Gerber Machete Jr - Review

[The Stig]

At the risk of sounding like Izzy and I are paid employees of the Gerber company, here's a quick review of the Machete JR. (http://www.gerbergear.com/Apocalypse/Gear/Gator-Machete-Jr_31-000759)


Item # 31-000759

Overall Length: 18.75"
Blade Length: 10.75"
Weight: 14.30 oz.
Head: High Carbon Steel
Handle: Gator-Grip



http://www.gerbergear.com/var/gerber/storage/images/frontpage/apocalypse/gear/gator-machete-jr_31-000759/377292-7-eng-US/Gator-Machete-Jr_fulljpg.jpg

And for size comparison, here it is next to a standard el cheepo hatchet from WallMart

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee427/ltlabner/2012-04-08_17-40-32_859.jpg?t=1333925789

I picked this up at Bass Pro Shop back in Cincinnati for around $20ish IIRC. Thought it might be a handy little tool for the emergency kit in the car. It doesn't take up much room at far less than 2' OAL.

So for the first test, I whacked at some underbrush machete style 20x times. I just swung and swung to see what could come down. It was easy to wield and felt comfortable in my hand.

This is the before

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee427/ltlabner/2012-04-08_17-40-44_234.jpg?t=1333925546

and after.....

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee427/ltlabner/2012-04-08_17-41-42_848.jpg?t=1333925627

I forgot where I stood for the original picture so it's not exact, but as you can see, in just a few passes I was able to get down to "ground level" and clear out a fair amount of crap. Mostly it's little holly sprouts and vines.

[The Stig]

In about 30 whacks of the machete blade I was able to do this:

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee427/ltlabner/2012-04-08_17-43-01_941.jpg?t=1333925679

In full disclosure, this branch has been laying on the pile for months and is really dry. Also, the branch was bouncing up and down (one end not supported, tossed on pile). So I wouldn't say this is the greatest test in the world, but as you can see, in a pinch you can chop through a small tree.

For comparison, here is 30 whacks from the el chepo Ozark hatchet. The results were not all that impressive (hatchet work on left)

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee427/ltlabner/2012-04-08_17-45-28_280.jpg?t=1333925745

I was going to give the "saw" portion of the machete a try but honestly, in the short time I was outside I had started sweating and my hand was getting slippery. With the construction of the grip I think I'd want to wear some real heavy gloves because I can see your hand slipping over the grip and running down the blade.

I think if I was going to use this for real expensive work I'd want to sharpen the blade and figure out a better sheaf. Also, as mentioned, I'm not sure how secure of a purchase you could maintain on that grip. I almost wonder if its a candidate for stippling.

I wouldn't call this a very extensive test, but for a quick rundown, it seems like it could be somewhat handy on a backpack for deep woods excursions.

[realist]

JB weld on the handle will rough up the grip nicely. I like the idea of a shorter blade over a longer machete since I am not normally in heavy vegetation that would require one, it would take the place of a hatchet.

[Kodiak]

I have the full size Gerber machete and it works great, i'm not a big fan of the handle either so i didn't go overboard for fear of losing a finger.

[realist]

Is there room to wrap a bunch of para cord around it to make a guard so you hand would not slip off?

[Dropy]

Get urself some Hockey Tape. Its the stuff hockey players wrap there stick in for better gripping. I have used the stuff and it is nice!

[izzyscout21]

some marine-tex would do well. or you could just stipple it.......

[The Stig]

Just came in from a couple hours of yard work. Cut down a old dead tree that was back in the "jungle" and leaning over into the yard. It finally tilted over enough for me to reach it with the sawblade on a stick. In any event, it was covered in grape vine so I thought it would be a good continuation of the Gerber Jr mini-review.

So first I grabbed the WalMart Ozark brand chi-com machete (on top in this picture):

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee427/ltlabner/2012-04-28_12-23-51_384.jpg?t=1335634294

I tried to come up with some eloquent way to describe this finely crafted monument to Chi-Com manufacturing.....but couldn't. It sucks the syphilitic sores off an elephants inflamed asshole. Keep in mind I was using it to hack through grapevine these were little tiny strands, not 1/4 vines. There was a huge mass of the garbage and as I whacked away with wild abandon I could feel the thin blade of the machete flexing as it bounced off the grapevine. That's right...bounced. It would hit the vine head on and simply just bounce off.

The blade was sharp and while I'm no Charles atlas, I can put a pretty good swing on things....nope. This ruptured puss-sack off a homeless winos hemorrhoid did nothing. 30 full bore swings resulted in barely any of the vines cut down. And calling then vines is pretty generous.

So I broke out the Gerber Machete Jr. About 10 whacks later all of the big mess of grapevine was neatly hacked from the tree and pulled out.

Here's a comparison of the blade thickness. Total piece of useless crap on top, Gerber on bottom.

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee427/ltlabner/2012-04-28_12-24-47_401.jpg?t=1335634163

http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee427/ltlabner/2012-04-28_12-25-00_515.jpg?t=1335634103

Since the el'cheepo blade is correspondingly thinner and longer it's no surprise the blade is flexible, but damn. I worked up a good sweat just taking those thirty whacks. Imagine if it had been a really bad situation and I was trying to hack my way to safety, or quickly clean out the mess of a tree that fell on my car. It would be a complete waste of time.

Once again, repeat with me class....buy once, cry once. Get the best equipment that provides the best value, that your budget can afford.

Sometime today I will be ordering either another Machete Jr or the full sized Gerber Machete along with the Parang thingy izzy reviewed a few weeks ago.

[The Stig]

I found the full sized Gerber Machete at Gander Mountain. I'm sure I could have found it cheaper elsewhere (everything in that store is retardedly expensive) but I was in a good mood and had some extra cash in my pocket.

Anyway, hoping to hack something with it this weekend and report back.