so i saw that movie the book of eli, it was pretty good. often you heard people in the movie say "a gun? its not loaded...they never are" i guess because there was no way of getting ammo.

so one scene someone pushes denzel...so denzel says to him "you touch me again you wont get your hand back" and what does the guy do, go to push him and denzel whips out this huge ass knife and cuts his hand off...

so a light bulb goes off in my head...i mean im not big into knives, i just got into them because i cant have a pistol. so i was looking at some knives and all the huge ass machetes are like $15...with the exception of a few from kershaw, sog & ontario.

i always thought of machetes as being a tool used to getting through thick brush and the jungle. i never took those jason friday the 13 movies seriously...

are machetes really used as a survival weapon? or just a survival tool?

I have owned a machete for over 30 years and keep one in my truck at all times. I use it as just a tool, has come in handy many times.

I had one stapped to my A.L.I.C.E. pack for 11 years. One of best things you can have and a Good improv weapon.

I had one stapped to my A.L.I.C.E. pack for 11 years. One of best things you can have and a Good improv weapon. Used it in the Jungles of Panama, the Woods all over and even the Arctic as a make-do ice saw for making snow bricks. Just get a good one.

This post has been edited by dupa220: February 1st 2010 2:17 PM

When I was studying Kung Fu, my weapons of choice were the Bo, a variation of the wing sword (the version you usually see in games and movies) and the Dao.

In my younger years, I always kept a machete around for SD because it could be used sort of like a miniature Dao. It came in handy at times, both in getting around and SD against tropical animals like snakes.

A word of warning, don't make the common mistake of thinking a machete or sword will cut whatever you hit with it if you just hit with it. Always swing in a cutting motion or your hits will do minimal damage.

I never had to use any of the above 3 melee weapons in SD against a human being but I always had the picture that if I ever had to, the ideal weapon and one I would most likely end up using would be the Bo. Our culture routinely underestimates the potency of a good ol fighting stick. Throwing rocks also works.

This post has been edited by brigadier: February 2nd 2010 4:20 AM

its funny you say that, a friend of mine has been doing kung fu for 30 years give or take, and his favorite weapons are the bo as well because of the devistating, yet non lethal blows that can be made. his other favorite weapon is the butterfly sword/dao because again you can make devistating cuts with them and be non deadly.

as for me, i did muay thai (real muay thai, not ufc crap) and i didnt study with weapons (its the science of 8 limbs), but i did krav maga and made highest rank, and we learned how to fight with a knife, but in a more im gonna take yours and stab you with it (in a perfect world, just because i know krav maga doesnt mean im gonna win a fight, and just because i know how to take your knife and stab you, doesnt mean i can pull it off)

i have a very thorough understanding of what parts are better stabbed, while what other parts are better sliced on the body. and come to think of it a machete isnt much of a limb remover if i remember correctly



This post has been edited by outlawskinnyd: February 6th 2010 10:24 PM

I have 2. One is an Ontario Knife Company, and the other I made from a piece of stainless I found in the scrap bin at work. Actually put a nice edge on it for not knowing what I'm doing.

I can kill a man with a bo almost as quickly as with a sword. The throat is actually a pretty easy target if you're up against someone who's just a testosterone filled brawler or dumb criminal, which happen to the people you are most likely to fight against. The bo is as much a stabbing weapon as it is a smacking one.

Wing blades and butterfly swords are two different things. Darth Maul's weapon in Star Wars I was a light saber version of a wing blade. I DID study with butterfly swords, but there were other swords I preferred to use the same way. Butterfly swords were ideal for grinding through multiple foes. Wing blades (at least what I was using) are actually more of a jerking/ripping weapon. They are actually pretty good for taking on heavy duty swords. Most blades, I would not want to put up against a Katana or Uchigatana wielded by someone who knows how to use it. However, I would not want to take a Katana or Uchigatana up against someone with a wing blade who knows how to use it.

On the other hand, wing blades are very tricky to learn, but they are both fun and highly effective if you know how to use them.




If I could go back and redo it, I would have given a little more attention to Japanese martial arts like Kempo and Aikido. Putting those together with Kung Fu would have been incredibly effective. It would be tricky though. They may have some similarities in appearance, but they are in fact two very different martial arts. Trying to utilize both together would be tricky, but effective if you can do it. I have actually gotten pretty good at reasoning my way out of fights, so I never had to use any of those skills against another human being. I couldn't have know it, but it all proved to be a waste of time. It was at least something to do though. Kept me busy.



The machete is more ideal as a cord cutter and means to convince someone to back off. Weight and curve or slant int he blade is necessary to remove limbs. Machetes with that capability are also better at their intended purpose (you shouldn't have any trouble lopping 2 inch thick tree limbs with that) but the only ones I have seen that were made that way were custom made machetes. I've been considering making one, though it's going to be very expensive. Almost $200 after everything. I guess that's not too bad given I just spent over $500 making a Japanese sword that still isn't finished.

This post has been edited by brigadier: February 6th 2010 11:58 PM