Bolos and blades

[rbrgs]

I spend a lot more time with general purpose blades of various kinds.  Where I live (Hawaii island), all you really have to do to grow many plants is put one in the ground and kill (or at least discourage) everything else until it gets big enough to take care of itself.  I spend a lot of time hacking back the jungle.

The major distinction I make is between things the get sharpened with a file (like a machete) vs those that need a stone (like a sickle).

Sharpened with a file; flexible steel, there's only so sharp they'll get, but they won't snap when twisted or chip when you hit a rock:

Machetes come in various sizes; USGI issue 18" parkerized blade with the black plastic handle is a kind of the standard.  This tool has a good balance and enough weight to follow through.  Just the thing for clearing mixed brush, in an emergency, you can take down big trees with it, too. The steel is tough enough to stay sharp for a while without being too brittle.  If you only have one bolo, this should be it.

Corn knife:  8" blade; most I've seen have a blunt but sharpened front edge (it's not a point) so you can harvest cabbage and stuff by pushing in with the blade rather than cutting.  And excellent general purpose harvest tool, but don't try to clear land with one.  I prefer a kama (see below) for corn stalks.

Cane knife: 12" blade, shaped like a wedge so most of the weight is at the tip.  Just the thing for cutting sugar cane, but too light for trees, even small ones.

Sele:  From Fiji; my new favorite tool.  14" cane knife blade, but on the thick (heavy) side, with a hook on the back of the tip and a long tang that is riveted and wire wrapped to 14" of wooden handle so you can use two hands and really swing.

Sharpened with a stone; hard steel that resists rust, but chips or even cracks from impacts and will snap rather than bend.  Can be razor sharp if you have the right stone and know what you're doing:

Scythe:  There's a whole thread about them that I'm too lazy to look up.

Sickle:  Curved blade that's a semi-circle; one handed version of the scythe, usually used for trimming.  Really only useful for grass, but cheaper than a scythe and doesn't require as much skill to use.  If you're just trimming where the lawn mower won't go (or cutting hay for a couple of rabbits), this may be just the tool>

Irish brush hook:  This too has 10" of wicked curved blade on the end of a 40" handle.  Especially useful for brambles and other stuff with thorns/prickly hairs/irritants.  Can be swung, but sharp enough to slice.

Kama:  Also called a Japanese sicke; 6-8" of blade set at a right angle to 14" of round handle.  Useful for general purpose chopping, but if you hold the stuff to be chopped with one hand...be very careful.  These tools are rated by weight (in grams); 500 is good, 600 is better, 800 (with a short but thick blade) is awesome.

What blades do other folks find useful around the garden?

[residualheat]

That's some tool collection you've got there, rbrgs.

I love my scythe and use an Austrian one. It has two blades, a shorter brush blade (50cm) and a longer one for grass (75cm). After giving myself a nasty cut, I now wear gloves when changing the blades or sharpening them. It's true that the blade can be nicked easily if you hit a rock and I've done that a few times, much to my annoyance, and have also embedded it in wood a few times. I still love it, though. Mr heat had to get his own scythe 

I carry two small knives, an Opinel and a Tina grafting knife and mainly only use them for cutting twine or doing bits of light pruning.

Have two machetes and a long handled bill hook, which we just couldn't resist, but haven't used them yet.

A 7 inch green wood pruning saw is very useful and goes through branches very easily. It's one of those where the blade slides back into the handle when you loosen it. For larger stuff, we use bow saws. Then we have several axes and a log splitter.

Mr heat found an unused army-surplus saw in an agricultural supply shop, which is five feet long and he's used it a few times. I think it must have been about 40 years old and it has a Sheffield steel stamp on it. It has two handles, but he used it on his own and that looked quite silly because he had to keep stepping backwards and forwards.

For taking out tree stumps we've used an azada - they're fab if you keep the blade sharp. Useful for breaking up clay as well.

Not a blade, strictly speaking, but a mattock is incredibly useful for breaking new ground or getting out big clumps of weeds.

[jonny2mad]

hmm I have various machetes and things like parangs kukris  but in the uk traditionally you use things like hedging hooks and slashers

the best I find is a one handed slasher by old companys like parkes you will find this sort of thing on uk ebay its a long slim thing with a sort of hook to it a two handed slasher is a good tool on a longer handle than say a machete