New Knife November? But in October...

[Missourian]

Picked this guy up today. A Gerber Versafix. Blade is 9 inches, OAL 14 inches. Not the greatest steel...3CR13...but it gets the job done. 13 ounces for this one... The Versafix pro is 11 ounces but has cut outs in the blade that really turned me off.

Hacked on some exceptionally hard seasoned wood and there was little vibration to the hand.

Ran across a copperhead in the chicken run and didn't have anything on me big enough to deal with it. This seems small and light enough to carry but big enough to deal with these kind of problems in the future.

Ballistic nylon sheath is junk...but I have some leather pieces that are just the right size to make a new one.



Price was $27 tax and all.

This is probably the best review video I found...but the other knives in the video are roughly twice the price.



The Camp10 is $54 and the SP8 is $62.

 

[1srelluc]

It would seem to me that in the Missouri hardwoods you would be as well off with a HD 12" Ontario machete.

There used to be a non-Tactical Timmy video on it but I can't find it.

 

[JGalt]

Nice! I have one similar to that, the Gerber Bear Grylls model. The dog got a hold of the nylon sheath and chewed it all up. It's a pretty good chopper.

These are three of my favorites: The 18" Ontario USGI machete, the Ontario USAF pilot's survival knife, and the Glock knife...

 

[Missourian]

It would seem to me that in the Missouri hardwoods you would be as well off with a HD 12" Ontario machete.

There used to be a non-Tactical Timmy video on it but I can't find it.

I took a long look at the 12.5 inch Ontario around the same price...but the plastic handle turned me off.

Ontario Knife Company Camp Plus Machete 12.5 in Blade OD Plastic Handle, Black (8510ODTC) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0853CN894?tag=usmb-20

 

[Missourian]

Nice! I have one similar to that, the Gerber Bear Grylls model. The dog got a hold of the nylon sheath and chewed it all up. It's a pretty good chopper.

These are three of my favorites: The 18" Ontario USGI machete, the Ontario USAF pilot's survival knife, and the Glock knife...

View attachment 714309

I really like those Ontario knives.

One of these days I'll get the M9.

 

[JGalt]

I really like those Ontario knives.

One of these days I'll get the M9.

Those M9's are sweet. But pricey. I have a bayo for my AK can't mount it with the compensator on the muzzle. Might have to go back to the original muzzle brake.

 

[1srelluc]

I took a long look at the 12.5 inch Ontario around the same price...but the plastic handle turned me off.

Ontario Knife Company Camp Plus Machete 12.5 in Blade OD Plastic Handle, Black (8510ODTC) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0853CN894?tag=usmb-20

I agree the handle on the linked one does not seem all that robust.

I had the Ontario Blackie Collins version of the same thing I carried on my old 4-Wheeler's fender, it was great for getting briars, small limbs, and such out of the way on the trails. You really appreciated the handguard in those applications.

Like this one:

That said for a packing machete (say lashed to a pack) the regular handle is much better.

Oh, I just found the vid I was looking for.

 

[Missourian]

Got to work with the Gerber a little today.

Chopped on some seasoned American Elm and...while it took some doing...it did get it done. Tried to baton the five inch Elm but couldn't. No surprise there. But the blade didn't break, chip or take a permanent bend even though the cross grain of the Elm did stress the blade out of shape it snapped right back after it was removed.

The "baton gimping" is pretty worthless on a six inch round as it disappears onto the round almost immediately.

If batoning big rounds is important to you, this is not for you. The tip profile all but guarantees your batoning mallet is going to glance right off on anything over four inches.

Two, three and four inch stuff it sings right through. It would likely do five inch splittable wood well too.

Personally, I've never batoned a piece of wood in the field or at home except in these types of tests...but...I supposed it's nice to know one could access dry kindling in an emergency.

Tested the edge on some cardboard after messing around with it for about an hour and it still cut just using it's own weight...and I haven't done a thing to it...it's still the out-of-the-box edge.

The grind looks great, even on both sides and centered.

And it is very light and comfortable.

Other than the sheath being junk...and most nylon sheaths are...I'm pretty pleased with it. It exceeded my expectations.