| I know that a lot of us own guns, and believe in carrying them. But there are always times when you can’t get a gun – or you’re not allowed to have yours with you. And there is more and more gun control coming, especially after January. Well, one of the most often overlooked tools – and weapons – in Western countries is the machete. (Part of the reason for that is that we just aren’t as rural as we once were, so there’s a lot less call for “agricultural” tools like this.) Machetes can do incredible damage at close – and even medium – range… and they don’t have any moving parts to break or fail. That makes them kind of a “sleeper” survival tool no matter where you are. But I’ll tell you where, in urban areas, they’ve discovered the power of the machete – and that is in cities like Boston that are torn by gang violence. There, they’ve even enacted laws banning machetes… because gangs like the infamous MS-13 prefer them for how much they scare people. One of the best machetes out there is the classic “Latin” pattern. It’s light, easy to swing for both clearing brush and… uh… discouraging looters and home invaders… And it both looks and handles like a short sword. You can chop down a small tree with one of these things, if you’re persistent, and resharpening them with a stone or even a file is pretty easy. To me, though, the thing that makes the machete one of the most powerful weapons and tools out there is that it doesn’t have to be expensive to work. Yes, if you can afford a high-end machete, you’re going to get a much better blade. But even an inexpensive one will work, even if that means it will wear out sooner and need sharpening more often. |
| There are deals on the less expensive ones all over the Internet right now, so I would encourage you to shop for them. For example, you can get a package deal from Steel River on a Latin Machete and blaze-orange “hunting knife” here… …And they’ll even spread it out in 5-buck increments if your budget is tight right now. No matter what machete you buy, though, don’t be afraid to spend some time putting a nice edge on it. There’s an old African proverb that says, “Only a fool puts a razor edge on his machete”… but that’s only true if you’re using it to hack down brush. If you’re using it for home defense, well… that’s an entirely different situation. |
