Is there a Folding machete or slasher

but I’ve got this, being a Makita fanboi.

Another reason i should have gotten Makita and not Bosch :(

I’ve got the Stihl version. smaller batteries(10.8v) though you do get two and spares are pretty inexpensive. I was wondering about getting the mini chainsaw they do, which uses the same batteries, and would probably be ideal for trail clearing.

Hoping there will be some flexibility on ‘zombie knife’ law for professional use, although looking in the back of my work vehicle that profession might be mistaken as cutting up bodies to bury in the woods…

I’ve got one of those little hedgecutter things, dead useful for, well, hedgecutting but I didn’t find it that good for undergrowth. I’ve never really got any use out of the grass scissors mode.

Was wondering whether an old Bahco Laplander blade could be repurposed by grinding the teeth off and give it a sharp edge ?

Hoping there will be some flexibility on ‘zombie knife’ law for professional use, although looking in the back of my work vehicle that profession might be mistaken as cutting up bodies to bury in the woods…

I’ve not had to study the details at length – but my recollection is there is zero “professional” exemption for zombie knives.   If your work tool meets that definition then from next week owning it, even tucked away in your garage is an offence.    If you are affected there was a plan for compensation if you surrender it before the ban comes into force.

Zombie-style knives have:

– blade over 8″ long AND
– a point AND
– a smooth cutting edge AND
– a serrated cutting edge OR holes in the blade OR multiple points

There are definitions of what counts as a point, areas close to the handle which are exempt etc.  BUT if my work tool sounded like it might fit those criteria I’d want something in writing to clarify why it was not illegal.

binman
Full Member

Was wondering whether an old Bahco Laplander blade could be repurposed by grinding the teeth off and give it a sharp edge ?

Too short and light I reckon. But a bigger folder could work really well. I mean, that said, they can work pretty well just as they are.

Read this thread…

Purchased the red handled one from eBay for 12 quid

Can confirm whilst it’s built very basically with welding on a very amateur level, it’s brilliant at chopping ferns and brambles. So much quicker than secateurs that I used to carry.

Funny. only a short time ago people were getting bent out of shape about carrying a small penknife, are now thinking its ok to have a bloody machete in your backpack.

They are special, they can cycle round carrying an offensive weapon.
They probably think it is OK to chop down vegetation in bird nesting season.

If those replies are aimed at me, it’s on private ground and I’m well aware of bird nesting but thanks for the comment anyway, very enlightening

Pfft. Amateurs. https://flic.kr/p/2pwYmpP
worked very well in clearing the towpath and some bridleways after the spring storms. Had zero issues with public or law. I have a folding pull saw that fits nicely in a frame bag for the small stuff.

dyna-ti
Full Member

I’ve got the Stihl version. smaller batteries(10.8v) though you do get two and spares are pretty inexpensive. I was wondering about getting the mini chainsaw they do, which uses the same batteries, and would probably be ideal for trail clearing.

MC has one of the tiny chainsaws, I got to have a play with it… It is great but, I was kind of always aware of the size of accident you could have with one, being so small and easy to use it’s easy to forget it’s still a bloody chainsaw. Just fantastic for brashing, you can do stretchy-armed stuff, cut close as you like for safety, work really quickly through deadfalls… Massive time saver. In the end I didn’t do anything I couldn’t do with my £7 saw, but I did it in like 10% of the time and ended up with an untired arm. I doubt it’s any use for the sort of thing OP mentioned?

Similiarly I have a cheapo reciprocating saw with a long blade on that’s quite useful. It’s not as good as the chainsaw for a lot of stuff, but, it does have some big advantages, not least it’s safer. Also you can screw up and destroy a blade and they cost like £3. (I got one completely stuck in a tree, just unclipped it and came back with another blade and cut it out). You can do surprisingly thick logs with it, but it’s quite bad at doing loose branches as it tends to just whip them around instead of cutting. And it does tire you more. Also super useful for root grubbing, just stick in a short worn blade and you don’t care if it gets mangled on rocks.

@suspenededanimation

My comment was not aimed at you. It was a general comment in line with the thread.

Thanks Bruce, I was having a bad day Monday lol