Machete round-up

If you read the mainstream, tabloid newspapers, you might have seen a couple of them calling for a ban on machetes. Yes, they have been used by mindless, lawless individuals but the fact is that the vast-majority of knife crime is carried out using a small kitchen knife and I haven’t seen any newspapers calling for domestic knives to be banned!

Machetes are tools to most law-abiding people and they’re very useful bits of kit and can be used for all sorts of cutting and chopping tasks. For the shooter or Bushcraft enthusiast they can be indispensable for clearing undergrowth, cutting back brambles, hide building etc. I’ve used a number of machetes over the years and most of them have made light work of anything I’ve asked them to do.

Take your pick!

At the recent Northern Shooting Show, I met up with Nick from Blades and Bows and he came baring gifts! He had with him a selection of PKB machetes and a parang for me to review and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing since he dropped them off.

Cutlass Machetes

This neat little machete has a 13-inch, satin finished, 3mm thick, full tang 3cr13MoV stainless steel blade that’s fitted with a grey, synthetic handle that has a handguard and a rubber over-moulded grip. A handy lanyard is fitted into a hole in the grip, which is secured to the blade via three screws. The overall weight is 525-grams, so is quite compact compared to some machetes; it does however lack the kinetic energy of longer, heavier models, so it’s a bit of a compromise with an overall length of 19-inches. The Cutlass Machete comes with a nylon sheath with a belt loop to keep it safe when not in use. It’s still a very useful tool however and at £12.99 it’s a bargain. If the 13-inch blade isn’t long enough for your requirements, then there’s a 17.75” bladed model, with a black finish to the blade, at £14.99 that has an overall length of 24-inches and weighs 650-grams.

Bolo Machete

This is what I’d call a ‘traditional’ machete. It has a full tang, stainless steel blade, the same type as the Cutlass above but has a longer, satin-finished, 20.5-inch blade that’s 4mm thick. A wooden handle is fitted using 3 screws and a lanyard ring is incorporated into the end of the tang- this is one heavyduty tool! Overall length is an impressive 26-inches and was the perfect combination of length and weight (880-grams) – I can see why this style is so popular throughout the world. Once again, a Nylon sheath is included. The Bolo costs £14.99.

Parang Machete

The Parang is a sort of curved relative of the machete and originally comes from Malaysia but is now used all around the world. The 3mm thick, full tang blade is once again stainless but has a black coating and is 13.75-inches long, with an overall length of 19.5-inches. The green ABS handle has a rubber over-moulded gripping surface and is fastened using two screws. A lanyard hole is incorporated into the grip but there isn’t actually a lanyard fitted, which is a shame. A Nylon sheath is included and has a Velcro strap to secure the Parang. Overall weight is 527-grams but made light work of clearing vegetation and chopping kindling and firewood. Priced at £14.99, it’s another bargain!

Sport Machete

It’s a strange name for a machete, as I can’t actually think of any sport that requires a machete but that’s by the by; it is however a very practical tool and has a similar handle to the Parang. The satin finished, 3mm thick, stainless blade is 15-inches long, making for an overall length of 21-inches and a weight of 510-grams. The Sport Machete also comes with a sheath and is priced at £12.99.

Hard work

I’ve used the above tools for a variety of tasks recently and they’ve all been useful to have at hand. It’s difficult to pick a favourite, as they all have pluses and minuses; however, if I had to choose just one to take to a desert island, I’d probably want the Bolo machete, as it’s got the length and heft of a real working tool. However, I really like the Parang as well, as it’s just so compact and handy. Maybe I’ll have to take both!

Conclusion

As I said before, machetes, in all their forms, are tools and very useful ones too. The PKB machetes are all well worth the money and won’t break the bank.