Member

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    Me thinks he's pulling our legs eh? Too much of the stone is visible for him to have made the mistake of chopping into it. Or else he really really wanted to use that lil FD file!
     
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  7. Stone

    Stone Member

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    <wink wink> Here's a hint: it's granite. </wink wink>

    "Too much of the stone is visible for him to have made the mistake of chopping into it."​

    Plus, that rock is a hang out spot for me. I recognize it even when it's completely covered with snow.

    Still, it offers an unusual shot for a machete, no?

    Also, I think Anrkst is onto something about cutting snow blocks. When I read his suggestion a couple of nights ago, I was immediately reminded of a video by Ray Mears learning how to build an igloo with Inuits using ice knives, which look remarkably like machetes. I'll try to find the video when I get some time.
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2018
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  8. Stone

    Stone Member

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    Here's a start. And they actually call them snow knives, not ice knives (which makes sense).

    This one is made of bone.

    [​IMG]
     
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  9. anrkst6973

    anrkst6973 Member

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    Years and years ago either US Calvary or BQM had a "snow saw" It looked like a box saw but had a more knife like handle, reminded me of a Japanese type saw. I always thought it a funny thing to sell as the usefulness would be limited to really near polar type areas. Per if you were in or could afford to visit the NP or SP areas, Would you be shopping in mil spec type magazines? ;)

    ( These would be the same people who had the Case Lunar Landing Survival Machete. Now that's a mouthful!)
     
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  10. Stone

    Stone Member

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    Here's my counterpart to Anrkst's pics of his area, especially his "wall" of trees, briars, weeds, vines, and snakes. When I viewed those images, I said, "Oh, so THAT'S why you need that longer machete. I get it."

    Where I walk, and everywhere I've walked in this state for 8 years, I've encountered nothing like that. For me in this region, in these northern woodland ecosystems (I'm on the southern margin -- the ecotone -- of The Great North Woods that stretch all the way into taiga in northern Quebec, etc), the bolo works better. For me, it's mostly about small wood for kindling or my 180 Flame stove, with a lot of chopping points onto poles and stakes, with an occasional side of clearing weeds and brush.

    These pics are taken at or near the glacial erratic in the pics above. I call it Tan Stone because of some tan colored lichens growing on its south face. (Note the north side is extended and moss covered.) This rock is almost certainly from north of here 35 - 150 mi up on the Katahdin granite mass: Mt Katahdin is just the highest point of that mass which extends as a solid mass of granite over a hundred sq mi at least, including underlying my favorite (hammock only) camp at Nahmakanta near the AT just over Polywog Gorge. It's got the same makeup, cleavage planes, shapes, etc as the rocks up there. So it probably rode down here in the bottom of a glacier a few tens of thousands of years ago and just plopped down right there.

    Captions are above each image.

    I spend a lot of time there, mostly studying/photographing the rock and its life. So I built a bench.

    Tan Stone w- bench 01.JPG

    I like to use it for equipment/tool demo backdrop (which is what I was doing in the images just above). Here's StickeR leaning against it. BTW, the rings on it help me with snow and water depth measurements, and remind me of proper hand positions for Irish stick fighting practice.

    For scale, total length, from butt to point, is 68". Going up from the butt, every second red ring is 2', 3', and 4', respectively.

    Tan Stone w: StickeR.JPG

    The north face is moss covered. This tells me it's been there for a while (since a rolling stone gathers no moss).

    Tan Stone north face moss.JPG

    Here's what the sky above it looks like sometimes.

    Blue Sky at Gnome.JPG

    It's just up hill (about 90' vertical) at the crest of an esker that my apt also sits on. Down in the ravine, you'll find some thickets in the mostly swamp.

    Ravine trees ferns thick.JPG

    That same area looks like this from mid-December through early March. Last year, we had a 3 - 4' snow base for most of winter. It's only accessible using snowshoes then. Even skis would have trouble in there cause there are so many obstacles and the ground is VERY uneven and bumpy. (Such is the nature of glacial terrain; it's what got me into hammock camping and away from tent camping: there's no where up here outside of landscaped areas that are flat and dry enough to erect a tent.)

    This was late afternoon on a totally cloudy day. The waning light added nice blue hues to the snow. It's not a beautiful area relative to Nahmakanta, but I can walk there from my door, and there is beauty there if you look for it. Those are my snowshoe tracks on the left.

    across ravine esker.JPG

    Here is Tan Stone fully cloaked in its winter snow coat. Notice the bench -- a little snow ridge just to the left of the stone -- is fully covered.

    Tan Stone 2018 snow cover.JPG

    I've also used Tan Stone as a backdrop for talking head videos. Makes a nice side story.

    Stone at Tan Stone snowshoes HT.jpg
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2018
  11. STPNWLF

    STPNWLF Member

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    Making some progress on the new handles for the old "Made in Sheffield England" $5. Pawn shop machete.
    IMG_20181120_183114.jpg
     
  12. STPNWLF

    STPNWLF Member

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    Did alittle trail maintenance/clearing today with the rehandled "Sheffield" machete, really liking the weight/balance of it.
    IMG_20181127_195023.jpg
     
  13. anrkst6973

    anrkst6973 Member

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    Looking good. What's the lenght and thickness on that?
     
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  14. anrkst6973

    anrkst6973 Member

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    @FortyTwoBlades I wonder if you can answer a quick question for me? What type of wood is a factory Tramontina machete handle made from? I went looking for that information and found no reference, not Google nor any of the selling sites seem to know.
     
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  15. FortyTwoBlades

    FortyTwoBlades Moderator Staff Member

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    Eucalyptus. :)
     
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  16. anrkst6973

    anrkst6973 Member

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    Eucalyptus? That is just plain awesome. This is why I hang about in here, knowledge, humor, and meat eating, beer drinking , sharpie users! :D
     
  17. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    Your pet Koala will love it.... :D
     
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  18. FortyTwoBlades

    FortyTwoBlades Moderator Staff Member

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    Yeah, apparently Brazil has farmed eucalyptus trees for lumber since the 1800's. Eucalyptus silviculture is a big thing there.
     
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  19. STPNWLF

    STPNWLF Member

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    Blades 17 1/2"s, 1/8" thick at handle that tapers down to the tip. Going to be working on a unknown 24" blade for a friend, Tramotina 14", and a Ontario I started years ago.
    IMG_20181201_183341.jpg
     
  20. anrkst6973

    anrkst6973 Member

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    That pawnshop score turned out really nice. What did you use for handle material? It almost looks like vulcanized rubber....
     
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