25 Uses of the Machete

In much of the world, machetes are a part of daily life.

Generally speaking, the machete is a cross between a knife and an ax. The machete blade is used for cutting, while the weighted upper blade provides force for chopping.

Here at MacheteSpecialists.com, we strive to offer the largest selection on the web of this most vital of tools.

Just a few of the thousands of uses:

1. Cut and maintain trails.

2. Brush clearing: How to clear brush with a machete (with video).

3. Chopping compost to break it into small pieces that break down quickly.

4. Carving and incising wood.

5. Cutting vegetation for use in composting.

6. Firewood and tinder gathering.

7. Clearing a new campsite.

8. Woodlot management/coppicing.

9. Creating meadows and brushy habitat for hunting or wildlife management: Diversify habitats.

10. Hedge construction.

11. Snedding; or removing side branches from a main trunk for making posts and poles.

12. Pruning and trimming bushes and trees.

13. Removing vines: Chop segments from tree-hugging vines for removal. Apply herbicide to the chopped surface to kill the base and roots of the vine.

14. Making homemade poles or teepee trellis systems using stakes cut from nearby vegetation.

15. Rice, sugar cane, corn, rye, millet, barley, buckwheat, oats, and other crop cultivation and harvest.

16. Removing cover crops or dead plant residue from gardens by scalping the above ground vegetation and leaving the root biomass in place.

17. Self-protection.

18. Useful for fending off wild animals and killing venomous snakes.

19. Cutting livestock fodder.

20. Slaughtering caught or trapped wild game, poultry and other livestock.

21. Raspberry, Blackberry, Grape, and other vine pruning: Hooks work great for pulling canes.

22. Lawn mowing: Swing parallel to the ground to clear grass.

23. Nut/fruit splitting: The coconut being the classic example.

24. Butchering and meat processing: Quickly break deer or large livestock carcasses into manageable pieces.

25. Shelter construction. Cut poles and roofing materials. Useful for creating the lattice in wattle and daub housing and cutting straw in straw bale construction.

26. Used as a snow knife to cut and shape snow shelters, scrape/clear snow and ice, and cut branches to put under the tires for traction in deep snow.

Machetes by Occupation:

Hunting Machete Uses:

1. Cut and maintain trails.

2. Fend-off wounded or angry animals.

3. Clear brush and scrub for shooting lanes.

4. Create diverse habitat, meadows and brush piles, for attracting game.

5. Slaughter and process game.

Gardening/Small-Scale Agriculture Machete Uses:

1. Chop plant and vegetable material into small pieces for fast composting.

2. Cut vegetation to add material to your compost pile or to start a new pile.

3. Trim unruly branches or plants that are invading or shading your garden.

4. Harvest crops such as corn, rye, barley, buckwheat, oats, sugar cane, and rice.

5. Chop saplings or branches to make an inexpensive teepee trellis for climbing vegetables.

6. Scalp cover crops and leave the root biomass in place for no-till soil management.

7. Prune and trim bushes and trees.

8. Cut fodder for livestock or small pets.

Landowners/Forestry/Conservation Machete Uses:

1. Cut and maintain trails.

2. Thin your woodlot for growth of income-producing trees.

3. Diversify habitats for native species.

4. Coppice trees for firewood, charcoal, or other uses.

5. Remove invasive plants.

Camping/Hiking/Backpacking Machete Uses:

1. Find those undiscovered places by cutting your own trail.

2. Gather tinder and firewood.

3. Clear your campsite.

4. Fend off dangerous animals

Fishing Machete Uses:

1. Find those undiscovered fishing holes.

2. Chop and place brush and small trees in water to create fish habitat.

3. Trim overhanging branches that tangle fishing lines.

4. Use as a general utility tool to cut line, ready lures, open bottles, and gut fish.

Bushcraft Machete Uses:

1. Clear brush for camping or for creating shooting lanes.

2. Construct shelter from bark and poles. Use the machete to strip large pieces of bark from trunks.

3. Use as a snow knife to cut and shape snow shelters

4. Cut trails.

5. Carve, incise, or plane wood. Make tools, poles, and spears.

6. Gather edible or medicinal plants. Dig for roots.

7. Make traps and snares.

8. Butcher and process meat.

9. Split nuts and fruits.

Surveying Machete Uses:

1. Cut trails and boundaries.

2. Clear areas for placing surveying stations, clear lines of sight.

Outdoor Photographers/Birders Machete Uses:

1. Create diverse habitat, meadows and brush piles, for attracting wildlife.

2. Clear brush and scrub for visibility and photography.

3. Cut and maintain trails, create open feeding areas.

4. Fend-off dangerous or angry animals.

Landscaping Machete Uses:

1. Trim hedges, bushes, and trees.

2. Clear underbrush to reduce risk of forest fire.

3. Remove vines from houses and trees.

4. Manually mow grass in hard to reach places.

5. Build and maintain hedges.

6. Create natural fences and trellises.

7. Use as a snow knife to scrape/clear snow and ice and cut branches to put under the tires for traction in deep snow.

ATV/Horseback Riding/Mountain Biking Machete Uses:

1. Cut and maintain trails.