What is the difference between a machete and a knife

Well-rounded, versatile and highly adaptable, made even better by its small overall size and light weight. Compared to the survival knife, the machete is more of a one-trick pony. What it sacrifices in versatility, agility and sheer handiness it makes up for with brute strength chopping capability and allows you to slice through dense, constricting undergrowth with ease.

This makes the machete a nominal choice only in areas where foliage is very dense near ground level, places where you might literally have to slash a path in order to progress. The only other stand-out feature of the machete is as a serviceable close combat weapon, one arena where it has significant advantages over the common survival knife.

It does not take much imagination to visualize how grievous a wound might be inflicted with a blow from a machete! The machete is more specialized than the survival knife, and should be chosen only when the terrain dictates it is necessary or when a more optimal close quarters weapon is desired.

Preppers will always seek to choose the correct tool to handle the situation they are anticipating in the environment that they currently occupy, but more than this preppers also greatly desire multipurpose or multifunction tools that can help cover all their bases and all eventualities.

The survival knife fits this mantra to a T. Any good survival knife will be just as at home in the kitchen as it will be in the field, and can handle the most mundane chores and the most hair-raising survival jobs equally well. It can even be adapted into a longer range weapon by fashioning it and a suitably improvised haft into a spear, negating its biggest disadvantage in a self-defense context. The only major shortcoming of the survival knife, its lack of serious chopping power compared to a machete or similar tool, can be partially overcome by batoning the knife through the wood that needs to be split utilizing a mallet, club or sturdy branch.

If they build up too much, remove them from the stone to prevent them from slowing your sharpening. Machetes and survival knives are both very useful tools for camping, hunting, survival, and more. If you are still unsure which to pick, I recommend just going with a knife. For the vast majority of survival situations, it is much more flexible and will handle a wider variety of tasks.

Let me put it another way. A knife can do a lot of things a machete can do. A machete can do very few of the intricate things a knife can. So, unless you are planning to be traveling long distances through thick jungle or brush, go with the knife. Hey, I'm Jim and the author of this website. I have always been interested in survival, fishing, camping, and anything in nature. In fact, while growing up I spent more time on the water than on land! I am also a best-selling author and have a degree in History, Anthropology, and Music.

Yet you may ask, what exactly is a machete? A machete is a knife, not a sword for several reasons. Machetes are made from different metals to swords, are sharper, and are not intended for combat. It is the function of a machete that puts them in the category of knives.

If you are interested to know why the mighty machete is a knife and not a sword, please read on. Originally they were made from wood, bone, and stone such as obsidian and flint. The primary difference between knives and swords was their intended use, knives being a tool, and swords being created as a weapon. Beyond their intended use, several structural differences make a machete a knife and not a sword. Although many knives and swords are made with steel alloys, the sword uses several folded steel layers around a typically nickel core.

When used as verbs , knife means to cut with a knife, whereas machete means to cut or chop with a machete. A utensil or a tool designed for cutting, consisting of a flat piece of hard material, usually steel or other metal the blade , usually sharpened on one edge, attached to a handle. The blade may be pointed for piercing.