by Jim Dickson
There are many outdoorsmen who value a compact wood knife such as a big Bowie, a Philippine bolo, or a Gurkha kukri because they are so much easier to carry than an axe or machete yet they can do much the same work.
Machetes are light and long, depending on speed for their depth of cut but you can’t twist the blade to pop a chip out like you can with an axe. Their length is the reason more people don’t carry them afield.
The Meyerco machete/axe. A pure wood chopping knife that splits kindling and slices the bacon and bread with equal ease.
But now there is a cross-over design from Meyerco. A 12-inch blade machete that is 1/4” thick with a high quality V grind from the back. It has a comfortable molded plastic handle with a D guard that offers welcome protection to your knuckles when chopping that close to them. Fitted with a heavy nylon scabbard it rides easily on the belt where it is handy for any cutting chore that comes along. The blade is stainless steel, which is always welcome in a working knife. Plain carbon steel blades discolor at best and rust at worst in use. This blade has no point, being all cutting surface, but most people have a pocketknife or smaller sheath knife on them if they need a point. This blade is all about utilizing its entire length as a chopper and it’s very good at that. Use it just like you would a long, thin machete. Get a firm grip on the handle and swing the blade fast giving the wrist a snap as you hit the target. It will bite as deeply as an axe if your form is right.
Because of its excellent grind and reasonable length it also works well at all knife cutting jobs. It will skin and butcher a deer or elk with ease (although a blade with a point is needed for the more delicate cuts), but it will also cut the firewood to cook the game. It cuts poles for camp and is mighty handy when you have to create a blind or remove some growth in front of that blind so that you can get a clear shot. An axe is too clumsy for a lot of this light work, but this tool cuts everything from briars to twigs to trees. People who have never carried a big wood knife cannot imagine just how handy they can be.
For a survival kit or a bug-out kit it is hard to beat a big wood knife like this and this one won’t mold, mildew, rot, or rust when placed in a cache. You have a lot of cutting power in a very small yet efficient package that works a lot better than any hatchet or tomahawk.
Most machetes have a hole for a lanyard but the Meyerco machetes all come with a comfortable nylon lanyard.
This design might have been more useful as an all-round blade with a point added but adding a point would have sacrificed chopping power and chopping is what this handy tool is all about. Similar blades, with a knife and fork in the side pocket, were once carried by medieval noblemen hunting in the old days. They were used for utilitarian work while a proper hunting sword was used to dispatch game that the hounds had caught. This style is just as useful today as it was then and, best of all, you don’t have to be a rich nobleman to afford one. The MSRP is only $29.99.
A close-up of the well sharpened and properly set teeth of the 21” blade Meyerco machete.
Myerco also makes a nice D guard stainless steel 21-inch blade 1/8” thick machete with a saw back. Unlike many blades that have teeth just to look mean, these are well sharpened and properly set. They won’t cut wood as well as a regular saw because they are thicker than a normal saw, but they still, cut and, best of all, they work as a bone saw when cutting up big game. When quartering up a moose or elk this can be a right handy blade to have in the hand. Of course it is also a first class machete for all normal machete work. MSRP for this one is $34.99
These are good useful working tools and they are available from Meyerco, PO Box 224442, Dept. TGM, Dallas, TX 75222; phone: 214-467-8949; online: meyercousa.com.
