Recommendation? Machete designs and hardwoods of the North East?

J

Jdstg58

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Oct 3, 2022
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Hi All
Looking for recommendations on the type of machete you would recommend for use on hardwood and brush in the north east US. I’m interested If there is something better or more suited then the standard Ontario machete. I’ve had and used one of the standard 18 inch ones for 30 plus years.

I also have a Fiskars brush hook that I really like. https://www.fiskars.com/en-us/garde...s-mauls-and-machetes/brush-axe-19-378600-1005

What other types or designs would you recommend? Thanks
 
The Baryonyx Machete was designed for the New England temperate zones specifically, though North America in general. We're between production runs at the moment but are literally days away from launching the preorders page for the next production run of them.
 
I shortened the 22" bladed Ontario heavy duty and made a new more comfortable handle. I live in Michigan and I have never felt like I needed more, the extra thickness and weight helps on maple and will cut most things up to wrist thickness in two swipes of medium effort. It is much too heavy for grasses and the like, way to much weight. I absolutely love it and I have used it for whole days at a time.
 
I can recoomend the baryonyx machete as well. It's not one I want to swing all day as it's not light but it packs a punch good for woody stuff and thick vines. We have a surprising, to me, amount of vines in SE Michigan, many being invasive. The oriental bittersweet and wild grapevine tend to get pretty thick.

The condor golok is pretty solid as well if the handle stays together (I've had really bad luck with condor's handles).

Myparang's golok or parangs may be good as well, depending on what you're trying to cut.

If you like the fiskars brushhool, I would recommend looking at the rinaldi billhooks as well. They're a solid tool, but availability hasn't been good recently. I like mine much more than the fiskars, but it took 2-3 years to find the one I wanted to be in stock.
 
Martindale crocodile. It's a machete that cannot be beat. It's made out of cold rolled steel, it has steel rivets in the handle and the wood is beechnut, best machete ever
 
Jdstg58 said:
The Baryonyx Machete looks like a good option.. I’ll have to look into one.

Never used a parang or golock
Click to expand...

Here's some pics to help size compare. The baryonyx is a machete thickness blade and gets it's chopping power (weight) from being broad. The pro of that is very good penetration so it blows through targets. The downside of that is if you don't get through and bite deep, it sticks really bad. Great for trail clearing, not so great for sizing down kindling or bucking sticks to length. Anything 1" or less is a one-hitter unless it's dry.

T to B: rinaldi lucca, XL hmong knife, baryonyx, condor village parang (ss), RTAK II, myparang heavy duku chandong, condor golok.
20230501_215826.jpg20230501_215853.jpg20230501_215909.jpg20230501_220230.jpg20230501_220244.jpg
 
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Speak o' the devil, the preorder is live now.

For splitting stuff with the Baryonyx Machete I like to sink the hook into a log and baton the wood DOWN into the upturned edge. For stubborn stuff you can take a piece of wood and draw it into that upturned edge to quickly and precisely form a wooden wedge (a "glut") to do the splitting instead.
 
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