If I were to take a machete into the North American wilderness, I think I’d like one that was shorter and heavier than the jungle variety. Maybe something that would fit into a belt sheath, so I could use my hands for other things; something with a secure grip instead of the plain handle most machetes have.
Ontario Knife’s machete pretty much fits the bill and I liked this knife as soon as I saw it. It’s a modern knife built for modern times, but follows the pattern of traditional North American backwoods blades, heavy but not overly long. If this doesn’t make sense to you then you’ve not spent a lot of time in thickets so dense you can’t even swing anything with a long blade. What you need in those conditions is something shorter and sort of heavy, like a tomahawk–or this machete.
The 8335 SP8 Spec Plus even has a saw blade back that could actually cut through a fair sized branch, something a decorative knife with a dozen jagged teeth won’t do. You’d have to be careful, because the dangerous side would be aimed toward you, but this knife design hasn’t set aside the finger guard so you wouldn’t be risking much by trying.
Black anodized carbon steel adds to the plus side of this survival knife’s features. The best survival tools aren’t the “do everything” knives with LED lights and a packet of Band-Aids lashed to the sheath; the best are the simple ones that work. Put your first aid kit in the pack where it should be. This knife is a tool.
Find this Ontario Knife Company Machete:
