Meat cleaver question.

[Yorkshire Boy]

Would a meat cleaver be any use for bushcraft/camping etc...

Could it do the same job as a small axe, machete or billhook?

Should I bother getting one? Or should I just get one of the above.

Or am I better off getting a good folding saw.
(I am a little scared about cutting/hacking myself badly with a big blade!!!)

Advice would be appreciated.
JC.

 

[Jared]

Would a meat cleaver be any use for bushcraft/camping etc...

Could it do the same job as a small axe, machete or billhook?

Should I bother getting one? Or should I just get one of the above.

Or am I better off getting a good folding saw.
(I am a little scared about cutting/hacking myself badly with a big blade!!!)

Advice would be appreciated.
JC.

There are many patterns of billhook.
You might like to look at a spar hook pattern, one of the smaller ones, with a 7" blade, and no point.

http://www.woodsmithstore.co.uk/shop/Products/Tools/Billhooks/Product/Morris+Spar+Hook/

I think would be a better tool than a meat cleaver, in my opinion. But a folding saw would do just as well.

 

[British Red]

John,

As in all things, it depends on usage.

There are "hooks without bills" rather like a cleaver.

A saw would be a great place to start though - safer, easier to use, always useful even if you buy another tool later.

Axes are by far the best for splitting larger pieces of wood and have other cutting uses.

Machetes are better for cutting thatch, stakes and light brush as are bill hooks which are really designed for hedge laying and so are good at stakes etc.

If unsure - start with a saw and knife and move on from there

Red

 

[jon r]

I can just imagine you walking around the woods with a meat cleaver! Scary!

I wouldnt have thought that a meat cleaver would keep a sharp edge for long if you are going to be cutting and splitting wood with it. I would get the right tool for the job.

 

[kb31]

am sure the steel is softer cos there made for food use
what's the woodland like in japan? i would say a knife n saw then a axe
but if it's tropical you might be better off with a parang?

 

[Yorkshire Boy]

I know it sounded a daft question.
A cleaver and a billhook look similar.
I thought it would be easier and cheaper to buy a cleaver out here.

I'll find a D.I.Y. shop and get a folding saw.
A saw, my F1 and SAK's will do me OK.

Maybe a hatchet in the future?

In my part of Japan (Tokyo area, you can see Mt Fuji from my workplace)
it's hard wood.
Not that there are many trees about, mostly cherry blossom type.
Nothing tropical up here.
Although somedays its already 30 degrees.
The summer's going to be hot

I hope to get a trip into the mountains for some trout fishing and camping.

I'll let you know how I get on.
Thanks guys :You_Rock_

JC.

 

[British Red]

Nah, you want to avoid axes,

Nasty things - I don't like em at all

Red

 

[Jared]

I know it sounded a daft question.
A cleaver and a billhook look similar.
I thought it would be easier and cheaper to buy a cleaver out here.

I'll find a D.I.Y. shop and get a folding saw.
A saw, my F1 and SAK's will do me OK.

Maybe a hatchet in the future?

Ah didn't realise you was in Japan. Japanese Nata's appear to be the regional equivalent to billhooks.

http://www.dick.biz/cgi-bin/dick.storefront/464c739900672f66273f50f33609063e/Catalog/1073

Which even look more similar to a meat cleaver.

 

[Yorkshire Boy]

Very funny Red!

You can give me all those nasty, horrible, beautiful axes you've got then.

What about those Japanese traditional choppers?

What size would you lot recommend?

I think in practical terms something small would be better for me.
I don't need to chop down big trees or look macho.

I don't want to be seen as the crazy gaijin.

Something discreet would be an advantage for me.
That can easily fit in a pack and is quite light.
Enough to make a nights shelter for me and my lass and to chop a bit of firewood.

Any ideas would be great.
JC.

 

[alco141]

i have carried a knives of alaska brown bear combo with a cleaver for a couple of years, it is a very compact chopper and will serve for survival needs if they present themselves.

on hoodlums forum a couple of the guys carry a cleaver rather than a large knife and are quite satisfied with them.

alex