Thread: Machete

Parang or Kurkuri, get a good one and you can even use it for the heavy work breaking down a deer in the field.

Originally Posted by silentscope

i need to get my hands on some det cord!

Det cord won't touch manuka. We tried. What does work weighs upwards of 15 tonnes though...

Agree with Indy and Viper - prefer Parang - after years of possum lines with DOC especially Kaitaia- we had to cut tracks everywhere we went in that bloody jungle -once you have used a parang you will never go back to a machete - just a point parangs are right and left handed i.e sharpened on opposite angle for lefties or right handed- bit like a chisel to look at - but its the parangs action that will win you over -the shape pulls the brush into the curve and presto cut -machetes can tend to push the scrub away if not razor sharp - honest try one never look back -other wise go the XR 500 route -for a good track ya cant beat a stihl scrub bar and steel blade -young fit bugger to swing on it -we always used the 3 star shaped steel blades and turned them every tankfull and complete sharpen both sides every second tank -keeps the tri star balanced -have spents hundreds of hours swinging those on track work - get long shaft model easier on back

That's what the old man did although not a stihl. Rev it at full tit and crunch it into the trunk then pull it out and get to full speed again and repeat.

Originally Posted by XR500

Oh yes it can: Stihl 55cc scrub bar with circular saw blade fitted. But have to take the guard off it so you can waggle it in the air and chop up all the hanging supple jack and tree ferns in your path

We have tried a lot, over the years at work.
The fiskars one is probably the best one available that I have found. All of the weight is in the blade as the handle is hollow.
https://www.fiskars.co.nz/products/g...ok-xa3-1003609

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

lopping shears..handles about 2 foot long are heaps easier than a machete..... but its all swings n roundabouts...for crown fern and skinny sticks a hookfern slasher is VERY hard to beat..the trick is to use it forwards,cutting upwards so blade enguages stems and pulls into them as going up,Vs swinging down,they bend and dont cut as well.
gorse is a barstard full stop....loppers beats a machete but nothing beats a chainsaw....

Matches do !

Get a wee hand saw with grunty teeth for the manuka, slasher for thinner broom, gorse etc

You need one of those chopper:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOjNR0QjdqI

Pun intended

Originally Posted by XR500

Det cord won't touch manuka. We tried. What does work weighs upwards of 15 tonnes though...

Try this one, @XR500 - mine clearance done rapidly. Basically a sock of high explosive towed across a minefield by a rocket. What's not to love?
https://youtu.be/zHszRV5-bd4

Svord machete is the best I’ve used. Smaller than most on the market but seems to be the perfect size for our bush. Make a decent sheath and it hangs off your belt just fine. The lightness of it makes the swing a lot faster and the blade steel is perfect, never put so much as a small chip in mine. Trust me, you’ll never go back to anything else, it happily slices through 2-3” Manuka like a dream. Even 4” with a bit of weight on the tree or branch. Because they stay so sharp it makes up for the lightness.

I like mine,

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

Matches do !

Nah, bloody fire cracks and sets the seeds off - tail chase time as they might germinate straight away or in a couple of seasons. Jungle time!

Buy a LASHER, they are made in South Africa for Africans. And if it holds up to the stuff Africans get up to with machetes "pangas over there its called" it should last in NZ haha.
I have one, i beat the shite out of it and it works, its cheap and nasty but it works. I got mine off H&F Hamilton some years ago, but you can propably find it online, just google, heaps come up. they are like $25

I believe that Lasher make some of the Cold Steel machetes. Can't beat Lasher cane knives - Africa tough is a high standard!

I scored one from the friendly local scrap metal dealer, it was sitting on the wall, been there for ages he said. Rusty and pitted but edge came up good and they don't make steel like that any more.